A Story of Us

In this episode of A Story of Us, Nagarathna Balakrishna chats with renowned paleoartist John Gurche (https://gurche.com/) as he candidly reflects on his early journey into reconstructing our ancestors, shares how he blends science and art in his work, navigates the creative and ethical challenges of reconstruction, and offers thoughtful advice for aspiring students in the field.

In this episode, we sit down with Julia (frost6603@gmail.com), an undergraduate in the Anthropology Department at The Ohio State University, to talk all things archaeology, art, and ancient plants. From excavating in the Northern Chaco Outliers Project to working in an archaeobotany lab, Julia shares how her interdisciplinary lens—combining anthropology with art—shapes the way she studies the past...

For our first episode of the year, our new host, Nagarathna Balakrishna, sits down with fellow PhD candidate and former podcast host, Andrew Mitchell (mitchell.13@osu.edu), to discuss his dissertation fieldwork on Oaxacan culinary adaptations across Columbus, Los Angeles, and Oaxaca City. Join us as Andrew shares what drew him to cultural anthropology, insights from his research on culinary adapta...

In this episode, Dr. Habiba Chirchir, a biological anthropologist, discusses her research on skeletal anatomy and behavior and its implications for understanding human evolution. She explores what it means for the human skeleton to be more ‘gracile,’ drawing comparisons between the domestication of domestic dogs and wolves, the challenges of interpreting skeletal changes, and the importance of col...

This episode Andrew Mitchel sits down with Associate Clinical Professor Dr. Katie Zejdlik. They discuss the joys of reading fiction as a way to decompress, Dr. Zejdlik's work on mortuary contexts in Romania/Transylvania (https://www.archaeological.org/fieldwork/medieval-cemetery-funerary-excavation-living-and-dying-on-the-edge-of-europe-transylvania-romania/) and her approach to teaching archeolog...

This episode Andrew Mitchel sits down with Ohio State PhD Candidate Ben Mertus. They discuss the article Beyond Wiindigo Infrastructure (https://grangehallpress.com/Enbridgeblog/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Beyond_Wiindigo_Infrastructure.pdf); the concept of ecotourism in anthropology; Ben's fieldwork in Manawan, Quebec; the concept of resilience in his research; the hidden costs of fieldwork; and B...

This episode Andrew Mitchel sits down with Ohio State PhD Candidate Harold "Butch" Wright. They discuss readings on commensality (https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/commensality-from-everyday-food-to-feast-9780857857361/), social network analysis (https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Communities+and+Networks%3A+Using+Social+Network+Analysis+to+Rethink+Urban+and+Community+Studies-p-9780745654201), and food insec...

This episode Andrew Mitchel sits down with Ohio State PhD Candidate Madelyn (Madee) Green (green.1365@osu.edu). They discuss research on isolation in islands, Madee's fieldwork in Japan with prehistoric Jomon populations, the Sannai Maruyama site (https://jomon-japan.jp/en/learn/jomon-sites/sannai-maruyama), and her teaching strategies.

This episode Andrew Mitchel sits down with OSU Anthropology's newest hire in forensic anthropology, Dr. Nicholas Passalacqua. They discuss an article on the legal and social ramifications for wrongdoing (https://doi.org/10.2307/2564673), the definition of forensic anthropology, the process of completing a case analysis, a textbook project Dr. Passalacqua has worked on (https://titles.cognella.com/...

In this interview, Andrew sits down with Maddison Elliott, who is graduating with her MA this semester in anthropology. They discuss The book Buzz (https://nyupress.org/9781479827381/buzz/), Maddison's MA thesis on pollinator protection, hierarchies of insects, roundtable method of teaching introductory anthropology courses, and the Wicked Science program at Ohio State (https://u.osu.edu/wicked/)!

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel chats with PhD candidate Craig Shapiro to discuss the insights from the text Polynesia, 900-1600 Past Imperfect by Madi Williams (https://www.arc-humanities.org/9781641892148/polynesia-9001600/), the role and importance of epistemology and community archeology, Craig's ongoing fieldwork in Samoa, and conclude with considering the quandary of moving beyond the prac...

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel chats with PhD candidate Steven Rhue to discuss the effects of household water insecurity on child health and well-being, a recently systematic review article on the topic by Steven and colleagues (https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wat2.1666), Steven's fieldwork on the subject with children ages 5-10 in Belém, Brazil, and Steven's experience at UN...

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel sits down with our lecturer specializing in primatology, Dr. Jeffrey Peterson. They discuss multispecies ethnography, the foundations of primatology, Dr. Peterson's dissertation on Social Traditions and Social Networks among Long-Tailed Macaques in Indonesia (https://curate.nd.edu/show/bv73bz63b34), robbing and bartering among these same long-tailed macaques (http...

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel sits down with our new forensic anthropologist Dr. Stephanie Cole. They discuss forensic anthropology's methods and implications, Dr. Cole's PhD research on subadult sex estimation (https://scholarworks.unr.edu/handle/11714/8364), the Morphological Pelvis and Skull Sex Estimation Database (https://www.morphopasse.com/program.html), the Ontogenetic Subadult Sex Est...

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Holdsworth to discuss her work on the Mother-Infant Microbiomes, Behavior, and Ecology Study (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37556398/), the relationship between maternal stress and infant health caregiving behaviors and infant methylation (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajhb.23876), her PhD research on role of socia...

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel sits down with Dr. Anaís Roque to discuss community health, her research on resource insecurity, the case of Puerto Rico, the strengths of interdisciplinary research and the collaborative lab she is developing on campus. Anaís' publications can be found at https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5yt016MAAAAJ&hl=en, and students interested in the Community Health...

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel sits down with Dr. Scott McGraw to discuss primatology, how to teach about primates to undergraduate students, the role and importance of teeth in the study of primates, his role as chair of the Anthropology department and colobus monkey conservation. The referenced teeth article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24592, and the red colobus action plan i...

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel sits down with Dr. Joy McCorriston to discuss archaeobotany, how to teach the Anthropocene to undergraduate students, the role and importance of collaborative research, a project connecting Ohio State to HBCUs and the origins of agriculture as a subject of study.

In the finale of our Engagement series, Shane interviews Dr. Erin Moore, the newest faculty member in the Ohio State University Anthropology Department. Dr. Moore speaks to us about her research with women and girls in Uganda and with multinational nongovernmental organizations. Shane and Dr. Moore discuss the concept of a "gender panic" and the importance of being transformed by research.

In the fifth episode of our Engagement series, Shane interviews Dr. Mandy Agnew, a biological anthropologist who directs the Skeletal Biology Research Laboratory at Ohio State. Dr. Agnew tells us about how her grandparents and mentors helped shape her journey to anthropology. She also discusses her ongoing research with industry partners and the importance of collaborating and communicating with s...

In episode 4 of our Engagement series, we interview Dr. Mark Anthony Arceño about his research on the taste, place, and identity of winegrowers from central Ohio and Alsace, eastern France. We discuss the role taste and place play in adaptation to climate, economic, and legislative change, as well as the importance of staying connected with local food producers. Following the theme of our Engageme...

In this episode, Dr. Anna Willow, an environmental anthropologist, describes her work with indigenous activists across Canada. Dr. Willow's research focuses on industrial extraction, it's detrimental effects on people and landscapes, and the activists who are resisting these forces and trying to transform society.

In this episode, we interview PhD student Taylor Tomu who discusses her various research during her time at OSU. Taylor answers questions such as, "What does the experiences of Black women in the medical system tell us about how that system operates?" and considers how the medical system operates as a social system with a culture. Her current research focuses on the Black women at the front lines...

A new season is coming! In this episode, we introduce the new Voice of the Podcast, Shane Scaggs, and the theme of this season--engagement.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Filiberto Penados, the academic director of CELA-Belize. After describing the reality and struggle of indigenous peoples in Belize (a small country in Central America) to affirm their rights to land and imagine and create a self-defined future, Dr. Penados describes how he has participated in this as an engaged scholar. He explains the ideas of "re-rooting and...