do whatever

The creepiest science stories aren’t fiction: Marie Curie’s glowing “fairy lights,” seabirds falling from the sky, and the strange afterlife of Einstein’s brain all have real explanations - and real consequences. Ardiana, Burcu and Mirna serve up science with a spooky-season twist. First, they celebrate the Nobel Prize for the scientists behind optogenetics. A discovery rooted in green algae now h...

Conferences can inspire your science, test your social battery, and occasionally leave you replaying an awkward moment for years. Burcu, Mirna, and Ardiana share what it really takes to navigate academic conferences, from asking questions and presenting your work to finding your people and knowing when to take a break. They exchange practical strategies and very human stories: how to choose the ta...

Burcu, Mirna, and Ardiana reconnect after a month apart, catching up on everything that piled up: a new city, a new fellowship, and a stomach that picked the worst possible moments to act up. Burcu talks about settling into Brussels, feeling like an outsider in small everyday moments, and the language choices she didn't expect to be making so often. Mirna gets into something messier and more p...

A strong academic CV is not a collection of random achievements - and adding more lines will not necessarily make you more competitive. For PhD students, postdocs, and researchers planning their next move, this conversation reveals what selection panels actually look for, what belongs on your CV at each career stage, and how to show potential without losing your authenticity. Burcu, Ardiana, and M...

Academia is not just experiments and papers - it is politics, money, authorship games, and the strange social rules nobody explains out loud. Burcu, Ardiana, and Mirna pull back the curtain on what it really takes to survive and stay sane in the academic bubble, from protecting your integrity to learning how to pitch your research without getting trapped in a 10-minute rant. They break down the pa...

Ardiana opens by reflecting on a viral video: a surprise visit home, a mom's very unfiltered reaction, and suddenly a million people watching a moment she never meant to be public. And this all, just because she really missed watermelons and booked a flight home. Therefore, Ardiana, Burcu, and Mirna dig into what it costs to build a life outside the country you grew up in, starting with the questi...

It's summer, and Ardiana, Burcu, and Mirna are talking about something academics rarely give themselves permission to do: rest. They open with listener comments, including reflections on power dynamics and toxic supervision in academia, before moving into lighter topics like asking their moms to describe what they actually do for a living. Spoiler: frogs are not genetically closest to humans, no m...

Burcu, Mirna, and Ardiana are back after a chaotic June full of conferences, moves, and last-minute grant deadlines! They kick things off catching up on summer life, meddling moms with career advice, and the eternal reference-manager debate (Zotero vs. Mendeley vs. EndNote). Then it's time travel: this episode revisits one of the show's earliest recordings, a story so wild they couldn't leave it i...

do whatever | episode 4: chapter 2: the final boss or just a phd defense? Burcu, Mirna, and Ardiana kick off with quick updates -  lab struggles, a first three-hour lecture, and highlights from a Paris trip including a staged Eiffel Tower couple and the Mona Lisa crowd chaos. They then dive into what the episode is really about: the PhD defense, from first draft to final applause. The hosts walk t...

do whatever | episode 3: chapter 1: anxious, avoidant, academic What does your attachment style look like when your PI goes silent on your manuscript? In this episode, Ardiana, Burcu, and Mirna dive into attachment theory - anxious, avoidant, fearful avoidant, and secure - and explore how these patterns show up not in romantic relationships, but in the lab. They share their own quiz results, refle...

do whatever | episode 2: introduction: who are we anyway? Burcu, Mirna, and Ardiana kick off the episode with travel updates: Mirna returns from Croatia and a stop at the Venice Biennale, while Ardiana reflects on a yoga retreat in Normandy that pushed her to slow down, cut screen time, and reconnect with single-tasking. The hosts celebrate a major milestone, after eight months of setbacks, Burcu&...

do whatever | episode 1: abstract: do we have it figured out? After nearly a year of silence, Burcu, Mirna, and Ardiana are finally back. In this long-overdue catch-up episode, the trio reunites online for the first time to talk about why it took so long, what perfectionism costs you, and why "not being ready" might actually be the most honest place to start. They share what's change...