GradCast

Katie McCoy, a PhD candidate in political science, joins Liam Clifford and Garth Casbourn. She tells us about her research on why people vote how they do, especially in rural communities. She also discusses how MPs from rural areas may differ in behaviour compared to urban MPs. Recorded on November 6, 2024 Produced by Riya Sidhu Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

Host Mark Ambrogio welcomes John Hutchenreuther, a PhD student in the Department of Geography and Environment, to discuss the transformative potential of the "15-minute city" in urban planning. John’s research envisions a shift towards walkable cities, where essential amenities are accessible within a short walk or bike ride, making cars a choice rather than a necessity. He delves into the challen...

This week, hosts Garth Casbourn and kirstyn seanor are joined by Eric Scarfone, a Master of Media in Journalism and Communication (MMJC) student in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies. Eric talks about his transition from undergraduate to graduate studies and delves deeper into what the MMJC program entails. He shares his goals in broadcasting and what is a part of good journalistic story...

For our fifth installment of our book club series, the #BookCast team read Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi.  Join us for a discussion led by Garth Casbourn with co-hosts Meghan Voll, Riya Sidhu, and Scott Walters.  We dive into the complex narrative of Gifty, a young scientist getting her PhD at Stanford, attempting to discover secrets behind addictive behavior. This story is one of grief, hope,...

This week, hosts Mark Ambrogio and Ryan Baxter are joined by Lauren Jarman, a Masters of Music Education Candidate in the Don Wright Faculty of Music. Her research is focused on the impact of policy, globalization and neoliberalism and how it affects students with disabilities through a windband pedagogy. Lauren explores how AI and technology enable learning for musicians and how it can improve st...

Hosts Anthony Cruz and Meghan Voll are joined by Emiko Muraki, a PhD candidate with the University of Calgary, and a visiting PhD student at Western University. Emiko studies how context and differences between people affect how we learn and use concepts, and understand language. She also studied people with aphantasia, who can't form mental images, and found that they may still engage in sensorim...

Hosts Mark Ambrogio and Meghan Voll are joined by Shengpei (Leslie) Li, a Ph. D. student in Media Studies. Leslie discusses his research on rap music in China and the politics surrounding it. Recorded on October 1, 2024. Produced by Riya Sidhu Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

Hosts Mark Ambrogio and Ryan Baxter are joined by Elisabeth (Libby) Roberts, a Ph. D. candidate in the music cognition specialization at the University of Western Ontario, Don Wright Faculty of Music. Libby discusses her research in music-evoked autobiographical memory and how she combines methods from behavioural sciences, sociology, and music theory. She discusses how social media, a space of in...

In this installment of the three-part #TheScoopOnSOGS miniseries, host Liam Clifford is joined by Jasmine Proctor, a PhD Student in Western's Faculty of Information and Media Studies who currently serves as the Vice-President Advocacy at the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS). Listen to this episode to learn about Jasmine's research, background, and roles at SOGS, as well as what she enjoys about...

This week, hosts Maris Schneider and Garth Casbourn are joined by writer, curator and visual culture PhD candidate at the Department of Visual Arts, Ashar Mobeen. Ashar studies ancient and indigenous civilizations  and the manifestation of astronomical understanding within their art and architecture. He explores the stories of groups marginalized by Eurocentric ideologies. Ashar chats about his lo...

In this installment of the three-part #TheScoopOnSOGS miniseries, host Liam Clifford is joined by Cherin Chung, a PhD Candidate in Western's Department of French who currently serves as the President of the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS). Listen to this episode to learn about Cherin's research, background, and roles at SOGS, as well as what she enjoys about being a student leader. If you woul...

This week, hosts Garth Casbourn and Riya Sidhu are joined by Kevin Young, a PhD Candidate in Western's Department of Biology. Kevin researches how the omega-3 fats in the diets of migratory shorebirds help them regulate their body temperature and save energy during their long journeys. Listen to learn about some of the amazing avian research happening at Western!   Recorded on September 10, 2024....

In this installment of the three-part #TheScoopOnSOGS miniseries, host Liam Clifford is joined by Evan Sauve, a PhD Candidate in Western's Department of Economics who currently serves as the Vice-President Finance at the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS). Listen to this episode to learn about Evan's research, background, and roles at SOGS, as well as what Evan enjoys about being a student leader...

This week, hosts Mark Ambrogio and Garth Casbourn are joined by Astronomy PhD student Sami Lambier. Sami researches ultracool dwarfs, some of the smallest stars in the Universe. Sami also discusses her work at the Cronyn Observatory. Listen to learn some ultra-cool facts about the night sky! Recorded on September 3, 2024. Produced by Anthony Cruz. Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Prod...

For our August book of the month, the #BookCast team tackled The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, the discussion led by Meghan Voll and joined by Mark Ambrogio, Garth Casbourn and Maria Khan. The team looks at the writing style, character development, accuracy to real-life academia and problematic elements in the storyline. Will this experiment combust in our protagonist's face? Airing September...

This week, join hosts Ryan Baxter, Mark Ambrogio, and Anthony Cruz as they discuss graduate student life at Western. Topics include Summer travel, musical performance, and the hosts' various research interests.    Recorded on August 27, 2024. Produced by Anthony Cruz. Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

This week, hosts Anthony Cruz and Riya Sidhu are joined by psychology PhD student Joseph Rovetti. Taking a different look at our ability to understand speech in different environments, Joseph is studying the cognitive side to speech perception - and just how deep that goes. If you've ever had trouble understanding someone in a noisy room, tune into this week's episode to find out why it might not...

For our July book of the month, the  #BookCast crew reads Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis. Tune in a discussion of the novel led by Garth Casbourn featuring hosts Scott Walters, Meghan Voll, Mark Ambrogio, and special guest Helen Button! We discuss the literary format of the novel, its relation to our experiences as academics, and the historical context behind this witty work of fiction! Airing August...

Join GradCast Hosts Meghan Voll and Mark Ambrogio as they chat with our favourite repeat guest, Alex Mayhew. This time, Alex discusses what it's like in the final few months of a PhD, from wrapping up to writing to deciding when to defend, there IS light at the end of the tunnel.  Recorded on August 13, 2024 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by Whi...

This week, hosts Anthony Cruz and Meghan Voll are joined by a MSc Psychology student, Lincoln Inglis. Covering everything from AI ethics to how producing plays with children sparked his interest, they talk about how Lincoln uses Deepfake technology to help understand how we categorize the voices we hear. Recorded on August 6, 2024 Produced by Riya Sidhu Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/...

This week, hosts Mark Ambrogio and Liam Clifford are joined by William Laur, to talk about his PhD work on attitudes towards his favourite animal, the snake. To help inform conservation efforts, William studies the perception of snakes through analysis of social media posts, as well as articles written by scientific researchers. William also talks about how snakes have been important throughout hi...

This week, hosts Mark Ambrogio and Liam Clifford are joined by a gentleman who seems like he's done it all, Law PhD student Joel Welch. Student by day and bartender by night, in this episode Joel delves into his work examining the lessons we can learn from science fiction. He also delves into his past experience working with the RCMP and speaking at fan conventions. Follow Joel on X (formerly know...

Join us for our second edition of #BookCast where we discuss The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker. Your hosts for this episode are Mark Ambrogio, Amalie Hutchinson, Meghan Voll, Scott Walters and Garth Casbourn. Note for listeners, this episode contains many spoilers! Sweet dreams.... Recorded on July 16, 2024 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by...

This week, hosts Anthony Cruz and Maris Schneider are joined by Tanja Grubnic, a PhD Candidate in Western's Department of English. Tanja is interested in the ethics of generative AI. Tanja organized an event at Western called Can AI Be Creative? where she invited several guest speakers to tackle this topic. In this episode, Tanja shares some tips for other graduate students who might be interested...

What do graduate students get up to during the summer? Tune in to hear what Amalie Hutchinson, Meghan Voll, and Mark Ambrogio have planned this summer.  Recorded on July 2, 2024 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot)