GradCast

This week, hosts Charan Mandur and Anthony Cruz interview Jacob Vanderhoeven, a master's student in the history department. Jacob tells GradCast about the rise and fall of ancient Chinese dynasties. Tune in for Game-of-Thrones-esque takeovers, innovation, and leadership in war and peace.  Recorded on August 15, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produce...

This week, hosts Mark Ambrogio and Brittany Melton interview kinesiology PhD candidate Thomas Irish. Thomas works from his own experiences to examine the sociocultural impacts of sports on the Deaf community. He also describes his path to Western, the impact sports have had on him, and how he uses storytelling to get his voice out into the world.  Follow this link  to learn more about Thomas, keep...

GradCast is joined by Arathy Sivasubramaniam, a master's student in the library and information sciences program. Hosts Mark Ambrogio and Amalie Hutchinson learn about all things library: community, programming, online resources and more.  Recorded on July 31, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.  

This week, GradCast's Anum Anjum comes on the show to tell hosts Amalie Hutchinson and Elizabeth Mohler about her graduate program: a course-based MSc in interdisciplinary medical sciences. We chat about academic integrity, science communication, and how AI can be used as a tool in science.  Recorded on August 1, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produ...

This week, hosts Mark Ambrogio and Amalie Hutchinson are joined by Sierra LeBlanc, a master's student in the FIMS department. Sierra studies the Iraq war in the context of unsensored media sharing platforms, and tells us how live footage shapes the perception of war and how the Way Back Machine can help probe the internet through time. Recorded on July 27, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme...

Join the GradCast team in another episode of #GradLife were we discuss the realities, joys, and pitfalls of academic life here at Western. In this episode, hosts Scott Walters, Mark Ambrogio, and new team member, Ryan Baxter, chat about libraries.  More than only a repository for books, they inspire and provide resources beyond what is often recognized and we discuss their role in academia and els...

For the second installment of this mini-series, hosts Carly Charron and Charan Mandur answer some interesting questions with your producer Jordan VanderBurgt. We dive head first into topics such as the Barbenheimer premiers, unacceptable clothing choices, and mac and cheese. As an added bonus, listen in to find out what bird and Disney character these three GradCast members most relate to, and mor...

Today, join hosts Amalie Hutchinson and Elizabeth Mohler, along with your producer Scott Walters, as they begin a new mini-series that has them answering unexpected questions. Some may be slightly controversial, most only light-heated, but all will help you get to know your GradCast team better as they tackle questions pulled from the studio jar!  This week we talk food, life mottos, pet peeves, a...

This week, GradCast hosts Mark Ambrogio and Anum Anjum are joined by an MA student in linguistics: Jillian Warman. Jill studies the letter "v" in Russian and uses sound to tell us all about sound: vibrations in the mouth, frictious letters, accents, learning a new language, and more.  To learn more about Jill's research, you can find her linkedin page , or send her an email at jwarman2@uwo.ca   Re...

This week, hosts Charan Mandur and Carly Charron interview neuroscience master's student Ashlyn Hersey. Ashlyn describes her work developing a touchscreen-based task for assessing cognitive judgement bias and how our emotional state influences the way we interpret the world around us. She also explains how mice can be trained to perform and validate these tasks, especially when rewarded with tasty...

This week, former GradCast host Rhys Paterson returns with an update on her Master's research. Hosts Charan Mandur and Scott Walters learn about all things rocks: coring, libraries of stone, and rockin' drawings cumulating in a 3-gig thesis.  Recorded on June 20, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

This week, hosts Scott Walters and Ariel Frame are joined by PhD candidate in the department of Biology, Jessica Sinka. Jessica studies plant biochemistry with a focus on the role of a super molecule called "suberin" in potatoes during wound healing. We learn how potato scabs form, some interesting lab techniques, Jessica's favourite potato recipe, and some great advise for grads.  Recorded on Jun...

Sore back? This episode is for you! This week, hosts Amalie Hutchinson and Charan Mandur interview Taylor Shelton, an MSc student from the department of physiology and pharmacology. Taylor studies the protein TRPV4, an important cell receptor that when knocked-out, has different and interesting effects on the interverbal disc.  Recorded on June 6, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song prov...

This week, hosts Scott Walters and Carly Charron interview PhD candidate and past SOGS VP Advocacy Yousuf Hasan. In addition to discussing the topic of his graduate studies, Yousuf describes his approach to advocacy work and the impact this position has had on himself as well as the larger student community.  Recorded on May 31, 2023 Produced by Jordan VanderBurgt Theme song provided by https://fr...

In this special episode, GradCast heads out into the field - literally! Hosts Amalie Hutchinson, Scott Walters, Jordan Vanderburgt, Carly Charron, Brittany Melton, and Mark Ambrogio do 5-second interviews with kids attending Science Rendezvous. They share what they want to be when they grow up, what the like most about science, and their favourite class at school. Recorded on May 13, 2023 Theme so...

This week, hosts Facundo Lodol and Mark Ambrogio interview Biology PhD candidate Matheus Sanita Lima. Matheus talks about how noncoding DNA might have important biological functions. He studies noncoding DNA segments in the genomes of mitocondria and chloroplasts.  To find out more about Matheus' research, check out his lab's website here .  Recorded on May 16, 2023 Produced by Jordan VanderBurgt...

Sara Cornwell, PhD student in Library and Information Science (LIS), shares some of the many ways that Londoners who speak more than one language navigate daily information tasks. Listen in as hosts Brittany Melton and Laura Muñoz Baena try and get as many tips as possible! Recorded on April 11, 2023 Produced by Laura Muñoz Baena Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

This week, hosts Meghan Voll and Amalie Hutchinson interview Library and Information Sciences Ph. D. Candidate Mark Ambrogio. Analyzing Station Eleven, Mark discusses his research in readership typologies, who defines genre, and how science fiction can be thought of as an event, rather than static writing tradition. Listen to the end for some bonus SF book recommendations from Mark. To find out mo...

This week, hosts Meghan Voll and Amalie Hutchinson interview bio-medical engineering PhD candidate Kian Esmailian. Kian talks about his research on spread-spectrum ultrasound techniques, the Doppler effect, and how researching blood velocity can be applied to new medical detection methods.   To find out more about Kian’s research visit his LinkedIn at kian-esmailian .  Recorded on April 25, 2023 P...

In this edition of #GradLife, your hosts Amalie Hutchinson, Charan Mandur, and Scott Walters discuss how they de-stress from graduate studies both on and off campus. Get ready to hear about Western campus exhibits, markets, and natural spaces, as well as lively talks on their favorite games and shows. Recorded on April 18, 2023 Produced by Scott Walters Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/...

On this episode of GradCast, Brittany, Laura, and Charan talk about wrapping up the term, weddings, and how they plan to schedule their lives during the summer.  Recorded on April 11, 2023 Produced by Laura Muñoz Baena Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

This week, hosts Meghan Voll and Facundo Lodol interview Melanie Pare, a Master’s student in Western’s French Program. We speak with Melanie about translating grief in French life-writing, our burning tattoo questions, dealing with rejection, and relatable thesis writing problems.  Recorded on April 4, 2023 Produced by Jordan VanderBurgt Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by Whi...

This week, hosts Meghan Voll and Scott Walters interview returning guest, Navid Afrasiabian. Now a Ph. D candidate in Physics and Astronomy, Navid talks about his new project investigating fibre-reinforced polymer composites, how we can improve their properties, and his project’s applications in the automotive and aerospace industries.  To find out more about Navid’s research, visit his Twitter at...

In this special episode Laura, Charan and Brittany are guests on What Tickles Your Peach , an undergraduate radio show. They talk about what it's like to be a TA and put their knowledge to the test in a fun game.

For our third #PostDocsTalk episode, hosts Brittany Melton and Meghan Voll interview Dr. Yimin Chen, a postdoctoral fellow at Royal Roads University in BC, formerly a PhD from Western’s FIMS department. In this episode, Yimin talks about how to build your postdoc community by being social, gives us some tips and tricks for how to build your academic community, and use that as leverage to find your...