The Academic Citizen

In this final episode of the season, we focus on the intricate web that connects life on our planet. We zoom out to hear about how Marion Island is a location for space science, and then zoom in to learn how SA Agulhas II and Marion Island serve as extraordinary training grounds for the next generation of scientists. Young researchers learn technical skills of their fields and also how to observe,...

The ocean surrounding Marion Island is a breathing wilderness - a vast and mysterious realm where familiar giants coexist with tiny creatures that emit an almost magical light. These diverse beings move through the water in intricate ways that we are only beginning to understand. On the surface, it may seem simple and ordinary, but beneath the steel-blue waves lies a vibrant, lively world teeming...

Marion Island may be thousands of kilometres from the South African mainland, but it buzzes with activity: tiny, and large fluttering, crawling, nesting, scurrying movements. In this episode, we dig deeper into the island’s living world to explore the extraordinary creatures that inhabit this subantarctic terrain. From insects smaller than a fingernail to birds that undertake vast journeys across...

With only five days’ notice, Mehita was thrown into a whirlwind of preparation: rushing between medical clearances, work arrangements, and the essential question: what does one even pack for a month on the ice-cold Southern Ocean? In this unexpected turn of events, she found herself standing on East Pier beneath the warm autumn sun, flanked by two kit bags and staring in awe at her home for the ne...

What happens when you combine science with electrifying and nostalgic sonic experimentation? In this episode, we explore the ideal fusion of music and science as we share stories of scientific research with researcher, science communicator, and producer, Prof Alice Motion. Focusing on the psychological aspects of public understanding of science, this episode illustrates that, much like facts, emot...

Humans need to re-establish our connection with the Earth. In this episode, we explore the role of sound in helping us understand how waste has impacted the spaces and experiences of our planet with sociologist, filmmaker, and performer Dr. Julie Patarin-Jossen. Through feminist and queer perspectives, this episode helps us develop a new emotional relationship with the natural world, especially as...

Similar to spoken and written language, clothing conveys important symbolic meaning and serves as a creative space for preserving daily traditions. In this episode, we highlight indigenous language and knowledge systems with independent fashion practitioner, researcher, and archivist Siviwe James. Through the use of sound, we emphasize the significance of traditional clothing as primary cultural m...

The sounds of nature can offer a unique listening experience and make us aware of our spaces and the species that exist. In this episode, we head deep into the green urban belts and wild spaces of Aoteroa with wildlife filmmaker, storyteller and host of Tune into Nature Podcast, Karthic SS. This episode guides our attention and appreciation to nature's soundscapes where listening can offer whole d...

When we think of museums, we often envision a traditional building with objects and artefacts. In this episode, we challenge this notion with Dr. John Kannenberg from The Museum of Portable Sound. This episode delves into the concept of collecting and showcasing sound as cultural and museological heritage, offering a new perspective on traditional museum and music practices. By examining the porta...

Listening is dynamic, especially in recreating historical places. In this episode, we explore Willow Road in Fairview, Gqeberha with musician and sound artist Andrei Van Wyk. It focuses on using sound to evoke the lost homes and communities of Willow Road, destroyed by the Group Areas Act of 1950. By reconstructing the past through sound, this episode highlights how audio can revive aspects of los...

What is the significance of engaging with colonial archives, which are laden with historical power imbalances and misrepresentations? In this episode, we embark on a journey through time to explore radio archives from the colonial era. Luc Marraffa, a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam, helps us rethink how we engage with archives and give voice to unheard narratives and non-verbal cues.

On the premiere episode of Season 7, listeners are treated to an interstellar auditory experience in the form of an audio postcard. Narrated by Sarah Kane, a PhD researcher in Astronomy from Cambridge University, this episode offers a captivating exploration into the innovative realm of data sonifications. Kane, along with her esteemed team, sheds light on groundbreaking research insights concerni...

[FROM THE ARCHIVE - 2018] Carina Truyts is part of the pioneers at South Africa’s newest university, Sol Plaatje University in Kimberly. She has established the Anthropology department there. Her teaching and research is focused on contextual knowledge production, sharing and engagement. Truyts’ Masters Research was on Nourishment in the 'first thousand days' in the context of precarious livelihoo...

[FROM THE ARCHIVE - 2018] Dr. Beth Vale is a researcher at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection. She is a Mandela Rhodes and a Rhodes Scholar. Dr. Vale was a postdoctoral fellow under the NRF Chair in Local Histories, Present Realities at Wits University. Her research explored Johannesburg nightclub cultures as sites of identity, attachment and place-making. Vale’s doctoral research c...

[FROM THE ARCHIVE] South African universities suffer from serious traffic congestion, lack of parking spaces and high pollution levels. Even though many staff and students aspire to own a car, arguably the bicycle offers huge potential to transform the environment and culture of campuses. In this episode Dr Mehita Iqani and Dr Njogu Morgan, a post-doctoral researcher based at the South Research Ch...

[FROM THE ARCHIVE - 2018] Despite policy initiatives aimed at structuring affordable low cost health care funding products, medical schemes have remained unaffordable, and therefore inaccessible, to the majority of South Africans. Universities, through insurance companies, provide medical aid with high premiums to their staff. Coupled with high tuition, international students attending South Afric...

Are you interested in, passionate about or working on the possibilities of using audio to create, shape, and distribute scientific and academic research to the public? Submit a proposal/abstract for our upcoming virtual symposium "Sound Matters: Interdisciplinary Explorations Into Audio Knowledge Production" in collaboration with the South African Research Chair in Science Communication and the So...

[FROM THE ARCHIVE - 2018] Writing for academic journals is highly competitive. The common saying in academic circles is, “get published or perish!” There’s no simple formula for getting published, expectations vary both between and within subject areas. But there are some challenges that will confront all academic writers regardless of their discipline. How should you respond to reviewer feedback...

[FROM THE ARCHIVE - 2017] Are universities stuck in an ivory tower, cut off from day to day reality? In this episode, Prof Mehita Iqani discusses how research should and could be engaged with “communities”. The guest is University of Cape Town Associate Professor, Tanja Winkler, deputy dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment. They speak about how universities, through scholarl...

[FROM THE ARCHIVE - 2017] Most universities are at the forefront of denouncing social injustices and inequality yet, in 2013 for instance the highest paid chancellor earned an annual salary of 3.2 million more than what the President of South Africa earns. These figures reflect shocking high salary discrepancies between high earners in these institutions and low earners. Prof Mehita Iqani in this...

[FROM THE ARCHIVE - 2018} In the Netherlands, a study revealed that 1 in 3 academics suffer from mental health disorder. This then begs the question if the same applies to Academics here in South Africa? If so what could be the reasons? Is mental wellness an Institutional problem? Is mental health gendered? How can academics cope? This week’s podcast seeks to answer the above questions. Kholeka Sh...

[FROM THE ARCHIVE - 2018]Dr Hleze Kunju wrote his four-year-long PhD thesis in isiXhosa, about Xhosa people who settled in Mbembesi, an area outside of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He graduated with his PhD in April 2017 and is a lecturer at Sol Plaatjie University. Hailing from rural Mqanduli in the Eastern Cape, Dr Kunju says his love affair with the language began at a young age. An artist and intellect...

In this episode, we explore three ways of understanding journeys from movement as knowledge with A/Professor Harmony Signaporia, to the ethics of flying and climate change with Dr Henri-Count Evans and to the elusiveness of nature and the wild by Dr Gabriella Leighton. Journeys is the final episode of Season 6. Come with us. Part 2 is with Prof Mehita Iqani, Dr Henri-Count Evans and Dr Gabriella L...

In this episode, we explore three ways of understanding journeys from movement as knowledge with A/Professor Harmony Siganporia, to the ethics of flying and climate change with Dr Henri-Count Evans and to the elusiveness of nature and the wild by Dr Gabriella Leighton. Journeys is the final episode of Season 6. Come with us. Part 1 is with Prof Iqani and A/Prof Harmony Siganporia.

Are you an academic, researcher or institution or department of higher education? Do you want to make a podcast to share your research with the world? Speak to us, we can help! We are open to being commissioned from 2023. Intro and Outro Music by The Academic Citizen Backing Music by Music Unlimited from Pixabay