The PhD Life Raft Podcast

Elizabeth Pritchard is the Co-founder and Director of WALT Institute typically working with institutes, health services and universities. Elizabeth is also a research fellow in Public Health at Monash University.    This episode recognises stress as a common experience on the PhD journey.   Elizabeth differentiates between the different types of stress - eustress and distress - and posits that str...

Natasha is a researcher, facilitator, and theatre-maker.  Her PhD research, specializing in applied theatre approaches to Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.    In this episode we discuss how Natasha has turned her research into a business.   Natasha shares her journey into the PhD and how she drew on her practical experience with a Theatr...

Graham Green is currently working towards his Ph. D. at the University of Southern Queensland.  He has a background in the education, management and aviation sectors and holds a Masters Degree in Aviation Management from the University of New South Wales. He is an active member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators as well as a member of the Australian Society of Air Safety Inve...

Nathan Ryder runs skills training for PhD students with a signature course entitled 'Viva Survivor' and daily blog of viva prep help.     In this episode Nathan talks about his new book 'Keep Going 'which is full of advice for the PhD journey and we focus in particularly on preparing for the PhD viva .     Nathan shares thoughts on how to fit in viva preparation around the many other things that y...

Dr Kate Mukungu is Chief Executive of Riverside Community Health Project in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. In September 2022 Kate completed her part time doctorate at Northumbria University researching women's human rights activism relations in post conflict contexts.  As well as being the source of great richness to Kate, the dual interest of working in the voluntary and community sector and condu...

Milly Mulcahey is a second-year PhD student in the Center for Indigenous and Settler Colonial Studies at the University of Kent. Milly has worked actively with Indigenous educators since her undergraduate degree in Social Anthropology at the LSE and through a Master's by Research at Durham University. She is a neurodivergent researcher passionate about improving accessibility within academia and i...

Iain Jackson is an architect and historian at the Liverpool School of Architecture. His research is mainly focused on 20thC architecture in 'the tropics'.  Iain is currently PI on a Leverhulme Trust funded project to research the buildings of the United Africa Company.  He supervises 8 PhD students and has examined PhDs in Europe, Asia, and Australia.   In this episode we talk about the importance...

Katrina McChesney is a senior lecturer in education at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Her research focuses on adult education, including doctoral education and supervision. She is currently co-leading the #DistanceDoctorates project which seeks to support, raise awareness of, and advocate for candidates who undertake doctoral research off-campus.    In this episode we talk about Katrina's...

Leanne Sobel is a Strategic Design Consultant and Researcher. She has a background in communication design and strategy and is passionate about the opportunities for design in business. Leanne is currently a PhD Candidate at the University of Technology Sydney, investigating the role of design in strategy. Leanne brings a wealth of experience to her practice, having worked on public and private se...

Dr LaNysha Adams draws on her background in research to support others to empower themselves.   In this episode she shares reflections on her educational journey - including why she didn't become an architect!   We talk about the experience of her difficult PhD defense and what she did to support herself afterwards.   LaNysha also outlines her idea of 'Me Power' - touching on the importance of com...

Jo Nadin is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Bristol University.  She is also an award winning author with a background as a political speechwriter.   In this episode Jo shares her experience of the PhD process - both the journey into it and the the challenges within it - from balancing working with researching to managing relationships.   We talk about taking circuitous routes into academ...

Dr Nicole Holt is a Lecturer in Public Health and Wellbeing for the School of Allied and Public Health Professions within the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Social Care at Canterbury Christ Church University.  She is currently involved in several research projects around spirituality and wellbeing.   In this episode we discuss Nicole's experience of her PhD which explored the reported relationshi...

Professor Brian Lobel is a performer, teacher and curator.  He has shown work internationally in a range of contexts, from Harvard Medical School to the Sydney Opera House.  Brian has received commissions and grants from Jerwood, UMS (Ann Arbor), the British Council and Arts Council England, among others. He is a Wellcome Trust Public Engagement Fellow and the co-founder of The Sick of the Fringe....

Dr. Jenny Mak is a writer and educator. Her work has been published in Entropy magazine, Read Me Anthology, and shortlisted in the 2012 InkTears Short Story Competition. Her PhD, from the University of Warwick, focused on embodied experiences of globalisation in contemporary world literature. She has taught English Literature and Creative Writing at LASALLE College of the Arts, Nanyang Technologic...

After her experience in graduate school Tonya Vetter set up The Dissertation Doctors to help others through.   In this episode Tonya outlines what she calls "pursuing your PhD from the inside" - thinking about what you care about and who you want to serve with the work.   We also talk about overcoming fear and shame within the doctorate and re-writing the story.   We finish with a top tip for moti...

Jenn McClearen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radio, Television and Film at the University of Texas at Austin.  In this episode she talks about how she has drawn on her martial arts practice to enrich her work as a researcher.   Jenn reflects on her own feelings of failure in graduate school and how she worked to become less fearful about writing.   She talks about how she applied...

Brittney Johnson is an Educational Leadership, Administration & Policy Doctoral Student. She also works full-time as a teacher.  In this episode we talk about managing energy and identifying priorities on the PhD journey. Brittney talks about the necessity of working in order to fund her doctoral studies and the challenges but also benefits of that situation. She reflects on the moment she realize...

Welcome to Season Seven!!!   We will be back into the usual swing next week but we are starting out with a bit of a special edition on the theme of 'new beginnings' in conversation with my friend and colleague Allan Kilner-Johnson.   In this episode we talk about how to maximise the possibilities of a fresh start at the beginning of the academic year.   For those going into a new phase of their Ph...

It's the last episode of the season!  And it's about to get messy!! Jamie Pei obtained her PhD in Women's Studies from the University of York in 2021 and is now a PhD & life coach. She has a particular interest in helping PhD students to work with the 'messiness' of research , addressing both the unpredictability and uncertainties of research itself, and also the surrounding factors, challenges an...

Dr. Katy Peplin turned her difficulties in graduate school into a coaching business built around the idea that you can be a scholar and a human at the same time .  In this episode Katy talks about the processes that she put in place to support herself and manage her anxiety on her PhD journey. We discuss uncovering the unwritten codes of academia - particularly as a first generation postgrad.   We...

Katie Barclay is Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in the History of Emotions, and Head of Historical and Classical Studies, University of Adelaide. She writes widely in the area of gender, family life and the history of emotions. In this episode we discuss her recently published book Academic Emotions: Feeling the Institution .   We talk about the heightened emotional register of ac...

Anna Clemens is an academic writing coach with a background in Chemistry and a experience as a science journalist.   In this episode we talk about developing your work for publication .     We talk about Anna's own difficult PhD experience which led to her requesting a change of supervisor.   We also talk about her love of writing which was developed through her doctoral journey.   Anna shares adv...

Is abeau Iqbal focuses on working with "ambitious perfectionists" and in this week's episode she helps us unpick perfectionism and understand the elements which may be at play.   We talk about 'analysis paralysis' and the experience of stuckness.   Iabeau points out the positive elements of the perfectionist mindset and suggests ways to identify and build on your strengths.   Finally, Isabeau shar...

Selina Busby is a Principal Lecturer in Applied Theatre at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.  Her research and practice focus on theatre that invites the possibility of change, both in contemporary plays and in participatory performance. She has published widely in the field and is a co-editor of Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre .    In this episode we talk about...

Ana Pineda is a scientist and a certified yoga instructor.   Those two passions are combined in her mindful approach to academic life; developed with more than 15 years of research experience at top European Institutions, such as Wageningen University and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology.    In today's episode, Ana shares how she started applying her learning around calming the mind that she g...