Gradcast

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 sensorimotor simulation during semantic processing, even if they lack conscious, voluntary imagery.     Recorded on October 8, 2024. Produced by Bruno Mesquita. Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

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 interaction, memory, and, importantly, hearing and playing music, influences the way we remember popular music. Check out Libby’s research, composition and performances here! Recorded on September 24, 2024. Produced by Maria Khan Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

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 being a student leader. Recorded on September 10, 2024. Produced by Anthony Cruz. Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

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 love for the cosmos, working to implement new pedagogical methods in the classroom, sustainable curatorial projects and managing the Ecologies in Practice podcast (launching this Fall)! Here are links to the curatorial projects: In the Heart of the Bronze: A Liu Shiming Experience and of many worlds in this world (featured at Western’s artLAB Gallery!)  Recorded on September 17, 2024. Produced by Maria Khan. Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).  

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 would like to learn more or get involved, check out sogs.ca and follow SOGS on Instagram @westernsogs! To get in touch with Cherin, you can contact her by email (president@sogs.ca) or follow her personal Instagram @cherinchung. Recorded on August 27, 2024. Produced by Anthony Cruz. Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

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. Produced by Anthony Cruz. Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

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. Follow Evan on Instagram, @EvanSauve_SOGS! Recorded on August 20, 2024. Produced by Anthony Cruz. Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

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/ (Produced by White Hot).

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 5 at 11 AM on Radio Western. Recorded on August 22, 2024 Produced by Maria Khan Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 be your hearing that causes this. Recorded on August 20, 2024 Produced by Anthony Cruz, Edited by Suzy Lee Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 29 at 11am on Radio Western. Recorded on August 13, 2024 Produced by Scott Walters, Edited by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot Audio clip from Lucky Jim (1957) - British Lion Films

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 White Hot

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/ Produced by White Hot

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 his life and throughout history.    Recorded on July 20, 2024 Produced by Riya Sidhu Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 known as Twitter) @Joel_Welch and on Instagram to @joelwelch. Also, check out his podcast The SciFi Pubcast! Joel at the future birthplace of Captain Kirk in Riverside Iowa. Recorded on July 23, 2024 Produced by Suzy Lee Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 White Hot

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 in hosting similar events! For her PhD research, Tanja is conducting several case studies on so-called instapoets to explore how literature develops and spreads in the 21st century. Listen to learn all about her work.  If this topic interests you, be sure to visit DLC+, Tanja's fantastic open-access research network for literary scholars! Recorded on July 9, 2024. Produced by Anthony Cruz. Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

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)