Gradcast

This week, hosts Carly Charron and Ryan Baxter speak with Hunter Pharazyn, an occupational therapy student. They discuss the goals of occupational therapy and the unique program offered here at Western. Hunter also describes what led him to this area of work, and what he hopes to pursue in the future.  Recorded on February 20, 2024 Produced by Jordan VanderBurgt Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

This week, GradCast hosts Amalie Hutchinson and Apurva Desai are joined by two guests: Varsha Vasudevan and Mani Ahluwalia, both studying topics in Health Promotion. We chat about holistic health, how graduate students experience resilience, and what mindfulness can do for many aspects of success in university.  Recorded on February 13, 2024 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

For this special #GraduatedLife episode, Meghan Voll and Garth Casbourn are joined by MLIS alumnus Matt Skidmore. Matt tells how his grad degree at Western helped him get his current job as a librarian in Mississauga, and how the things he learned during the degree and on-the-job experience prepared him for what he does now.  Recorded on February 8, 2024 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

Today's episode is a merger of two of our beloved mini-series #JarringQuestions and #GradLife. Join co-hosts Meghan Voll, Mark Ambrogio, and Suzy Lee in this mashup as they talk all about extracurriculars, places (and time periods) they'd love to travel to, and the eternal debate: cats or dogs? Recorded on February 6, 2024 Produced by Suzy Lee Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

Another installment of #JarringQuestions, where you get to learn more about three of our GradCast members as we answer an interesting range of questions pulled from a jar (paper ruffling noises included). This week, Carly Charron, Anthony Cruz, and Jordan VanderBurgt have some hot takes on morning vs. night people, appetizers vs. desserts, people who talk on speaker phone in public, and so much more.  Recorded on January 23, 2024 Produced by Jordan VanderBurgt Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

This week, join hosts Mark Ambrogio and Meghan Voll as they interview Luigi De Angelis Soriano about his recent dissertation exploring the Hebrew book of Ruth and the concept of Hesed, "a Hebrew term that is often translated as loving kindness and connotes loyalty, love, and extraordinary commitment", in the context of Spanish plays, European art, and Latin American poetry. We hear about the interesting story of Ruth, its importance to both Hebrew and Christian traditions, and how it has influenced artistic expression in various forms.  Recorded on January 23, 2024 Produced by Scott Walters Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot This episode features the first Sonnet of Ruth by Gabriela Mistral: Poetry recitation in the original Spanish is read by Luigi De Angelis Soriano The recitation of the English translation is read by Scott Walters

In our first episode of 2024, Amalie Hutchinson and Meghan Voll interview Jacob Evoy, a PhD student in the Women’s Studies program at Western University. Jacob tells us about their oral history research investigating the stories of queer children of Holocaust survivors. Jacob talks to us about what queer experience is, the effects of the Holocaust on these individuals, and how narrative is constructed. Recorded on January 16, 2024 Produced by Maria Khan Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

One of GradCast's own, host Ryan Baxter, is interviewed about his studies as a doctoral student in the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the Don Wright Faculty of Music. Ryan chats with us about his program, the balance between research and musical practice, and performing both on campus and in the community. We also discuss Ryan’s diverse passions, including education, distance learning, and truth and reconciliation with the Memegwaanh Indigenous Learning Honour program here at Western. Join hosts Mark Ambrogio and Amalie Hutchinson for this week’s special and insightful episode. UWO Faculty of Music Events Memegwaanh: Indigenous Learning Honour Recorded on December 12, 2023 Produced by Scott Walters Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot Intro and episode feature music by Bach, and the outro features music by Kapustin; performed by Ryan Baxter.

This week hosts Carly Charron and Anum Anjum speak to one of our GradCast members Anthony Cruz about his PhD work in psychology. Anthony studies the cognitive process of categorization, where we break down information perceived from the environment into smaller components to understand and group them. Tune in to hear some bonus discussions on qualifying exams, clothing for cats, and Anthony's experience as an international student in Canada.  To learn more about Anthony and his work you can check out his website linked here. Recorded on December 5, 2023 Produced by Jordan VanderBurgt Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

In our last episode from the special miniseries "The Scoop on SOGS", GradCast host Mark Ambrogio speaks with two other SOGS councilors, Kayla Davies and Evan Sauve. They chat about how council functions for SOGS, how they found their way to their roles and what they enjoy most about them.  To learn more about SOGS council, visit their webpage https://sogs.ca/council/ To follow Kayla's academic journey, you can find her on LinkedIn, and to follow some cool economic tweets, follow Evan on Twitter/X @econ_ev Recorded on November 29, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

This week, Meghan Voll and brand-new host Garth Casbourn interview one of our very own producers, Suzy Lee. Suzy shares her experiences in the master of library and information science (MLIS) degree program. The conversation delves into Suzy's co-op placement with the user experience and assessment librarians at Western Libraries. Recorded on November 28, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

On this week's episode, GradCast hosts Anthony Cruz and Carly Charron are joined by Celeste Laube, who talks about her experiences so far in the one-year Master of Media in Journalism and Communication (MMJC) program. Tune into this week's episode for discussions about the projects she's currently working on, her grad experience at Western, and her plans for the rest of the program. Follow Celeste's journey on her LinkedIn page. Recorded on November 21, 2023 Produced by Suzy Lee Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.  

This week GradCast hosts Meghan Voll and Mark Ambrogio are once again joined by Alex Mayhew, a Library and Information Science instructor and PhD candidate. As a man of many interests, Alex briefly describes his thesis - the creation of a new cataloguing system called Phylomemetics - before delving into the future of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it's going to interact with society. Tune in this week for discussion of TV Tropes, scary phone calls, and why we should treat AI proactively like we do climate change. Click here to listen to Alex's previous episode! Recorded on November 14, 2023 Produced by Suzy Lee Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

In this special mini field-trip episode, managing editor Amalie Hutchinson travels to the Canadian Council of University Biology Chairs (CCUBC) annual conference in Banff Alberta to receive their Science Promotion Award and give a talk about what GradCast does. She also interviews some of the chairs about what graduate students are doing in their own universities to create connectivity and community.  Recorded on November 3, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

This is Sparta…and it’s not at all abs and Gerard Butler. In this episode, Meghan Voll and Mark Ambrogio interview Stephanie Dennie, PhD student and instructor at Western’s department of Classical Studies. Stephanie debunks common misunderstandings about Sparta, and discusses her research examining the lyrical poem Eunomia, and obstacles to finding resources depicting authentic accounts of the Greek city-state. See Stephanie’s faculty page if you'd like to get into contact with her. Recorded on November 7, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

We are back with our final episode of The Scoop on SOGS miniseries! Amalie Hutchinson chats with VP student services Kesavi Kanagasabai about her role on SOGS, how she balances a very busy schedule, her proudest moments as a student leader, how to deal with large problems, and more.  Recorded on October 30, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.  

This week, hosts Carly Charron and Anthony Cruz sit down with Alec Mullender, a Library and Information Science PhD student and a part-time library assistant at Weldon Library. Alec teaches us all about the harm that library cataloguing systems can cause, as well as the challenges that come with trying to organize knowledge in a comprehensive way. Recorded on October 31, 2023 Produced by Suzy Lee Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

In this episode, we delve deep into the world of social work and psychotherapy with our guest, Bansi Javiya, a dedicated student pursuing her Masters of Social Work (MSW) at King's College. We embark on an exploration of Bansi's academic and experiential journey, shedding light on her coursework in the master's program and her current role as a student therapist in a real-world placement. Bansi's insights reveal the intersection of psychology and social work, compare the dynamic worlds of non-profit organizations and private practice, and discuss the profound impact that social workers and psychotherapists have on the lives of individuals and communities. Tune in to this episode to learn more about social work and the passion that individuals like Bansi bring to the field. Below are the social media and other contacts for Bansi: Instagram:  bansi___ Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/bansijaviya Email: bjaviya@uwo.ca --------------------------------------------------- Recorded on October 24, 2023 Produced by Scot

This week, hosts Meghan Voll and Mark Ambrogio interview Ameena Abid, our first guest from King’s College’s Master of Social Work program. Ameena tells us about her research on Second-Generation Immigrants and the identity conflicts these individuals feel existing “between” cultures. Framing the longing and pain of wanting to belong in the context of nostalgia, we delve into deep discussions about the nature of identity, and the core ideas about Canadian culture. Learn more about Ameena’s research through her LinkedIn and email at aabid22@uwo.ca Recorded on October 17, 2023 Produced by Suzy Lee Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

This week, Amalie Hutchinson and Mark Ambrogio sit down with PhD candidate Pascal Michelberger. Studying comparative literature, Pascal tells us about his research into recently published fictional accounts of Nazi trials in West Germany during the 50s and 60s. We chat about transitional justice, how complex legal themes are translated into fiction, and what they teach us about the past and present.  Recorded on October 10, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.