GradCast

#GradLife VIII: I've Got Another Meeting To Go To

After another month in isolation, Monica, Viki, and Gavin are back with Co-Hosts Greg and Nikol to talk about their experiences with COVID-19. The hosts discuss their new habits and routines (there's a lot of running involved), their feelings on Instagram challenges, and how their grad studies (and graduations) have been affected by COVID-19 isolation measures. Plus, we discuss "Zoom Gloom", how we feel about being constantly connected, and whether Dalgona coffee is worth the hype.

 

Watch the episode on YouTube by clicking here 

 

Produced by Gregory Robinson

266 | Under Pressure: Sneaking a Peak Inside Rocks

The quest for understanding the Earth’s geologic past has puzzled scientists for decades, slowly advancing based on the shreds of evidence left behind. There are clues everywhere – from fossils and remnant minerals to pollen spores of extinct plants, our planet's history can be preserved the most unlikely of places. In this episode hosts Rhys Paterson and Yousuf Hasan talk to Stephen Pilar, a grad student in the Earth Science department discussing a fairly new area of research. By studying microscopic bubbles within rocks and minerals using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), he is working on developing new ways to uncover valuable information about Earth’s ancient geology and add another piece to puzzle we call home.To find out more from Stephen, follow him on Twitter @stephenpilar or email him at spilar@uwo.ca

Full video available on YouTube

Produced by Ariel Frame

265 | 50 Shades of Tourism

Historical sites such as Chernobyl and Auschwitz hold a dark past, and require respect and remembrance from visiting tourists. In this decade, social media has brought upon a new type of tourism known as dark tourism, where reeducation is needed to explain to tourists why these sites must be respected and not used as social media photo spots. In this episode, hosts Gavin Tolometti and Rhys Paterson talk with MA Public History student Kaitlyn MacDonald about how she is working with the public to provide education about dark tourism in Canada and around the world.

To find out more from Kat follow her on Instagram @HistoricDame, email her kmacd253@uwo.ca,  or check out her website https://historicdame.wordpress.com/about/

Produced by Ariel Frame

264 | Industry, Morals, and Paganism

England - late Victorian era (1870-1910): The industrial revolution is booming (and a little dystopian). Many writers are focused on prescribing moral guidance and christian ideals, but some authors lash back against this, inspired by nature, paganism and art for the sake of art! It is a wild time in the world of literature. In this episode Hosts Nick and Connor interview English lit PhD candidate Jeff Swim, discussing writers like Robert Louis Stevenson, Samuel Butler, Richard Jefferies, and Kenneth Grahame. Together, they delve into some of the literary ideas that defined the time and how those still stay relevant today.

Produced by Laura Muñoz

263 | A Journey Through Spacetime: Interstellar and Star Formation

Mohammad Chamma is a PhD candidate at Western’s Physics and Astronomy Department. He was interviewed by cohosts Yousuf Hasan and Gavin Tolometti about his research on early star formation. Mohammed explains how studying these early processes help us gain insight about how the stars will develop. His research can also help us know more about the galaxies that are constituted by certain types of stars. And finally, Mohammed tells us what he thinks about Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar movie and how accurate it is. To find out more about Mohammed, follow him on Twitter @hmsmohammed

Produced by Ariel Frame

262 | Web 2.0 for Tykes: Health Apps for Digital Youth

Danica Facca always thought that she would go to law school after finishing her undergraduate and master's degrees in English, so how did she end up doing her PhD studies in Health and Information Sciences? It just goes to show that you never know where grad school will take you! Your hosts Yimin Chen and Ariel Frame get a lesson in digital literacy and learn about how kids and preteens are searching for and interacting with health information online.

 

For more information about Danica's work, go to: https://www.fims.uwo.ca/people/profiles/danica_facca.html

To participate in the iParenting study, go to: https://www.facebook.com/IParentingStudy

Produced by Connor Chato

#GradLife at Home VII: Social Distancing and Productivity During COVID-19

In this episode, Monica, Viki, and Gavin digitally discuss what it’s like being a grad student during the COVID19 pandemic. They discuss how their research has been affected, how they’re feeling personally, and how other graduate students are feeling during this time. Remember, if you have a conference or other presentation cancelled because of COVID19, write it on your CV. And PLEASE, stay home (if you can) and wash your hands!

To learn how to cite a cancelled conference on your CV, click here

Fully YouTube video available here

Produced by Gregory Robinson

261 | Creating Geo-Maps: Reducing Damages from Earthquakes

Christopher Boucher, who is doing an MSc. in Geophysics at Western, elaborated on his research on building maps meant to help reduce damages from earthquakes. He was co-interviewed by Nicholas Hadfield-Jones and Yousuf Hasan. Chris is especially focusing on mapping specific areas of Vancouver that are need of geological clarity in terms of us understanding what areas are more hazardous in case of an earthquake. His focus uses non-invasive tools to study and model these grounds. His research has other broader benefits as well. 

Produced by Gavin Tolometti

260 | Quest for Truth: God, Time, and the Problem of Evil

Tyler Journeaux, an MA candidate at Western's Philosophy Department, shares his journey for truth and how his search for God led him to pursue research in the philosophy of time, science, and mathematics. Cohosts Connor Chato and Yousuf Hasan asked him questions about philosophy and theology. Tyler expressed his preferred argument for theism: an argument from contingency especially as discussed by Copleston and Bertrand Russell in their BBC Broadcast in 1948. He also explained why he was interested in the philosophy of time in particular. And finally, Tyler provided a response to a challenging problem for theism: the problem of evil, according to which the presence of apparently gratuitous evil makes the existence of an all-good,all-knowing, and all-powerful God unlikely. For more on what Tyler thinks on topics of philosophy and theology, please visit his blog: https://tylerjourneauxgraham.wordpress.com
(Correction by Tyler on a comment he made in the podcast: the definition of omniscience should have been: “for any true proposition P, God knows P, and for any false proposition Q, God does not believe Q.”)

For more about Tyler, check out his blog.

Produced by Ariel Frame

259 | Yeah Mr. White! Yeah Science!

In this episode, hosts Gavin Tolometti and Gregory Robinson interview MSc student, Trent Gordon, in biomedical engineer about his research using slow dissolving polymer gels to treat osteoarthritis in the knee. Tune in to hear from Mr. Walter White himself. To learn more about Trent Gordon check out his Twitter @Flash_Gordon96 his Linkedin or the Gillies Research Group

Produced by Greg Robinson, Edited by Ariel Frame