GradCast

272 | Simulating Moon Material

Xiaochen Zhang is a Masters student in geology and planetary science. Xiaochen tells Nick Handfield-Jones and Ariel Frame about her research on artificial lunar regolith and why it is important to ensure it is as similar to true material from the Moon if we want to conduct experiments on Earth, which will facilitate humans inhabiting the Moon in the future. For more about Xiaochen, check out her personal YouTube channel Xiaochen to the Moon or follow her on Twitter @xchanggg and Instagram @xiaochentothemoon. 

Full video available on YouTube

Recorded on June 9, 2020.

This episode was produced by Ariel Frame and edited by Gavin Tolometti

271 | Do rovers make good Geologists?

What's new in space this month? 

What's the deal with SpaceX's Dragon Endeavour spacecraft I've been hearing so much about?

Is there a way for rover spacecraft on Mars to detect rocks of interest without the help of a human?

Should I be worried about artificial intelligence taking over the Earth?

If any of these questions have crossed your mind lately (or not), join hosts Gavin Tolometti and Nikol Posnov as they interview Alexis Pascual about his novel Space-Engineering PhD research and his opinions on popular space news. 

If you want to learn more about Alexis's research and the projects he has been and currently involved in, check out these sites:

- https://cpsx.uwo.ca/canmoon/index.html

- https://space.uwo.ca/research/projects/index.html

Recorded on June 2, 2020. 

This episode was produced by Gavin Tolometti

270 | The Electrical Trees

Join hosts Nikol & Laura to hear about a topic which has rarely been explored in the context of urban environmental history, something which has gone unremarked and is often invisible in our everyday lives: telephone poles and wires. The interviewee, Michael Feagan, explains the use and status of telephone poles within cities, and how they reflected social, economic, and political value of technology in the late nineteenth-century. Michael also highlights the importance of how the poles and wires were physically constructed, and how they interacted with natural elements such as plants and the weather. Give this a listen and we guarantee you will have a completely different view on telephone poles because after all, electrical poles are simultaneously so like trees but yet so different.

To find more about Michael, you can follow on Twitter as @mrfeagan and check his work at Photographing Environmental History

Produced by Laura Muñoz

269 | Mars Exploration, with Ice!

Colonizing Mars has been a dream for planetary scientists for decades, expanding the presence of human kind in our solar system. However, for us to colonize Mars, we need to use resources available on the red planet. In this episode, hosts Gavin Tolometti and Yousuf Hasan chat with PhD candidate Shannon Hibbard from the Institute for Earth and Space Exploration about how we can search for buried ice on Mars and use it for drinking water, breathable air, and rocket fuel! 

To learn more about Shannon and her research, check out her website https://www.shannonmars.com/ or follow her on Twitter @Shann0nMars

 

Produced by Gregory Robinson

 

 

268 | Internal colonialism: The world turned outside-in

Have you ever wondered what it takes to destabilize a culture from the inside? Liam Clifford, current M.A. student in History, discusses his research on cultural genocide and internal colonialism with co-hosts Sarah Klapman and Yousuf Hasan, including the importance of language, the role of the institution, and why Russia and Ireland have a lot in common. Liam shares his knowledge of geopolitics, and draws fascinating connections between cultural marginalization and the destructive colonial structures whose echoes reverberate in the present. 

To find out more about Liam, follow him on Twitter @LNJClifford

Full video available on YouTube

Recorded on May 12, 2020. Produced by Ariel Frame.

267 | What can't we map?

Maps have helped us find our way home and discover new places around the world. When we think of maps, we picture large sheets of paper with an image of all of the continents. Nowadays, with technology advancing and the digital era approaching, maps and mapping have started to become available online, without the need for large tables to set your maps on. Ask yourself, is there a way for you to access maps digitally? Well this is the episode for you! In this episode, hosts Gavin Tolometti and Sarah Klapman talk with part-time MSc student Liz Sutherland, who works in the Map and Data Centre in Western Libraries as their Geographical Information Systems (GIS) specialist. She explains how she fell in love with maps and cartography, discovered the world GIS and how it has made it easier for the public to access data, and how she challenges everyone to find her something she cannot map.

To find out more from Liz follow her on Twitter @cartoliz, or find her in the Map Data Center: https://www.lib.uwo.ca/madgic/index.htm

Produced by: Laura Muñoz Baena

#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