In this week's episode, hosts Maris Schneider and Mark Ambrogio talk to Jessica Holmes. Jessica is completing a combined MCISc/PhD in Speech-Language Pathology and Health & Rehabilitation Sciences. Her work focuses on how children respond when hearing the sound of their own voice subtly shifted, and what that reveals about speech development.

Jessica explains how altered auditory feedback is used to study children’s speech adjustments, what it's like to work with children in the lab, and what it’s like to balance clinical training with research.

Recorded on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 Produced by Kuljeet Chohan and Victor Lau Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week’s episode, hosts Kelly Wang and Scott Walters interview Sorcha Rountree, a PhD student in Earth Science, about their journey from archaeology to geology and what studying ancient skull shapes can tell us about identity in the past.

Sharing insights from their MA research on cranial modification in Prehispanic Peru, Sorcha explains how geometric morphometric methods help researchers study shape and cultural practices, what their results revealed about identity and social status, and how their interdisciplinary background opened the door to a new path in Earth Science.

Recorded on Tuesday, February 10th, 2026 Produced by Milan Mammen Theme tune "Feelin Good" provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

This week, French studies PhD candidate Kaitlyn Gagnon takes hosts Garth Casbourn and Mark Ambrogio into both the literary and theatrical worlds of mid-nineteenth-century France. Her research focus is the short-lived foray of Émile Zola into writing comic works for the stage. We learn about the various pitfalls and opportunities this work afforded him, and how it fit into the broader picture of his life and career.

Follow the links below to learn more about Kaitlyn's research, and about that of her supervisor, Dr. Geneviève De Viveiros.

https://www.instagram.com/zolaspy?igsh=Y3R4MnJrbnpxbDZh&utm_source=qr

https://www.uwo.ca/french/people/faculty/deviveiros.html

Recorded on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 Produced by Garth Casbourn Theme tune "Feelin Good" provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Garth Casbourn and Bruno Mesquita interview Jessica Lammert, a fifth year PhD student in the Cognitive, Developmental, and Brain Sciences research cluster in Psychology, to talk about her work studying narrative processing and storytelling in children.

Jessica also shares past projects bridging the arts and science to facilitate scientific communication and the importance of open science practices.

Recorded on Tuesday, January 27, 2026 Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Milan Mammen and Kuljeet Chohan interview Emilie Potts, a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering, to talk about what we still don’t fully understand about concussions, brains, and biological sex differences.

Sharing what it's like to bridge engineering and neuroscience, Emilie explains what surprised her most about female vs male brains and the life lessons she took from her PhD.

Recorded on Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Anthony Cruz and Bruno Mesquita interview Shahnaz Shahid Ali, a PhD student in Nursing under the supervision of Dr. Panagiota Tryphonopoulos. Shahnaz's research explore midwives' experiences providing physical and mental health care to women during pregnancy, childbirth, and afterbirth. Tune in to learn how sociocultural factors shape midwifery practice, where gaps exist in screening and referral pathways, and how improved training and structured mental health care systems can lead to better outcomes for mothers and families.

Follow this link to learn more about Shanaz.

Recorded on Tuesday, January 13, 2026 Produced by Milan Mammen Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview Ran Jiang, a PhD candidate in Music Education, in Western's Don Wright Faculty of Music. In her research, Ran explores how certain norms sometimes go unquestioned in music; especially, by non-disabled people. Music-making is sometimes associated with an "ideal" body, such as having above-average dexterity. In her field work, Ran works with secondary school students in China who use computer software and DIY electronics to expand what musical instruments are and who they are for. In their conversation, Ryan, Mark, and Ran also discuss piano music and what it is like at Western's music faculty, as a place for research in music, music-making, and as a community. Ran's supervisor is adam patrick bell, who, in addition to teaching at Western, is also the Canada Research Chair in Music, Inclusion, and Accessibility.

Recorded on Tuesday, January 6, 2026 Produced by Mark Ambrogio and Ryan Baxter Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Anthony Cruz and Milan Mammen interview Evelyn MacKay-Barr, a third year PhD student in Physical/Analytical Chemistry. Evelyn is studying the effects of oxidation on protein structures and dynamics. Though her lab studies small model proteins, their findings have big implications for larger protein therapeutics! Tune in to learn how they use mass spectrometry and other techniques to study protein behaviour.

Evelyn, Anthony, and Milan also discuss finding the right research group for you and the importance of having a supportive research environment. Follow these links to learn more about Evelyn's research and her supervisor, Dr. Lars Konermann, and his research group!

Recorded on Tuesday, December 16, 2025 Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)