This week on About the Abstract, host Disha Patel sits down with Bailey Vergara to discuss how student journalists use Generative AI and how they navigate the technology’s risks while upholding journalistic values.

This week on About the Abstract, host Disha Patel talks to Assistant Professor Alex Scott about the western male gaze in photojournalism and its implications. The two discuss the importance of racial and gender diversity in the newsroom and how that can affect stylistic diversity.

This week host Jake Mayer talks to PhD candidate Sabena Abdul Raheem about the surge in AI visuals that occurred during the 2025 California Wildfires. The two discuss the awareness that the visuals raised and the complications that followed.

This week host Jake Mayer talks to PhD candidate Md Sazzad Hossain. This episode focuses on concerns journalism educators have about AI usage and what role ethics should play when students start using AI tools.

This week host Jake Mayer talks to SJMC Assistant Professor Alex Scott about how photojournalists are credited in the digital age, concerns about AI-generated media and more.

This week host Jake Mayer talks to SJMC Associate Professor Brett Johnson about rules regulating public comment sessions at town council meetings, the constitutionality of civil codes and more!

This week host Jake Mayer talks to SJMC Assistant Professor Sang Jung Kim about how large language AI models “refuse” certain requests—and why those refusals may not be as neutral as they seem. This episode also delves into broader implications for auditing AI systems and rethinking refusal as a social and communicative act in digital environments.

This week host Jacy West talks to SJMC Associate Professor Jamil Marques about the editorial policies and structural characteristics of Global South-based communication, media, and journalism academic journals. Dr. Marques and the other authors on the article analyzed the balance and tension between seeking international recognition and addressing the needs of local audiences.

This week host Jacy West talks to SJMC Assistant Professor Bingbing Zhang to discuss testing Third-Person Effects on Support for Censorship Among Kenyans.Dr. Zhang and Jacy discuss positivity biases, media literacy, how Kenya's 2022 political climate shaped the way people viewed misinformation and more!

This week host Jacy West talks to SJMC Assistant Professor Bingbing Zhang about how generative AI is reshaping the psychology behind why we turn to it.

The new study from Dr. Zhang reveals that people who feel emotionally attached to GenAI tend to trust it more and use it more often for information.  

Her research shows how our feelings toward AI shape the way we seek knowledge in a rapidly changing digital world.