Burn Your Draft

Burn Your Draft

By Burn Your DraftEducation
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Burn Your Draft episodes

  • Summer 2021 Announcement
    Burn Your Draft is taking a break for the summer and will be back in fall 2021 with our new student producer and host, Amelie Andreas '24. We'll have a bunch of interviews with '21 grads to share, as well as a couple more from the class of 2020. We want to give huge thanks to our outgoing producer, Frank Tangherlini '22. We could not have done any of this without you Frank!
    2 min
  • #18: Tiny Machines with Kate Stoll '04, Biochem and Molecular Biology
    Kate Stoll '04 reflects on her thesis work on ScaR proteins with Arthur Glasfeld, Margret Geselbracht Professor of Chemistry, and her fascination with proteins, the "tiny machines that do all the work in your body." This was Frank's first interview for the podcast and took place in-person in January 2020. Kate's thesis title: "The DNA and metal ion specificity of ScaR, the Streptococcal cell adhesion protein regulator of 'S. gordonii.'"
    23 min
  • #17: The Dizzying Math behind Spin Chains with Nate MacFadden '19, Math/Physics
    Join Seth Paskin '90 as he interviews interdisciplinary Math/Physics graduate Nate MacFadden in Fall 2019 on his research into just how predictable quantum phenomena like spin chains really are. Don't worry if that's already got your head spinning, because this episode's packed with a lot more than just math: from the hard and soft skills of thesising, to why your high school job might matter more than you think.
    16 min
  • #16: "Alexa, Who Are You?" with Libby O'Neil '19, MALS
    Frank interviewed a recent MALS grad, Libby O'Neil '19, about her master's thesis, "'A Voice and Nothing More': Technological Embodiment and the Artificial Female Voice." Libby is a graduate of Reed's only graduate degree program, the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, often referred to as the MALS degree. Libby used Amazon's Alexa voice assistant as a primary text for part of her thesis, and used Alexa, in part, to examine some ways we use technology in our daily lives.
    Reed's MALS program: https://www.reed.edu/MALS/
    Reed community members can read Libby's thesis online in the Electronic Theses Archive: https://rdc.reed.edu/i/9dc51a44-8ac0-41ef-9776-833d1e09943c
    25 min
  • #15: Queer Intimacy in Media with Saga Darnell '20, Theatre/Dance
    Frank and Saga discuss Saga's thesis, "Our Beds Are Islands: Creating Queer Intimacy Through Physical Theatre In The Age Of Streaming Media", which included a theatre performance in the fall.
    If you'd like to hear more from Saga, check out this TEDx event from January 2020 (referenced on the podcast): https://www.ted.com/talks/robbin_derry_and_saga_darnell_understanding_non_binary_excerpts_from_a_correspondence
    Reed community members can read Saga's thesis online in the Electronic Theses Archive: https://rdc.reed.edu/i/e9c32ac5-bb19-4998-8b30-7a98c6fc3fa4
    33 min
  • #14: Wholesale Electricity Markets with Mitzi Zitler '19, Economics
    Seth Paskin '90 interviewed Mitzi Zitler '19 back in fall of 2019 about her thesis work investigating the wholesale electricity market in Oregon, and some of its interactions with California markets. Mitzi's thesis title: "Econometric analysis of real-time wholesale electricity prices at major west coast trading hubs".
    19 min
  • #13: Families in Photography Books with Duncan King '20, Art
    Frank and Duncan talk about his thesis, "Beyond the Photo Album: Families in Photography Books," and Duncan explains why photo books are his favorite way to display photography. He also talks a bit about how the pandemic did, and didn't, affect his thesis, along with how his current role working in the Reed Admission Office is informed by his experience in writing a thesis.
    Reed community members can read Duncan's thesis online in the Electronic Theses Archive: https://rdc.reed.edu/i/189ef975-5cb2-425e-a377-51f3fe283434
    29 min
  • #12: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes with Gerry Peña-Martinez '20, Art/Economics
    Gerry wrote a thesis which focuses on 20th century cigarette advertisements, and the relationship which those advertisements mediated between cigarettes and the people who smoke them. Follow along with Gerry's experience writing this thesis for an ad hoc interdisciplinary major.
    Reed community members can read Gerry's thesis online in the Electronic Theses Archive: https://rdc.reed.edu/i/f0af5aa1-fd3d-4d6e-856a-79279df06bda
    27 min
  • #11: Microfinance in Mexico with Alyse Cronk '20, Economics
    Alyse entered Reed with an interest in microfinance and connections in Mexico, so spending a year examining microloans and their outcomes for people in Mexico made sense for her. Listen to Alyse as she talks about the thesis she wrote as part of her bachelor's degree in Economics.
    Reed community members can read Alyse's thesis online in the Electronic Theses Archive: https://rdc.reed.edu/i/3a1e5820-b5cc-4d57-a9b3-f1e793a6d89b
    25 min
  • #10: The Politics of Pat Robertson with Lewis Chapman '19, Political Science
    Lewis had a secular upbringing, but was fascinated by Fundamentalist Christianity in the U.S. from a young age. His political science department thesis gave him the opportunity to research Fundamentalism by examining the politics of Pat Robertson. Lewis spent a year and a half visiting churches and interviewing Fundamentalists, and also took an unplanned dive into social theory to find a working definition of "fundamentalist" in order to support his thesis.
    26 min

About Burn Your Draft

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“Burn Your Draft” is a podcast exploring the year-long senior thesis experience at Reed College, an independent liberal arts and sciences college in Portland, Oregon. Each episode showcases a senior…