Challenge. Change.

Rachel Christ-Doane ’17 didn’t know much about Salem or witchcraft until she landed an internship with the Salem Witch Museum as a sophomore at Clark. Now, she’s the museum’s education director, and her research has led the museum to update content in its exhibits. Christ-Doane tells us about her recent discovery of a “treasure trove” of information about the youngest victim of the trials, 4-year-old Dorothy Good.

“She's accused, she's arrested, she's in jail for about seven or eight months, and her mother is executed during the trials. When this child is released, she's so traumatized that she is never able to really recover,” Christ-Doane says. “She's been my primary focus this year, and her story is staying with me because it's just so awful. It speaks to witchcraft history, but more broadly, the fate of women in colonial society.”

Christ-Doane suggests the book “A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience” by Emerson Baker to anyone who wants to learn more. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Clark geography Professor Florencia Sangermano has spent the last few years strapping audio recorders onto trees in forests across Central Massachusetts, recording everything from chirping birds to traffic to rainfall. She’s monitoring the soundscapes of these areas to gauge the health of the ecosystem and determine the impact that humans and climate change are having on it. On this episode of Challenge. Change., Sangermano explains this research, which was recently published in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning.

“I found that forest areas with higher connectivity and high vegetation productivity have more sounds from animals and also more frequencies that come from animal sources. In this case, the majority of sounds are from birds,” Sangermano says. “On the other hand, the areas with more lights or traffic, or more human edges — for example, near backyards or agriculture —presented lower sounds from animals. The main takeaway is that, through the sounds, we can evaluate the impact of humans on biodiversity.” 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Larry Webman ’92 shares a glimpse into his life in the music industry. As a senior vice president at Wasserman Music in New York, Webman represents some of the biggest names in music, such as Coldplay, Sara Bareilles, MGMT, Bastille, the Dropkick Murphys, and more. Webman got his start on the Clark campus, haggling with bands as head of the Pub Entertainment Committee. He worked the phones and lured acts like Phish and Dread Zeppelin to Worcester.

“I got the hang of how to deal with agents and how to negotiate deals for bands to come play,” he says. “It was never any long-term plan, but one thing led to another, and success happened over time. At this point, with an established client roster, I have to love the music first.” Webman suggests Michigander and Georgia Harmer to anyone looking for new music.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe to Challenge. Change. on Apple and Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Clark University's Associate Director of Gender and Sexuality, E. Tejada III, talks with us about their work supporting trans and gender-diverse students in higher ed. Tejada recently joined Clark's Office of Identity, Student Engagement, and Access (ISEA) and has begun creating new systems of support to help students safely explore their identities and sexualities. "Our queer and trans stories don't all center around trauma. They can be rooted in joy and resilience and perseverance,” Tejada says.

October is LGBTQIA+ history month. Check Clark's LGBTQIA+ resources site for special programing, links to affinity groups, related courses, and more.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe to Challenge. Change. on Apple and Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Today, Clark University psychology professor Wendy Grolnick is on campus. Tomorrow, she could be anywhere across the nation. Grolnick joins us to offer a glimpse into her work in disaster response. Since 2007, Grolnick has volunteered with the American Red Cross, using her clinical skills to help people recover and cope following tragic events. She has been dispatched to local fires and drownings as well as national disasters, including the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. 

Grolnick has discovered her expertise as a parenting researcher is an asset during times of chaos. “In the aftermath of a disaster, having consistent routines again becomes really important … You want to help kids feel less helpless.”

Grolnick recommends the book “Between Parent and Child” by Haim Ginott for anyone who wants advice about successful parenting. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Ousmane Power-Greene, professor of history and program director of Africana Studies at Clark, joins us to talk about his new historical fiction novel “The Confessions of Matthew Strong.” A story of race and redemption, the book follows Allie Douglass as she is kidnapped by a white supremacist.

Power-Greene tells us about the inspiration for this novel and how he’d like Allie’s character to live on after readers put down the book. “The Confessions of Matthew Strong,” published by Other Press/Random House, will be available next month.

Current students and alumni can hear more from Power-Green and fellow Clark faculty during a roundtable event at noon on Wednesday Nov. 2. Attend in-person at Dana Commons on campus or via Zoom.

Some people feel an unusual tingle in their brain after watching someone whisper in a YouTube video. Hugh Manon, professor of screen studies and chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, and Shuo Niu, professor of computer science, dig into the social media phenomenon that is ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response.

ASMR videos have racked up millions of views, and rank among the top five YouTube searches globally and in the U.S. Most often, creators record themselves whispering into a microphone or using motifs of touching and tasting to create an intimate online experience. Manon and Niu have studied thousands of ASMR videos for a co-authored paper examining the trend as they try to better understand the culture and community.

“ASMRtists can't reach through the screen and tickle you with a feather, but they can reach through the microphone and tickle you with a whisper by virtue of the fact that everything's being amplified. That’s something I think is really underappreciated,” Manon says.

These videos are more than just entertainment for some viewers. Researchers are finding that the calm and quiet of AMSR can help ease anxiety.

“We do see a lot of videos created for people with insomnia or sleeping issues,” Niu says. “And I do see comments that say, ‘Hey, this helped me fall asleep.’”

Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Ben Wolff ’23 loves working with children and discovering the importance play has on development. But do their TV-watching habits influence how they play? Wolff shares with us how he’s exploring this avenue in his research project. The psychology major is looking for links between the shows kids watch on television and what happens when they play.

To learn more about internships, check out Clark’s Career Connections Center. 

Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Clark University's Dean of Students Kamala Kiem talks to us about what it means to find success and identity during college. Kiem recalls lessons learned during her time at the former Middle Georgia College and Florida International University, including a “life-changing” decision to end her time as a student-athlete to become a resident assistant.

“I'm living a life where I have no regrets in those decisions because I've learned from and appreciated all of the positives and growth,” she says. “I was able to capitalize on making sure that I fulfill what I believe is my purpose.”

Kiem says that while there are objective measurements of student success, she works from a more holistic lens. 

“I want to pay attention to the love and joy and satisfaction piece of their experience,” she says. “Students are resilient. They will overcome, and they will persevere, but do they love the experience?”

Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Challenge. Change. is taking a brief break. We'll be back for season two come the week of Aug. 22. This fall, expect to hear episodes about the ASMR, a discussion from two Clark leaders about exploring the nuances of friendship in higher education, documenting January 6th, and political analysis as we get closer to the midterms.

Have a suggestion for the podcast? Email producers Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson at Clark with your show ideas and feedback.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or whenever you listen.