Doctoral student in communication studies Shelby Swafford joins Justin to talk about what exactly performance studies is, how our ideas of gender are constructed from an early age, what it's like to be on a stage all alone baring your soul, attacks on reproductive justice, her personal story of abortion and why she shares it, and a little bit of the best HBO has to offer.

Director of the SIU School of Communication Studies, Dr. Sandy Pensoneau-Conway, joins Justin to talk about what a chair or director at a university does, the value of studying pedagogy in and out of the classroom, how we communicate about disabilities, needs and issues among LGBTQ+ youth, as well as a bit of reality TV.

Our soft-launch Episode O has host Justin Young giving a brief overview of the format of future episodes to come. Communication Studies is a podcast bringing the academic study of communication to everyone.