Our 96th episode is our last--at least, for a while. Host Ashby Kinch bids listeners farewell and reminds you of the vital nature of the strange but essential quest to understand the world that is higher education. He invites you to revisit our archive of dozens of compelling conversations--they'll still be here. Thank you for listening to Confluence, where great ideas flow together, and the river is always with us.

In the second installment of "How Climate Changes Me," Madalynn Madigar, graduate of the master's program in Ecocriticism, shares about her work. She presented at UM's 2023 Eco-Melancholia conference about petromodernity and apocalyptic narratives. This episode intersperses highlights from her talk with a conversation between Madalynn and Confluence producer, Amelia Liberatore.

This episode is the start of a mini-series "How Climate Changes Me," partly inspired by a University of Montana "Eco-Melancholia" conference held earlier this year. Our guest, Richard Forbes, is a graduate of the Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism master's program at UM. He dives into the relationship between his school work, his life's work, and how he deals with the challenges that bridge the two.

Photo Credit: richardhforbes.com

On this episode, we revisit GradCon 2023 and an enlightening panel on grad student resilience. Six students reflect on their graduate journeys and specifically chime in on navigating challenges in their programs, their networks of support, structural barriers they've encountered, and approaches to self-care.

Dr. Annie Belcourt, professor in the Public and Community Health Science department and chair of Native American Studies, returns to Confluence to round out our coverage of the M-HOPES grant: Mental Health Opportunities for Professional Empowerment in STEM. Annie hits home the importance of trauma-informed approaches, reframing thoughts, and cultural context. And she brings with her a great sense of humor.

Psychology professor Bryan Cochran returns to Confluence to pick up our series on the faculty educational program, M-HOPES: Mental Health Opportunities for Professional Empowerment in STEM. Listen back to episode 90 to get the lay of the land. And then tune in here for specifics about what kinds of mental health struggles grad students are experiencing and who is most likely to be impacted, as well as tips for faculty on how to validate and guide those students.

Licensed clinical psychologist Holly Schleicher kicks off Confluence's newest series on graduate student mental health, but with a twist! Holly, along with Annie Belcourt and Bryan Cochran, offered a three-part educational series for UM faculty through a grant called the Mental Health Opportunities for Professional Empowerment in STEM, or M-HOPES. In this episode, hear real clips from the trainings, including a mock conversation between a professor and student, as well as a sit-down interview with Holly about what this training involves and her biggest take-aways. Learn more about the training here, then register for the asynchronous model and complete it on your own time.

Episode 89 rounds out Confluence’s series on the Willow Alliance, in conversation with Dr. Ruth Plenty Sweetgrass-She Kills, who leads the project. She talks about her time as a student in academia and how that guides the work she does now, exploring how Indigenous scholarship and knowledge can best interact with Western educational institutions.

In episode 88, Clinical Psychology Ph.D. candidate Phoebe Bean continues Confluence's spotlight on mental and behavioral health programs. Hear about Phoebe's uniquely interdisciplinary approach to her work, how she incorporated climate change, and her vision of resilient communities.

Episode 87 launches Confluence into a short series focusing on the mental and behavioral health programs at UM that serve key stakeholders in the community, the state and the region. School Psychology Ph.D. candidate Jenny Rotzal kicks things off, highlighting the importance of mental health support in schools in rural settings and her research on how COVID-19 has impacted both that need and related offerings.