do whatever

Burcu, Mirna, and Ardiana kick off the episode with travel updates: Mirna returns from Croatia and a stop at the Venice Biennale, while Ardiana reflects on a yoga retreat in Normandy that pushed her to slow down, cut screen time, and reconnect with single-tasking.

The hosts celebrate a major milestone, after eight months of setbacks, Burcu's lab experiments finally worked, lifting the mood of her entire research group.

The main topic explores just how many roles academics juggle beyond their research titles: graphic designer, teacher, finance manager, statistician, technician, lab manager, and more. They discuss how unprepared most PhD students are for supervision, admin, grant writing, equipment troubleshooting, and workplace politics. 

The conversation turns to communication across cultures, sharing candid stories about direct vs. polished styles, false apologies, and how non-native English speakers often translate politeness conventions literally from their own languages.

The hosts also reflect on the unexpected skills they've gained: Mirna learned to ask for help; Ardiana developed patience and cross-cultural communication; and all three found ways to bring creativity into their science, through storytelling, figure design, project writing, and experiment design.

They close with what they would be if not scientists, the blurry line between work and personal life in academia, and what they genuinely love about their work.

After nearly a year of silence, Burcu, Mirna, and Ardiana are finally back. In this long-overdue catch-up episode, the trio reunites online for the first time to talk about why it took so long, what perfectionism costs you, and why "not being ready" might actually be the most honest place to start.

They share what's changed since they last recorded: a move to London, a commute that's turning Mirna into a pissed-off woman, a hard-won MSCA fellowship, six months of failed experiments finally explained, and a yoga teaching certificate along the way.

They also dig into the gap between PhD and postdoc life, the pressure of publishing, how to choose a lab (what no one tells you), and the question looming over all three of them: have you figured it out?

Spoiler: no one has.

The episode wraps with a round of brutal "Would You Rather" dilemmas - career vs. city, ambition vs. family. Let them know where you land.

Do whatever. Roll with it.