In today's episode, we interview Dr. Pravina Manoharan, cohost of the Cheeky Academics podcast and Chair of the music department at USM Universiti Sains Malaysia in Malaysia. 

We learn from her what it's like to get a PhD in ethnomusicology, what doing a PhD in a creative field such as music looks like, some misunderstandings people have on what a musician does (hint: it's much more than only performing!), how she balances her research, supervision activities, and chairing her department, and her current work with Avid Education. 

She also gives us an insight in what a day in the life looks like for her, how she shifted hands-on music teaching to an online environment, and gives her best advice for PhD students.

References:

• Dr. Pravina Manoharan's university profile
• The Cheeky Academics podcast 
• Avid Education
• Tamil hiphop playlist 
• Tea picking opera 
• Gamelan instrument