In this episode, Monica, Jessica, and Danica reflect on the process of collaborating on the production of this podcast. Our conversation took a number of interesting and unexpected turns, but we return to the iterative and reflexive character of critical narrative research and we explore various ideas, including: the process, labour, and rewards involved in doing and supervising qualitative research; reframing progress and failure in academic labour; the precarity and privilege of being a graduate student in contemporary institutional settings ; the dissertation as a gift; and cultivating relations of care in teaching and mentorship.