The Academic Life

By Christina GesslerBusiness Education Arts Books Careers

The Academic Life episodes

November 08, 2022Making the Most of Academic Conferences: Insights and Tips from Dr. Thomas Tobin
You’re going to an academic conference—and maybe even presenting a project! Whether you are going virtually or in person, for the first time or the tenth, presenting or just attending, you want to feel prepared. Are you? This podcast episode explores:
Why we need to go to academic conferences.
Why it can be difficult to navigate them.
How can you get the most of out of it.
Our guest is: Dr. Thomas J. Tobin, who is a founding member of the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is an internationally recognized speaker and author on quality in technology-enhanced education. His latest book is Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers, written with Katie Linder and Kevin Kelly, from Stylus Publishing. You can find him on Twitter @ThomasJTobin and at his website, Thomasjtobin.com.
Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender and an introvert, who has presented in dozens of academic conference, and like many of our listeners, she is still learning how to make the most of an academic conference.
Listeners to this episode may also be interested in:
The Chronicle of Higher Ed article “How to Make the Most Out of An Academic Conference”
The Chronicle of Higher Ed article “How to Make the Most of a Virtual Conference”
The Chronicle of Higher Ed article “How To Cope With Presentation Anxiety”
This article on The Introverts’ Guide to Speaking Up
Quiet: The Power of Introverts, by Susan Cain
The Craft of Research, by Wayne Booth et al
The Research Companion, by Petra Boynton
The Art of Creative Research, by Philip Gerald

Welcome to The Academic Life! We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish a project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. On the Academic Life channel we embrace a broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN.
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

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45 min
November 03, 2022Night of the Living Rez
How does identity and experience inform your writing? This episode explores:
Professor Talty’s journey from community college student to college professor.
The importance of supportive mentors and professors.
Using identity and experience ethically in fiction and nonfiction.
Why finding the right form for your story matters.
A discussion of the book Night of the Living Rez.
Our guest is: Professor Morgan Talty, who is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation where he grew up. He is the author of the story collection Night of the Living Rez from Tin House Books, and his work has appeared in Granta, The Georgia Review, Shenandoah, TriQuarterly, Narrative Magazine, LitHub, and elsewhere. A winner of the 2021 Narrative Prize, Talty’s work has been supported by the Elizabeth George Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts (2022). Talty is an Assistant Professor of English in Creative Writing and Native American and contemporary Literature at the University of Maine, Orono, and he is on the faculty at the Stonecoast MFA in creative writing as well as the Institute of American Indian Arts. Professor Talty is also a Prose Editor at The Massachusetts Review. He lives in Levant, Maine.
Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender.
Listeners to this episode may also be interested in:
A Calm and Normal Heart by Chelsea T. Hicks
The Removed by Brandon Hobson
There There by Tommy Orange
Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot
The Lesser Blessed by Richard Van Camp

Welcome to The Academic Life! We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN.
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
45 min
October 27, 2022Scholar Skills: Managing and Re-Envisioning the Academic Mid-Career
Ever felt uncertain about how to manage the academic mid-career stage? This episode explores:
Why the mid-career stage is so important to mid-career faculty.
Strategies for taking control of your mid-career advancement plans.
Equity issues surrounding women, academic mothers, and faculty of color.
The importance of the department chair for mid-career faculty.
Being strategic about your mentoring needs in mid-career.
Two critical considerations for mid-career faculty developing programs.
Our guest is: Dr. Vicki L Baker, author of Managing Your Academic Career: A Guide to Re-Envision Mid-Career (Routledge). Vicki is the E. Maynard Aris Endowed Professor in Economics and Management at Albion College and serves as the Faculty Director of the Albion College Community Collaborative (AC3), Co-Chair of the Economics & Management Department, and instructor for Penn State University’s World Campus. Prior to joining the academy as a faculty member, Vicki worked at Harvard Business School (Executive Education) and AK Steel Corporation. Vicki is the author of 90 peer-reviewed articles, chapters, invited works, and several books. Recognized as a “Top 100 Visionary” in Education by the Global Forum for Education and Learning (20-21), Vicki is at the forefront of innovation and strategy in faculty and leadership development; her goal is to help faculty members and colleges and universities thrive. She earned her PhD (Higher Education) and MS (Management & Organization) from Penn State University, MBA from Clarion University and BS from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Vicki also holds a certificate in Human Resource Management from Villanova University and is a certified professional in HR from the Society for Human Resource Management.
Our host is: Dr. Dana M. Malone, co-producer and co-host of The Academic Life channel. Dana is energized by facilitating meaningful conversations and educational experiences for folks across the academy and beyond. Dana is the author of From Single to Serious: Relationships, Gender, and Sexuality on American Evangelical Campuses, (Rutgers UP).
Listeners to this episode may also be interested in:
New Directions in Higher Education volume, Bridging the Research-Practice Nexus: Resources, Tools, and Strategies to Navigate Mid-Career in the Academy. Edited by Vick L. Baker and Aimee LaPointe Terosky.
The Evolving Faculty Affairs Landscape - a compilation of publications from Inside HigherEd focused on faculty (several focused at mid-career).
This Academic Life channel conversation with Vicki Baker on navigating mid-career choices as a faculty member.
This Academic Life channel conversation with Laura Gail Lunsford on how to create a mentor network.
How to Chair a Department by Kevin Dettmar (Johns Hopkins).
Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal by Rebecca Pope-Ruark (Johns Hopkins).
Welcome to The Academic Life! You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN.
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1 hr
October 20, 2022Far From Home: A Conversation About Academic Relocation with Clare Griffin
Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about:
What inspired Clare Griffin to move far from home.
The hidden curriculum of academic relocation.
Her research concerns given world tensions and wars.
The complexity of taking your pet from country to country.
The importance of creating a community.
Our guest is: Dr. Clare Griffin, a neuroatypical historian, fiction writer, and mental health advocate who is an assistant professor in the department of history at Indiana University Bloomington. Originally from the UK, her work has taken her to Russia, Germany, and Kazakhstan. Her research focuses on science, medicine, and expertise in the early modern Russian Empire, in particular how those processes intersected with colonialism and globalization. Alongside her academic work, she also publishes fiction and advocacy pieces focused on her experiences of neurodiversity and mental illness. Her new book is Mixing Medicines: The Global Drug Trade and Early Modern Russia.
Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the co-producer of the Academic Life.
Listeners to this episode may also be interested in:
The Eternal Dislocation of Academic Living
Manu Sander’s blog post on academic relocations
Academic Nomad
The Long Road to A Dream Job

You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN.
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1 hr 2 min
October 13, 2022The Fight to Save the Town
Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about:
Why we need to write about difficult topics.
Four American towns trying to save themselves.
The structural processes behind poverty.
A discussion of the book The Fight to Save the Town.
Today’s book is: The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America (Avid Reader, 2022), by Michele Wilde Anderson, which examines how decades of cuts to local government amidst rising concentrations of poverty have wreaked havoc on communities left behind by the modern economy. These discarded places include big cities, small cities, rural areas, and historic suburbs. Some are diverse communities, while others are nearly all white, all Latino, or all Black. All are routinely trashed by the media for their poverty and their politics, ignoring how our smallest governments shape people’s safety, comfort, and life chances. For decades, these governments haven’t just reflected inequality—they have helped drive it. But Anderson argues that a new generation of local leaders are figuring out how to turn poverty traps back into gateway cities.
Our guest is: Michelle Wilde Anderson, a professor of property, local government, and environmental justice at Stanford Law School. Her writing has appeared in the Stanford Law Journal, Yale Law Journal, California Law Review, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, among other publications. Prior to joining Stanford, she worked as a visiting professor, assistant professor, a research fellow, and an environmental law fellow. She is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Housing Law Project and a board member at the East Bay Community Law Center in Oakland. She holds a joint appointment with Stanford’s new Doerr School of Sustainability, and lives with her family in San Francisco.
Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the co-producer of the Academic Life.
Listeners to this episode may also be interested in:
On the Line: A Story of Class, Solidarity, and Two Women’s Epic Fight to Build a Union, by Daisy Pitkin
Pedagogy of the Poor: Building the Movement to End Poverty, by Willie Baptist and Jan Rehmann
How to Live in Detroit Without Being a Jackass, by Aaron Foley
Dog Whistle Politics, by Ian Henry Lopez
The Miseducation of the Barrio: The School to Prison Pipeline, by Julia Mendoza

You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN.
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1 hr 10 min
October 06, 2022The Surprising World of Wasps
Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about:
What inspired Professor Sumner to study wasps.
That time she ate a slug.
Her grad school research trip to study wasps in the Malaysian rainforest.
The complex and varied roles wasps play in the natural world.
The importance of approaching the natural world with endless curiosity.
Today’s book is: Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps, which explores these much-maligned insects’ secret world, their incredible diversity and complex social lives, and reveals how they hold our fragile ecosystem in balance. Everyone worries about the collapse of bee populations. But what about wasps? Deemed the gangsters of the insect world, wasps are winged assassins with formidable stings. But do wasps deserve this reputation? Wasps are nature’s most misunderstood insect: as predators and pollinators, they keep the planet’s ecological balance in check. They are nature’s pest controllers; a world without wasps would be just as ecologically devastating as losing the bees, or beetles, or butterflies.
Our guest is: Seirian Sumner, who is a professor of behavioral ecology at University College London, where she studies the ecology and evolution of social insects. She has published over seventy papers in scientific journals and has received numerous awards for her work, including a L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Award, a Points of Light Award from the UK prime minister, and a Silver Medal from the Zoological Society of London. She is a fellow and trustee of the Royal Entomological Society and cofounder of the citizen science initiative Big Wasp Survey. Sumner lives in Oxfordshire, England, with her husband and three children. She is the author of Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps (HarperCollins, 2022).
Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the co-producer of the Academic Life.
Listeners to this episode may also be interested in:
Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire
Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse by Dave Goulson
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
City of Sinners by A. A. Dhand
S. Sumner et al, “Why We Love Bees and Hate Wasps,” in Ecological Entomology 43 (6): 836-45.
Natural History and the Evolution of Paper-Wasps, ed by Stefano Turillazzi and Mary Jane West-Eberhard
You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN.
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1 hr 5 min
September 29, 2022Scholar Skills: Communicating Through your Online Presence
Is there a strategy to communicating your research online? This episode explores:
What an academic communications strategist does.
Why having a strategy to your online presence is important.
Common misperceptions about communicating online.
Lessons learned from an academic communications strategist.
The benefits and challenges to being an academic entrepreneur.
Our guest is: Jennifer van Alstyne (@HigherEdPR), a communications strategist for professors and researchers. At The Academic Designer LLC, Jennifer helps people share their work effectively in online spaces like websites and social media. The Social Academic blog shares advice about managing your online presence in Higher Education. Jennifer is a Peruvian-American poet with a BA in English from Monmouth University, an MFA in Writing & Poetics from the Jack Kerouac School, and an MA in English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She lives in San Diego, California. Connect with Jennifer on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Our host is: Dr. Dana M. Malone, a higher education scholar and practitioner energized by facilitating meaningful conversations and educational experiences. She specializes in college student relationships, gender, sexuality, and religious identities as well as student success and assessment planning. Dana is the author of From Single to Serious: Relationships, Gender, and Sexuality on American Evangelical Campuses, (Rutgers UP).
Listeners to this episode may also be interested in:
Social Media How To’s
Articles about managing your personal website
Successes and Setbacks of Social Media: Impact on Academic Life edited by Cheyenne Seymour (Wiley)
Social Media for Academics by Mark Carrigan, 2nd edition (Sage)
This NBN conversation on how social media has shaped contemporary society.
This NBN conversation on theories and practices of social media communication.

Welcome to The Academic Life! You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN.
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
44 min
September 22, 2022College Baseball in the Offseason: Meet the Savannah Bananas
Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about:
The hard work of balancing academics and sports when you attend college on an athletic scholarship.
Kyle’s original dream for his life after college, and where he is now.
Why you need someone to have your back, and who that person has been in Kyle’s life for the last five years.
How playing ball in the college off-season for the Savannah Bananas reminded him about the importance of having fun, and what he had liked about the sport as a kid.
How learning to dance taught him not to take himself too seriously.
Our guest is: Kyle Luigs, who is the pitcher for the Savannah Banana’s professional premier team. He also works as their camp instructor. Kyle attended the University of North Georgia on a baseball scholarship, and graduated in 2021 with a kinesiology degree. From 2018 to 2021, he played summer baseball for the Savannah Bananas on the CPL team. He played his last year of college baseball at Jacksonville State University, while working on a masters in Sports Management.
Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the co-producer of the Academic Life.
Listeners to this episode may also be interested in:
Ballparks: A Journey Through the Fields of the Past, Present, and Future, by Eric Enders
The Savannah Bananas
University of North Georgia baseball
This discussion of How to College
This discussion about making a meaningful life
A Wonderful Life: Insights on Finding a Meaningful Existence, by Frank Martela

You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN.
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
43 min
September 15, 2022Hope for the Humanities PhD
Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about:
Why a humanities degree actually opens many career paths.
The importance of curiosity.
The contingency crisis in higher ed.
How we can re-evaluate “academic success.”
Advice for students and faculty.
Our guest is: Dr. Katina Rogers, the author of Putting the Humanities PhD to Work: Thriving in and beyond the Classroom (Duke University Press, 2020). In 2021, she founded Inkcap Consulting to help universities build more supportive and sustainable graduate programs. Her career has included work at The Graduate Center, CUNY, the Modern Language Association, the Scholarly Communication Institute, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. She has two young kids and a deep frustration with higher education, that is inextricably bound up with hope. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who has effectively used her humanities degrees for interesting jobs both inside and outside the academy. She is the co-producer of the Academic Life.
Listeners to this episode may also be interested in:
The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins, by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
Imagine PhD, created by the Graduate Career Consortium:
Next Generation Dissertations
Inkcap and its resources
Get Sorted: How to Make the Most of Your Student Experience, by Jeff Gill and Will Medd
Where Research Begins: Choosing A Research Project that Matters to You, by Thomas Mullaney and Christopher Rea
Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers, by Kathryn Linder, Keven Kelly, and Thomas Tobin
The Employability Journal, by Barbara Bassot
Candid Advice for New Faculty Members, by Marybeth Gasman

You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN.
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1 hr 3 min
September 08, 2022The Two Keys to Student Retention: A Discussion with Aaron Basko
Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about:
Why Aaron Basko thinks we are looking at student success backwards.
How asking alums why they stayed at a school often tells us more about student needs than asking the students who are withdrawing why they leave.
What the “Big Six” for student success is.
What two things to evaluate as you decide which college or university will be the right “fit” for you.
His advice to parents and incoming students.
Our guest is: Aaron Basko, who currently serves as Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services at the University of Lynchburg, in Lynchburg Virginia. With 25 years of experience serving as an enrollment growth specialist and student success strategist for multiple institutions, Aaron has been part of the leadership team that engineered historic growth comebacks at three different colleges and universities. Aaron specializes in creating cross-functional teams for strategic enrollment planning and retention success. A thought leader and author, Aaron has written for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, The Times Higher Education, and the State Department’s Fulbright blog. As a 2015 Fulbright International Education Administrator and capacity building specialist, Aaron also assists institutions with student mobility and international partnership initiatives. Aaron loves to create “a-ha moments” and to help institutions clarify the distinctive voice that will resonate with the right students.
Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who holds a PhD in American history. She is the co-producer of the Academic Life.
Listeners to this episode may also be interested in:
Aaron Basko’s article in Inside Higher Ed on how to attract more liberal arts college students to campus : Liberal arts colleges need new strategies (opinion)
“Have We Gotten Student Success Completely Backwards?” and Aaron’s other articles in The Chronicle of Higher Education: Aaron Basko (chronicle.com)
This discussion about the college admissions process.
Get Real and Get In: How to Get Into the College of Your Dreams by Being Your Authentic Self, by Aviva Legatt
This conversation about navigating the ups and downs of student life:
How To Human: An Incomplete Manual for Living in a Messed-Up World, by Alice Connor
How to College: What to Know Before You Go (and When You’re There), by Andrea Malkin Brenner and Lara Hope Schwartz
This conversation about rejection-recovery and dealing with mistakes

You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN.
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
56 min

About The Academic Life

From the publisher's feed

A podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Created and produced by Dr. Christina Gessler, the Academic Life podcast is inspired by today’s knowledge-producers around the world, working inside and outside the academy.