Going on the job market is stressful already. If you've been embracing open science practices in your work, how should you convey that? And will you be embraced as forward-thinking or dismissed as a destructo-warrior? Also: This is the first episode we've recorded since we launched and we talk about how it feels weird. And two, count 'em, TWO letters today: The perils of trying to seem knowledgeable and admitting what you don't know; and should you accept a review request for someone you know is a serial sexual harasser?

Discussed in this episode:

• Being imperfect in perfect academia by Angelique Cramer

The Black Goat is hosted by Sanjay Srivastava, Alexa Tullett, and Simine Vazire. Find us on the web at www.theblackgoatpodcast.com, on Twitter at @blackgoatpod, or on Facebook at facebook.com/blackgoatpod/. You can email us at [email protected].

Our theme music is Peak Beak by Doctor Turtle, available on freemusicarchive.org under a Creative Commons noncommercial attribution license.

This is episode 6. It was recorded April 14, 2017.

Universities are increasingly talking about "excellence" as a basis for evaluating scholarship and making strategic decisions. We talk about a recent paper that analyzes the rhetoric around excellence, finds it wanting, and offers up some alternatives. Plus: We get ready for spring "break" (flying to beautiful places to keep working); the controversy around Brian Wansink's Food and Brand Lab; and should our letter-writer appeal an editorial decision based on an error?

Links discussed:

The Black Goat is hosted by Sanjay Srivastava, Alexa Tullett, and Simine Vazire. Find us on the web at www.theblackgoatpodcast.com, on Twitter at @blackgoatpod, or on Facebook at facebook.com/blackgoatpod/. You can email us at [email protected].

Our theme music is Peak Beak by Doctor Turtle, available on freemusicarchive.org under a Creative Commons noncommercial attribution license.

This is episode 5. It was recorded March 20, 2017.

Many of us try to draw a line between criticizing the science and criticizing the scientist. But when are ad hominem criticisms okay? We talk about the difference between ad hominem arguments and the ad hominem fallacy, the asymmetry between praise and criticism, and the sometimes complicated relationship between our scientific output and our reputations. Plus: In our opening segment we talk about an experiment in gender-swapping email signatures. And we answer a letter from someone whose data was used for a publication by a fellow graduate student without permission.

Links discussed:

• Co-workers swap email addresses

The Black Goat is hosted by Sanjay Srivastava, Alexa Tullett, and Simine Vazire. Find us on the web at www.theblackgoatpodcast.com, on Twitter at @blackgoatpod, or on Facebook at facebook.com/blackgoatpod/. You can email us at [email protected]. 

Our theme music is Peak Beak by Doctor Turtle, available on freemusicarchive.org under a Creative Commons noncommercial attribution license.

This episode was recorded March 10, 2017.

Have you ever experienced impostor syndrome? Meta-impostor syndrome (everyone else just has impostor syndrome but you're right about yourself)? We talk about mental health and all the ways you can feel terrible as an academic. In our opening segment we discuss Alexa's brush with a misconduct case, Simine's new article on how journal articles are like new cars, and a reviewer getting in trouble for wanting to see data. And in our letter of the week, what do you do when a reviewer tells you to HARK?

Articles and blog posts discussed in this episode:

• Duplicating Data: The View Before Hindsight

The Black Goat is hosted by Sanjay Srivastava, Alexa Tullett, and Simine Vazire. Find us on the web at www.theblackgoatpodcast.com, on Twitter at @blackgoatpod, or on Facebook at facebook.com/blackgoatpod/. You can email us at [email protected]. 

Our theme music is Peak Beak by Doctor Turtle, available on freemusicarchive.org under a Creative Commons noncommercial attribution license.

This episode was recorded March 3, 2017.

Journals and editors are adopting innovative new ways to evaluate and disseminate work: We talk about the Pottery Barn Rule for replications, badges, open access and more. Also: Is there wisdom on social media? And in our letter of the week, who will fill the hole in your heart when you don't have an advisor any more?

The Black Goat is hosted by Sanjay Srivastava, Alexa Tullett, and Simine Vazire. Find us on the web at www.theblackgoatpodcast.com, on Twitter at @blackgoatpod, or on Facebook at facebook.com/blackgoatpod/. You can email us at [email protected]. 

Our theme music is Peak Beak by Doctor Turtle, available on freemusicarchive.org under a Creative Commons noncommercial attribution license.

This episode was recorded February 27, 2017.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Black Goat! Our main topic is: How do you stay optimistic when everything seems fucked? But before that, we kick things off talking about who we are and why we are here. And we respond to our letter of the week, which asks how personally invested you should be in your research topic and whether it needs to be me-search.

The Black Goat is hosted by Sanjay Srivastava, Alexa Tullett, and Simine Vazire. Find us on the web at www.theblackgoatpodcast.com, on Twitter at @blackgoatpod, or on Facebook at facebook.com/blackgoatpod/.  You can email us at [email protected]. Our theme music is Peak Beak by Doctor Turtle, available on freemusicarchive.org under a Creative Commons noncommercial attribution license.

This episode was recorded February 17, 2017.