UCD Humanities Institute Podcast

Recording of a talk at the HI by Sarah Colvin (Cambridge) entitled 'Haunting Times - Ghosted Memory and Epistemic Revenants in Zhadan's Ukraine (Voroshilovgrad, 2010) and Bulawayo's Zimbabwe (Glory, 2022).

The Critical Minerals Symposium was organised by Dr Gigi Tang and Katie Donnelly, and took place in UCD Humanities Institute on November 7, 2025. The keynote lecture - Quarry of Thought - Minerality and AI' was given by Associate Professor Tom Nurmi, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

In episode 7 of Extracts, hosts Sarah Comyn and Megan Kuster are in conversation with interdisciplinary artist Jeanine Oleson about her work on copper and more recent projects. Jeanine’s art work invites audiences into multi-sensory experiences, often drawing on wry humour and absurdity as a mode of expressing critiques of mastery. In this episode, Jeanine speaks about her interest in labour and workers' rights, how growing up in a port city developed around the fishing and forestry industries in the US state of Oregon influenced her development as an artist, how copper became the protagonist of her 'CONduct/(or conDUCT) Matters' project, and the process of filming at Chino Mine, one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the United States. More info about her work https://www.jeanineoleson.com

In episode 6 of extracts, hosts Sarah Comyn and Megan Kuster are in conversation with Ignacio Acosta, who is an artist and researcher working with photography and video in territories under pressure from extractive industries. His collaborative documentary practice, use of drone technology and camera traps, and immersive installations aim to help audiences build a connection to the places impacted by extractive industry and contribute to activist social movements trying to project sites at risk of large scale mining.

Find out more about Ignacio Acosta's work on his website https://ignacioacosta.com

This episode of the UCD Humanities Institute's podcast series features a recording of a Research Integrity event jointly organised by the UCD Humanities Institute and the UCD Earth Institute as part of the ReCLAIM project TRAIN - Transnational Research and Interdisciplinary Networks. Sponsored by the UCD Research Culture ReCLAIM initiative funded by Wellcome Trust, the event consisted of an informal afternoon meeting with members of the research community, with four invited experts in the field - Irene Kavanagh (UCC), Myrte Vos (Leiden), Grace Mulcahy (UCD and Shen Wang (UCD). The event was chaired by Dr Bianca Tedaldi.

In episode 5 of Extracts, hosts Sarah Comyn and Megan Kuster are in conversation with artist Adrian Balseca about his art practice making visible the often not-so-easily seen narratives enfolded in regional extractive economies, bodies, labour, and mobility. For more information on his work check out https://www.instagram.com/adrian_balseca

In episode 4 of Extracts, hosts Sarah Comyn and Megan Kuster are in conversation with forest-maker Aghmad Gamieldien about his work. Aghmad Gamieldien is the founder of Mzanzi Organics, a social enterprise focusing on small-scale farming, and the creation of pocket forests in and around Cape Town, South Africa. His holistic approach to forest making and rewilding deals with the past of Apartheid in South Africa, including the country's complex history around land. For more information on his work check out Mzanzi Organics website https://www.mzanzi.org and also on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mzanziorganics/mzanziorganics

In episode 3 of Extracts, hosts Sarah Comyn and Megan Kuster are in conversation with Siyabonga Mthembu. Based in Johannesburg, Siya is the lead member of one of South Africa's best known musical ensembles, The Brother Moves On. For more information on his work go to https://www.instagram.com/hymn_self, https://www.instagram.com/tbmomusic, and https://thebrothermoveson.bandcamp.com

The second keynote from the IHA Annual Conference 2025 was given by Tania Aguila-Way (Toronto). Her keynote was entitled 'Root and stomach and seed speak glottal' - Tracing Stories of Plant-Mediated Diasporic-Indigenous Solidarites from the Poetic Page to the Community Garden'.

The first keynote from the IHA Annual Conference 2025 was given by Raul Matta (Centre de Recherche Institut Lyfe). His keynote, 'Foodscapes as affective assemblages, or why (food) stories matter' was preceded by some conference opening remarks by UCC Professor Brendan Dooley, Chair of the Irish Humanities Alliance.