Half Time Scholars

Suren Ladd
  • 5.0 (3)
  • EDUCATION
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

A podcast series that features the interesting work independent and emerging academic scholars. The series speaks with scholars from a variety of disciplines.

  1. Half Time Scholars - News Literacy in the Post-Digital Age: youth voices and Mosaic approach.

    2 DAYS AGO

    Half Time Scholars - News Literacy in the Post-Digital Age: youth voices and Mosaic approach.

    Welcome to this episode of Half Time Scholars. On this episode we feature Louise Chappe. She is a PhD researcher at University College London's Institute of Education, where she studies the relationship between media literacy education in secondary schools and how young people engage with news at home. Her research uses a unique combination of focused ethnography and a Mosaic Approach — including observations, interviews, mind maps and drawings — to capture students' voices in ways that are both ethical and effective. Louise brings an unusually international perspective to her work. She holds degrees from three countries — a double bachelor's in law and history and a master's in international relations from France, and a master's in journalism and communication from Wuhan University in China — where she also researched how accusations of fake news are used to delegitimise media, and how journalists respond to this. Her current PhD explores how schools can bridge the gap between classroom media education and students' real-world news habits at home — at a time when social media, algorithms, AI and disinformation are reshaping what it means to be an informed citizen. She argues that news literacy is too often left to the initiative of individual passionate teachers, sitting at the margins of the curriculum, and that this needs to change. Alongside her research, Louise works as a French teacher and has experience in French print journalism and online media.

    29 min
  2. Half Time Scholars - Bridging Behavioural Science, Research, and Human Experience in Action

    18/11/2025

    Half Time Scholars - Bridging Behavioural Science, Research, and Human Experience in Action

    Ella Howes is a writer, podcaster, and grief communicator who has recently embarked on a PhD journey. Before her doctoral studies, she worked on translational behavioural science projects at the Human Behaviour-Change Project at University College London, focusing on understanding and sharing insights from complex behaviour change interventions. Her current research examines how complex interventions adapted during COVID-19–affected trials, with a particular focus on how changes in delivery — for example, moving interventions online — influence critical elements such as fidelity, participant engagement, and overall outcomes. Alongside her academic work, Ella continues to work as a freelance behavioural science consultant, delivering training on the Behaviour Change Wheel to organisations across sectors. In her creative life, she writes and speaks powerfully about grief, often integrating perspectives from behavioural science to explore how people process loss, find meaning, and adapt. In this conversation, we follow Ella’s journey from applied behavioural science into academia, unpack her evolving research questions, and highlight the challenges and surprises she has encountered. We also explore the intersection of her work on grief and behavioural science, revealing what motivates her to keep pushing at the boundaries of both disciplines.

    49 min
  3. Half Time Scholars - Students as Critical Educators

    26/08/2025

    Half Time Scholars - Students as Critical Educators

    Welcome to Half Time Scholars, on this episode our guest is Dr. Mariam Parvez Sheikh from the International Education program at the College of Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA. Her research employs ethnographic and critical youth research methods to explore how young students in Pakistan’s higher education produce alternative forms of knowledge in social action while articulating struggles related to climate justice, feminism, and anti-capitalism. She also examines the transnational connections between these movements and global youth struggles, highlighting how students challenge gender, ethnic, and class inequities in their pursuit of social justice. Mariam holds a master’s in Education and International Development from University College London (UCL), United Kingdom, and a BSc. Hons. in Economics and Political Science from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

    39 min
  4. Half Time Scholars - Language Textbooks in Early Grades Aren’t Working— Let’s Reimagine Them

    28/05/2025

    Half Time Scholars - Language Textbooks in Early Grades Aren’t Working— Let’s Reimagine Them

    Episode Summary: In this episode of Half Time Scholars, we sit down with Shruti Sheshadri, a doctoral candidate in International and Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco, to discuss a critical yet often overlooked issue in global education: the persistent mismatch between early-grade language textbooks and the real learning needs of children in the Global South. Drawing from her research, Dismantling the Hierarchy of Skills: A Comparative Study of the Development of Language Textbooks in the Global South, Shruti explores how standardized textbook design fails to reflect contemporary pedagogy or meet the needs of diverse linguistic communities. Despite billions in investment and intensive planning, textbook development remains rigid, centralized, and out of sync with educational equity goals. We unpack the findings of her comparative case study across India, Senegal, Kenya, and Jordan, where she conducted interviews, textbook analyses, and document reviews to trace the institutional logics behind textbook development. Shruti reveals how language-in-education policies, community preferences, and institutional hierarchies shape the form and content of textbooks—and how these realities impact learning outcomes. This episode challenges listeners to think differently about educational materials in the early grades and invites educators, policymakers, and development practitioners to reimagine textbooks not as static tools, but as dynamic platforms capable of supporting inclusive and innovative literacy development. Key Themes: Why early-grade language textbooks are failing learners in the Global South The institutional politics of textbook publishing The hidden pedagogies embedded in textbook design Comparative insights from India, Senegal, Kenya, and Jordan The transformative potential of generative AI and digital tools in reimagining textbooks About the Guest: Shruti Sheshadri is a researcher, editor, and consultant with deep expertise in global literacy and textbook publishing. She holds a master’s degree in international education development from the University of Pennsylvania and serves as the Assistant Editor of the International Journal of Human Rights Education. She also sits on the Board of Directors of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) as a Student Representative. Since 2018, she has worked on education program design, monitoring, and evaluation and currently consults for the Global Partnership for Education.

    28 min
  5. Half Time Scholars - We are trading our humanity for convenience.

    24/02/2025

    Half Time Scholars - We are trading our humanity for convenience.

    On this episode, our guest is Brittany Currenti is a final year PhD student at University of Adelaide focused on the philosophical critique of current understandings of convenience, and the conceptualisation of ‘overconvenience’—when too much convenience leads to negative outcomes for people, profit and planet. She is also one of the creators of Challenges and Changelings, the imaginal serious game for behaviour change, and the Director of Behavioural Research at Australian law firm MinterEllison. Please follow Brittany's work @ https://www.brittanycurrenti.com/

    32 min
  6. Half Time Scholars - Cultural Connections: Autism Diagnosis and Support Across Borders

    22/12/2024

    Half Time Scholars - Cultural Connections: Autism Diagnosis and Support Across Borders

    In this episode, we’re joined by Meredith Bryan, a dedicated researcher, educator, and advocate whose work is transforming the way we understand and support autistic individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. We also have a special guest host Carolyn Wade for this episode. Meredith Bryan trained as a secondary school teacher and has worked in schools in Sydney’s inner and western suburbs. She is the proud mother of four sons. For the past decade she has primarily been supporting her youngest autistic son. As his needs have changed, she has had the privilege of returning to work and study. Having completed a Graduate Certificate in Autism Studies at Griffith University Meredith is continuing her studies at Griffith University’s Autism Centre of Excellence and is halfway through a Master of Education and Professional Studies Research. In addition to her studies she also works part-time at the Autism Centre of Excellence. It is her family’s lived experience of autism and her relationship with culturally and linguistically diverse autistic communities that inform her research. Meredith’s research focuses on partnering with culturally and linguistically diverse autistic communities in Australia who have traditionally been underrepresented in autism research. The focus of her current research is South Asian caregivers’ experiences of obtaining a diagnosis and early supports when raising an autistic child in Australia. She hopes this research will inform government policy in the health and education sectors to create culturally relevant services for the autistic community and remove barriers that currently prevent families from accessing autism diagnoses and supports in Australia. Her research findings will be translated into South Asian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, and Nepali, and shared with the community.

    35 min
  7. Half Time Scholars - You'll Never Laugh Alone: The Serious Business of Humour

    28/11/2024

    Half Time Scholars - You'll Never Laugh Alone: The Serious Business of Humour

    Welcome to Half Time Scholars - On this episode we’re joined by Nicholas Hugman, a PhD researcher at the University of Queensland, whose work explores the nuances of conversational humour—the kind of humour that arises naturally in conversation, distinct from pre-prepared jokes. While much empirical research has examined conversational humour practices and their functions, there’s been relatively little theoretical work conceptualizing this form of humour. Nicholas is addressing this gap by theorizing one of humour’s essential features: incongruity. Traditionally studied in linguistic or cognitive terms, incongruity refers to deviations from default expectations. Nicholas’s innovative approach examines incongruity through an interactional lens, offering fresh insights into how humour operates in everyday conversations. As he approaches the completion of his PhD, with plans to submit in June 2025

    27 min
  8. Half Time Scholars - Bridging Generations: Intergenerational Dialogue and Youth Activism in Latin America

    25/10/2024

    Half Time Scholars - Bridging Generations: Intergenerational Dialogue and Youth Activism in Latin America

    Welcome to Half Time Scholars. On this episode our guest is Ingrid Valladares is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Justice, Queensland University of Technology. She holds a Dual Bachelor of Economics from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador and Université Pierre-Mendès-France, a Bachelor of Education from Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL), and a Master of International Relations from the University of Queensland. Ingrid has primarily worked within the Ecuadorian government as an Electoral Officer and Policy Analyst. She has also served as an Office Coordinator for AIIA Victoria and is currently a board member at AIIA Queensland. Additionally, she has been a board member of the United Nations Association of Australia – Young Professionals (UNYP – Qld Division) and volunteered as a Senior Correspondent and Advocacy Team member for the Organisation for World Peace.

    37 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

A podcast series that features the interesting work independent and emerging academic scholars. The series speaks with scholars from a variety of disciplines.

Information

  • Creator
    Suren Ladd
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Suren Ladd
  • Show Website
    Half Time Scholars