The Academinist The Academinist

This month Rebecca enters a temporary solo era and sits down to chat to Emma Francis & Hannah Franklin, two (newly minted!) PhD students who lead the national campaign to increase UKRI-funded PhD stipends…and won! In this second part of an ongoing discussion on how the cost of living crisis is affecting PhD students, Emma and Hannah share their inspiring experiences of organising the successful campaign in 2022 and update us with the facts and figures on where things stand now. They also tell us about all the work they’ve been doing to engage UK government representatives to ensure PhDs are included in policy dialogue on increasing cost of living for students. How do you talk to politicians…and get them to listen to you?
Follow Emma: @emmarubyfrancis (Twitter)
Follow Hannah: @neuroblonde (Twitter)

Read Hannah & Emma's Nature article on taking action for UK PhD students during the cost of living crisis: here.
Listen to ‘Part One’ with Sophie Langdon 
Learn more:
The House of Lords Office for Student Investigation Report (2023): here.
The Office for Students response statement to the report: here.
The latest from UKRI on UK PhD stipends: here.


Want to be a guest on The Academinist?:  https://linktr.ee/theacademinist
Follow us: @theacademinist (Twitter & Instagram), or write to us at theacademinist@gmail.com.
Recorded: 2nd Feb 2024 & 29th Feb 2024
Released: 1st March 2024
Hosts: Rebecca Casterton, Jodi Barnard
Producer & Editor: Rebecca Casterton. 
Music: Right Place, Right Time | Silent Partner (YouTube Audio Library).

This month The Academinist contemplates all the odd places we’ve recorded episodes, and reflects on the end of another year. We’re also joined by Dr. Sam Terry, a cancer biologist at King’s College London, to discuss challenges and current barriers in academia which specifically affect mothers in STEM. Sam shares her experiences of going on maternity leave twice as an early career researcher, including post-natal depression, juggling childcare and successfully navigating the return to work. 
Follow Sam for more on her work: @syaterry (Twitter)
Check out Sam’s Lab: https://radlab.uk and @kingsimaging (Twitter)
For more support resources , blogs and community around being a mother in academia, Jodi and Rebecca also recommend checking out Mothers in Science (website: https://www.mothersinscience.com/ Twitter: @mothersinsci).
Jodi’s list of festive causes if you are in a position to donate to those in need:
St Mungos Great Ormond Street Christmas AppealSalvation Army Christmas AppealTrussell TrustChristmas Toy Donations in the UKChristmas volunteering opportunities at CrisisWant to be a guest on The Academinist?:  https://linktr.ee/theacademinist
Follow us: @theacademinist (Twitter & Instagram), or write to us at theacademinist@gmail.com.
Recorded: 29th November  & 11th December 2023
Released: 29th December 2023
Hosts: Rebecca Casterton, Jodi Barnard
Producer & Editor: Rebecca Casterton
Music: Right Place, Right Time | Silent Partner (YouTube Audio Library).

Ahh the million-dollar question (but only on International Women’s Day). Do men talk about gender equality when we’re not leading the discussion? What does male privilege look & feel like in STEM? How should men engage with gender equality discussions and why do so many find it so difficult? This month Jodi & Rebecca are joined by not one, not two but FOUR men to discuss all this and more, as well as some honest chat about lessons learned and experiences across different intersections. 
International Men’s Day: https://internationalmensday.com/ 
Movember: https://uk.movember.com/ (learn more and donate if you can!) 
This month’s recommendations from our guests:
Project EduAccess - a non-profit improving access to Higher Education for marginalised communities in the Global South. Check them out to see how you can volunteer (like Arish) and take a look at their free resources. https://www.projecteduaccess.com/ 
Are you a Brazilian graduate hoping to pursue post-graduate education (MSc, MRes, PhD) in the UK or North America? Rodrigo is happy to mentor you! Get in touch: rodrigo.duarte@kcl.ac.uk 
Are you interested in design and biomaterials? Are you looking for a PhD or research assistant position with a fantastic PI & mentor? Join Ali’s brand new team in the Design School at the Royal College of Arts. Get in touch to find out more about upcoming positions: ali.mohammed@imperial.ac.uk 
Are you a teacher of A-Level STEM subject students from underprivileged backgrounds in the UK? Contact Shiden to find out more about opportunities to experience ‘a day in the life’ of a neuroscientist in the lab: shiden.solomon@kcl.ac.uk 
Connect with our guests:
Dr Ali Mohammed: @AliMoe88 (Twitter)
Arish Mudra Rakshasa-Loots: @ArishMRL (Twitter)
Dr Rodrigo Duarte: @3RDuarte (Twitter)
Dr Shiden Solomon: @ShidenSolomon (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiden-solomon-155022126/ (LinkedIn)
Rate & review us wherever you get your podcasts! 
Want to be a guest on The Academinist?:  https://linktr.ee/theacademinist
Follow us: @theacademinist (Twitter & Instagram), or write to us at theacademinist@gmail.com.
Recorded: 2nd and 13th November 2023
Released: 4th December 2023
Hosts: Rebecca Casterton & Jodi Barnard
Producer & Editor: Rebecca Casterton. 
Music: Right Place, Right Time | Silent Partner (YouTube Audio Library).

This month Rebecca has a run in with a T-Rex and Jodi contemplates whether laughing is an acceptable response to ‘how are you’ towards the end of your PhD. We’re also joined by Dr. Srishti Baid, a microbiologist who shares her experiences of moving from India to the USA for her research career. Srishti shares helpful tips and insight on the unexpected challenges of making an international move for her career, plus how some of these obstacles intersect with being an Indian woman in STEM. 
Connect with Srishti
Twitter: @BaidSrishti
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srishtibaid/ 
‘I’m A Scientist Get Me Out of Here!’: https://imascientist.org.uk/ 
Check out this school outreach initiative - tried, tested and recommended by Srishti (and other past guests) - which puts scientists into classrooms around the world to chat to school students and answer their most burning questions. 
Rate & review us wherever you get your podcasts!
Want to be a guest on The Academinist?:  https://linktr.ee/theacademinist
Follow us: @theacademinist (Twitter & Instagram), or write to us at theacademinist@gmail.com .
Recorded: 28th September 2023 and 6th October 2023
Released: 27th October 2023
Hosts: Rebecca Casterton & Jodi Barnard
Producer & Editor: Rebecca Casterton
Music: Right Place, Right Time | Silent Partner (YouTube Audio Library).

Is something burning? This month Rebecca and Jodi unpack their experiences of burnout, both recent and current. We’re also joined by Megan Kwok, an incredible high school student, aspiring neuroscientist, youth mental health activist and co-founder of ‘Because Mental Health’: an education platform for mental health, psychology and psychiatry. Megan shares her experiences of being a young person in the activism space, how to be taken seriously by older generations and managing your mental health whilst working on causes you’re passionate about. We also chat about accessibility of research work experience and challenges faced by aspiring young scientists trying to get into a lab.
Follow Megan on LinkedIn.
Check out Because Mental Health (and donate if you can): www.becausementalhealth.org/ 
Are you working in STEM and want to help young people get to where you are? Consider joining the mentorship programme run by Because Mental Health, which tries to connect students with STEM professionals to demystify STEM careers. 
Want to be a guest on The Academinist?:  https://linktr.ee/theacademinist
Follow us: @theacademinist (Twitter & Instagram), or write to us at theacademinist@gmail.com
Recorded: 11th August 2022 and 2nd September 2023
Released: 28th September 2023
Hosts: Rebecca Casterton, Jodi Barnard
Producer & Editor: Rebecca Casterton
Music: Right Place, Right Time | Silent Partner (YouTube Audio Library)

The Academinist is BACK! Settle down for story time as Rebecca and Jodi fill you in on all the juicy details of where they’ve been and what they’ve been up to. Plus we hop in our time machine and take a trip back to July 2022 to chat to Professor Emily Sena about ‘Integrity’. Emily shares her expertise on research integrity as a meta researcher and all-round champion of open science. She also chats about maintaining integrity as a researcher on a personal level in a system that doesn’t reward this. We know you’ve missed us so we’ve brought you an absolute treat from the archives! 
Follow Emily: @profEmilySena (Twitter)
Check out ReproducibiliTea, mentioned by Emily: @ReproducibiliT (Twitter), https://reproducibilitea.org/
Emily also recommends the fantastic book ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ by Reni Eddo-Lodge.
Want to be a guest on ‘The Academinist’?:  https://linktr.ee/theacademinist
Follow us: @theacademinist (Twitter & Instagram), or write to us at theacademinist@gmail.com.
Recorded: 21st July 2022 and 19th August 2023.
Released: 1st September 2023
Hosts: Rebecca Casterton, Jodi Barnard.
Producer & Editor: Rebecca Casterton. 
Music: Right Place, Right Time | Silent Partner (YouTube Audio Library).