The Early Career Researcher Podcast

Charlie Rozier
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The Early Career Researcher podcast aims to provide a regular forum for discussion on all things relating to the life and work of Early Career Researchers working in the Humanities. Join us for weekly advice on applying for research jobs, careers advice, help with job applications, and support on issues such as mental health and wellbeing. We are: Charlie (works as a lecturer on a fixed-term contract, with eight years of lecturing experience in the UK); Rachael (several years of experience in academic and related fields, including lecturing and research administration, currently working as a postdoctoral researcher); and Olivia (several years of work experience prior to beginning a PhD, which she is currently in the final year of writing). Episodes are accompanied by our blogs, which summarise the topics discussed in the podcast, and provide useful links on where to get further information and help.

  1. 4d ago

    Episode 39: Relationships and Academia

    In this episode, Charlie, Rosie and Rachael discuss the various ways that being an academic can affect your love life! We wanted to talk about our own experiences and some reflections on what we have seen in others. Whether we are just starting our academic journey or whether we’re at the top of our fields, all of us have probably experienced how academia can affect our personal relationships. Sometimes things are great: sometimes you can meet a life partner through academia. But sometimes, life as an academic can be a real obstacle to enjoying personal relationships. In this episode, we will be discussing: 1) the ways in which academia can hinder personal relationships; 2) the ways in which being an academic can benefit relationships, and 3) review some advice on 'what to do and what not to do' (most of these should be obvious, but they were fun to discuss!) Please feel free to leave comments and feedback on our show wherever you get your podcasts, and do subscribe for notifications on new episodes. You can also follow us on BlueSky @ecrpodcasters

    Episode 39: Relationships and Academia

  2. Jun 15

    Episode 38: Edited Volumes (how to edit, write, and publish them)

    In our latest episode, Charlie and Rosie are joined by our friend and colleague Alex, and we revisit the thorny topic of edited volumes. Designed as collections of essays which all explore a particular theme or topic from differing perspectives and by multiple different writers, edited volumes can make s useful way to contribute to scholarship. Rosie, Alex and Charlie bring their own mix of academic and publishing expertise, to discuss 1) what edited volumes are, and what role they play in academia, 2) how to work on organising and actually editing the volume (as project lead/as an editor) and 3) how to write a chapter for such a volume (how to get asked, how to frame your work, etc.) You can hear more about this in our earlier episode 17 in our back catalogue (October 2024) where Rosie and Charlie chatted to Stephanie Brown about similar themes.

    Episode 38: Edited Volumes (how to edit, write, and publish them)

  3. May 6

    Episode 37: Leadership Roles

    In this episode, Charlie and Rosie are joined by our friend and colelague Kate, to dicuss the various types of leadership roles that can be part of an academic career. As a current Head of Department (and YES, she is also a medievalist scholar) Kate helps us to walk through 1) types of leadership roles that are available in UK and US academia, 2) the ways in which an Early Career Researcher can gain experiences of leadership (no matter how small!) before 3) Kate gives some reflections on her own experinces of leadership in UK Higher Education. Please feel free to leave us your feedback via the comments, by getting in touch via social media (@ECRPodcasters) or by emailing ecrpodcasters@gmail.com

    Episode 37: Leadership Roles

  4. Feb 11

    Episode 36: Visiting Fellowships

    Welcome back to the pod! After a bit of a break, Charlie and Rosie are back with our new guest Ben, to talk about Visiting Fellowships. Together, we discuss: 1) what Visiting Fellowships are (spoiler: a period of time spent away from your home institution, travelling to a special place to conduct research with materials that you cannot access at home), 2) how the application process works, 3) what makes a good/bad application, and 4) how to make the most of a Fellowship if you're lucky enough to gain one. Along the way, we reflect on our own experiences of some of the most enjoyable times of our research careers. If you enjoyed this episode then do try some of our others, give us a follow on your podcast platform, and follow us on social media (@ECRPodcasters). Thank you for listening!

    Episode 36: Visiting Fellowships

  5. 12/15/2025

    Episode 35 How to Index Your Book

    Charlie and Rosie return in our latet episode, where we are joined by our mutual friend, Rob, to talk about a not very exciting but very important job: making an index for your book. Anyone who has written their own book or anyone who has produced an edited volume, will be familiar with the dreaded INDEX. These days, authors and editors are usually responsible for producing their own index. This may sound like a simple task, but you may be surprised at how tricky and time consuming it can actually be. As academics, we aren’t always aware of what an index is actually for and what role it plays in the publishing process. So we thought we would ask Rosie (our resident publishing expert), some questions, including: - What is an index FOR? - How does the process of making an index work? (What do publishers ask for, and do they give any help?) - What makes a good and a bad index for a publisher? - How have we, as academics, found the process of prudicing our index? Please do 'like', and follow/subscribe to the podcast, and feel free to offer your feedback and comments (reviews increase our visibility, so please do leave us your thoughts). You can follow us on BlueSky @ecrpodcasters

    Episode 35 How to Index Your Book

  6. 10/20/2025

    Episode 34: Copyediting in Academia (and how to get into it)

    In this episode, Charlie an Rosie are joined by our new guest Jo, who had a successful academic career before starting her own business as a freelance copyeditor. Anybody who wants to publish academic research will probably at some point find themselves working with a copyeditor. The copyeditor has traditionally been an essential toolkit in academic publishing – they are the person who takes your text and polishes it up, gets rid of embarrassing typos, and makes sure your document makes sense. In this episode, we dive a bit more deeply into this role, and talk about what copyediting really involves, and the value it brings. But we also wanted to talk about copyediting as a career, in case this is something that you might be thinking about. We also talk about the state of the field, and if AI can ever really replace the human touch... Links discussed in the episode: - Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP): https://www.ciep.uk - Chartered Institude of Linguistics (Translation): https://www.ciol.org.uk - Trio Mandilli: https://www.instagram.com/trio_mandili?igsh=MW1iejU1MTJydXp6Ng==

    Episode 34: Copyediting in Academia (and how to get into it)

  7. 09/29/2025

    Episode 33: Neurodiversity in Academia

    This week, Charlie and Rosie are joined by new friends Jo and Ben, as we discuss the HUGE and multifaceted topic of neurodivertiy in academia. Jo, Ben, and Charlie reflect on our experiences of late diagnosis, managing the impact of our spicy brains on our academic lives, working relationships, and our lives outside of work, and then we give some advice and definitions on where to get support if you think you may need help on topics relating to this week's subject. Then we hear more about Ben and Jo's amazing work for the UK UCU (Universities and Colleges Union) specificaly relating to the links between casualisation and neurodiversity in academia. We hope you like our episode: give us a follow, subscribe, or write us a review! Links discussed in the show: UCU 'Survival Guide' for neurodiverse people: https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/13562/UCU-Casualisation-and-neurodiversity-guide/pdf/UCU_Casualisation_Neurodiversity_guide.pdf UCU Neurodiversity and Casualisation Manifesto: https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/13560/UCU-Anti-casualisation-and-Neurodiversity-Manifesto/pdf/UCU_Casualisation_Neurodiversity_Manifesto.pdf UCU 'Supporting Neurodiversity and Colleagues on Casualised Contracts': https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/13558/Supporting-neurodiversity-and-colleagues-on-casualised-contracts/pdf/UCU_Casualisation_Neurodiversity_Supporting_staff.pdf National Health Service home page on 'Exploring Neurodiversity': https://nhsdorset.nhs.uk/neurodiversity/explore/

    Episode 33: Neurodiversity in Academia

  8. 09/15/2025

    How to Prepare for Leaving a Job (...and for starting a new one)

    Inspired by recent life events, Charlie and Rachael meet to discuss what it is like to leave a job (or a degree programme) in academia, and what ECRs should be thinking about when starting a new role. As we know well, leaving an academic post can be very stressful: it can involve a lot of uncertainty, self-doubt, and pressure. But there are also huge positives to starting in a new post, and we want to emphasise these and embrace the challenges! We talked about: how it can feel to be leaving a job and starting a new one (and how it feels when you don't have a new role to go to immediately); things you can do to make the transition easier; our reflections on what makes it starting a new job more enjoyable and easier. Discussed in the show: Jennifer Polk, From PhD to Life: https://fromphdtolife.com

    How to Prepare for Leaving a Job (...and for starting a new one)
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About

The Early Career Researcher podcast aims to provide a regular forum for discussion on all things relating to the life and work of Early Career Researchers working in the Humanities. Join us for weekly advice on applying for research jobs, careers advice, help with job applications, and support on issues such as mental health and wellbeing. We are: Charlie (works as a lecturer on a fixed-term contract, with eight years of lecturing experience in the UK); Rachael (several years of experience in academic and related fields, including lecturing and research administration, currently working as a postdoctoral researcher); and Olivia (several years of work experience prior to beginning a PhD, which she is currently in the final year of writing). Episodes are accompanied by our blogs, which summarise the topics discussed in the podcast, and provide useful links on where to get further information and help.

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