That special time of the year for any researcher- conference season - has come and gone. And for anybody that is doing any kind of research marginally related to management, the Academy of Management Annual Meeting will ring familiar. While opinions to a conference that gathers close to 10.000 people in hotel lobbies and rooms over 5 days polarizes many a scholar (not just in light of the COVID epidemic), the hosts of your favorite podcast were delighted to be part of this year's iteration. While Sophie had her first time experience of AOM, Alexander was thoroughly excited to attend the annual gathering in person again after a 3 year hiatus. Why both hosts fully endorse participating in academic gatherings of this kind, whether it is the AOM or the biggest conference in your field of choice, is the topic of discussion for this episode. The hosts talk about:- their general impressions of taking part in a huge US conference after over 2 years of isolation- where they see the benefits of taking part in conferences like AOM- differences between European and US conferences and scholarship in general- the benefits (and drawbacks) of in-person vs virtual conferences- their most important tips and biggest regrets with regards to international conferencesand as usual, much more.In addition, as a special treat, we have added some feedback from our biggest "fans" that we met at this year's AOM annual meeting. Listen past the credits to learn what others think about our podcasting efforts.