Back after a year (!) away, Julia and Jonathan cover what’s been going on for the last year, and new things they are doing. Perhaps depressingly, they agree that being older or more advanced in one’s career doesn’t prevent the need for some deg

Episode 47: Hobbies!

Jun 20th, 2022 54m 28s

Jonathan has a career announcement and Julia is excited about graduation. Jonathan’s world didn’t fall apart when he checked his email less. And the main topic: what makes a good hobby? Do Jonathan or Julia have any hobbies?Theme music courtes

Episode 46: Not overextending ourselves (and helping trainees to do the same)

Apr 26th, 2022 46m 43s

Julia and Jonathan revisit the issue of how we manage our time and our commitments so that we can keep some sense of sanity, instead of feeling like butter being scraped over too much bread. In brief, when there’s too much stuff in the closet,

Episode 45: To open or not to open (email, or books during an exam)

Dec 14th, 2021 45m 57s

After some long-overdue Halloween follow-up and Jonathan horrifying Julia with his new strategy for (not) dealing with email, your hosts tackle the topic of exam questions, and in particular, how to handle the prospect of open-book exams in cla

Episode 44: Collaborations

Oct 26th, 2021 54m 29s

For many of us, collaborating with other researchers is one of our favorites part of an academic career. In this episode Julia and Jonathan talk about different kinds of collaborations and what to think about when you’re starting a collaboratio

Episode 43: Self-promotion but let's call it something else

Oct 19th, 2021 51m 38s

Like all of life academia is social. Julia and Jonathan talk about different strategies for telling our colleagues about our work, including “advertising” our papers, talks, and the importance of having a website (you don’t have one? Get one!).

Episode 42: The "new normal"

Sep 14th, 2021 44m 51s

There's a lot about the last year and a half we are happy to get rid of, but are there any things we'd like to keep? Julia and Jonathan talk about the advantages of online meetings and talks, flexibility in classes, and (if we're lucky) discove

Episode 41: How to make fewer research mistakes

Aug 31st, 2021 47m 15s

After an unplanned summer hiatus Julia and Jonathan are back to talk about errors in research, and specifically how we can make fewer of them. Julia talks about her Error Tight project for implementing some culture changes, including standardiz

Episode 40: Teaching nitty gritty

Jun 1st, 2021 50m 49s

Wrapping up our mini-series on teaching, Julia and Jonathan talk about readings, grading, and how to fairly offer flexibility to students in our classes. In-class activities, quizzes, how many grades to drop, how to handle late assignments, how

Episode 39: The syllabus, and why it must be read

Apr 27th, 2021 41m 50s

After “big picture teaching” last episode, Julia and Jonathan dive into the weeds a bit, spending a lot of time on the syllabus. Is it a contract? A way to communicate “hidden curriculum”? A fun way to connect with your students? In short, yes,

Episode 38: Big picture teaching

Mar 23rd, 2021 44m 27s

OK, your turn to teach a course for the first time (or the Nth time). Now what? Julia and Jonathan share thoughts and experiences (and mistakes) from teaching lecture courses. For example, how do you decide what to cover (hint: you don’t have t

Episode 37: Pandemic fine

Feb 16th, 2021 46m 38s

Julia recaps the first-ever Midwinter Ball and sets the bar high for future MWBers, as a prelude for talking about how life these days can be hard even if we are “fine”. Having a hard time is normal, and when it’s Kobayashi Maru time, there mig

Episode 36: Hashtag scicomm

Jan 27th, 2021 1h 21m

Julia and Jonathan share comments they made as part of a talk on science communication. Turns out, we scientists are ALL involved in science communication, whether we realize it or not (or whether or not we like it). Know your audience. Communi

Episode 35: Smooth sailling in your research pipeline

Jan 12th, 2021 48m 20s

How do you bring a research project from brilliant idea to completion? Julia and Jonathan talk about implementing a research project pipeline, including some nuts-and-bolts of how files are organized and what gets kept track of. If all you take

Episode 34: It takes a whole village of pit crew

Dec 22nd, 2020 44m 39s

Mentors are great, but can’t meet all our needs. In the last episode of 2020, Julia and Jonathan explore other people in our support networks, how we can find them, and why they are useful to have.Theme music courtesy of The Bobby Dazzlers (ht

Episode 33: As an academic, the best time to have children is...

Dec 1st, 2020 51m 39s

After very excellent banter about Frozen Custard and Julia inventing a new Winter Holiday, your hosts offer wide ranging thoughts on having children as an academic. The general theme is along the lines of “don’t let anyone tell you what to do b

Episode 32: Which niche will you pick?

Oct 27th, 2020 48m 20s

Julia likes Halloween JUST A LITTLE and Julia and Jonathan start with their annual review of Julia’s Halloween plans. Then, on to talk about finding a research niche. It turns out it's not Leonardo Da Vinci times where it’s possible for one per

Episode 31: Grant writing: Who's your audience?

Oct 20th, 2020 50m 43s

Julia and Jonathan have a wide-ranging discussion on grant writing, starting with a basic question: Which audience are you writing for? Topics include the mindset of your reviewers (hint: not always as expert as you might think), how to handle

Episode 30: We thank the reviewers for their helpful comments

Oct 6th, 2020 57m 20s

You get reviewer comments back on your manuscript. How do you respond to them? Julia and Jonathan give their perspective on picking your battles, structuring a response letter, and how much to include vs. not. Some of us get grumpy when we read

Episode 29: Reviewing

Sep 22nd, 2020 1h 5m

Peer review is an integral part of the scientific endeavor. Julia and Jonathan share thoughts about why we review, and how we review. And, some thoughts on how to review less if you review a lot, and how to review MORE if you’d like to get star

Episode 28: "Soft" skills

Sep 8th, 2020 49m 20s

Be serenaded by the dulcet tones of crying babies while you hear Julia and Jonathan discuss poorly-named “soft skills” of academia, including project management, general organization, and taking care of yourself (“sharpening your saw”). Empathy

Episode 27: Postdocs and how to apply for them

Aug 27th, 2020 57m 30s

What’s a postdoc? Why might you do one? And, how do you get one? Jonathan and Julia talk about their own experiences and advice, including why it’s never too early to start and why considering the F word is useful. But before any of that, a ref

Episode 26: Online teaching

Aug 11th, 2020 1h 3m

Julia and Jonathan have been thinking a lot about online teaching. Not claiming to be experts they share what’s worked well and what they are excited about for the coming term. Office hours? Casual interactions? Small group discussions? We’ve g

Episode 25: Applying for a professor job at a small liberal arts college (SLAC)

Jul 21st, 2020 49m 44s

Interested in what a job at a small liberal arts college (SLAC) is like? Julia shares about her job (spoiler: she likes her job just a little) and offers advice on things to consider when applying for a similar job. Pssst: teaching experience h

Episode 24: Virtual conferences

Jul 7th, 2020 46m 35s

With many (all?) conferences online for the foreseeable future, Julia and Jonathan talk about the pros and cons of online conferences, using SIPS (which Julia just attended) as a jumping off point. How do we fight “Zoom fatigue”? What advantage