Voices in Physics

“We Are Getting Penalized” is a conversation with a graduate student who is managing the demands of parenthood along with her Ph.D. research. She describes the simultaneous pressures of mounting childcare expenses and the need for research results in a culture of overwork. Meanwhile, she witnesses the additional barriers women face and asks, “Is it really worth it?” Subscribe to Voices In Physics podcast, follow on Twitter @voicesinphysics, or message about the show at voicesinphysicspodcast@gmail.com.

“A More Community-Focused Way of Doing Science” is a conversation with a white, male graduate student at a private university in the US. He talks about understanding and changing labor expectations at his university and discusses his more general outlook on how scientific communities are cultivated.

“Acknowledgement is the Path to Cure” is a conversation with a Southeast Asian assistant faculty member at a large research university in the United States. She describes an incident that jeopardised her future in academia; how social expectations around gender, relationships, and career continue to affect her personal life; and how her enduring passion for physics has kept her in the field. 

“He Got Promoted” is a conversation with a former physics major, who now works in data science. We talk about how her general discomfort in the physics department and key instances of discouragement led her to drop the major, opting for a degree in math instead. We then turn to her post-graduate career in banking and data analytics, and how gendered experiences manifest in sexual harassment, promotion, and pay.

“Finding Your Own Rainbow” is a conversation with an international graduate student at a research university. We talk about her transition from an all-women’s undergraduate institution to a predominantly male, physics graduate program. In addition, she describes her encounters with racial bias in the US, and her ultimately successful search to find the right graduate research group. 

“Language to Understand My Experiences” is a conversation with a white, tenure-track assistant professor at a research university. We talk at length about imposter syndrome and mental health, and how public understanding around these topics has changed over time. She further describes her experience with reporting a professor’s inappropriate behavior and the repercussions that this had.

“We Are Here to Work” is a conversation with a Latina physics lecturer at a large R1 university in the United States. We talk about the challenges of bridging multidisciplinary topics, deflecting unwanted attention from male peers, and navigating racial biases.

Welcome! Here's a little background on what spurred me to start this project, and what my guests and I will discuss in future episodes.