Best Jeremy E. Smith Podcasts (2025)

1
Matthew Wisnioski on the History of the Idea and Culture of “Innovation” in the United States 1:39:16

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13d ago1:39:16

1:39:16

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Matt Wisnioski, Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Virginia Tech, about his new book, Every American an Innovator: How Innovation Became a Way of Life. The pair talk about how the new book connects to Matt’s earlier book, Engineers for Change; how what Matt calls “innovation expertise” fir…

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Yunah Bvumbwe, Zimbabwe 20:06

24d ago20:06

20:06

Yunah Bvumbwe is a blogger and a community activist for women's rights. She is also a volunteer for local organizations. In this episode, Yunah discusses experiences and observations that motivated her to begin writing poems about girls' rights when she was 12 years old… realizing that she could be a voice for girls and women who did not feel that …

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Ben Snyder on Spy Plane: Inside Baltimore’s Surveillance Experiment 1:01:34

27d ago1:01:34

1:01:34

In this 100th episode (!!!) of Peoples & Things, host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Benjamin H. Snyder, Associate Professor of Sociology at Williams College, about his recent book, Spy Plane: Inside Baltimore’s Surveillance Experiment (University of California Press, 2024). Spy Plane examines how the city of Baltimore, Maryland, came to adopt a corporate…

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Dr. Blessing Timidi Digha, Canada 13:59

1M ago13:59

13:59

Dr. Blessing Timidi Digha is a Black woman who identifies as a Feminist and who is also an Advocate, Storyteller and Community-Based Researcher who brings all of her intersections and ideologies to the work she does on Gender-Based Violence and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights. Blessing likes to kickstart uncomfortable conversations on issues …

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Beth Linker on Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America 1:23:53

1M ago1:23:53

1:23:53

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with historian Beth Linker, Samuel H. Preston Endowed Term Professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of the History and Sociology of Science, about her recent book, Slouch: Postural Panic in Modern America (Princeton University Press, 2024). Slouch examines the history of conceptions of “…

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Alison Arngrim, USA 19:02

2M ago19:02

19:02

Alison Arngrim is an American actress, author, philanthropist, and advocate for the protection of children from abuse, exploitation, and neglect. At five years old, Alison began her television career and is best known for her portrayal of Nellie Olsen on the NBC television series, "Little House on the Prairie." In this episode, Alison discusses her…

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Helen Thompson on Disorder and the Analysis of Contemporary Geopolitics 1:16:20

2M ago1:16:20

1:16:20

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and co-host of the great podcast, These Times, about her approach to geopolitical analysis and the centrality of energy geopolitics in that approach. The pair start by talking about Thompson’s book, Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st C…

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Danielle Mullings, Jamaica 20:11

2M ago20:11

20:11

Danielle Mullings is a dynamic young leader and technology enthusiast. She does a fun mix of tech, youth empowerment, and media, hosting a youth TV show, moderating global science events, and serving on Jamaica’s AI Task Force. Danielle is currently juggling these responsibilities while part-time pursuing her Masters of Science in Translational Hea…

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Jessica Smith on Engineering and Public Accountability in Energy Industries 1:15:56

2M ago1:15:56

1:15:56

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks to Jessica Smith, Professor in the Engineering, Design, and Society Department and Dean’s Fellow for Earth and Society Programs of the Colorado School of Mines, about her work on engineering and public accountability in energy and mining industries. The pair discuss Smith’s long-held interests in mining and …

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Susan Jeremy (USA) 20:16

3M ago20:16

20:16

Susan Jeremy is a solo performer, stand-up, playwright and public school teacher in New York City. As a performer, she keeps her audiences laughing with many characters, music, observations, and dry wit. She is the author of seven solo shows which she performs internationally. Susan’s works have been featured around the world at comedy festivals, i…

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Lauren E. Bridges on Fantasies and Realities of Digital Transformation and the Data Center Industry 1:14:53

3M ago1:14:53

1:14:53

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Lauren Bridges, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia, about her work on the political, economic, and environmental politics of big data infrastructures. They focus on some of Bridges’ work on the disconnect between the promises made to localities around digital transformati…

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28. LIVE: Becoming human - the search for soul in turbulent times // MIKAEL KURKIALA 1:11:24

3M ago1:11:24

1:11:24

Many cultures maintain that we are not born human but that we may become fully human through cultivation and care. Could it be that our destructive tendencies are not because of our human-ness, but rather due to a lack of it? If so: where and how can we cultivate our humanity? All species play their part in the living web – what role might we human…

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Jeremy Braddock on "Firesign: The Electromagnetic History of Everything as Told on Nine Comedy Albums" 1:10:10

3M ago1:10:10

1:10:10

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Jeremy Braddock, Associate Professor of Literatures in English and Coordinator of the Media Studies Initiative at Cornell University, about his book, Firesign: The Electromagnetic History of Everything as Told on Nine Comedy Albums. The book explores themes of media and technology through nine albums ma…

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Dr. Patty Johnson, USA 18:50

4M ago18:50

18:50

Dr. Patty Johnson is a writer and psychologist who believes in healing through stories. She is currently working on a memoir and has 2 published books—Essays of Night and Daylight and Breathe & Release: A 12 Month Journal for Healing from Anxiety. In this episode, Dr. Johnson discusses what sparked her interest in becoming a psychologist… being gui…

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Jeffrey Lee Funk on Unicorns, Hype, and Bubbles 59:23

4M ago59:23

59:23

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with retired professor, consultant, Discovery Institute fellow, and a winner of the NTT DoCoMo Mobile Science Award, Jeffrey Lee Funk, about his recent book Unicorns, Hype, and Bubbles: A Guide to Spotting, Avoiding, and Exploiting Investment Bubbles in Tech (Harriman House, 2024). The book provides readers …

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27. LIVE: Living an embodied life and crafting the Way // CAROLINE ROSS 1:19:01

4M ago1:19:01

1:19:01

Caroline Ross has spent decades being immersed in Daoism, art, crafting and foraging (and spent 10 years touring with her rock band). Today, her practice weaves these diverse threads together into a philosophy of life centred on embodied living, exploring the Way (in the Daoist sense of the word) and making art as if the Earth mattered. Caroline Ro…

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Dr (h.c.) Jen Blackwell BEM and Sue Blackwell, United Kingdom 16:12

4M ago16:12

16:12

After 10 years of searching for the right support to enable Jen to follow her dreams, Jen and Sue Blackwell (Daughter and Mum) co-created DanceSyndrome in 2009, where everyone matters and all are encouraged to lead happy, healthy and purposeful lives. DanceSyndrome is for people with and without Down’s syndrome and other learning disabilities, usin…

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Eleni Kalantidou on Design, Repairability, and Cultures of Repair 1:00:19

4M ago1:00:19

1:00:19

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Eleni Kalantidou, Assistant Professor at the Queensland College of Art and Design, about the volume of essays, Design/Repair: Place, Practice, and Community (Palgrave MacMillan, 2023), which Eleni co-edited with Abby Mellick Lopes, Alison Gill, Guy Keulemans, and Niklavs Rubenis. The volume examines bot…

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26. LIVE: Cultivating the human in an era of intelligent machines // JEREMY NAYDLER 1:18:22

5M ago1:18:22

1:18:22

Forest of Thought episodes are back! And over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing three public conversations that were recorded 2023-2024 as part of a series of events exploring the concept of ‘life-force’. We begin with philosopher Jeremy Naydler, delving into the question of how we may cultivate the human in a time of intelligent machines: “Advanc…

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Christine Sayo, Kenya 17:45

5M ago17:45

17:45

Christine is a passionate communications specialist and environmentalist. She is a lover of human rights and advocates for the rights of women and girls. Christine has been working in the NGO space for over fifteen years and has a dream to write and produce a TV show about non-profit organizations. In this episode, Christine discusses why she began…

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Aure Schrock on Politics Recoded: The Infrastructural Organizing of Code for America 1:36:09

5M ago1:36:09

1:36:09

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Aure Schrock, an interdisciplinary technology scholar and writing coach and editor at Indelible Voice, about their book, Politics Recoded: The Infrastructural Organizing of Code for America (MIT Press, 2024) Politics Recoded examines the history and culture of Code for America, an organization that, as …

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Gabriella Coleman on Hackers Cultures (Plural!) 1:26:48

5M ago1:26:48

1:26:48

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, and guest host, Paula Bialski, Associate Professor for Digital Sociology at the University of St. Gallen in St. Gallen, Switzerland, interview Gabriella Coleman, Professor of Anthropology at Harvard University, about her long career studying hacker cultures. Topics include how hacking has changed over time, the di…

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Marshall Poe on the New Books Network, Technology, and the Future of Academic Communication 1:19:35

6M ago1:19:35

1:19:35

Peoples and Things host, Lee Vinsel, is joined by guest host and Peoples & Things producer, Joe Forte, Media Projects Manager with Virginia Tech Publishing, in interviewing Marshall Poe, the founder and editor of the New Books Network, the largest academic podcasting platform in the world. The trio discuss how the New Books Network came to be; how …

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Special Episode: Mike Sacasas on the Question of the Human, and the Question of Technology, Live at the Bradley Study Center 1:23:51

6M ago1:23:51

1:23:51

This special episode features a discussion between Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, and Michael Sacasas, author of The Convivial Society substack newsletter and Executive Director of the Christian Studies Center of Gainesville, Florida. In the first part, Sacasas gives a presentation - riffing on the title of Martin Heidegger’s famous essay, “The…

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Joshua Brinkman on American Farming Culture and the History of Technology 1:30:40

6M ago1:30:40

1:30:40

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Joshua Brinkman, Assistant Teaching Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at North Carolina State University, about his book, American Farming Culture and the History of Technology (Routledge, 2024). The book provides a fascinating exploration about how American farmers–contrary to their image a…

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Pooja Priyamvada, India 18:07

6M ago18:07

18:07

Pooja Priyamvada is a higher education educator in various fields, including media, literature, mental health and theater. Pooja holds a background in media. She is an author, a translator and, more recently, an entrepreneur. Pooja likes to say that she is also a full-time parent. In this episode, Pooja discusses her reasons to begin writing about …

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Matt Beane, "The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines" (HarperCollins, 2024) 1:30:01

7M ago1:30:01

1:30:01

As part of our informal series on artificial intelligence, Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Matt Beane, Assistant Professor of Technology Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, about his book The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in the Age of Intelligent Machines (HarperCollins, 2024). Beane outlines the fascin…

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Vivi Lin, Taiwan 22:31

7M ago22:31

22:31

Vivi Lin is a Taiwanese human rights activist who founded the global nonprofit organization With Red & Period Museum, fighting for period equity and menstrual justice, and ending period poverty and stigma. Vivi is a youth advisor for the Taiwanese government and is currently studying public policy in Oxford. In this episode, Vivi discusses her insp…

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Benjamin J. Shestakofsky on How Venture Capital Shapes Work, Innovation, and Inequality 1:12:53

7M ago1:12:53

1:12:53

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks to Benjamin Shestakofsky about his book, Behind the Startup: How Venture Capital Shapes Work, Innovation, and Inequality (U California Press, 2024). Shestakofsky is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is affiliated with AI at Wharton and the Center on Digital Culture …

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Patience Nyange, Kenya 18:46

8M ago18:46

18:46

Patience Nyange serves as the Spokesperson for the Office of the Executive Secretary at the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). With over 18 years of experience in media, communications, and advocacy, she is a seasoned professional specializing in broadcast journalism, international public relations, social media management, and ment…

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Anthony Kwame Harrison on Cassette Tapes and Hip Hop Culture 1:59:32

8M ago1:59:32

1:59:32

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Kwame Harrison, Alumni Distinguished Professor and Professor of Sociology at Virginia Tech. Harrison records and performs under the moniker “Mad Squirrel” and has co-founded two groups—the San-Francisco-based Forest Fires Collective and Washington DC’s The Acorns—as well as releasing various solo projec…

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Maricar Jagger, Indonesia and United Kingdom 12:33

8M ago12:33

12:33

Maricar Jagger was born in a small town on the island of Borneo in Indonesia. She has experienced life in different countries growing up, and studied in the United States. Maricar wanted to be an artist but studied business in college and pursued a career in Marketing. She is a creative at heart, and she believes in the power of the arts to change …

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Salem Elzway and Jason Resnikoff on Automation 1:21:24

8M ago1:21:24

1:21:24

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Salem Elzway, postdoctoral fellow in the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at University of Southern California, and Jason Resnikoff, assistant professor of contemporary history at the University of Groningen, about the history of automation. The discussion takes as its launching point an essay Elzwa…

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Kids Across the Spectrums: Growing Up Autistic in the Digital Age 1:16:03

9M ago1:16:03

1:16:03

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Meryl Alper, Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Northeastern University, about her recent book, Kids Across the Spectrums: Growing Up Autistic in the Digital Age (MIT Press, 2023). In addition to being a professor, Alper is also an educational researcher who has worked over the past 20 year…

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Mushairat Mamun , USA 15:41

9M ago15:41

15:41

Mushairat Mamun is a first-generation American Bangladeshi who was born and raised in Queens, New York. At 17, she moved to Bangladesh to pursue her undergraduate degree, focusing on Public Health and Philanthropy. Throughout her early medical career, Mushairat played a crucial role in addressing challenges in Maternal Health in Bangladesh. Current…

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Pamela O. Long on the Long, Long, Long History of Technology 1:11:40

9M ago1:11:40

1:11:40

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with MacArthur “Genius Prize” winning historian Pamela Long about her long career writing about the history of ancient and Medieval technologies. The pair use Long’s forthcoming book, Technology in Mediterranean and European Lands, 600-1600 (Johns Hopkins UP, 2025), as a launching point but also cover her pr…

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Margaret Akullo - Uganda, United Kingdom, Austria 20:07

10M ago20:07

20:07

Margaret Akullo is a Ugandan born British citizen, a Criminologist and a visionary with ethical leadership qualities. In her extensive career of three decades in international development she has led diverse teams delivering programmatic change and social impact in more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. In 2022, at the ag…

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Emily M. Bender on AI Hype 1:11:58

10M ago1:11:58

1:11:58

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks to Emily Bender, Professor of Linguistics, Director of the Masters of Science in Computational Linguistics program, and Director of the Computational Linguistics Laboratory at University of Washington, about her work on artificial intelligence criticism. Bender is also an adjunct professor in the School of C…

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Yolandé Conradie, South Africa 21:42

10M ago21:42

21:42

Yolandé Conradie describes herself as an ordinary woman who lives an ordinary life but has had extraordinary experiences. She is a psychosocial therapist by profession, but loves teaching and educating, and puts her skills to use as a life coach and a university educator. In this first episode of Season 4, Yolandé discusses growing up in a cult whe…

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Raquel Velho on Disability, Infrastructure, and London's Public Transport System 1:28:08

10M ago1:28:08

1:28:08

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks to Raquel Velho, Associate Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, about her recent book, Hacking the Underground: Disability, Infrastructure, and London's Public Transport System (U Washington Press, 2023). Hacking the Underground provides a fascinating ethnographic …

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Cyrus Mody on the Importance of Square (as in NOT COOL) Scientists and Engineers 1:11:56

11M ago1:11:56

1:11:56

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks to Cyrus Mody, Professor in the History of Science, Technology, and Innovation and Director of the STS Program at Maastricht University, about his book, The Squares: US Physical and Engineering Scientists in the Long 1970s (MIT Press, 2022). Many narratives about contemporary technologies, especially digital…

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Benjamin C. Waterhouse on "One Day I'll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion That Conquered America" 1:25:35

11M ago1:25:35

1:25:35

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks to Benjamin Waterhouse, full-as-full-can- be Professor of History at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, about his book, One Day I’ll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion that Conquered America (Norton, 2024). The book examines how the ideal of self-employment became so prominent in the United St…

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Kate McDonald on Asian Mobility History as Labor History 1:13:33

12M ago1:13:33

1:13:33

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks to Kate McDonald, Associate Professor of History at University of California, Santa Barbara, about her fascinating research on the history of mobility in Asia and how it looks different when we approach it as a history of work and labor. The pair traverse McDonald’s career from her current project, The Ricks…

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Paula Bialski on Middletech, Software Work, and the Culture of Good Enough 1:11:31

12M ago1:11:31

1:11:31

Peoples & Things host Lee Vinsel talks with Paula Bialski, an Associate Professor for Digital Sociology at the University of St. Gallen in St. Gallen, Switzerland, about her recent book, Middle Tech: Software Work and the Culture of Good Enough (Princeton UP, 2024). The pair talk about the art of ethnographic study of software work, and how, maybe,…

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Trish Kahle on the Labor History of Energy Systems 1:01:21

1y ago1:01:21

1:01:21

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks to Trish Kahle, Assistant Professor of History at Georgetown University-Qatar, about Kahle's new project, "Power Up: A Social History of American Electricity," which focuses especially on the labor history of both constructing and maintaining the electricity grid. They also talk about Kahle's forthcoming boo…

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Dr. Joannie Marlene Bewa, MD, PhD, Republic of Benin and USA 20:56

1y ago20:56

20:56

Dr. Joannie Marlene Bewa, MD, PhD, is a physician, public health researcher, global advocate for girls & women's sexual and reproductive health, and the founder and CEO of DOTOH Health. She has over fifteen years of combined experience in global health, health policy, digital health, clinical care, research, international development and non-profit…

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danah boyd on Digital Technology and Everyday Life 1:15:31

1y ago1:15:31

1:15:31

Peoples & Things host Lee Vinsel talks with danah boyd, Partner Researcher at Microsoft Research, founder of the Data & Society Research Institute, and a distinguished visiting professor at Georgetown University, about her career and work. The pair discuss boyd's the genesis and intellectual background of boyd's now classic text, It's Complicated: …

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Dr. Suchi Gaur, The Netherlands and India 17:26

1y ago17:26

17:26

Dr. Suchi Gaur is the Founder of Mission Hummingbirds and is on a new journey to resource the work that women and young women are doing in their local communities. In this episode, Suchi discusses the story of hummingbirds and how this powerful and tiny bird has inspired her personally, appearing in challenging times in her life and giving her hope…

1
Jennifer Hart on African Mobility and Infrastructure 1:09:46

1y ago1:09:46

1:09:46

Peoples & Things host Lee Vinsel talks to Jennifer Hart, Professor and Chair of the History Department at Virginia Tech, about her work on the history and ethnography of mobility and infrastructure in Ghana. Hart’s newest book, Making an African City: Technopolitics and the Infrastructure of Everyday Life in Colonial Accra (Indiana University Press…

1
Bryan Hanson on Disrupting Academic Bullying 1:27:43

1y ago1:27:43

1:27:43

Peoples & Things host Lee Vinsel talks with Bryan Hanson, ombudsperson for Virginia Tech's Graduate School, about a program he developed called Disrupting Academic Bullying, which seeks to encourage all members of academic communities to support and promote affirming environments for research and learning. Lee and Bryan talk about the reality of ha…