Academia is an MLM
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In academia you are constantly making compromises. In my time, there have been numerous instances wh...
Following Your Instincts
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are many so-called truths in academia. One of them is the belief that academia is a calling, a...
Colouring Outside the Lines
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Academia likes to put people into a box. The pressure to stay within disciplinary boundaries is stro...
Nice White Women
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For many of our listeners, and certainly in conversations among friends, we talk about how one of th...
The Summer I Turned Pretty Old
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In academia, it's taboo to be unserious. Not here, though, at Academic Aunties. On today's episode, ...
The Energy We Bring
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Season 6 premiere!We've just started the school year and I'm realizing that I am already stressed. H...
Organizing, Mobilizing...and AI
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Season finale!The past year, we’ve talked a lot about just how much we’ve had to fight for the u...
Communities of Care
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The need for care - for radical care, for decolonial care, for accountable and reciprocal and emanci...
Depleting Higher Education
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are living in an age of fascism where you have political leaders who disregard democratic proc...
Fear, Heartbreak, Betrayal
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Higher education is under attack. You've probably heard about the cases of Mahmoud Kahlil, Rumeysa O...
DEI in Academia
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There is a backlash to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. All around us, we see the dismantlement of v...
Fighting for Our University
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(This is a reissue of the episode with audio issues corrected)Last week, at the end of the day on a ...
Recognizing Our Messy Leaky Bodies
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In academia, we assume that our value rests solely with our brains. The smarter we are, the more ...
I am not my mind
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the passage of time, about priorities, about health, about ou...
Reference Letters
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you have had to write or request an academic reference letter, which is probably all of you, then...
Remembering Boyet
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is it like to go into the holiday season when grieving the loss of a loved one? How do we honou...
Remagination
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can we reimagine new ways living and being? Our guest this week certainly did so. After suffering tr...
What happens now?
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As I record this episode, it's been about six hours after the major news networks have declared that...
Demystifying Book Publishing
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We take a deep dive into the world of academic book publishing. If you're in academia, you probably ...
One Year Later
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over the months, we have felt compelled to focus episodes on the ongoing genocide in Gaza, as well a...
Academic Assholes Redux
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The OG academic aunties are back! On the season 5 premiere, we have Dr. Nisha Nath and Dr. Mariam Ge...
Student Encampments for Palestine
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is normally a time when we’re readying ourselves for the term, often with optimism, energy, a...
Feminist Killjoy Book Club
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On the Season 4 finale, we revisit Sara Ahmed's new book, The Feminist Killjoy Handbook: The Radical...
We didn't need the university, it needed us
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We've talked a lot this season about the accelerating attacks on academic freedom, including the cam...
Suing for Silence with Mandi Gray
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A few days ago, we recognized International Women’s Day. Every year we shine a spotlight on the co...
There Can Only Be One
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Without community, a I wouldn’t have lasted through grad school and the years since. For me, ...
Fighting Feelings with Gulzar Charania
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’re in conversation with Dr. Gulzar Charania about her incredible new book “Fighting Feelings:...
One Foot In, One Foot Out
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For many in academia, there is always a certain ambivalence about being here. And historically, inst...
How to Make 2024 Easier
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're just a couple of weeks into 2024 and we are tired. After a restful break, we are back to the i...
Are we allowed to rest?
28 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the year comes to a close, many of us are feeling unsettled. After the rush of marking, teaching,...
Striving for Systemic Safety
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We recently passed the 34th anniversary of the École Polytechnique anti-feminist shootings. The sad...
The Violence We Face
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Academic Aunties, host Dr. Ethel Tungohan talks to Dr. Rebecca Major about the re...
Academic Freedom and Palestine
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the staggering death toll in Palestine rises, we talk about the censuring of Palestine solidarity...
What We Need To Know About Gaza
01 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The last few weeks have been devastating. Like many of you, I have been feeling this sense of immobi...
The Feminist Killjoy Handbook with Sara Ahmed
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sara Ahmed, author, scholar, and one of our feminist heroes joins us to talk about her new book, The...
How's Your September Going?
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We are back to school! So why do we feel so exhausted? On the season 4 premiere Ethel and Nisha list...
The Global Scholar
02 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season 3 finale! We conclude our series on academia in the UK and in Europe with Dr. Kidjie Saguin, ...
Hostile Environment
21 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Since the end of April, the University and College Union in the UK has been on a marking strike to d...
#NameTheTranslator
04 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Yilin Wang is an award winning writer, poet, editor, and translator based in Vancouver, and recently...
Precarity in British Higher Education
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Back from a fellowship in the UK, Dr. Ethel Tungohan talks to Dr. Eve Hayes De Kalaf about about cul...
We Regret To Inform You...
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"We regret to inform you..." Five words that academics read a lot. But no matter how many times you ...
The Yale Aunties
22 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After hearing about Bobbi Wilson, a budding 9 year old scientist who was a victim of anti-Black raci...
Academic Citizenship
08 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For many academics, especially those from global north and western institutions, we take our institu...
Relationships and Academia
22 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As we close out February, we're going to be talking about relationships and academia, specifically w...
#MoreThanWork
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Academia has a way to make us feel ashamed if we're not thinking about the work 24/7. In this episod...
Perspectives of an International Scholar
25 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we talk about another dimension surrounding this taboo of talking about money, and ...
Becoming The Writer You Already Are
11 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With a new year comes new resolutions, and for many, these resolutions inevitably involve writing. T...
Harry and Meghan
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A special holiday bonus episode for you! Harry and Meghan on Netflix is THE documentary event of thi...
Wrapping up 2022
14 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
2022 is about to come to an end, and with that comes a period of reflection for many of us. How is 2...
Talking About Money
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Academics would rather talk about their sex lives than talk about their salaries. So in today's epis...
How do I look?
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How we appear, our dress, our hair, our style, how we carry ourselves are all things that we as marg...
Battling Toxic Productivity
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Good things happen but you just can't enjoy it, and maybe you feel even more anxious. This is a comm...
The Not So Secret Lives of Academic Pets
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Many academics have pets. For me, most of my academic life from my postdoc until very recently invol...
Conference Audio Diaries
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're on the road at the American Political Science Association conference! Producer extraordinaire,...
The Long Road Home with Debra Thompson
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Debra Thompson (@debthompsonphd), talks about her poignant, profound and powerful book, The Long...
#AskAnAcademicAuntie: How to Sabbatical
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this bonus episode, it's host's prerogative: What do you do on a sabbatical? Dr. Genevieve Fuji-J...
Back to School
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Back to school is usually a fun time because it signals new beginnings. But this year it feels diffe...
The Real Deal with Job Search Committees
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In theory, applying for academic jobs seems fairly straightforward. You see the job ad, you put toge...
Say No to Precarious Employment
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this bonus episode of Academic Aunties, we hear from Dr. Vannina Sztainbok, who after working at ...
#AskAnAcademicAuntie: Responding to Reviewers
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How do you respond to peer reviews for journal articles? Do you respond to every single reviewer com...
The Ultimate Academic Auntie
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Get your elbows up. On this episode, our season 2 finale, we talk to the ultimate academic auntie, D...
Turning Red
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about Turning Red, the newest Pixar film, directed by Toronto filmmaker Domee Shi, about a t...
Conferences
18 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Conference season is almost upon us! And man oh man, do we have a lot to say about academic conferen...
#AskAnAcademicAuntie: Productivity Tips
09 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this #AskAnAcademicAuntie, Dr. Alison Smith (@AliSmith_UdeM), Assistant Professor of Political Sc...
When Yasmeen Met Abbie: Collaborations and Friendships in the Academy
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When we think about academic relationships, we often think of romantic partnerships between two acad...
Encanto
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're talking about Encanto, the newest Disney animated film, featuring songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda,...
Pandemic Parenting, Part II
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On Part II of our pandemic parenting series, we talk to Dr. Yolande Bouka (@YolandeBouka), Assistant...
Pandemic Parenting, Part I
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're talking about Pandemic Parenting. We will be talking about the compromises we’ve had to make...
After Hours
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this extended year-end episode, Dr. Rita Dhamoon, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the...
Anatomy of Academic Advice
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Oh advice. It seems like you can’t turn a corner without someone telling you how you’re professo...
#AskAnAcademicAuntie: Now Problems, Later Problems
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this #AskAnAcademicAuntie, a listener asks "how do you maintain a sense of peace in the face of s...
Hierarchies of S**t
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We talk a lot about toxic work environments and strategies of survival. But there are moments when y...
#AskAnAcademicAuntie: Gratitude and Gifts
15 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This is #AskAnAcademicAuntie, our bonus mini-episodes where we take your questions and try to impart...
The Chair
27 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Season 2 premiere! We take a deep dive into The Chair, the new Netflix series starring Sandra Oh abo...
#AskAnAcademicAuntie: Playing the Game
20 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this #AskAnAcademicAuntie bonus episode of Academic Aunties, Dr. Shaista Patel joins host Dr. Eth...
#AskAnAcademicAuntie: Finding Your Voice
28 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do you maintain your 'voice' as a writer and instructor when academic institutions expect partic...
Searching for Joy
30 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
(Season finale) This was supposed to be a light episode. It's hot, it's been a long year of COVID an...
Wait, was that racist?
26 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This is probably my most personal podcast of this series. I'm chatting with my good friends, Dr...
Subversives in the Academy
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For many women of colour, life in academia feels like a constant fight. As Dr. Rita Dhamoon writes, ...
A-holes in the Academy
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why are there so many in academia? Does the institution attract them or does the institution make th...
Introducing Academic Aunties (Trailer)
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Academia. A-CAAAHHH---DEEEMM--AIYA! ACA-DEEM-YAAHH. It is a site of exclusion. For those of us who a...