Stories from the Field
Episodes
Researching Syria
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel Neep, who just published Syria: A Modern History, joins Ora, who published Syria Divided: Patterns of Violence in a Complex Civil War, for a co...
Publishing Fieldwork on Civil War
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
After your field research is done, there is always that final, daunting step: publishing. We are joined by Caelyn Cobb, Senior Editor in global histor...
Balancing Impartiality and Proximity in the Study of Civil Wars
18 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When conducting research and fieldwork on civil war, it is not only challenging to remain impartial or get physically and emotionally close to conflic...
Graduate Training and Civil War Research
11 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Even though you might think you know the place that you’re researching, things can still surprise you when you’re new to the field. In this episod...
Research Ethics and the Study of Civil War
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The study of civil war and political violence presents researchers with a wide range of ethical questions to navigate. In this episode, we welcome Chr...
Doing Research as a Native
28 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Kira Jumet and Merouan Mekouar join the podcast to share their insights on what it means to be a “native scholar” and all the complications and be...
Welcome to Season 2
28 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Stories from the Field Podcast is back for a second season! In this introductory episode of Season 2, Ora and Peter reunite to preview the new sea...
Lessons from the Field: What We Love About Field Research (and this Podcast!)
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this special final episode, we weave together numerous lessons from throughout the book and podcast, from the value of unstructured time in the fie...
COVID-19 and Field Research with Fotini Christia, Aliyu Zakayo, and Aidan Milliff
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fotini Christia, Aliyu Zakayo, and Aidan Milliff offer their perspectives as a full professor, a medical doctor and researcher, and an advanced gradua...
Learning Field Research with Vierelina Fernandez, Leah Hickert, Ayse Lokmanoglu, Jack MacDonald, and Renata Martinez
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We trace the process of learning field research by talking to a group of excellent undergraduate students (Leah Hickert, Jack MacDonald, and Renata Ma...
Teaching Field Research with Jesse Driscoll, Milli Lake, and Sarah Parkinson
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We welcome Jesse Driscoll from UCSD, Milli Lake from the London School of Economics, and Sarah Parkinson from Johns Hopkins University to talk about t...
Health and Safety in the Field with Ravi Perry and Sarah Zukerman Daly
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We welcome Ravi Perry from Howard University and Sarah Zukerman Daly from Columbia University to talk about the crucial but oft-overlooked issues of h...
Research in China with Enze Han and Robert Ross
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We talk to Enze Han from the University of Hong Kong and Robert Ross from Boston College about the significant potential and challenges of doing res...
Field Surveys and Experiments with Matthew Cancian, Kristin Fabbe, and Kristin Michelitch
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We welcome Matthew Cancian from MIT, Kristin Fabbe from Harvard Business School, and Kristin Michelitch from Vanderbilt University to talk about condu...
Conducting Research Amidst Conflict with Zoe Marks and Will Reno
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We welcome Zoe Marks from Harvard Kennedy School and Will Reno from Northwestern University to talk about doing research in insecure or conflict-affec...
Creatively Collecting Information with John McCauley, Rich Nielsen, and Lindsey O'Rourke
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Once you're in "the field," how can you most effectively gain knowledge and collect information? How do you build trust and connections...
Positionality, Emotions, and Research in the Middle East with Carla Abdo-Katsipis, Nadya Hajj, and Ian Lustick
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do our identities and lives outside of academia shape our fieldwork? And what does that look like in a region like the Middle East? We talk to Car...
The Ethics of Field Research with Erica Chenoweth and Zachariah Mampilly
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Ora welcome Erica Chenoweth from Harvard Kennedy School and Zachariah Mampilly from the Marxe School of International Affairs at Baruch Coll...
Developing Local Knowledge with Christina Greer, Wendy Pearlman, and Paul Staniland
24 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ora and Peter welcome Christina Greer from Fordham University, Wendy Pearlman from Northwestern University, and Paul Staniland from the University of ...
Introduction: Welcome to Stories from the Field
24 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this introductory episode, Peter and Ora discuss the evolving definition of "field research," which is conventionally defined as research...