In this week’s episode, Anthony Cruz and Maris Schneider are joined by our newly reappointed international commissioner, Lucas Ferreira Marques dos Santos. Lucas is a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry, but today he is telling us all about his experience moving to Canada, conducting research as an international student, and sharing the exciting new opportunities he pours his heart and soul into to help make Western a welcoming community for all. Tune in and get ready to think about how your soul is doing!

Check our Lucas' work here: https://www.instagram.com/sogs.international/

https://www.instagram.com/westernuinternational/

https://www.instagram.com/lucas_forgeron/

Recorded on Tuesday, June 30, 2026 Produced by Anika Bushra Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview GradCast's own Scott Walters, a long-time host and producer. Shortly after his successful PhD defence on June 11, Scott's thesis was​ published on the Western website.

Scott's research explored how the feeding patterns of water-associated birds are reflected in the levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their bodies. Surprised by the results, Scott talks the hosts through some of the prevailing hypotheses that contextualized his research and talks through an explanation for his findings.

In their conversation, Ryan and Mark also listen as Scott recounts his journey from the West Coast to Western. With Scott's time at GradCast winding down, they reminisce about collaboration with Radio Western, playing analogue music (vinyl and CDs) live on air, and the importance of family and friends to a well-rounded graduate experience. Scott's PhD thesis: https://uwo.scholaris.ca/items/59896d8f-a9c8-457f-b087-81ecdfc25065 Recorded on Tuesday, July 7, 2026 Produced by Kuljeet Chohan Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Mark Ambrogio and Ryan Baxter interview Kelly Wang, a first-year PhD Student in Education. Kelly is exploring how digital media tools can enhance English language learning to support learners who are older adults and seniors. With her research, Kelly aims to contribute to a field that heavily emphasizes supporting children and youth, and less on older adults and seniors in their English language learning journey. The goal of her research is to support older newcomers in English-speaking regions to learn the language more efficiently and with greater confidence.

Tune in to hear Mark, Ryan, and Kelly’s conversation about her family’s immigration story, how it influenced her research, and how she’s preparing for her upcoming comprehensive exam.

Recorded on Tuesday, June 23, 2026 Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Chrishma Perera and Mark Ambrogio interview Pilar Rodriguez Mata, a PhD Student in Digital Humanities and Hispanic Studies. Pilar is studying Spanish-language tweets written from 2009 to 2022. Rooted in the humanities, Pilar studies the digital form, utilizing coding – to study the more than 3.5 million tweets she collected, with a focus on learning what enormous amounts of data can tell us about feminism in the Spanish-speaking world. Chrishma and Mark talk with Pilar about what brought her to Western, her journey learning computational tools for her research, and how therapeutic music and reading can be for graduate students.

Recorded on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 Produced by Kuljeet Chohan Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

Doing science is never about a single approach. Join hosts Bruno Mesquita and Rafaela Platkin as they chat with guest Camdyn Holmes, a MSc student in Biochemistry whose research compares two different approaches in examining what makes us human. Most people know that our DNA is an important part of who we are, but not all genes are active everywhere in our body. How do scientists study and measure the different ways our genes express throughout our cells?

Recorded on Friday, June 9, 2026

Produced by Milan Mammen and Zoe Kallenekos Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview Jasmine Proctor, a PhD candidate in Media Studies, in Western's Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS). Jasmine ("Jazz") is interested in how queer K-pop fan communities negotiate gender and sexuality through transcultural networked fan labour across digital platforms. Ryan and Mark ask Jazz about the emergence of K-pop and the interesting phenomenon of K-pop's mass appeal to a North American audience. More broadly, they discuss fandom, popular music, and popular culture. Jasmine also discusses the PhD program in Media Studies and helpful ways of de-stressing, including running, listening to music (of course), and reading. For further information on Jasmine's research: Jasmine Proctor Profile Jasmine's doctoral supervisor is Dr. Norma Coates, cross-listed between FIMS and Western's Faculty of Music. Recorded on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 Produced by Mark Ambrogio, with help from Ryan Baxter Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

GradCast heads to the Western Research Forum! Get a glimpse into Western's largest multidisciplinary graduate research conference as hosts Chrishma Perera, Victor Lau, Maris Schneider, Milan Mammen, and Anthony Cruz conduct short interviews with the graduate student presenters. This year's conference featured over 100 different presentations from across Western's 11 faculties. See below for timestamps.

Funding for the 40th Annual Western Research Forum was provided by Western's Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) and the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS). The venue and technical support were graciously provided by Western Libraries.

Recorded on March 6, 2026. Produced by Anthony Cruz. Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

Timestamps: 01:00 - Joey Butler 02:26 - Reshika Rohan 04:20 - Seth MacKenzie 05:50 - Kelly Wang 09:36 - Alessandra Walsh 11:26 - Abdul Moiz Noqui 12:28 - Alejandra Varela 13:24 - Aditi Satsangi 14:42 - Robyn Lewis 16:08 - Rameeza Rashed 17:06 - Emma Tassinari 18:40 - Mark Kwok 19:59 - Sara Varón Echeverri 21:11 - Sohini Chatterjee 24:01 - Haiyi Yan