Confluence: Podcast

Welcome to Confluence!

On this podcast, we celebrate the people whose hard work, talent, and intellectual firepower drive the research and teaching mission of UM: our excellent faculty and our talented graduate students.

We also aim to capture the bristling energy of intellectual life of this great university. An essential aspect of a great graduate experience is finding a community driven by curiosity and a willingness to dive deep into ideas.

This podcast aims to celebrate that rich culture of exchange and creativity through conversations with faculty and their graduate students about the ideas that move them and motivate their work. We delve into the theories and practices of graduate education, explore the cutting-edge ideas in research and creativity that underpin their work, and we try to have some fun!

Whether you’re already part of our community, or you’re part of a wider listening audience, we’re glad you’ve floated our way and joined our Confluence!

Podcast Episodes

Ep. 96: Confluence Eddies Out

Our 95th episode is our last--at least, for a while. Host Ashby Kinch bids listeners farewell and reminds you of the vital nature of the strange but essential quest to understand the world that is higher education.

Ep. 95: Madalynn Madigar (M.A. Ecocriticism) on Slow Apocalypse, Petroleum and Utopias

Madalynn Madigar shares about eco-melancholia, petromodernity, and apocalyptic narratives.

Ep. 94: Richard Forbes (M.A. Journalism) on Melting Glaciers and Absurd Hope

Richard Forbes is a graduate of the Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism master's program at UM. He dives into the relationship between his school work, his life's work, and how he deals with the challenges that bridge the two.

Confluence Podcast episode featuring Richard Forbes

Ep. 93: Grad Student Panel on Resilience and Retention, GradCon 2023

On this episode, we revisit GradCon 2023 and an enlightening panel on grad student resilience. Six students reflect on their graduate journeys.

Ep. 92: Annie Belcourt, Mentoring for Mental Health

Dr. Annie Belcourt, professor in the Public and Community Health Science department and chair of Native American Studies, returns to Confluence to round out our coverage of the M-HOPES grant.

Ep. 91: Bryan Cochran: Mentoring for Mental Health

Psychology professor Bryan Cochran returns to Confluence to pick up our series on the faculty educational program, M-HOPES: Mental Health Opportunities for Professional Empowerment in STEM.

Ep. 90: Holly Schleicher, Co-PI on the M-HOPES Grant

Licensed clinical psychologist Holly Schleicher kicks off Confluence's newest series on graduate student mental health, but with a twist! Holly, along with Annie Belcourt and Bryan Cochran, offered a three-part educational series for UM faculty through a grant called the Mental Health Opportunities for Professional Empowerment in STEM, or M-HOPES.