Plucky Ladies explores female curiosity, perseverance, and feats of excellence through discussions with women at University of Arizona, across disciplines, and from a variety of backgrounds. Guests include scientists, artists, administrators, and writers. Plucky Ladies can be found on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, and Audible, or by clicking link above. Guest info below.
Storybook Earth Podcast
Storybook Earth unites storytelling and science to tell the tales of Earth through its geology. Join me as I explore everything from the origin of Earth’s crust to our recent ice ages, pondering geologic time from the Hadean to the Holocene, all done in a personal narrative style. You can find Storybook Earth on the Geology Podcast network via the TravelingGeologist website, on Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music.
Plucky Ladies Guests
Emilia Caylor is a PhD candidate in the department of geosciences at UArizona. Emilia holds a B.S. and M.S. in geosciences. She talks with me about growing up in Texas in a family of seven children, discovering her love of science, and figuring out she wanted to pursue her PhD after working for a year in the oil industry. Listen to Emilia’s episode
Dr. Faten Ghosn is an associate professor in the School of Government and Public Policy at UArizona. Her research and teaching interests focus on the interaction of adversaries and how they handle disagreements. She is the recipient of a 2020 Five Star Faculty award, chosen by undergraduates for her excellence in teaching, research, and mentoring, and she holds the Melody S. Robidoux Foundation Fund Professorship. Listen to Faten’s episode
Dr. Maha Nassar is an associate professor in the school of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at UArizona. Her specialty is Arab culture and intellectual history, with a focus on Palestinians. Her book entitled Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World won the 2018 Palestine Book Award, and she is currently working on her second book. Listen to Maha’s episode
Dr. Netzin Steklis is an associate professor of practice in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences at UArizona. She has studied a variety of nonhuman primates in captive and wild settings, in particular the ecology, social behavior and conservation of wild mountain gorillas in Rwanda. For 10 years she also served as the Director of Scientific Information Resources for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. Listen to Netzin’s episode
Dr. Amanda Kraus is an assistant professor of practice in the U Arizona College of Education studying educational policy and practice. She is also the Executive Director for Disability Resources and the Assistant Vice President for Campus Life. Amanda works on issues of disability identity, disability dynamics in the student veteran community, disability related biases and micro-agressions, and increasing national visibility of wheelchair tennis. Listen to Amanda’s episode
Dr. Guada Lozano is an associate research professor of mathematics and the director of CUES (Center for University Education Scholarship) at University of Arizona. Guada is also the Co-Founder of the STEM in HSI (Hispanic Serving Institutions) working group at UArizona, and studies issues of equity for LatinX students in STEM, especially those born in the U.S. Listen to Guada’s episode
Dr. Melody Buckner is the associate vice provost of digital learning and online education at UArizona. Her background spans fields including architecture, programming, educational technology, and sociocultural studies. Currently, she is working on creating student-centered approaches to online learning as the digital world becomes a key component of both our educational and career experiences. Listen to Melody’s episode
Dr. Joela Jacobs is an assistant professor of German Studies in the UArizona College of Humanities, and co-founded the Literary and Cultural Plant Studies Network. Her studies and teaching explore diverse topics such as 19th-21st century German literature and film, Environmental Humanities, the History of Sexuality, the History of Science, and even monsters, fairy tales, and zombies. Listen to Joela’s episode
Dr. Ananya Mallik is an assistant professor in the UArizona department of geosciences, and the endowed chair in gem science. She is an experimental petrologist studying the interaction between the deep Earth and the atmosphere, and heads up the Mallik Petrology Research Group. Listen to Ananya’s episode
Dr. Barbara Carrapa is a professor of geology and the department chair in the UArizona department of geosciences. She has done extensive geological field research in Asia, South America, and the western United States. Her work addresses questions of how tectonics and climate interact to shape Earth’s surface, and how climate changes over millions of years affect erosion, deposition, and paleoecology/paleobiology. Listen to Barbara’s episode
Dr. Joellen Russell is an oceanographer and professor of biogeochemical dynamics in the UArizona department of geosciences. She is also the Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Professor of Integrative Science. Her work involves releasing robot floats into the ocean to collect data that helps us understand the ocean's role in climate. Listen to Joellen’s episode
Dr. Jamie Edgin is an associate professor studying cognition and neural systems in the UArizona department of psychology, and the Director of the Memory Development Disorders Laboratory. Her research includes studying how sleep affects memory and learning in children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as Down’s Syndrome and autism. Listen to Jamie’s episode
Renee Angle is a writer/poet whose work is lyrical, thought provoking, and edgy. Her book WoO is her creative translation of of the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon. She formerly worked at the UArizona Poetry Center as a youth program coordinator. Listen to Renee’s episode
Dr. Tammi Walker became a professor in both the Law and Psychology departments at UArizona after leaving her job as a lawyer in D.C. to get a PhD in psychology. She studies how universities and colleges handle sexual assault accusations. Listen to Tammi’s episode
Nikolas Hodge is the Lead Program Manager at UArizona’s Trellis CRM. She is a self-made techie, and has been applying her organization and management skills in unique ways throughout her career. She is also involved in several groups who advocate for women, both on campus and in the Tucson community. Listen to Nik’s episode
Molly McCloy is a writer, performer, and professor at Pima Community College who holds an MFA in non-fiction from the New School. Molly is a four-time Moth StorySlam winner, and the creator/performer of a one-woman show entitled “Mad Dog Grudges.” She has led storytelling workshops at UArizona, and is a frequent host and storyteller at Odyssey Storytelling in Tucson. Listen to Molly’s episode
Dr. Diane Thompson is a marine geoscientist who uses coral reefs to study climate change and the affects of global warming on ocean ecosystems. She is an assistant professor in the UArizona department of geosciences, and the Director of Marine Research at Biosphere 2. Listen to Diane’s episode
Dr. Wendy Moore is an associate professor in the UArizona department of entomology who studies beetles that shoot superheated fluid out of their butts! She is also the insect systematics curator of the UArizona Insect Collection. Listen to Wendy’s episode
Melo Dominguez is a Tucson artist, muralist, and gallery owner. Their work can be seen at UArizona at the Museum of Art, Confluencenter, and in the Cesar Chavez building, as well as at the Tucson Tamale Company and their gallery, Galeria Mitotera. Listen to Melo’s episode
Chatting with Melo Dominguez at UArizona before recording our interview (2019).
Interviewing Jamie Edgin at UArizona (2019).