The GLaD Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Today, we’re talking about what some would characterize the “topic” of the XXIst Century (others might perhaps not!): Digital Twins. Are we excited about them? Are our eyes so rolled that they’ll never recover? Or is this excited Vs eyeroll dichotomy not very helpful at all? Above all, what even are Digital Twins?

- Here is the Commentary Rachel mentions (free access):

Malleson, N., Franklin, R., Arribas-Bel, D., Cheng, T., & Birkin, M. (2024). Digital twins on trial: Can they actually solve wicked societal problems and change the world for better? Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 51(6), 1181-1186. https://doi.org/10.1177/23998083241262893

- The DT project for a bridge in Amsterdam, by The Alan Turing Institute: https://www.turing.ac.uk/about-us/impact/bridging-gap-between-physical-and-digital

- AI for continuous environmental project mentioned by Levi: https://waterinnovation.challenges.org/winners/ai-algal-monitoring/

- Larger scale aquatic “digital twin” project at Turing, mentioned by Levi: https://www.turing.ac.uk/research/research-projects/probabilistic-programming-aquatic-ecosystem-models

In this episode your fearless co-hosts, Dani, Levi, and Rachel, talk about visibility and making a place for oneself in the worlds of research and academia. We chat about brands (do you need one?), clout (is it a thing?), and whether there's agreement about what it means to be an academic duck (maybe?). We've also got advice and lots of GLaD banter.  

It sure feels like we're living through an academic "quitting" moment, with social media abounding with tales of folks departing universities for greener professional pastures. What's going on?! In this episode Dani, Levi, and Rachel try to find out. Joined by three academic "upgraders", Frances Darlington-Pollock, Carson Farmer, Seth Spielman, who share a bit of their professional journeys and their reasons for shifting out of academia and into other sorts of roles, we explore the extent to which the “golden ring” of an academic job has become tarnished, what makes folks leave, and where exactly they’re going to when they do. 

Today, we're reaching back "into the vault" to our Spatial Analytics and Data (SAD) interview series to bring you one of our past guests: Danny Dorling, the Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford. In this conversation, we'll talk about his life, times, and career, and also learn a little bit about who he would invite to a SAD dinner party! And: if you're curious about the SAD interviews, check out our Spatial Analytics and Data YouTube Channel (link) for the full back catalogue. And, if you'd like: let us know your story at thegladpodcast@gmail.com We'd be glad to hear from you! 

Note: we recorded this interview at the height of a global pandemic from home, while we usually record GLaD in the studio. So, we're sorry for any issues with the audio quality! We hope we've gotten better since this... and we hope you enjoy! 

(15minute) cities are hot again! The idea that you should be able to walk (or bike) to most amenities and services you rely on daily has taken a new life of its own in the last few years. In this episode, we introduce the initial notion of a 15minute city and trace its origins in urban planning and other urban disciplines, at least several decades back. We then open the "hot take" door for Rachel, Levi and Dani to discuss whether they're really new (no), and whether they are even desirable (maybe). Stay with us for the time you'd be able to sample at least three of the neighborhoods discussed in the episode!

References

• The original paper that coined the term and is credited to have informed the “Paris revolution” is: https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/4/1/6
• A popular piece in The Guardian on the main ideas behind the concept: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/25/15-minute-city-urban-planning-future-us-cities
• Glaeser’s take on the term, mentioned in the episode: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2021/05/28/the-15-minute-city-is-a-dead-end-cities-must-be-places-of-opportunity-for-everyone/ 

To an academic, doing something for “work”  can mean so many different things. Sometimes, it’s our academic hobbies—the passion projects we take on alongside our usual work—that can really shape how we view our selves and how others view us.

In this episode, we discuss the projects, perspectives, and ideas we’re passionate about as academics: not just our work hobbies but our hobby horses. Join us for a wide ranging conversation about PhD training, open science, work life balance, and how we might do academic careers differently.

When we did our #SAD cocktail party, we were so excited about every bit of our lists that we never made it to one of the final questions we always ask: #SAD books. We more than make up for it in this episode, where we (Rachel, Levi and Dani) discuss our favorite picks for books that discuss Geography (Life) and Data. Along the way, we talk about the role books have, why we think they're (still!) important today, and how their role has changed.

In our third episode, Rachel, Dani, and Levi talk conferences: what they're for, tips for managing the seemingly inevitable stress that accompanies a conference, and what we like about them. 

To make sure we're getting a range of perspectives, we've got three guests in this episode (a GLaD podcast innovation!). Levi talks to Trisalyn Nelson, geography professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Dani chats with Michael Widener, geographer at the University of Toronto; and Rachel talks to Oscar Larson, conference director at the American Association of Geographers (AAG).

This is another long episode, which can easily be stretched across two or three listening sessions.

Got thoughts on "how to conference"? We'd love to hear from you!

The flowers are blooming. The days are getting longer.

Equally as exciting: there are so many things in the Geography, Life and Data world that we are looking forward to. Join your co-hosts, Levi, Dani, and Rachel for a whirlwind discussion of some of the stuff we're most excited about for the Spring of 2023.

A callback for our original Spatial Analytics + Data (SAD) listeners who loved the part of the Interviews where we got to the SAD Dinner Party segment.

In this, our second GLaD episode, Dani, Levi, and Rachel answer the Dinner Party questions they used to ask SAD interviewees: whom would you invite? What would you talk about?

This one's a long one, so pull up a chair, go for a long walk, or maybe string it out over a few days. 

For more SAD background and Rachel's written answers to the SAD Dinner Party questions, see this SubStack essay.