Best Cuny Graduate Center Podcasts (2024)

1
Celestial Bodies: What Trees Reveal About Outer Space 17:24

8d ago17:24

17:24

In this episode of The Thought Project, we bring you a Celestial Bodies podcast recorded by science journalist Rebecca Rand and astronomer Mark Popinchalk in which they explore the surprising connection between trees and cosmic events. Popinchalk, a CUNY Graduate Center alumnus (Ph.D. ’23, Physics) and postdoctoral fellow at the American Museum of …

1
Revolt and Recession: The Global Crisis of Higher Education and Work 29:20

3d ago29:20

29:20

[S6 E04] Revolt and Recession: The Global Crisis of Higher Education and Work David Harvey reflects on recent protests in Bangladesh as a "canary in the coal mine" for growing global discontent over unequal job opportunities and socioeconomic divides. He explores parallels between the unrest in Bangladesh, Iran, and student movements of the 1960s, …

1
How Punk Broke the Binary 1:06:23

3d ago1:06:23

1:06:23

When singer Debbie Harry helped form Blondie in 1974 she developed a unique stage persona to front the band. Though she may have appeared to fans as a hyper-femme caricature, Harry recalls her role as androgynous or "transexual" in her 2019 memoir Face It. In the third episode, host Ryan Purcell talks with Cornell University professor of music Judi…

1
What the New Title IX Means for Gender-Based Violence Prevention 30:30

16d ago30:30

30:30

In this Domestic Violence Awareness Month episode of The Thought Project, Tanya Domi speaks with Jessica Morak, executive director of institutional equity and chief diversity officer at the CUNY Graduate Center, about her work to implement new Title IX policies, which prohibit sex-based discrimination in schools. The updated policy includes new pro…

1
Wayne County at the Trucks (1974) 49:44

18d ago49:44

49:44

In the second episode of Soundscapes, host Ryan Purcell talks with Tony Zanetta. In the late 1960s, Zanetta worked in Off-Off-Broadway theater and ultimately landed a role playing the Andy Warhol character in Pork, an absurdist play based on Warhol’s phone recordings. Zanetta followed the cast to London where he befriended David Bowie who subsequen…

1
Fighting Toxic Algal Bloooms to Protect Our Oceans 22:04

20d ago22:04

22:04

In this episode of The Thought Project podcast, Georgie Humphries, a Ph.D. candidate in Earth and Environmental Sciences at the CUNY Graduate Center, talks to science journalist and CUNY Newmark J-School graduate Saugat Bolakhe about her work to fend off toxic algal blooms. Humphries delves into the fascinating yet alarming world of phytoplankton –…

1
The State of Reproductive Health Care with Brittany Brathwaite and Frances Howell 1:02:02

21d ago1:02:02

1:02:02

In this episode of The Thought Project podcast, we discuss the current state of abortion and reproductive health care in in post-Dobbs America with Brittany Brathwaite and Frances Howell, Ph.D. students who are studying critical social psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center. Howell, whose research focuses on assisted reproductive technologies and r…

1
David Bloomfield on NYC Schools Amid the City Hall Shakeup 24:50

1M ago24:50

24:50

Education policy expert David Bloomfield, a professor at the CUNY Graduate Center and Brooklyn College joins The Thought Project podcast to discuss the challenges facing New York City schools amid a shakeup at City Hall. As Mayor Eric Adams grapples with a five-count criminal indictment, and Schools Chancellor David Banks steps down, Melissa Aviles…

1
Gender Crisis N.Y.C. 45:00

1M ago45:00

45:00

In the premiere episode of Soundscapes, host Ryan Purcell talks with celebrated writer Lucy Sante about the landscape of gender logics within the New York rock scene. It was a nebulous soundscape of counterculture formed around gender explorations and social upheaval set to the soundtrack of an aggressive style of rock ’n’ roll that critics would i…

1
John Mollenkopf on the New York Mayor’s Crises 30:01

1M ago30:01

30:01

CUNY Graduate Center Distinguished Professor John Mollenkopf joins The Thought Project podcast to discuss the legal challenges facing New York City Mayor Eric Adams and his administration as multiple investigations involving top city officials unfold. Mollenkopf, an esteemed political scientist and sociologist who directs the Graduate Center’s Cent…

1
Meet the New Prez 29:05

2M ago29:05

29:05

The Graduate Center’s midtown Manhattan campus is humming after a quiet summer. Fall classes are in session, and a new campus café and bar is bustling. One person who is excited about the revived energy is President Joshua C. Brumberg. This is Brumberg’s first year as the permanent president of the CUNY Graduate Center. A neurobiologist and CUNY fa…

1
The Politics of Clans and Castes 42:48

2M ago42:48

42:48

[S6 E04] The Politics of Clans and Castes David Harvey explores Marx's theory of the capitalist mode of production, emphasizing the importance of understanding both the inner structure and external dynamics of this system. Harvey highlights the contradiction inherent in commodities, where use value and exchange value often clash. He discusses how t…

1
World War 3: The Resonance of Unwritten History 29:51

7M ago29:51

29:51

[S6 E02] World War 3: The Resonance of Unwritten History Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org David Harvey reflects on the eerie similarities between current global political and economic tensions and those of the 1930s, suggesting a potential repetition of histor…

1
Politics In Motion Live #1: From the Labor Theory of Value to Homelessness. Q&A with David Harvey and Miguel Robles-Durán. 1:02:46

10M ago1:02:46

1:02:46

Politics In Motion Live #1: From the Labor Theory of Value to Homelessness. Q&A with David Harvey and Miguel Robles-Durán. Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org Join David Harvey and Miguel Robles-Duran for a compelling Patreon discussion on the intersections of po…

1
Beyond Borders: Class, Nation & Nationalism 39:48

10M ago39:48

39:48

[S6 E01] Beyond Borders: Class, Nation & Nationalism Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org Professor Harvey investigates a very difficult and thorny problem, not only for Marxists, but for everyone, which is how to understand the concept of nation and the role of n…

1
The Politics of Humiliation 33:37

11M ago33:37

33:37

[S5.5 E08] The Politics of Humiliation Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org In his book, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, economist John Maynard Keynes warned against the humiliation of Germany at the end of World War I. Keynes argued that if you deal with …

1
The Question of Debt in Our Lives 21:45

12M ago21:45

21:45

[S5.5 E07] The Question of Debt in Our Lives Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org Last week Professor Harvey pointed out that the basic means by which consumerism is developed in such a way is to be consistent with the growth of an economy based upon profit seekin…

1
Urban Education Students Learn Podcasting from David Bloomfield 9:22

12M ago9:22

9:22

How well do New York City schools equip teachers to practice restorative justice? How do Latinx immigrant-origin teachers incorporate their cultures in their lessons and interactions with students? These are some of the questions that Graduate Center Urban Education Ph.D. students Michael Alston and Veronica Paredes are exploring in their research.…

1
Where Does Profit Come From? 25:28

1y ago25:28

25:28

[S5.5 E06] Where Does Profit Come From? Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org Professor Harvey takes us back to the very origins of Marx’s Capital by asking the questions, where does profit come from and what are the consequences of profit making? Harvey discusses …

1
Mass and the Politics of Scale 23:53

1y ago23:53

23:53

[S5.5 E05] Anti-Capitalist Chronicles: Mass and the Politics of Scale Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org Professor Harvey discusses the UAW strike and the transformation of the automobile industry. He argues that mere electrification of the automobile cannot sol…

1
The Return of McCarthyism (Part 2) — On The New York Times and other Liberal Media 26:00

1y ago26:00

26:00

[S5.5 E4] Anti-Capitalist Chronicles: The Return of McCarthyism (Part 2) — On The New York Times and other Liberal Media Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org Professor Harvey discusses the media “red scare” on China and the current persecution of the socialist Ame…

1
The Return of McCarthyism (Part 1) 29:46

1y ago29:46

29:46

[S5.5 E3] Anti-Capitalist Chronicles: The Return of McCarthyism (Part 1) Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org Professor Harvey discusses the persecution of the scholar Owen Lattimore at the hands of Joseph McCarthy. Owen Lattimore was editor of Pacific Affairs, a …

1
Capitalist Social Formation vs. OUR PLANET! 23:08

1y ago23:08

23:08

[S5.5 E02] Anti-Capitalist Chronicles: Capitalist Social Formation vs. OUR PLANET! Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org Professor Harvey discusses the relationship between the mode of production of capital and the context of its social formation. In the previous e…

1
Workers Unite! Emancipation from the Capitalist Totality 28:39

1+ y ago28:39

28:39

[PNM S5 E01] Workers Unite! Emancipation from the Capitalist Totality Stay connected with the latest news from Politics in Motion. Join our mailing list today: https://www.politicsinmotion.org In this analysis of the capitalist totality, Professor Harvey provides a critical examination of the exploitative nature of capitalism from the perspective o…

1
Professor Thomas G. Weiss on the U.N. and a Career Studying It 37:01

1+ y ago37:01

37:01

Born the same year as the United Nations was founded — 1946 — Presidential Professor Thomas G. Weiss has both worked for and spent decades studying the organization and its impact on international peace and security. He is retiring this year after a quarter century at the Graduate Center, but he is not stepping away entirely from scholarship. He jo…

1
Brenna McCaffrey on the Politics of Abortion Pills 41:12

1+ y ago41:12

41:12

In the run-up to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade, several Republican-led state legislatures passed bills that effectively banned abortions at pre-viability gestational ages, undermining the right to abortion once protected by Roe v. Wade. At the time, many abortion advocates, including CUNY Graduate Center alumna B…

1
An Anthropologist Studies Overlooked Mayan Women 33:39

1+ y ago33:39

33:39

Lilianna Quiroa-Crowell, an Anthropology Ph.D. candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center, recently received a Fulbright to conduct research in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, on the marginalized Indigenous Q’eqchi’ women in the Caribbean port city. A shipping capital for the banana industry since the early 20th century, Puerto Barrios was once a thriving me…

1
A Political Science Student Fights for Colombians’ Citizenship Rights 35:59

1+ y ago35:59

35:59

Andrés Besserer Rayas, a Political Science Ph.D. student at the CUNY Graduate Center, was conducting field work in Colombia last year for his dissertation on immigration policies when he learned about a human rights issue that appalled him. More than 40,000 Colombian citizens had been stripped of their citizenship without warning. Besserer realized…

1
Architect Marta Gutman on How to Build a Better City 46:27

1+ y ago46:27

46:27

Architect and historian Marta Gutman became dean of the Spitzer School of Architecture at The City College of New York last May. She is also a professor of Art History and Earth and Environmental Sciences at the CUNY Graduate Center. In her research, she examines ordinary buildings and neighborhoods; the history of cities; and issues of gender, cla…

1
Charles Tien on Congress and the Contested Speaker Election 23:30

2y ago23:30

23:30

The U.S. politics expert joins The Thought Project to discuss the 118th Congress and the bruising election of Speaker Kevin McCarthy.Earlier this month, Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the House of Representatives without receiving the customary 218 votes. Rather, he won by using a rule that allowed only present votes to count, lowering the t…

1
Professor David Bloomfield on Education as a Political Football 33:39

2y ago33:39

33:39

Professor David Bloomfield, a member of the Urban Education faculty at the CUNY Graduate Center and a professor of education leadership, law, and policy at Brooklyn College, joins this episode of The Thought Project to discuss what’s ahead for K-12 education in a time of deep political division. Schools have long been places for students to learn a…

1
Two Alumni Lead the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies 48:33

2y ago48:33

48:33

Since 2001, the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies (CLACLS) at the CUNY Graduate Center has worked to promote the study and understanding of Latin American and Caribbean cultures and Latino and Caribbean communities in the United States.Founding Director Laird Bergad, a distinguished professor of History at Lehman College and …

1
Distinguished Professor John Mollenkopf on Mayor Adams’ First Six Months 39:08

2y ago39:08

39:08

Eric Adams, the second elected Black mayor of New York City, inherited a city embattled by the the Covid-19 pandemic, a slow recovering economy, and a sustained spike in crime that continues to rise. Distinguished Professor John Mollenkopf (Political Science and Sociology), a consummate analyst of New York City politics, says there’s a widespread f…

1
How to Make the U.S. Safe for Transgender People 35:05

2+ y ago35:05

35:05

Imagine being identified as a male on your driver’s license but a female on your birth certificate. That’s the Kafkaesque experience of many transgender individuals including scholar and author Paisley Currah, whose important new book, Sex Is as Sex Does, examines how sex functions as a tool of government. Currah, a professor of Political Science a…

1
How LBGTQ Individuals Experience Criminal Justice 29:47

2+ y ago29:47

29:47

In this Pride Month episode of The Thought Project podcast, we talk to Max Osborn, a recent graduate of the Criminal Justice Ph.D. program at the CUNY Graduate Center who has carved out a niche as a queer criminologist, studying how LGBTQ individuals are affected by the criminal justice system. For his doctoral dissertation, Osborn, who is transgen…

1
Post Roe, How to Advance Women’s Rights, LGBTQ Rights 46:42

2+ y ago46:42

46:42

Anne Valk, a specialist in women’s history and public history, joins The Thought Project for a Pride Month conversation that touches on the curtailing of LGBTQ rights and of women’s rights by the Supreme Court and state legislators. Valk is a professor of History and director of the American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning at t…

1
Freeing Black People From Oppressive Mental Health Care 32:18

2+ y ago32:18

32:18

In this Juneteenth Thought Project episode, we talk to Britton Williams about the Black MAP Project and reinventing mental health care for the Black community. Just over 100 years ago, a white mob lynched and mutilated Mary Turner, a Black woman who was eight months pregnant, for criticizing the lynching of her husband. How did Turner’s family and …

1
Promoting Pride at CUNY 42:10

2+ y ago42:10

42:10

In this Pride Month podcast, we hear from the director and associate director of the CUNY LGBTQI+ Consortium, which advocates for and celebrates the CUNY LGBTQ community. Director Jacqueline Brashears (she/hers), a.k.a. Dr. Unicorn, is a biology professor at LaGuardia Community College. She is an LGTQ advocate and trans woman who has blogged about …

1
The Russia-Ukraine War Sets Dangerous New Precedents 44:01

2+ y ago44:01

44:01

The Russia-Ukraine war, now in its 11th week, continues to prove analysts wrong. This week on The Thought Project podcast, Julie George, a professor of Political Science at the CUNY Graduate Center and Queens College and a visiting professor at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute, explains why the conflict confounds her and other regional expe…

1
Israel’s Fractious Politics in a Fractured World 45:02

2+ y ago45:02

45:02

Abe Silberstein is a master's student in Middle Eastern Studies, Anthropology, and History at the CUNY Graduate Center and the associate director of the North America office of the Abraham Initiatives, an Israeli organization founded in 1989 that “strives to fulfill the promise of full and equal citizenship and complete equality of social and polit…

1
The Pandemic Proved That the Library Is Essential 30:43

2+ y ago30:43

30:43

Last June, after more than a year of COVID-induced remote work, Emily Drabinski, interim chief librarian and critical pedagogy librarian at the CUNY Graduate Center, and her staff reopened the Graduate Center library to students and scholars on a limited basis. “Every student we saw, made my heart swell 18 sizes,” she says. The pandemic proved to h…

1
How the Abortion Pill Is Tipping the Scales of Abortion Rights 42:57

2+ y ago42:57

42:57

How did activists in Ireland convince an overwhelming majority of the country to vote in 2018 to reverse the country’s abortion ban that had been more or less in place for over a century? According to Graduate Center Ph.D. candidate Brenna McCaffrey (Anthropology), the change in public opinion was influenced by a relentless campaign led by women wh…

1
Why Christmas Is Observed as a Day of Liberation by Black People 36:58

3y ago36:58

36:58

CUNY Graduate Center Professor Ramona Hernandez and alumna Allison Guess (Ph.D. ’21, Earth and Environmental Sciences) join this episode of The Thought Project for a timely discussion of the Hispaniola Slave Rebellion of 1521. Hernandez is the director of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute and a professor of Sociology at City College and the CUNY…

1
What It Takes to Free the Innocent and Create a Just Criminal Justice System 34:45

3y ago34:45

34:45

Edwin Grimsley is a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center. He received his B.A. from Wesleyan University in biology. His dissertation, The Collateral and Cumulative Effects of Marijuana Criminalization, examines the racialized development of marijuana laws in the United States, and how the criminalization of marijuana possession …

1
Stepping Forward as an LGBTQ Role Model in Tech 25:33

3y ago25:33

25:33

Joining The Thought Project today is Elaine Montilla, assistant vice president of information technology and the chief information officer at the CUNY Graduate Center. She was just named to the 2021 Outstanding 100 Role Model LGBT+ Executives list sponsored by Yahoo Finance. The list showcases leaders who are breaking down barriers and creating mor…

1
NEH Funds to Boost Students’ Digital Skills Have Widespread Benefits at CUNY and Beyond 27:31

3y ago27:31

27:31

When CUNY Graduate Center Professor Matthew K. Gold tweeted last month that he and his colleague Lisa Rhody received a nearly $500,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to help their students learn digital skills and create digital projects, he drew an outpouring of support. Close to 20 colleagues from across The City University …

1
A Pandemic and Political Polarization Slam U.S. Schools 29:25

3y ago29:25

29:25

David Bloomfield is a professor of Urban Education at the CUNY Graduate Center and of Education Leadership, Law, and Policy at Brooklyn College. A former general counsel of the New York City Board of Education, he is regularly consulted by the media for his expertise on education policy. He is the author of American Public Education Law, Third Edit…

1
The Long Shadow of 9/11 Hangs Over Guantánamo Bay 38:00

3y ago38:00

38:00

Philip Luke Johnson is a Political Science Ph.D. candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center. He is also a lecturer in the undergraduate writing program at Princeton University. His dissertation research is supported by fellowships from the Graduate Center, The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, and the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University o…

1
Why Andrea Alù Challenges the Limits of Nature 15:37

3y ago15:37

15:37

Today’s guest is physicist and engineer Professor Andrea Alù, who joined the Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, CUNY as the founding director of the Photonics Initiative. He is also the Einstein Professor of Physics at the Graduate Center and a professor of Engineering at The City College of New York. Broadly recognized as a l…

1
How to Fight and Win a War on Guns 37:51

3y ago37:51

37:51

Today’s guest, Professor Candace McCoy, is a faculty member in the Criminal Justice Ph.D. program at the CUNY Graduate Center. Trained in law, she applies legal concepts to social science research on a variety of criminal justice operations and organizations. She has published widely and has held several fellowships for research and teaching. From …

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Cuny Graduate Center Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide