Dissertation coach, Dr. Jen Harrison, explains how certain cultural and structural issues prevent professors and institutions from fully supporting their grad students in their writing process. She names a number of issues including an "inside-outside" problem whereby academia does not want to accept help from those outside institutions. In the end…

The Tower of London has watched over the city for nearly a millennium. If you are a priceless Jewel, the Tower is your protector. To countless of the city’s accused, a captor. Royals, regals, religious, and rogues. The Tower has seen them all. Many have been famous, and many more have been lost to history. Holding in all of these secrets is a chall…

Michelle Grosser describes her journey toward a more regulated nervous system, explains how to communicate safety to our bodies so that we feel more whole, more alive, and more intentional in our lives, and describes simple strategies for regulation.

After a 27-year career in academia where she had been promoted to full professor, served as chair, as well as served as Associate Dean of Research at her institution, Dr. Martha Mitchell explains that she was ready for something new. Currently working as a manager at a national laboratory for approximately one year now, she has found the new work a…

In this authentic and inspiring conversation, Dr. Azucena Verdín tells us about how she once did not like the ways she moved in the world, struggled with self-compassion, and easily spiraled into rumination. For a time, she believed leaving her academic career was the answer until she realized--after identifying the role anxiety was playing in her …

“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we deal with vampires in old London Town,’. - Ben Aaronovitch in Rivers of London We start this episode in the London neighborhood of Highgate. It’s famous cemetery, exuding Victorian design and extravagance, is the setting for our first story, about a potential paranormal experience and the long term metaphy…

You're invited to feel into Fall 2024 and let the new season teach you something! In this episode, I acknowledge the heaviness of fall semester and describe how you can "tap" some of this heaviness away. As you widen your vision and see your life beyond your academic responsibilities and feel connected to something bigger, you are better able to we…

Until very recently, only London held the distinction of hosting the Summer Olympics three times, more than any other city in the world. The Games in London have been pivotal, memorable, and marked by very significant historical context, beginning with the early 20th-century growth of the modern Olympics in 1908, to the intense symbolism of post-wa…

In this episode, Jen and Mares take a moment to reflect on their journey as podcasters, and take a look back at episodes in their catalogue that both examine and celebrate London over time during the hottest months of the year. For both new listeners and veterans of the community alike, there’s something for everyone this summer in the city. We wil…

Dr. David Weill shares his story about quitting his job—at the prime of his career—as the Director of the Heart-Lung Transplant Program at Stanford. Wanting more balance and a more contemplative life, he says, “I had a real sense that it was time to go.” He now writes in the mornings and does consulting work with transplant hospitals in the afterno…

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu shares her childhood realization that anything can happen and discusses how this insight has shaped her career and life. She describes difficult times where she felt unwell in her work and in her body, explaining that in each situation--from burnout to a covid-inspired career pivot--she continually chose her own wellness and …

Dr. Katharine Stewart shares her story about choosing to leave her position as Sr. Vice Provost and return to faculty, explaining that while she loves her administrative work, she also loves (and misses) her work as a teacher and scholar. Katharine urges academics to let their values lead, to bring their whole selves to their work, to honor the car…

Dr. Sheena Howard tells how the president of her institution called faculty into a room and announced the shut down of certain departments and the letting go of certain faculty. She describes the experience as scary and eye-opening, realizing that even though she was able to keep her job this time, that may not always be the case. From there, Sheen…

Mares and Jen have enjoyed playing a game of luck called “Underground Roulette.” The game is easy to play. Just select a tube stop at random, keep a curious mind, and hit the streets! It’s an engaging way to get a sense of place and all that the city offers. But, what if we could add the dimension of time, seeing not only the neighborhood as it is,…

Happy Solstice! This episode kicks off the Summer 2024 season. I describe the importance of using the solstice as a natural stepping stone toward your career wellness destination--a time where you can reflect on where you are and where you're going. I offer one strategy to doing seasonal discernment and invite you to try it on for yourself: block o…

Wildlife on the Tube: it’s not just on the Northern Line at night. It’s everywhere. Throughout the Underground, flora and fauna show up intentionally - and unintentionally - in the most surprising places. In this episode, we will: explore the gardens maintained voluntarily by TfL employees discuss the history of the London Underground In Bloom comp…

“Is it worth anything to you, guv’nor?” It’s boots on the street in city centre as we pinball through time … from the 1600s, to 1912, to current day. We’ll think and wonder about how unknown treasures might exist even in the heart of an urban area. Along the way we’ll … park ourselves in Cheapside, and learn of its history, shine a light on the wor…

Dr. Jia urges us to create more space in our careers and lives: space for recovery, rest, compassion, self-compassion, and more. She shows us that space is not absence, but presence. Find Dr. Jia at publishedMD.com or email her at info@PublishedMD.com

Dr. Felice Russell describes how she navigated the difficult relationship she has always had with academia, leaning on self-trust, leaps of faith, and one-degree shifts to make the many career decisions that have gotten her to the place she is now: a school librarian who feels settled and content both at work and at home. Find Dr. Felice Russell on…

Marny Requa explains that life transitions such as becoming a parent and menopause are not just short-term changes and then everything returns to "normal." They are major life transitions that deserve to be acknowledged, honored, and planned for. However, as Marny explains, we are not doing these things well on institutional, cultural, nor societal…

"Time is so precious," says Dr. Martha Kenney. In this episode, Martha describes the importance of finding your why--a process of pausing, going inward, getting re-acquainted with yourself, and naming your values. Once you know your why, you can allocate your time accordingly, aligned to the intentions you have for your life. Martha explains that h…

Happy Equinox!! Welcome to the Spring 2024 Season of Self-Compassionate Professor! First, I talk about how honoring the change of seasons invites a more intentional approach to work and life generally: 1) helps us to see beyond the academic calendar, 2) opens us to a sense of spaciousness, 3) gives us a sense of "punctuation" between seasons, 4) gi…

Providing up to 5 million passenger journeys a day, the London Underground is integral to the city's infrastructure. It's impossible to imagine how the city would function without it. But why would something built for purpose become a source of admiration and entertainment? A Transport for London style guide provides powerful evidence: "Every Under…

Dr. Dan Lair, Associate Dean of Faculty and Student Affairs at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, talks about the benefits of perceiving our academic work as “just a job.” Specifically, Dan explains what work means to him, the pitfalls of tying your job to your identity, the impact overwork by his academic spouse (me!) has had on him, and…

At Yesterday’s London Times, we are all about inquiry, questions and stories, particularly stories that are new to us or that we just want to know on a deeper level. We seek out people, places, and facets of history that are lesser known, quirkier, or even downright strange. We also like to shine a spotlight on those who really do - or have done - …

A little romance? What began as a fluff piece about an eccentric romance novelist turned into a snapshot of a century through the eyes of someone who lived it to the fullest. Meet Barbara Cartland: extravagant, exaggerated, and … pink. As author of 723 books, she remains the most prolific romance novelist of all time. If you’ve ever seen her, you w…

Bears. Cute. Cuddly. But when we looked at them through the long lens of London history, it got complicated pretty quickly. Join us as we take the ursine plunge, and think about…. the bears that roamed Britain 7000 years ago the Tower menagerie, blood sports such a bearbaiting, especially popular during the Elizabethan period, the invention of the …

Burnout and betrayal expert, Lora Cheadle, discusses how self-betrayal often masquerades as burnout, how we can begin the process of healing from self-betrayal, and how to "dance" our way to authenticity.

It's a Yesterday's London Times tradition - the Boxing Day episode! Relax along with us as we look back at some of the people and places we met on the podcast this year. Half of our episodes sent us time traveling throughout the Sixties in different centuries of British history, and the other episodes were our regular mix of quirky yet thoughtful t…

WELCOME TO OUR 50th EPISODE! In the final stop of our ‘60s YLT Time Machine, we touch down in the 1560’s just in time for a Tudor Christmas. In a deeply divided nation in which religion is politicized, we’ll see how the young Queen Elizabeth finds her own path. The Tudor Christmas was a respite from work and from unrelenting poverty. It was a time …

Dr. Cynthia Ganote describes hiding her artistic interests in graduate school, believing that if her academic community found out that she sang, acted, and danced, she would not be taken seriously. When she took her tenure-track job, she put all of her energy and effort into it, letting go of her artistic work completely. While on the outside, Cynt…

In our 2021 episode, “Here is Vogue, In Spite of it All!”, we explored how the British edition of the iconic fashion magazine evolved into an outlet for groundbreakingVogue wartime journalism. As we studied the reasons behind that seemingly unlikely transformation, we met some strong, creative, and intellectually brilliant women, among them the com…

It’s getting all wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey at YLT as we celebrate a huge milestone in British culture: the 60th anniversary of the iconic Doctor Who! In this episode, we : look at the unlikely-for-the-time trio who launched Doctor Who back in 1963 discuss the basic premise of the show examine its importance as a British cultural phenomenon reflect…

Let's do the Time Warp... it's the Rocky Horror episode! Though many people have seen the cult classic film, few people know about its origins in a 63 seat London theatre. In this episode, we : delve into the creative team and cast responsible for its deviant mayhem, sharing their back stories and how they all converged in time and place in early '…

Hop in the YLT time machine, we are on the move once again, but brace yourself: 1666 awaits. How do everyday people survive constant war, devastating plague, and raging destruction all within the span of a very short window of time? In this episode, we examine the perseverance of Medieval Londoners, and explore many themes of life in the 17th centu…

In this 60’s time travel event, we explore deep! We’re in the 1060s, further, in history than we’ve ever gone on YLT. How can a simple craft help us to think about a complex, political and military event? We examine the Norman conquest, the battle of Hastings, through the Bayeux tapestry. You’ll meet the major players and dig deeper to discover som…

We’re back to the Sixties again; this time, the 1360s! Before commercial travel, a pilgrimage provided tourism with a spiritual twist. A veneration vacation, so to speak. Today, people travel for spiritual reasons to Mecca, the Ganges. Jerusalem, Israel, Mount Fuji, El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, and other destinations. The medieval pilgrimag…

No matter the career decisions in front of you--big or small--making choices from a place of wellness is key to paving a self-compassionate career path. We invite wellness when we invite slowness, connection to self, and connection to inner wisdom. Find your own self-compassionate career path in the Sabbatical Program, which begins September 1, 202…

Are you ready for a break? Do you just need to get away? YLT understands, so let’s escape for a bit and go on holiday together! In this episode, we will: - examine the history of leisure in Britain and the evolution of paid leave from work - consider how public transportation increased mobility and accessibility to the seaside from Victorian era on…

I explain how to know when boundary work is needed, how to use Christina Maslach's six sources of chronic stress (workload, values, reward, control, fairness, community) to find your boundary gaps, and I offer a meditation by Karla McLaren about how to feel an embodied sense of boundaries. Please remember to leave a review of the podcast!…

As she prepares to leave one career behind and pivot full-time to another, Dr. Cara Jones describes experiencing a "busy season" in her career. In her academic job as a tenured associate professor, she sets strong boundaries to protect herself from excess nervous system dysregulation while also approaching her work with as much integrity as possibl…

To celebrate London Pride 1st July, we share a tour through queer London history, anchoring at Gay’s the Word, a Bloomsbury book shop that has played a pivotal role in queer life and history. We’ll think about… the systems that have oppressed, how oppression can stoke the spirit of activism, unusual alliances in times of struggle, how a bookstore c…

Happy Solstice! Today I discuss why pausing and feeling into your career vision every solstice and equinox creates a solid structure on which your vision may take shape in the "real world." I also explain how to do your own summer solstice planning session this season and in the future. Find out more about the Sabbatical Program here: https://danie…

Self-trust is an essential foundation on which one builds a self-compassionate career path. When we cannot trust ourselves to make decisions grounded in wellness, we can feel helpless, hyper-vigilant, or both, and get stuck in an unhealthy response cycle. In this episode, I discuss how we can break the cycle of distrust within ourselves in three ma…

In this episode, I explain how walking a self-compassionate career path is extremely difficult, but how doing the work can help you to feel supported in mind, body, and spirit. I also describe my list of "ingredients" for paving such a path: 1) naming honestly your wants/desires for your career, 2) connecting regularly to self, 3) noticing intent w…

Dr. Toyosi Onwuemene describes how healing from her people-pleasing behavior impacted the dynamics of her relationships at work, how she learned to find more supportive spaces and leave behind toxic ones, how she now invests in herself and those around her, and what she means by "fighting" for her career. Find Dr. Toyosi Onwuemene on Facebook and L…

I re-release my 2021 interview with Dr. Angela Gist-Mackey. She explains that her career journey began in advertising, but eventually she realized that not only was academia a better fit for her, it paved a path for her to fulfill a larger purpose. While in her advertising career, she experienced bullying by supervisors and was struck by the sharp …

Professor of STEM Education at the University of Colorado and creator of the Whole Professor Project Blog, Dr. Erin Furtak tells the origin story of her blog, the epiphany she had that her approach to work was exacerbating her migraines, her commitment to feeling whole, and her ongoing journey to feeling well. Erin insists that wellness among acade…

I offer an update about Dr. Melva Robertson's academic career as well as re-release her 2021 interview. In it, she describes both her research about Covid and the Great Resignation as well as her own career pivot into academia after the Covid pause provided ample reflection time and insight. Melva explains that self-care, mental health, and finding…

It’s that time of the year in certain places around the world. The ending of a school year sometimes comes with yearbooks, collections of formal and informal photos that capture memories. Often, yearbooks have awards. Who will be Most Likely to Succeed? Who’s the Most Athletic? Who will be dubbed Class Clown? In this episode, Jen and Mares each nom…