Not Just Data: Feelings, Doubts, and Hope in Academia at Risk

In this episode, Nadyia Kiss, Tania Arcimovich and Elena Trifan join for an intimate conversation about the emotional side of studying scholars at risk. Instead of focusing on results or policy, they reflect on what it felt like to work in the field: the moments of injustice, helplessness, solidarity, and unexpected hope that shaped their research.The discussion moves from personal biographies to methodological choices, and from the frustrations of bureaucratic systems to the therapeutic aspects of listening to displaced scholars’ stories. The researchers talk openly about positionality, trust, privilege, and the blurred boundaries between academic work, activism, and care. What began as a research project gradually became a shared space of reflection that challenged their assumptions about academia, expanded their intellectual paths, and strengthened their commitment to solidarity and public engagement.At the center of the conversation is a simple but powerful idea: that research on displacement is not only about documenting risk, but also about creating spaces for hope, trust, and collective meaning.