PODCAST · society
Learning on the Job
by James K. Harris and Nic Flores
Join two recent(ish) queer Ph.D.s of color as we navigate the world of higher education. One is an English professor at a community college and the other teaching Latina/o/x Studies at a four-year public university. We present our unique perspectives on the shifting landscape of college in America and share our behind-the-scenes thoughts on everything – from the tenure track to conference etiquette to figuring out how not to get fired. Call it a learning experience.Email us: [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!
Episodes
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It's Never Too Early for Self Care
Today, we delve into the often discussed but less frequently practiced theme of self-care. Nic and James share personal anecdotes and tips on incorporating culinary creativity into your self-care routine. Plus, we explore the importance of financial literacy in academia, especially for those of…
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The Stupid Question is the One You Don't Ask
Send your questions to [email protected] Alrighty, here goes! We're back and trying our hand at giving ADVICE! Got a question about higher ed, lower learning, making it, faking it, or anything in between? We're your queers! We're kicking things off with a bit of advice to our younger selves. But…
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Lesson #50: The New Needs Friends
We're 50 lessons deep, y'all! The time has come for us to lip sync for our.....wait, wrong show! Although it goes without question about who would slay who in a lip sync battle, Nic and James have decided that the time has indeed come for reflection. Reflection on this podcast, its content, and...
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Lesson #49: D.E.I Isn't Real, D.E.I. Can't Hurt You.
Because we can't just have nice things, this week yet again James and Nic are tasked with sifting through the wreckage that is higher education in the age of anti-intellectualism. This week the duo gets to spend a sweet moment basking in the glow of a successful educator's strike (Shoutout CSU!)...
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Lesson #48: Lead with Gratitude
The queers are back, baby! Nic and James shake the cobwebs off the microphones and jump back into The Academic Discourse. Speaking of, we see you Cal State. They share what’s been going on in their lives and discuss where they hope to go. It’s been too long and we’ve missed you. Join us on this...
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Taking a Long Pause
We're taking a long break. This isn't a goodbye. Far from it. We are re-grouping, re-assessing, and resting. Thank you to all those dear listeners out there! We'll be back in the near future. Remember: A "no" to others is also a "yes" to you.
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Lesson #47: The Pause
Because living in this moment can be unendingly exhausting, this week we're trying something different: a little much needed rest and commiseration. Where in the place of segments, we do a different kind of learning and leaning and loving. And you know what, it feels so good. What We're Reading:...
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Lesson #46: You Have to Yell Into a Pillow Sometimes
The recent(ish) queer PhDs of color are back to discuss all the moving parts of the world around them. So many things to keep track of these days! The world(s) of higher education remains held together by the thinnest and most fragile string possible. We're here, though. And we're glad you're…
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Lesson #45: Chatbots Are Not The Enemy
Power-hungry, cartoonishly ambitious, proudly ignorant politicians are. This week, we kick off the new year with a veritable onslaught of genuinely disturbing news. Seriously, what is going on in Florida? How concerned should we all be? This seems...bad. But we temper that potential alarmism with…
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Lesson #44: Take a Break Anyway!
We're back for one final episode before the holiday break! US higher ed doesn't disappoint when it comes to mess, small joys, and everything in between. Listen in as Nic and James reflect on 2022 and their speculate about the future. Enjoy and catch you in the new year! Further Reading: “‘It's a...
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Lesson #43: We Should All Be In a Union
This week we switch formats and become a wall-to-wall sportscast in celebration of the 2022 World Cup! jk, that would be awful. BUT, we do have some thoughts about the limits of academic freedom under theocracy, a story that reverberates from the hallowed slave-labor built stadiums of Qatar's…
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Lesson #42: Turns Out Peer Review is a Skill
Hey, hi, hello! The end-of-the-semester slump is here and has us all in our feels. Nic and James discuss conferencing, the midterms (we're not a 'political' podcast in that sense we swear!), and how they plan to get through to the end of the year. Also, did you know that most of us don't actually...
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LotJ Presents: YA at the Intersection, Episode 3: White Smoke
It's the spooky season, and in the land of Black YA that can only mean one thing: Famous horror trope meets "Get Out"! And what a horribly unsatisfying description of this deeply interesting and unexpected novel. Tiffany D. Jackson's White Smoke certainly invites some comparisons to the horror...
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Lesson #41:
Further Reading: "America's PhD Production Experienced Its Steepest Decline on Record", Chronicle of Higher Education "'A Perilous Position,': Some Community College Students Struggle to Meet Basic Needs, Report Says", Chronicle of Higher Education "What Happened to Black Enrollment?", Chronicle…
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Lesson #40: Deep Breathing Exercises Are Key
We thank you for your patience during our short hiatus! We’re back and trying to make sense of all the things. Nic and James discuss the events of the recent weeks, including the overnight changes to Biden’s student loan forgiveness terms (do better!), the unsurprising “prestige hierarchy” of...
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Lesson #39: Normal is a Town in Indiana
And none of us ever want to go back there. We're far enough into the pandemic to do some real taking stock, figuring out what worked, what didn't, what we can let go of, and what we really shouldn't be in a rush to bring back. And yet somehow if feels like the plan is just to ignore all that and...
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Lesson #38: Something Something Marathon, Something Something Not a Sprint
We're back for year 3! To say that academia is a wild ride and that we still have jobs is...an understatement. Whew! Nic and James take time to reflect on the summer break and their current trajectories before jumping into the newness of the year and all that comes along with it. Did you hear…
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LotJ Presents: YA at the Intersection, Episode 2: Oreo
Back for more adventures on the road to Young Adulthood! This month, Ariel and James look back to the early days of Young Adult literature with an oft-overlooked contemporary retelling of an old classic. The Greek myth of Thesseus rewritten to tell the story of a young biracial Black and Jewish...
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LotJ Presents: YA at the Intersection, Episode 1: A Blade So Black
And now, here's something we hope you'll really like! After a menacing amount of promising, it's here! James made a YA book podcast. Well, Ariel Rawson made a YA book podcast and James...was present. The LotJ Family is growing. Get into it! For this, the first stop on our road trip across the...
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Lesson #37: Finish Those Incompletes!
Oh you thought the semester was over?! Well, you were right. It is. But like good academics, we had just a few more things to get off our plates, including this episode recorded back in May during the height of Finals madness. And let's all just agree to blame finals for its tardiness. Worth the...
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Lesson #36: If You Need to Rest, Rest
We’re approaching the final weeks of the semester/quarter and that means summer is just around the corner! The trees are finally coming to life, the birds signing, the flowers blooming, and everywhere everybody in higher ed is just trying to survive the last bit of obligation. We’re all feeling…
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Lesson #35: Let It Be What It Will Be
Spring means cleaning, taking stock, and reflecting. And that, dear listeners, is exactly what we're doing this week. We get a bit meta as we think through this show, its audience, purpose, and future. (Heads up, an exciting Young Adult book podcast is coming your way soon!). From there we think...
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Lesson #34: Banning Books is Always Bad for Business
This week Nic and James take a different approach to the issues and bring things a bit closer to home. The two use the segment "Failing Better," to share their small wins and victories as junior faculty and acknowledge how far they've come. Nic confesses his love of spreadsheets (send him your…
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Lesson #33: Say Gay
This week spring is springing, birds are chirping, and Florida is...Florida-ing. We spend a bit of time on some potentially hopeful news about the perceived value of a college degree, and that is good. Hold on to that feeling, because from there it's pretty much straight downhill. This week's...
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Lesson #32: Call a Spade a Spade
Happy March! Spring, sprang, sprung...We just want the weather to be consistent! Speaking of the opposite of consistent, ain't it wild to be a human being at this particular moment in time? This week the duo begin with the blue and yellow elephant in the room and attempt to make sense of how we –...
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Lesson #31: The Future is Wild
Untamed, unfettered, unrestrained, un...likely to be pleasant. It's a jungle out there, and this week the duo dive into the thick of a harassment scandal over at ::ahem:: that one school...But in all fairness, they are certainly not the only ones. And moments like these only seem to add to the...
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Lesson #30: Give Grace, Always
Happy new year! We're back. The students are back. The cold and snow are back. The virus hasn't gone anywhere. We continue on in our learning journey. Woot. Nic and James lean back into podcasting life by reflecting on their way-too-short breaks away and all the stuff that did (and didn't) do.…
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Lesson #29: Resolve Can Be a Kind of Strength
Looks like we made it! The end of the year brings a few last lessons. First of all, never, and we mean NEVER, underestimate the popularity of Omarion. That man is getting around these days, whew! We begin by touching base on what this latest round of madness feels like on the ground. From there…
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Lesson #28: A Finished Semester is a Good Semester (We Think)
Happy December! The end of the term is finally upon us and we. are. EXHAUSTED! Y'all feel that, too, right? The world of higher education continues on in the U.S. and we remain skeptical of the trajectory laid out. This week, Nic and James take an ever-so-needed walk down memory lane (a.k.a. High...
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Lesson #27: A Website is Not a School (and Vice Versa)
With apologies for the holiday delay, this week we're back with some thoughts about the state of adjunct labor (shout out to the UC lecturers!) and the future of this thing called higher education. We celebrate some hard fought victories for unionized labor (we should all be unionized!) while...
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Lesson #26: Fall(-ing) Ain't So Bad!
Happy November! Fall is officially here and it's more than simply a season to be experienced with the shift in weather and landscape changes. (But, really, who doesn't love sweater weather?!) No, "fall" is also an apt metaphor for the numerous ways that it seems like we are collectively going…
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Lesson #25: Same Team, Karen!
Happy Halloween! This one is pretty appropriately horrifying, particularly if you're concerned about the education outcomes of Black and Brown students. But, hey, what else is new? We dive into the crisis happening across education as the pandemic continues to disproportionately diminish outcomes...
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Lesson #24: Live and Let Live, and also Learn
Happy October! We're collectively exhausted by the mid-point in the semester and, yet, we're all still required to move forward as normal. This week, Nic and James diverge from their usual format to discuss the relationship between "work-life" and "personal life" and how these areas spill over…
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Lesson #23: Once You Drive Up a Mountain, You Can't Back Down
Wherein we are still here, and do indeed remain queer, but all the rest feels a bit more...abstract. This week we're thinking through the continued struggles of working in a boring dystopia. Longtime listeners will remember our cautious enthusiasm for the seemingly imminent return of in-person...
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Lesson #22: Keep Ya Masked Head Up, Fam!
The new semester remains an unrelenting one. Vaccine skeptics, student and faculty fatigue, and masks galore. Definitely one for the books. At least we've got each other, right? RIGHT?! Nic and James discuss the highs and lows (mostly lows) of navigating the current higher ed terrain and want...
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Lesson #21: It Doesn't Get Better, But You Get Better At It
Like those cartoon dinosaurs from the 90s, WE'RE BACK! It's a new year, a new season (whatever that means) and...honestly not enough has changed. We've got a lot of thoughts about the only thing any of us are thinking about these days: Covid in the classroom. What even is socially distancing in…
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Summer Conversation Series: Dr. Angela N. Castañeda Reminds Us to Breathe Deeply and Lovingly
Happy August! When was the last time you focused (and we mean "focused focused") on your breath? Breathing is so important, y'all. The summer conversation series continues with Dr. Angela N. Castañeda, Lester Martin Jones Professor of Anthropology at DePauw University, who is an absolute delight,...
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Summer Conversation Series: Dr. Maurice E. Stevens Reminds Us of Our Enoughness
Happy Summer! We continue our summer conversation series with a very special guest, Dr. Maurice E. Stevens, Professor of Comparative Studies at OSU. The conversation begins with Maurice’s reflection on their intellectual history and journey, flows into a candid discussion on dealing with the…
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Summer Conversation Series: Dr. Noah Jampol Appreciates the Lessons of Struggle
Welcome Back! Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder. Or else time is a flat circle (just keep reminding yourself). But we're back with an interview that was absolutely worth whatever wait you did or didn't have. This time we're joined by James's colleague and comrade from Bronx Community...
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Lesson #20: Anything Worth Having is Worth Waiting For
Because summer is busy and scheduling is hard, our Summer Conversation Series is going to be delayed by a week this time around. But worry not! We decided to take the opportunity to catch up on some academia news/triggering mess that has been floating around this summer. We've got thoughts on...
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Summer Conversation Series: Dr. José A. de la Garza Valenzuela Appreciates the Value of Learning
Happy June! Nic and James continue the summer conversation series with special guest, Dr. José A. de la Garza Valenzuela, Assistant Professor of Latina/Latino Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The enlightening conversation begins with Dr. de la Garza Valenzuela’s early...
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Summer Conversation Series: Dr. Ariel Rawson Appreciates the Value of Time
Happy Summer! Well, at least in academia. As promised, we're switching things up a bit this summer to bring you some really great conversations with some of the people who have been important parts of our intellectual journey. Bravely up first, Dr. Ariel Rawson has some thoughts about the end of...
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Lesson #19: Sometimes Silence is SO LOUD
In this week’s episode, Nic reflects on and enjoys the blank spaces in his calendar and James makes the final push to the end of the semester before the summer break. The duo check-in about the role of Learning on the Job within the ever-expansive ecosystem of higher education. We get a little...
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Lesson #18: There is No Industry that is Without Mess
tw/ Mess and Messiness This week James and Nic have a few challenging conversations and revisit some ghosts of grad school past. And girl, it gets a bit messy. Hopefully messy in a productive way, but time will have to tell on that one. We think about the politics of self-promotion, the…
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Lesson #17: Focus on the Process, Not the Product; Or, Write, Baby Girl, Write!
This week, James and Nic collectively sigh at the exhaustion of the moment but don’t dwell there too long. Everything these days feels so heavy. This is especially true and felt among the Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities who are doing their selfless acts of getting vaccinated all the…
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Lesson #16: We Should Just Call It D.I.E. Work
Whose idea was Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, anyway? This week, we're heading into the weeds of Spring semester, with thoughts about grading, conferencing, the "lost year" of COVID times and more. We spend perhaps a bit too much time on the innovations of TikTok as an archive of student...
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Lesson #15: “Pro-me is not anti-you”; Or, It’s Okay to Stan Yourself
This week, Nic and James discuss the impending conference season (don’t go to hotel rooms with strangers), email etiquette (double check recipients), making the world a more accessible place, and “cancel culture” (do better former Dean Bilek). They also discuss what it means for QPOC to advocate…
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Lesson #14: The First Dose is the Deepest
This week, one of us is halfway vaccinated! Guess which! We've got an alarming amount of thoughts about the politics of care in the pandemic, the vaccine as "endpoint", what to make of the current state of the job market, how much TikTok counts as a work skill, and a ton of other things. We get...
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Lesson #13: Pick the Hills You Die On Wisely
This week, Nic and James celebrate being COVID-19 free but have plenty of thoughts about the state of the country, higher ed, and the hills some people are willing to (figuratively) die on. So much happens so quickly! The two traverse through the rocky terrain of getting tenured at an “elite”...
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Lesson #12: Take The Time!
This week brings the joy of new things and a refreshingly bright perspective on the state of the world and higher education. JK! We have thoughts about the University of Kansas and the purpose of a college in society. And so many other things, like the ethics of Lady G and how to understand the...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Join two recent(ish) queer Ph.D.s of color as we navigate the world of higher education. One is an English professor at a community college and the other teaching Latina/o/x Studies at a four-year public university. We present our unique perspectives on the shifting landscape of college in America and share our behind-the-scenes thoughts on everything – from the tenure track to conference etiquette to figuring out how not to get fired. Call it a learning experience.Email us: [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!
HOSTED BY
James K. Harris and Nic Flores
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Learning on the Job have?
Learning on the Job currently has 55 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Learning on the Job about?
Join two recent(ish) queer Ph.D.s of color as we navigate the world of higher education. One is an English professor at a community college and the other teaching Latina/o/x Studies at a four-year public university. We present our unique perspectives on the shifting landscape of college in America...
How often does Learning on the Job release new episodes?
Learning on the Job has 55 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Learning on the Job?
You can listen to Learning on the Job on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Learning on the Job?
Learning on the Job is created and hosted by James K. Harris and Nic Flores.
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