IAH Podcast

Institute for the Arts and Humanities (UNC-CH)

The Institute for the Arts and Humanities serves as UNC-Chapel Hill’s faculty home for interdisciplinary conversation and collaboration. The IAH supports its mission through its commitment to three interrelated areas of faculty life: scholarship, leadership, and fellowship. The IAH podcast features in-depth conversations with Fellows.

  • 24 minutes 30 seconds
    Episode 140: Brian Hsu’s Collaborations on Cherokee Word Order, Star Trek, and the Faculty Fellowship

    Brian Hsu (FFP ’24) joins us this episode to share how he fell in love with language and linguistics from a young age. Additionally, Hsu describes his recent projects about uncovering Cherokee word order and “Starship Generative Enterprise,” a Star Trek-spin on modern linguistics. We also discuss Hsu’s time as a Faculty Fellow in Spring 2024, where he worked on “Principled Probability in Language.”

    6 February 2025, 3:14 pm
  • 39 minutes 56 seconds
    Episode 139: The Legacy and Evolution of the IAH’s Tyson Academic Leadership Program

    Institute for the Arts and Humanities Director Patricia Parker sits down with faculty program director Viji Sathy and Rob Kramer for discussion on academic leadership and their involvement with the Institute's Tyson Academic Leadership Program. Kramer, who recently left the IAH and moved to Oregon, had served as the Institute’s senior leadership advisor since 2011 working as co-facilitator to the Chairs Leadership Program and the ALP. With a bittersweet farewell to Kramer and his leadership, he, Parker, and Sathy discuss their collaborations and the enduring success of the ALP and its alumni.

    16 January 2025, 5:36 pm
  • 29 minutes 20 seconds
    Episode 138: Milada Vachudova on Political Change in Europe and Importance of Interdisciplinary Connections

    Political science professor Milada Vachudova (FFP ’05, ’15) discusses her research on political change in Europe. In this episode, Vachudova provides context for recent democratic backsliding in countries like Hungary and Poland, and its impact on civic participation and engagement. Vachudova, who joined the IAH as the Faculty Director for Strategic Initiatives in July 2024, also shares about her work in connecting with other faculty and units across the university and beyond.

    11 December 2024, 1:53 pm
  • 30 minutes 13 seconds
    Episode 137: How Inger Brodey Applies Public Humanities to Jane Austen Scholarship and SCiLL

    Inger Brodey (FFP '11, '24) shares details about her new publication, Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness, and her upcoming Jane Austen research she worked on as a recent faculty fellow. In addition to book projects, she discusses her public humanities service with UNC's School of Civic Life and Leadership, the Jane Austen Summer Program, and more. 

    14 November 2024, 6:14 pm
  • 32 minutes 23 seconds
    Episode 136: Adam Versényi on Dramaturgy, Translation, and the Chairs Leadership Program

    Adam Versényi is a professor of dramaturgy in the UNC Department of Dramatic Art. In this episode, Versényi shares his collaborative work in dramaturgy and translation projects. He also discusses his previous fellowships with the IAH and also what the current Chairs Leadership Program cohort is up to this year. 

    24 October 2024, 1:42 pm
  • 29 minutes 24 seconds
    Episode 135: Historian Michelle King and the Impact of Fu Pei-mei

    History associate professor Michelle King specializes modern Chinese gender history and food history. In this episode, she discusses her experience in the IAH Faculty Fellowship Program and the research behind her new book, Chop Fry Watch Learn: Fu Pei-mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food (Johns Hopkins University Press).

    10 September 2024, 1:19 pm
  • 39 minutes 19 seconds
    Episode 134: Weil Speaker Judy Woodruff on ‘America at the Crossroads’

    In advance of the 2024 Weil Lecture on March 25, Director Patricia Parker conducts a phone interview with speaker Judy Woodruff. During her lecture, Woodruff will speak on her reporting project, Judy Woodruff Presents: America at a Crossroads. In this podcast, Director Parker asks Woodruff about her distinguished career in journalism, the inspirations for the project, and the divisions and conversations she witnesses throughout it. 

    12 March 2024, 3:16 pm
  • 24 minutes 11 seconds
    Episode 133: Examining Biblical Texts with Assistant Professor Hugo Mendez
    Assistant professor of religious studies Hugo Mendez (FFP '22) discusses his research in his recent book projects: one exploring the role of St. Stephen in early Christian communities, and the most recent examining the biblical books of John. He also describes his fellowship experiences – at the IAH and at the National Humanities Center – and how they provided the needed time and interdisciplinary connections to work on his current book.
    12 February 2024, 9:24 pm
  • 38 minutes 51 seconds
    International Collaborative Research with Associate Professor Andrea Bohlman
    Andrea Bohlman is an associate professor of music who received a 2023 Summer International Collaborative Research Grant from the Institute for the Arts and Humanities. Part of Bohlman’s research examined the consent and politics of sound and sound-recordings, and she collaborated with colleagues at Polish universities. In the podcast, she talks about her research and the impact of the $20,000 grant.
    24 January 2024, 2:19 pm
  • 35 minutes 49 seconds
    Episode 131: The Women of NOW with historian Katherine Turk
    Historian Katherine Turk (FFP ’21) discusses her new book, The Women of NOW: How Feminists Built an Organization that Transformed America (The Macmillan Group). She shares the history of the National Organization for Women, and on three leaders who helped shape the organization.
    15 November 2023, 1:38 pm
  • 34 minutes 56 seconds
    Episode 130: When the Swelling Goes Down with Actor, Playwright Samuel Ray Gates
    Actor and playwright Samuel Ray Gates (FFP ’22) talks about his Faculty Fellowship experience, where he continued his work on his one-person show, When the Swelling Goes Down. Gates shares the themes of the show, the writing process, and the ways comedy can be used to explore and heal through difficult issues. Recorded in spring 2023.
    18 October 2023, 3:50 pm
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