About
1 Year Update:
We Are
two UC Davis undergraduates, Brent Valentine and Keller Kramer, who are passionate about exploring the frontiers of academia
We Seek
to curate a catalog of thought provoking conversations with professors of every discipline
We Hope
to be a resource to all
Discovering Academia is an interdisciplinary podcast, with some of the world’s greatest thinkers and researchers. Brent and Keller sit down with these academics to have conversations about their background, research, passions and ways for others to get involved. Episodes last for roughly an hour, and they cover a plethora of topics. We launched in March 2023 and are now releasing weekly episodes. We started at our home institution, UC Davis, and have expanded to the London School of Economics, Utrecht University, UC Berkley, University of Geneva, National University of Singapore, University of Hong Kong, Nankai University*, and Zhejiang A&F University* (*Mainland China)
What It Is
Where It Came From
While biking home from his physics class one afternoon, Brent felt really curious and amazed as he went by a nuclear lab. Every day, he rode past these buildings without knowing what kind of research was happening inside. He realized there was a big gap between students like him and the cool research happening on campus. As he kept riding his bike, he suddenly had the idea to start a podcast. He thought it would be a great way to talk about interesting new ideas and share them with other students who were also curious. But Brent knew he couldn't do it all by himself. When he got home, he called Keller to talk about the idea. Keller had experience with interviews, a different academic background, and loved talking to people. They thought they'd make a great team. Keller had already been meeting with professors for coffee chats, and now they could do it together and let everyone listen in. That's how Discovering Academia was born.
Our goal with these chats is to connect different fields in higher education and get people thinking across disciplines. We want to show off amazing research, introduce young students to potential career options, and bring together open-minded thinkers. We are still in the early stages and are bound to mess up. That's why we'd appreciate your feedback, criticisms, and suggestions for topics, professors, or any new ideas we should dive into next. Stay tuned as we continue to explore the fascinating world of academia.