"We can understand migrant detention alongside things like prisons and jails as fundamentally projects that are about breaking relationships and removing people from their families and communities as a form of punishment and as a form of torture," says Crane. "The placement of migrant detention centers in remote places is a part of this project of breaking relationships."

Best believes that creative thinking about how to repair relationships without imprisoning people is necessary.

"We have to become more imaginative in our solutions to problems," says Best. "This is about having a greater political imagination for how we think about problems, whether or not you think that's a problem of resource distribution or a problem of harm."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

"There's no real incentive or need for Iran to seek an exit strategy here," says Butler. "The Strait of Hormuz is a particularly good example of that. It’s a highly defensible waterway. It's a hugely significant one, but it's so narrow — with a few mines and with a relatively short distance, cruise missiles, and drones, they can turn that into a strategic nightmare. And there's not much that the U.S. can do about it, at least not without a more extensive escalation."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Note: This episode was recorded on March 16. Details about the war in Iran have evolved since then.

But Stebbins, Clark’s digital projects librarian, did not have a deep knowledge of Goddard’s life, or of the influence of his wife, Esther Goddard, until she began organizing a special digital exhibit of Goddard artifacts to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the rocket launch.

“I look at Goddard as a gateway figure to a lot of 20th-century history, culture, and technology,” says Stebbins.

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Stebbins offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into what it takes to organize a digital archive and shares more about the life of Esther Goddard, and how she supported Robert’s rocket experiments.

“They were a team,” says Stebbins. “People have spent way too long talking about Robert without talking about Esther. She was his typist and his business manager. She photographed all the equipment. She had a movie camera, and she filmed all his tests. She transcribed and copied all his materials. She gave speeches, she did outreach. You can also only get to know him through her in a certain way.”

To learn more about Robert and Esther Goddard, view

1. The digital exhibit from Clark’s Robert H. Goddard Library
2. Clark’s Robert H. Goddard Collection
3. Clark’s Goddard Centennial Website

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Experiential learning can look like study abroad, an internship, serving as president of a campus club, or building a video game with teammates. The path from college to career looks different for each Clarkie, and The Clark Experience helps students harness their creativity and critical thinking skills to graduate with confidence and find success.

"I think it's really important for students to remember who they are, what they value, and feel confident that the liberal arts education they're getting at Clark, coupled with experiential learning, is a beautiful recipe for not just getting the first job, but also getting the jobs after that."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Part of the project is the MAAX (Maximizing Adolescent Academic eXcellence) social development curriculum, in which Clark students like Ariel Rodriguez '26 — known as MAAX mentors — lead lessons in ninth-grade wellness classes. On this episode of Challenge. Change., Rodriguez and Mosakowski Institute Director Nadia Ward discuss the complexities of youth mental health and the impact of having college role models working hands-on in high school classrooms.

"The students at Southbridge are really amazing, and all of the mentors connect with them in different ways," says Rodriguez, a political science major. "We try to be open with them and use our lived experiences to leverage what we talk about in class, especially for those students who might be stressed about their life after high school or just the day-to-day stresses that come with being a high schooler."

"I think the MAAX mentors are actually the secret sauce that makes the program really work," says Ward. "It's those exposure experiences that encourage young people to kind of dream about the possibility of college beyond high school."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Goldman shared that lesson and more during a visit to campus in November with Laura Camien, former vice president of marketing and communications for Blue Man Group and co-founder of The Spark File. Goldman and Camien are co-authoring a book, tentatively titled "Making Ideas Real."

"The book is largely about fostering the conditions where creativity and innovation in teams and individuals can thrive, and shifting those breakthroughs, those a-ha moments, epiphanies, whatever you wanna call them, from being random and occasional to intentional and frequent," says Goldman.

"Both of us are people who could take an idea and bring it to fruition. But neither of us considered that to be a creative act, and through our own routes learned that it is potentially the greatest creative act there is," says Camien.

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Goldman and Camien discuss building creative communities and share some of the innovative ideas that made Blue Man Group a success.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

"It was like finding a new type of microscope to study human communication. I could see so much deeper," Miller says of AI. One theory Miller is exploring is resonant geometry, a framework that explores how humans and AI co-create meaning by coordinating not just language, but emotion, attention, and timing. He has published a paper on his research with ChatGPT as a co-author.

"AI can look back at what it does. It can self-reflect. That's pretty powerful. I would also say there's a difference between what an algorithm can do and what a mind can do. Even an unsophisticated mind can be challenged in many ways," says Miller. "I would argue these AIs have minds ... You run a prompt through it, and many things could happen, unlike a tool, a calculator, for example, where you get the same thing each time."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Denton-Schneider studies the historical causes and economic consequences of poverty and poor health, and he’s particularly interested in unexpected positive or negative occurrences that economists refer to as “shocks.” 

One such shock — the introduction of the 1834 “New” Poor Law in England and Wales — caused generational impacts that could be observed in census data roughly 60 years later. Denton-Schneider and Jennifer Mayo, professor of economics at DePaul University, are working on a National Institutes of Health-funded project called “Rags to Rags,” which examines the effects of ending cash transfers in Victorian Britain.

"We saw very clearly that if you were in a county where there was a larger decline in poor relief after 1834, when you grew up, you would have worse outcomes," says Denton-Schneider. "If you were a girl around 1834, one of the clearest impacts we see is that in 1861, you have more children."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

"For the last 10,000 years or so, the world has been in what many call the 'Goldilocks period' of climate: not too hot, not too cold ... The bottom line is we've left that period," says Leonard. "There is no magic key that's going to solve this problem. It is going to take the collective work of everyone, and every step that we take matters. Every quarter of a degree of warming that we don't experience saves lives."

As the world faces a polycrisis of climate, biodiversity loss, and social disruption, Leonard says Clark students will reach out into the community to learn hands-on how they can contribute to building a healthier planet.

"The nature of these problems is that they are a result of the intersection of politics, economics, culture, and technology," says Leonard. "The real world doesn't operate in disciplinary boxes. It operates in the messy middle where everything comes together, so that is part of the way students will learn."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

"As a nervous kid, the camera had that same kind of heartbeat — that click, click, click, click, click — as opposed to the slow, methodical way of working with a paintbrush or with a pencil. It spoke to me on so many levels," says DiRado.

On this episode of Challenge. Change., DiRado recalls some of the first images he captured and shares a glimpse into how he constructs a photograph from behind the lens.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Acosta shares a few tips to help incoming students step out of their comfort zone and find where they fit in — introvert or not.

"I think the best advice is to take a deep breath and try to be as much of a sponge as you can during your time in college," she says. "Unlike many other parts of your life, really everywhere you turn during college is a learning experience. That can be incredibly exciting, but also tough and difficult. Clark offers so many opportunities for new experiences and for students to dive deeper into the things that they really care about."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

NPR journalist Ari Shapiro and Esther Duflo, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, delivered speeches to graduate students and undergraduate students, respectively. Both spoke about the need for care and compassion in the world.

In addresses to their peers, Temera De Groot ’25 and Kumar Gaurav, MBA ’25, spoke about their journeys at Clark as first-generation college students. Relive the highlights of the day on this episode of Challenge. Change.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

"Like many other people, I have a fascination with maps," he says. "A map can be a legal tool that allows you to assert, 'this is where my borders are.' A map could be used to visualize an empire, to visualize a nation."

His forthcoming book, “Creating New England, Defending the Northeast: Contested Algonquian and English Spatial Worlds, 1500–1700,” examines how Algonquian-speaking peoples and Puritan colonists mapped the landscape of present-day New England. 

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Braccio explains how maps have changed over time and how English settlers erased Indigenous populations through mapmaking practices.

"One of the things that has changed in maps is the ways that they reflect our different set of values or assumptions about the land, because that is at its heart what a map is doing. It's supporting how we think about the land and the world," he says. "How someone in the 17th century thought about land may have prioritized a different set of things than we do now."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Brenna Moore ’24, MSC ’25, and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

On this episode of Challenge. Change., English Professor Betsy Huang discusses speculative fiction and the depiction of institutions in catastrophic tales; Becker School of Design & Technology Professor Ulm explains how video games help players explore their fears; and mycologist and biology Professor Javier Tabima Restrepo comments on the depiction of Cordyceps in this wildly popular game and show.

Challenge. Change. is produced by graduate student Brenna Moore '24, MSC '25, and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Best, an urbanist who studies mobility and urban informality, is researching how planners and developers can build just cities, where everyone lives equitably. One thing she’s noticed throughout her studies is that there is no common definition of what justice looks like, however.

“We often know what injustice looks like in cities, but we don't often know what justice looks like. I think that equality is a good start. Do we have equal access to shared resources, and are vital resources distributed in a way that's consistent and even — and I'm talking about things like water and food and shelter, the basics,” she says.

Best believes just cities are ones in which planners and officials address current problems and work to right historical wrongs.

“I think it's about how cities deliver vital resources, discovering who doesn't have access to them and how to fix that, and creating a space that's livable, where people have dignity,” she says.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

"I can never explain what it felt like to read that book for the first time and to just fall in love with it. I immediately was so obsessed with Edward. There's something in the pages of that book that makes you fall into the world," says Gallagher, now the associate dean of students and operations in Clark's School of Professional Studies.

Vampires don't age, but the series did, and not necessarily gracefully. On this episode of Challenge. Change., Gallagher explains some of Twilight's flaws and why the fandom is still so passionate about Bella and Edward despite the saga's issues. These topics are at the heart of Gallagher's book, "Why We Love (and Hate) Twilight," which is being published in April. Gallagher encourages the fandom to think critically about the kinds of media we love.

"I think if we can start being critical about things that we love, then it will be a lot easier to be critical about terrible things that are happening," she says. "I think it's an exercise in evaluating the things in our life."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

"Our vision is something that we have some control over. We have eyelids, we can close our eyes, and we can stop seeing things," he notes. "But we don't have earlids. Hearing is always on, and there's no way to stop the sensations that come with sounds."

As Malsky teaches his students about soundscapes and acoustic ecology — including walking tours around Worcester to partake in all the noises of nature and traffic — he's also thinking about the intersection of sound and our changing climate.

"Lots of sea creatures depend on sounds to communicate with other creatures and to get feedback about their environment. As the climate changes, as the temperatures rise on the planet and the temperature of the ocean increases, it changes the way that sound is transmitted through water — it speeds it up, it increases the distance that it travels," Malsky says. "Combined with all the ways in which humankind is adding sounds to the ocean with increased traffic of tankers, underwater mining operations, and offshore wind turbines, we're adding an enormous amount of sound to the ocean, and it's changing the way that sea creatures are able to operate — to their deficit."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

It created a clear path to Gerhardt's current work as a scholar of the environmental humanities with a focus on sea level rise. Her book, Sea Change: An Atlas of Islands in a Rising Ocean, provides a history of sea rise while telling the stories of frontline communities, with poems and art made by Islanders woven into the volume's pages. The reality of sea change is urgent and daunting, and Gerhardt prioritizes solutions and hope in her book — and in her classroom.

"I'm trying to equip people with all the tools to go into the world and make it a better place," she says, "with the optimism and feeling that they have the tools in their toolbox to accomplish that work."

In this episode of Challenge. Change., Gerhardt discusses why the environmental humanities is at its best when it is interdisciplinary, and explains some of the soft and hard engineering options to address sea level rise.

If you enjoyed this episode, check out "Sea Turtles and the Role Charismatic Creatures Play in Environmental Humanities with Professor Stephen Levin."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

So-called LinkedInfluencers are using the platform in the same vein as other social media sites, injecting inspiration into their posts to boost their personal brands and shape conversations about their industries.

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Professors Lawrence Norman and Tim Hally, who teach marketing at Clark’s School of Business, weigh in on whether this kind of content is beneficial and share how one can develop their personal brand messaging to cut through the online clutter to form genuine connections.

“LinkedIn has evolved from a work and internship job hub to a place to post entertainment that's linked to work,” Norman says. “It's become a powerful space where you're able to promote your brand in a way that you couldn't years ago.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University with the help of Brenna Moore. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Wilson came across the names of two designers, Addison "Add" Bates and Perry Fuller, in editions of Ebony Magazine dating to the 1950s. Curious about their work, Wilson tried to learn more and discovered no readily available archives to study.

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Wilson describes sleuthing through newspaper gossip columns, magazines, and more to learn about Bates and Fuller.

"When you're a historian, you get used to looking at evidence and knowing how to put it together. This project has made me consider, first of all, what is the evidence that we rely on, and, second of all, what are the assumptions that I make when I put the evidence together," she says. "There is so much that we gain by learning about their careers — it offers some really interesting perspectives into life in mid-century America that you wouldn't learn about otherwise."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“Motivation is really a function of what situation you're in, what your interests are, how people are treating you, and what your opportunities are — everyone is motivated,” Grolnick says. “The idea is that environments and people who are trying to motivate others need to tap into people's motivation, which is there.”

Grolnick busts the lack-of-motivation myth and other mistruths about productivity in the book “Motivation Myth Busters: Science-Based Strategies to Boost Motivation in Yourself and Others,” co-written with Benjamin Heddy and Frank Worrell.

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Grolnick explains strategies to boost motivation when you feel stuck, how to set manageable goals, and tips for sticking to New Year’s resolutions.

“The vast majority of people who make New Year's resolutions don't keep them,” she says. “So, as we start to think about what we want to do in the New Year, it would be best to pick something that has meaning to you and value to you. If you're doing it because you feel pressure to — you feel like you should but don’t want to or somebody is pushing you — the research shows it's not likely to last.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Sangermano was among researchers who competed in the five-year, $10 million XPRIZE Rainforest competition, which challenges scientists to use technologically advanced techniques to rapidly survey the tropical forest’s biodiversity and better understand its ecosystem.

Sangermano was part of the ETH BiodivX team, which was awarded the $250,000 bonus prize for groundbreaking achievements, including co-designing technology with indigenous and local communities.

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Sangermano discusses how many species they identified in the rainforest and what it was like to be recognized as a finalist.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Spratt’s Kitchen Chemistry course has become a popular selection for students who aren’t science majors. In the lab, students experiment with ingredients under Spratt’s guidance. While making butter, ice cream, root beer, and pickles, they discover how pH, elements, and molecules interact with food.

“This course was spawned from trying to help students not be so scared of chemistry, but also appreciate science around us and improve scientific literacy,” says Spratt. “Food is chemistry, and if students can see that, they’ll become better cooks, and that could be a good life lesson.”

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Spratt gives us a taste of the science behind making ultra-creamy ice cream and a history lesson on pickles. Outside the kitchen, Spratt studies enzymes responsible for cancers and other diseases, neurodegenerative and immune disorders, and congenital defects. His research focuses on the structural and mechanistic studies of the HECT E3 ubiquitin ligases and homeodomain transcription factors using biophysical approaches.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

In the past, voters often complained about the number of negative political ads on television. Today, campaigns use social media platforms and podcasts to spread their message further, swamping voters on every corner of the internet.

“We have a fractured media market, so most of us aren't only paying attention to traditional or legacy media the way that we used to. Most of us have social media and email and SMS messaging, but that has become overwhelming in the same way that negative TV ads used to overwhelm people because it really creates anxiety,” says Frechette.

“When the campaign teams for either candidate are telling you how bleak things are or what their advantages are, it's like the pendulum's always moving side to side and you never know what's accurate or who's going to have the winning message.”

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Frechette discusses how Trump and Harris are using social media and how they’re persuading voters in the final hours before Election Day.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

He traveled to Barbados and Trinidad to observe sea turtles and how they’ve become a focal point in tourism — a fellow tourist told Levin her motivation for visiting the turtles was “evidence of divinity.” It’s part of his latest research in the environmental humanities, which underscores the role that literature and the arts play in seeking solutions to problems such as climate change.

“One of the questions in the environmental humanities is how much has to disappear before we realize that we are at risk of disappearing,” says Levin. “There's a profound awareness watching these turtles that our fate is tied to theirs.”

On this episode, Levin discusses what it was like to watch six-foot-long turtles bury their eggs at the Grand Riviere beach in Trinidad, challenges the idea of human exceptionalism, and examines the costs and benefits of using charismatic creatures like lions, tigers, bears, and turtles to spread messages about the climate and environment.

“How do we understand the marketing of these turtles and their status as commodities with the attendant reality that the focus on this charismatic species has brought attention to conservation efforts and it appears to have created a reverence among the tourists who encounter and visit these turtles,” says Levin. “I think it's important to recognize the complexity.”

This research is part of Levin’s forthcoming book, “Figures of Disappearance: Selfhood in an Era of Mass Extinction,” which examines loss and absence in the era of the climate crisis.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

It's a deeply personal project for Gutmann-Gonzalez, whose mother is a witch. Rituals and manifestations were common practice during their childhood.

“The court examinations are fascinating, but also very disturbing. I gravitated toward certain idiosyncrasies in the language. For example, English spelling was not standardized at that point, so a lot of the words were spelled inconsistently,” says Gutmann-Gonzalez.

“I tried to both reproduce and magnify these effects in my poems,” they continue. “I was interested in the power dynamics between the witches, the magistrates, and the so-called afflicted girls, but I was also interested in the texture of the language and the way that the language of the law can be used in ways that reify power.”

 “O/ccult” is divided into four sections — each of which corresponds with a tarot card.  The sections include the Salem Witch Trials archival work, reflections of Gutmann-Gonzalez’s upbringing in Chile during the U.S.-backed military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, a polyphonic witch manifesto, and an exchange in which Gutmann-Gonzalez playfully takes the role of Salem judges and interrogates their mother about her experiences being a witch.

“I grew up around all of this witchiness,” says Gutmann-Gonzalez. “I'm trying to link the historical and archival with my family history.”

If you enjoyed this episode, check out "Witchcraft and Women in Colonial Society," an interview with Rachel Christ-Doane ’17 about Salem and the youngest victim of the trials, 4-year-old Dorothy Good.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. This episode contains music made by Brenna Moore '24, MSC '25. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Foley is a professor in Clark’s Department of Sustainability and Social Justice. Masvawure is a professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Both are medical anthropologists who study health in Africa and HIV. Their book explores the complex relationship between anthropology and global health. Throughout the volume, scholars from around the world examine topics including rare diseases, HIV, health security, indigenous communities, decolonizing global health, and more.

“There's been a huge movement to decolonize global health,” says Foley. “It should not be about wealthy Western or Northern countries coming to help and bringing money and expertise.

“Why should a researcher from Clark or WPI apply for a grant to get millions of dollars to go research in Senegal without somebody from Senegal sitting on the panel, evaluating the quality of that project,” Foley continues. “I think all the stakeholders should be at the table at every stage. The most involved folks should be weighing in on those decisions, which is not how global health has worked in the past.”

Masvawure notes that while many funding agencies think of health as levels of disease, global health includes upstream and downstream factors. This includes addressing factors like housing insecurity and food access to reduce levels of diabetes, for example.

“If we think of global health as the state of health in the world — all of us together — that should allow movement to take place in any direction,” she says. “If malaria is emerging in the U. S., for example, then let's connect with those countries that have been dealing with malaria forever to help shape the American response. That's one way we can start to make those partnerships equitable.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“I can look out my office window and see that the work that I'm doing is affecting the students walking on the green,” she says. “There's a direct impact.”

Wilder is also an assistant coach of the women’s basketball team and is pursuing a master’s in sports and esports administration. On this episode of Challenge. Change., Wilder discusses her passions for law and basketball and how working at her alma mater has shifted her perspective.

“I always say that I didn't choose Clark, Clark chose me,” she says. “It just felt like where I should be.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“The neat thing about computer science is it's all about helping people solve problems or do things,” he says. “Sometimes those problems are in computing, but very often they're problems that face scientists in other fields.”

Magee works with user interface technologies that allow people with disabilities to communicate and participate in the world. This passion started when he was an undergraduate student assisting on a project that helps people use a computer mouse without the use of their hands. Instead of pointing and clicking with their finger, Magee can coordinate computer systems so that blinking, for example, controls a computer mouse click.

“That was the moment where I first really saw the human side of computing and the difference that it can make for people,” he says.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

As an editor for Down East Magazine, he’d written extensively about Baxter State Park in Maine, chronicling rescues and the feat of climbing Mount Katahdin. After a while, Vietze couldn’t ignore his desires anymore. He wanted to do more than just write about Baxter, he wanted to become a part of it.

“It was terrifying, frankly, to walk away from a cushy job that was desired by lots of people not knowing how I would fare,” said Vietze, who majored in English and history at Clark. “I knew that I couldn't sit at a desk anymore and look out the window and live a 7-to-6 workday every day. I knew I wanted to be master of my own destiny.”

For the past 20 years, Vietze has worked as a park ranger in Baxter. He is the author of “This Wild Land: Two Decades of Adventure as a Park Ranger in the Shadow of Katahdin,” which chronicles his life and work as a ranger — from search-and-rescue missions to trail maintenance to cleaning toilets. His other titles include “White Pine,” “Becoming Teddy Roosevelt,” and “Boon Island.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Korstvedt, now the George N. and Selma U. Jeppson Professor of Music at Clark, and fellow scholars are celebrating “Bruckner Year,” the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth, with global festivals, conferences, and performances recognizing the enduring impact of Bruckner’s music.

“His music was most successful during his lifetime with the younger generation. At their finest — and there are some very great moments in these pieces — they achieve what I think is best described as a level of the sublime. The sense of striving for something really profound and something beyond the norm, emotionally and spiritually,” says Korstvedt.

The professor’s forthcoming book, “Bruckner’s Fourth: The Biography of a Symphony,” will be published in October by Oxford University Press.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Chase, a global environmental studies major, sells his greens at the Clark Collective pop-up markets during the academic year. Over the summer, he set up shop at the Worcester Regional Environmental Council farmers markets at Beaver Brook and University Park to reach new clients.

Participating in Clark Tank, the University’s Shark Tank-style competition, has been instrumental to Chase’s success.

“I learned so much about what a business needs to do to grow,” he says. “It was great to get into the mindset of an entrepreneur and win some funding.”

For Chase, growing microgreens is fun — as his farm’s name suggests — but it’s also an opportunity to tap into his passion for food justice. There’s a philanthropic component to his business, with frequent donations to local food pantries.

“People are always concentrated on what we can do to save the world. Is it recycling? Is it picking up trash? I do all these things, but I'm also really good at growing food locally and sustainably. So, I make that my focus,” Chase says. “It's good for the environment to have locally produced food, and it's good for people. Why not grow food and help give back?”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

In this episode, the team reflects on the game-making process after a year of Game Studio.

Challenge. Change. Presents: Project Squid is produced by Brenna Moore ’24, MSC ’25, and Ed Greig ’23, MFA ’24, for Clark University. Find episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listen as the team preps for the massive PAX East gaming convention and prepares to launch their game to the public.

Challenge. Change. Presents: Project Squid is produced by Brenna Moore ’24, MSC ’25, and Ed Greig ’23, MFA ’24, for Clark University. Find episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Making a game gets messy. In this episode, hear how the team decided to pivot halfway through the project.

Challenge. Change. Presents: Project Squid is produced by Brenna Moore ’24, MSC ’25, and Ed Greig ’23, MFA ’24, for Clark University. Find episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

What is Game Studio? Dive into the Becker School of Design & Technology at Clark and learn how students create games together.

Challenge. Change. Presents: Project Squid is produced by Brenna Moore ’24, MSC ’25, and Ed Greig ’23, MFA ’24, for Clark University. Find episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

It’s not uncommon for a first-year student to confide in Dean of Students Kamala Kiem when they’re having trouble finding community. In those moments, Kiem connects the student with peers in clubs and organizations that would make a good fit.

When the next academic year comes around and Kiem isn’t seeing that once-lonely student anymore, she knows the magic has kicked in.

“I remember them being this shy first-year student and then a year later they are an R.A. or out speaking on panels. Their whole personality has changed to be more extroverted,” Kiem says. “When they're in these leadership positions, they realize how powerful they are.”

On this episode of Challenge. Change., Kiem shares her best advice for stepping out of your comfort zone, where to turn when it feels hard to make friends, and how to magnify your Clark experience to set yourself up for a fulfilling and joyful life.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

"Being a part of a diverse community has taught me so much because it has allowed me to see the world through the lens of other people," graduate student speaker Gabe Spindel ’23, MBA ’24, told the thousands in the arena.

Undergraduate student speaker Laila El-Samra ’24 encouraged her peers to think about the impact they can have on others.

"Start small, maybe just one good deed a day," she said. "Together we possess the compassion, resilience, and determination needed to create a brighter future for ourselves and those around us."

Geography Professor Rinku Roy Chowdhury read a commencement address from Dr. Robert D. Bullard, “the father of environmental justice” and the Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University. 

“I am driven by, and I am happy to be able to pass the baton to, the up-and-coming generations of environmental justice advocates who will continue with the same resilience that so many involved in the journey have already shown," Bullard wrote.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“A sentence is often a temporary place you visit on your way to the next sentence,” says Noh. “Some writers certainly are obsessed with the sentence and think about it as an enormous, capacious kind of thing. I think it's more the case that we think of sentences in their relationship to other sentences.”

Sentences can be complex or simple. Unconventional or original. Succinct or meandering. On this episode of Challenge. Change., Noh, Kaleigh Gibbons ’24, and Juliana Hall ’24, among the first students to graduate with a new creative writing major, share their favorite sentences and break down what makes the structures special.

Do you have a favorite sentence? Please share it with Melissa Hanson at mhanson@clarku.edu.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Although they cannot be seen with the naked eye, microbes could help solve a vexing problem exacerbated by climate change: By 2050, scientists and policymakers fear, farmers may not be able to produce enough food to feed the world’s growing population.

“Even if we could feed the world right now, 20 years from now, we won't be able to — unless we make some significant changes,” says Chandra Jack, professor of biology.

By studying how microbe interactions affect plant traits, Jack hopes to contribute to the development of new, more sustainable ways to increase food production. Her research is funded by a $453,000 grant from the National Science Foundation and a $420,000 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Researchers want to use microbes to replace synthetic fertilizers,” Jack says. “But we know what they can do in the lab. We don’t know what they can do in the wild or in the field.”

Microbes can “fix” atmospheric nitrogen, turning it into a component found in chlorophyll, which plants need for photosynthesis.

Legumes have a close, symbiotic relationship with microbes, according to Jack. “The microbes will enter the plant tissue and form this mass on the roots. It’s called a nodule where the nitrogen fixation happens,” she explains.

Cereal crops such as wheat and barley do not have such a relationship with nodule-forming microbes. However, Jack is examining whether “free-living nitrogen fixers” — bacteria present in the surrounding soil — could “have a tighter association with the cereal crops so that the nitrogen can be applied to those plants without having to apply fertilizers.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“Slavery is a structure that considers human beings machines, or less than human,” says Arriaga, who cautions people to think intentionally about their use of technology. “We think we’re just inputting prompts, getting the results, and nothing more. But what are all the implications of that?”

As artificial intelligence enters the mainstream, Arriaga is part of a growing ethical discussion about the language we use with technological tools.

“Language has a set of values,” he says. “What values are behind the construction of these tools, which have been designed in a way that continues to perpetuate deficit elements from our society — racism and a patriarchal vision.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

The tools developers use to hook consumers are called dark patterns and can include tactics to keep a person playing a game longer, therefore seeing more advertisements and making the developers more money.

“It brings out the passion in people because if you feel like you have been manipulated, you’re going to be pretty upset about that,” says Andler, who prepares her students to recognize dark patterns and think up alternative designs. “You have to know what’s bad to avoid it in the future.”

Thankfully, there are light patterns, or nudges, a tool meant to assist the average person with helpful reminders.

“People live busy lives. They can’t be thinking carefully about every decision every day,” Story says. “The idea is for people with authority to help people make the decisions that are in their best interest.”

Story has studied nudges that encourage people to use protective technologies such as Apple Pay, a mobile payment system that is more secure than using a debit card.

“The protection motivation theory is one type of nudge that provides high-quality information about what you want protection from and what you can do,” Story explains. “I think there’s a lot of strong evidence that that works well.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

At the time, Woos didn’t know the colorist role existed. Now, he’s the one sitting at the panel, carefully tweaking elements like brightness and texture. “One of the most underrated parts of the job is seeing the creative changes,” says Woos, who works as a colorist for PostWorks New York. “When you work on a movie or TV show, you see like 30 different versions of it before it comes out — alternate endings, beginnings, and middles.

“The colorist is at the delivery stage for the final visual effects,” he continues. “You color-grade in real-time, watching through a projector the way people are going to be seeing it in the theater.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Maurelle, Clark’s first full-time sculpture professor, explains why he’s passionate about using recycled objects and the magic of keeping child-like play in artistry. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“The Killer,” “Bottoms,” and “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning” were last year’s cinematic standouts for professors Hugh Manon, Jed Samer, and Soren Sorensen. The three are hosts of the Clark podcast “Recommended For You,” and bring their film expertise — and opinions — to this episode of Challenge. Change.

“I was coming into this call being like ‘Bottoms’ and ‘Mission Impossible’ are the same movie,” says Samer. “Maybe the truth of 2023 is that we are not going to the movies for the plot.”

“If you don't like ‘Bottoms,’ you might need to investigate whether you have a sense of humor. It's the same thing with ‘Mission Impossible,’” adds Manon. “If you don't like this, then maybe you don't like movies.”

The Oscars air on Sunday, March 10, at 7 p.m. EST on ABC. “Mission Impossible” has been nominated for Achievement in sound and Achievement in visual effects. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Listen to episodes of RFU on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

This is why the Making Caring Common project wants to infuse messages about the common good into the college admissions process. Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, works with families, educators, and communities to develop children’s gratitude and sense of care for others.

Emily Roper-Doten, vice president for undergraduate admissions and financial assistance, and Brennan Barnard, the college admissions program advisor of Making Caring Common, discuss the role of compassion in college admissions. Barnard thinks a shift toward mastery over traditional grades could help. Mastry learning is a strategy at the Khan Lab School, where Barnard is the director of college counseling and alumni. 

Roper-Doten asks Barnard what he believes students lose when they solely focus on bulking out a resume. “They're thinking more about outcomes than they are process,” he says. “It’s dichotomous thinking rather than contemplating ‘who am I’ and ‘who could I be in a community?’”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“One of the most significant sources of stress in our lives is a relationship that isn't going well,” he says. “People who are in really distressed relationships are aging faster and they're sick more often.” Even limited preventative care can make a lasting difference. To that end, Córdova created the Relationship Checkup, previously called the Marriage Checkup, 25 years ago. It’s a proactive model applied during couples counseling that identifies partners’ strengths and leverages them to reduce stress within the relationship.

“We know from 25 years of research that the effect is sustainable,” he says. “A checkup once a year is sufficient to improve the quality of relationship health, both in the short term and for the long term.” 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

These traits, which can vary widely within the same species, have long fascinated biology Professor Erin McCullough. “Sexual selection, or competition over mates, is responsible for many of the biggest, flashiest, most colorful, and conspicuous traits that we find in the animal kingdom,” she says. 

What’s puzzling, however, is that these traits can make species more susceptible to predators, seemingly at odds with natural selection “Reproduction is the currency that really matters,” says McCullough. “It doesn't matter if an individual lives forever — or if it lives a whole lot longer than its peers — if it never succeeds in attracting a mate, because then it won't leave any of its genes to the next generation.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“There's no doubt that many of the things that boys and men have been taught to do to perform their masculinity can be harmful to themselves and to people of other genders as well,” says Addis.

Men who avoid being vulnerable in their relationships to appear masculine can live for decades with no emotional support, he says. Increased isolation could contribute to rising suicide rates among U.S. men ages 40 to 55.

“There's a whole range of positive experiences related to emotional awareness, intimacy, and connections with other people,” says Addis. “All of these things are helped by letting go of the pressure to be a certain way because of your gender.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Chung’s closed in 2000, but the restaurant comes back to life in Chin’s memoir, “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant.” The author-filmmaker shares the joys of being a “Chinese restaurant kid” during a discussion with Associate Provost and Dean of the College Betsy Huang, English Professor Jeff Noh, Chloe Yau ’24, a Community, Youth, and Education Studies major, and Zabrina Richards ’25, a political science major.

“Everybody goes to a Chinese restaurant. It’s one of the places where you can go and see people from a different race, socioeconomic background, class background, religious background, sexual orientation,” Chin says. “As a kid, I got to see all of Detroit. It was wonderful as a writer, as a creative person, to have that shape me as a kid.” 

Chin also shared musings on family, identity, coming out, and getting famous during a conversation with the wider campus community. The visit was part of Chin’s national book tour.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

The course made such an impression on Brian, Chaparian, and Walker that the three took the concept and created an independent study for their senior year. They’ve been poring through comics and watching the latest superhero movies, exploring how the plots engage with global and national issues such as racial justice and immigration. As women and people of color portray more superheroes, a larger audience can see their lives reflected in the storylines, Chaparian says. 

“Having depth in characters and representation is important,” she says. “Watching ‘Ms. Marvel,’ I saw things that I could relate to in terms of what my family looks like and how my culture affects my identity.” Despite progress in representation, comics still contain disparities. The students have found that women superheroes typically have endured more trauma than their male counterparts, Walker says. Even the battle scenes display a gender imbalance.

“The idea of who has the right to violence is very fascinating to me,” Walker says. “Women's violence is often on a smaller scale, or more social, compared to the massive wipeout of cities that we see in comics and movies like ‘The Avengers.’” These combat scenes are an avenue for the trio to analyze the motives behind war. “No one considers themself evil,” Brian says. “People are going to justify their actions with either religion or another belief they hold.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

See you in 2024.

As Rabbi Joshua Franklin ’06, M.A. ’07, challenged his congregation to guess who wrote a sermon he delivered (answer: Chat GPT) and debated whether artificial intelligence can comprehend empathy, philosophy Professor Wiebke Deimling went to the movie theatre to see “Barbie” and unravel why a fictional doll was having “irrepressible thoughts of death.”

It all happened in 2023. The Clark community has chronicled research, passions, and discoveries on Challenge. Change. On this episode, co-producers Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart share clips of intriguing interviews recorded throughout the year.

Episodes featured include: 

• Debate and Discourse in the Prison Classroom with Professor Shelly Tenenbaum
• Rabbi Joshua Franklin ’06 on Artificial Intelligence and Empathy
• The Portrayal of Mothers in True Crime and Popular Media with Professor Dianne Berg
• Sci-fi, Immigration, and Representation with Professor Betsy Huang
• Ed Greig '23 vs. PAX East 2023
• Professor Cailin Marcel Manson and the Collective Power of Performance
• Coming of Age Stories and Confronting Divided Loyalties with Professor Spencer Tricker
• Barbie's Existential Crisis and the Philosophy Behind it with Professor Wiebke Deimling
• Queerness and Food are an Edible Delight for Professor Elizabeth Blake
• To Teach or Not to Teach Shakespeare with Professor Justin Shaw

Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Email us with your suggestion for future episodes.

“The (Mis)Representation of Queer Lives in True Crime” is a new book co-edited by Abbie Goldberg, professor of psychology at Clark; Danielle Slakoff, professor of criminal justice at California State University, Sacramento; and Carrie Buist, professor of criminology, criminal justice, and legal studies at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. The volume analyzes the intersection of LGBTQ+ people and crime, including the treatment of queer people in the criminal legal system, how the mass media delivers such stories, and which details are emphasized or erased in the dominant narrative.

“Although queer and trans people are disproportionately affected by crime, the majority of true crime podcasts, documentaries, and so on focus more on cisgender, heterosexual folks — often young, white folks,” Goldberg says. “A lot of media content creators are heterosexual and so they're often creating content that matches their own identities.”

Slakoff says the media’s depiction of queer people, especially trans women, often paints a picture of hypersexual, deceptive people. “If that is what's portrayed in the media, that is what people begin to believe — or they internalize those ideas,” she adds. It’s one factor that makes the queer community less likely to report a crime, according to Buist.

“LGBT folks are often blamed for not only their own victimization,” Buist says, “but for their existence.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Political science Professor Ora Szekely suspects filmmakers intended that scene to be an empowering visual of women heroes supporting one another. To Szekely, something else stood out: The women heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe could easily fit together on the screen in unison. She says it’s an example of the imbalanced depictions of male and female fighters in the first three phases of the MCU.

“I remember watching this and thinking, there are hundreds of male heroes fighting in the background, and they managed to get all of the female heroes in one power shot,” says Szekely. “I think it doesn't necessarily send the message they were going for.”

This fictional world is under the microscope in “The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” a book in which 25 scholars provide an expansive analysis of messages about government, public policy, and society within the first three phases of the superhero movie franchise. Two Clark professors contributed to the book.

In the chapter “Female Combatants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” Szekely explores how women heroes are portrayed differently than their male counterparts. The movies reflect gendered ideas about why women partake in combat — ideas that are often inaccurate, she says.

Political science professor Danielle Hanley examines the Avengers as a departure from the nuclear family unit in her chapter, “Avengers, Assemblage.” Hanley argues that the Avengers are more than just a group of superpowered colleagues.

“I'm arguing that the Avengers is a family and I'm using a lot of queer theory and feminist theory to do that,” she says. “I’m thinking about the objects and the structures and the institutions that exist and are part of informing what a family is. I argue that Thor's hammer and non-human characters are a part of the family assemblage.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. 

“What's utopian for one person, what makes the world work well, might not work for everybody else. When we think we know what people need, such as green space, then we prescribe green space in a certain way,” says Martin. “You end up having a lot of potential conflict over what people might think is good for everyone. It gets complicated pretty quickly.”

In this episode, Martin explains how urban designs reflect our values, the challenges of building for the 21st-century, and why one space can have different uses for different people. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Hanley describes this as a form of “affective solidarity,” which grows out of the circulation of emotions that magnetically pull other people in — specifically emotions calling out an injustice. This also happens in 21st-century social justice movements, she notes.

“The circulation of grief and rage is a kind of commentary on the state of affairs in the world. It’s what we express when we don't have the right words,” says Hanley. “One of the things I'm thinking about is how to balance the different obligations we have to one another with our own liberation.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“It's unclear why an ambitious Republican would want to be Speaker of the House anymore given what you can anticipate,” says Boatright. The process of becoming speaker has become unprecedentedly public. When Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican of Ohio, was vying for the position earlier this month, he campaigned to the public. Social media figures like Steve Bannon used their platforms to mobilize voters to pressure moderate Republicans. “The idea that the public would play a role in figuring out who they thought was a good candidate and go after people who didn't agree with them is really pretty remarkable,” says Boatright.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“The powers that be in these political entities want us to stop talking about Shakespeare as anything other than the white, straight cultural power,” Shaw said in an interview recorded during Banned Books Week, which highlights the value of free and open access to information.

“Being open to the changing nature of language, identities, and the ways that we interact with the world is something I bring into our discussions of Shakespeare,” he adds. “These discussions happen today, but guess what? They're wrestling with the same issues in Shakespeare's time, too. They're wrestling with how to talk about race. They're wrestling with how to talk about sexuality. They're wrestling with how to talk about class and religion.”

Shaw is among the editors of the forthcoming “Inclusive Shakespeares: Identity, Pedagogy, Performance,” which responds to a growing movement to make Shakespeare studies inclusive to audiences historically marginalized in relation to Shakespeare’s poetry and plays.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

When Prescod-Weinstein presented Clark University's annual Presidential Lecture recently in Tilton Hall, she made sure to let students know her path to success wasn’t always easy. “With struggle, I have made it to the other side,” she told her Clark audience, on Oct. 5.

Prescod-Weinstein sat down with a group of computer science and biology students, Dean of the College Betsy Huang, and Associate Provost and Dean of the Faculty Esther Jones, for a discussion on the intersection of theoretical physics and Black feminist science.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“When people come together and talk about the issues that they care about, people agree on a lot,” says Delehanty. “The problem is that there aren't that many spaces where people do that anymore. People don't go to church that much anymore, or local libraries, bowling leagues — venues where previous generations would've encountered each other face to face and had an opportunity to trust one another. That’s gone. It creates a vacuum into which this highly structured competitive political ethos falls into place.”

Delehanty discusses the intersection of religion and politics in his new book “Making Moral Citizens: How Faith-Based Organizers Use Vocation for Public Action.” 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts

“In empirical psychology, there is wonderful work on self-deception in relation to positive affect. So, if the good life were about pleasure-pain ratio, why not just live in illusion? Why not blissful ignorance,” Demarco asks. “In my philosophical opinion, this is why we need to subject the idea of a pleasant life to critical examination.”

Demarco discusses concepts of happiness, human nature, and quality of life, analyzing their importance on one’s journey to fulfillment. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“I think about the way structures of nutrition and structures of heteronormativity mimic each other — we're taught that we're supposed to eat certain things at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all of which are culturally specific,” Blake says. “Similarly, our understanding of how sexuality operates is culturally specific and prescribed. What I'm interested in is the way modernist writers think about transgression in terms of eating, which invites us to think about transgression in terms of sexuality.”

Blake recommends Francesca Ekwuyasi's “Butter Honey Pig Bread” and Rabindranath Tagore's "The Hungry Stones" to anyone interested in exploring the ways literature invites readers to think about food and the body. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Young people are in roughly the same amount of mental distress now as they were at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Arnett’s findings, which were published in a report commissioned and released by the Ruderman Family Foundation. In fact, 18- to 29-year-olds have had the highest levels of anxiety and depression since the pandemic onset.

“I would've theorized that this group would have the lowest rates of mental health distress from the impact of COVID-19 because they're the least susceptible physically; they’re the least likely to be hospitalized of any age group, and the least likely to die,” says Arnett, who coined the term “emerging adulthood” to describe the period from one’s late teens to late-20s.

Arnett wants to interview young people to pinpoint the sources of their increased mental distress in 2020, and why this trend has continued three years later. “Right now, we don't have that information and we urgently need it,” he says. “We need to know this for the next pandemic, but we also need to recognize that this pandemic is not over. It's not over in hospitalizations and deaths, and it's not over in respect to mental health.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Gauvin discusses why she believes sex education should be a valued public health program, the value of partnering with therapists specially trained in the diverse dimensions of human sexuality and sexual trauma, and how inclusive education could impact the current political climate.

“The main reason SHIP exists is to bridge the sexual health literacy gap as a result of the absence of comprehensive sex education nationwide,” says Gauvin, who majored in psychology. “Sex education humanizes the spectrum of sexuality and prevents people from using sexuality as a form of oppression. We are seeing a snapback from the years of marriage equality and greater visibility for queer folks.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Kamala Kiem, associate provost for student success and dean of students, has some advice for Clarkies who find themselves in that predicament. “Growing up, my dad told me that sometimes you have to take a step backward to leap forward. Some of the most courageous decisions I've made in life required taking a step backward,” she says. “Knowing your values, knowing your purpose, knowing what you're trying to do in this world are key to discerning how to spend your time.”

Kamala Kiem shares tools to help first-year students explore their identity and passions on campus and in the city of Worcester. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“The film gives a pretty heavy answer: We engage in fiction because the real world is super hard to deal with,” says Deimling. “There's an interesting layer to that concept in the Barbie movie, because it explores both Barbie as a fictional character, but also this prop that we use to make fictional worlds.” Deimling analyzes Barbie’s existential crisis. Fiction is an important part of human nature, she says, because it allows people to imagine experiences they’ll never have in real life — like seeing Barbie and Ken rollerblading along Venice Beach. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

President David B. Fithian ’87 listed these accomplishments at the 119th Commencement ceremony, where 1,300 students received degrees. The graduating class can be characterized by its resilience — students adapted to a new style of learning during the pandemic.

Undergraduate student speaker Glory Phipps ’23, a philosophy major, compared her class’s journey to that of a rose growing from concrete, an analogy inspired by a poem written by the late rapper Tupac Shakur.

“We made it through by focusing on our passions. We fought for issues we believed in. We began to use our voices for the greater good,” said Phipps. “We blossomed into leaders. We created a new culture that encourages community and care across all groups and walks of life. We became the rose that grew from concrete.”

On this episode of Challenge. Change., hear a recap of the May 21 ceremony, including remarks from Fithian, Phipps, graduate student speaker Idriss Laouali Abdou, MBA ’23, and commencement speaker Robert D. Putnam, the Malkin Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government and a renowned author.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“Forward guidance is how the Fed decides to communicate with the public. I investigated the idea of the Fed being transparent and communicating what they may or may not do, and how that influences financial markets,” she says. “Historically, the Fed has made a conscious effort to become more and more transparent. We will see whether it continues this trend or takes a step back.”

Giorgadze appears in 23 for ’23, a feature that explores graduates’ Clark journeys and their next adventures. After the May 21 commencement, Giorgadze is beginning a job at Lord, Abbett & Co., an investment management firm.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Manson marked 20 years as a conductor this spring with a performance at the historic Carnegie Hall in New York City, where he led a 152-voice choir, which included the Clark University Choir, in a rendition of Verdi’s Requiem.

“I remind students all the time, you don't know what the audience is coming into the room with. That's terrifying and beautiful at the same time,” says Manson. “The one thing you can guarantee is that people will know when you're phoning it in. They will know when you are not fully invested as a performer. If you fully invest, you invite them to fully invest themselves in receiving the performance.” 

Watch a YouTube video of the recent Carnegie Hall performance. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Students created two films, “Long Play” and “Kill Your Babies,” in a digital filmmaking course with screen studies Professor Soren Sorensen. The course brings students with diverse backgrounds in the arts together to work collectively on a film project while studying theory and practice. This semester, the selected genre was film noir. The workshop gives students the chance to direct, produce, act, edit, and more.

Gyani Pradhan Wong Ah Sui ’24 directed and Emily Haithwaite ’23 produced “Long Play.” Teslote Debebe ’23 directed and Annie Lynch ’23 produced “Kill Your Babies.” In this episode of Challenge. Change., the four share the triumphs and challenges of creating their films.  

“Communicating with eight people at once to ensure you’re all making the same film is what I feel the director's role boils down to,” says Pradhan Wong Ah Sui. “It’s challenging, but also super fun and rewarding at the same time, especially when working with people I love.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

In the classroom, coming-of-age narratives are a vehicle for studying divided loyalties. “Most of us have this complex and continuous movement within ourselves, oscillating between different positions. I think that's especially true for students transitioning from childhood to adulthood,” says Tricker. “When we look at these narratives, I encourage students to decide which competing allegiances are worth pursuing.”

During the episode, Tricker references the book "Bitter in the Mouth" by Monique Truong and the students interviewed refer to the films Booksmart, Freaky Friday, and the Percy Jackson book series.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“We have some stuff in common and some stuff absolutely not in common — I grew up in Connecticut, he grew up in Cuba,” says Sorensen. “We have similar taste in music and similar curiosity about the world and about each other.”

In this episode, Sorensen and Sosa explore the difference between a great musician and a great artist, the subtle communication behind improvisatory music, and the spirituality of Sosa’s performances. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Hack joined Challenge. Change. last year to examine judicial decision making in the Dobbs case. On this episode, Hack briefs listeners on cases before the court this session, including challenges to President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.

“The question is, what is the role of the Supreme Court, and should the court be making the decisions that it's making,” says Hack. “We have defaulted as society over the course of our years under the U.S. Constitution to viewing the court as that final arbiter as the traditional forms of law making have made it harder and harder to see bills become law.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

One developer insisted the best games are ones that try something new and commit to it. For another, the best games provide a “spark of magic,” fully immersing the player into storytelling, combat, or worldbuilding.

“Broadly, I think a good video game is something I can sink my time into, something that really hooks me,” says Greig. “And that could be for any genre or any platform.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“Something about Highsmith’s writing, including her approach to queer representation, was really profoundly influencing the history of cinema, starting with Alfred Hitchcock’s immediate adaptation of her first novel, ‘Strangers on a Train,’” Samer says. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts

The law prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity before the fourth grade. Goldberg interviewed 113 Florida LGBTQ+ parents about the bill’s impact on their families. Of the parents surveyed, 56% are considering moving out of Florida and 21% are less out in their communities. Goldberg says parents are questioning if their children will receive an equal education. 

“The bill affects children’s ability to talk openly about their families and potentially complete assignments about their families, like writing about their family vacation with two moms or two dads,” she says. “Some of my participants pointed out that the naming of the bill, Parental Rights in Education, refers to certain parents' rights. They asked, ‘What about our rights?’” 

Goldberg’s research, conducted with the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, is the first to examine the impact of the bill. She continues to research ramifications for families.  

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Huang began to study science fiction as a scholar, analyzing everything from the harmful racist tropes included in early works to the more progressive novels that arrived halfway through the 20th-century. Right now, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic stories are abundant, from the HBO series “The Last of Us” to AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” Huang says these tales about immense loss are not as progressive as some may think. 

“Whether we are aware of this or not, what we want when we watch those shows is a return to what we have now,” Huang says. “We want to see more nuanced science fiction that helps us think through what it is that we're doing today and offers practical solutions for mitigating all of our bad behaviors.”

Huang recommends authors Ted Chiang, Ken Liu, and Octavia Butler to anyone interested in science fiction.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Slatkin — who, like Goddard, was a Clark professor after graduating — purchased Goddard’s childhood home in Worcester when it went on the market in 2021. He imagines the home could host think tanks about space and science and be a destination for school field trips, celebrating Goddard's achievement and encouraging the so-called Mars generation to make the next big discovery. 

“There's this misconception that space is all about space tourism and that it's a waste of time when there are so many troubles on Earth,” Slatkin says. “Most space exploration these days involves remote sensing, monitoring climate change, telecommunications, the internet. We wouldn’t have the connectivity we have, and we wouldn't have the sense of planet that we have without space.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“Sometimes the history of sexuality is backward, right? So things actually get more strict, not less strict. We always assume that we're getting more and more progressive and we're not.”

Kushner recommends Notches, an international history of sexuality blog, to anyone interested in learning more.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

This week, Freyermuth talks to us about his love of records, from electronic avant-garde compositions to the new tracks released each Friday on Spotify and Apple Music. Current trends are a central part of his Clark courses. “I love talking about making records. Talking about that and then going home to put those skills to practice allows me to speak in front of a class very confidently,” says Freyermuth, who often tells his students, “I'm going to go home and I'm going to do exactly what I just showed you to make some of your favorite records.”

This episode contains short clips of Beyonce, the Pixies, and current student, Luca Houtsmuller '25.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

She’s analyzed the discourse and press coverage of Margaret Vincent, a mother of three who killed two of her children in 1616 because she believed that if the family didn't convert to Catholicism, they would all be damned, and of Andrea Yates, a Houston woman suffering from postpartum mental illness who drowned her five children in a bathtub in 2001 because she believed it would save them from hell. 

Berg examines the way these women are described in the media. There’s something different about the story of Lindsay Clancy, the Duxbury mother, compared to Vincent and Yates. Berg is noticing increased compassion and discussion of postpartum depression and psychosis.

“The push to raise consciousness about postpartum depression and psychosis at a sort of grassroots level is impressive,” Berg says. “More noise has to be made and more pressure has to be put on our lawmakers to address the woeful inadequacy of our healthcare system in this country.”

Berg recommends the book “Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers” by Sady Doyle to anyone who wants to read more about this topic.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“If you look at the discourse around why teachers shouldn't focus on these issues in classrooms, there's a lot of talk about indoctrination,” Rogers says. “That type of discourse is out there, and it's used often. I shared with my students that folks who want to push back have to be in spaces where their voice can be heard.”

Rogers recommends watching The 1619 Project, a Hulu series that reframes the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery at the center of the national narrative.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Franklin believes artificial intelligence tools will have implications across all industries. Everyone from doctors to lawyers to rabbis will need to evolve and develop their skillset. One way they can start is by focusing on empathy and developing relationships — something ChatGPT can’t do better.

“I think when we have meaningful relationships and connections with other people, be it in a one-on-one relationship, a face-to-face encounter, or a communal encounter, we're able to experience some kind of divine spark,” Franklin says. “Those are very human things that can't be emulated in the digital realm.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Tenenbaum teaches courses to incarcerated students through the Emerson Prison Initiative, which offers students at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord a pathway to receive a bachelor’s degree.                                                 “Teaching in prison, I learned what real serious intellectual engagement is,” Tenenbaum says. “Teaching in prison is really about the transformative power of ideas, confronting very serious ethical questions, grappling with morality, debates, and different perspectives.”

For Hudson and Baxter, the student experience strengthened their sense of identity.  “It was a test of our intelligence, and it was a way of validating that we can compete in society,” Hudson says. “Each class that went by, each time we passed, each grade we got, that was significant.”

Tenenbaum authored a chapter in “Education Behind the Wall: Why and How We Teach College in Prison,” a book edited by Mneesha Gellman, the founder and director of EPI. She is also a professor in Clark’s Liberal Arts for Returning Citizens program, which we featured in an episode last month.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“I draw on my own experiences of hunger and poverty to encourage other folks to think of food as an incredibly powerful tool we can use to tell our own stories and to create change at the same time,” De Faria says. 

Tomatoes are De Faria’s favorite food. They recommend “Who Really Feeds the World?” by Vandana Shiva to anyone interested in learning more about food justice and sustainability.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

“Sound is a gateway into those issues,” he says. “The prevailing political concern that I have as a geographer is indigenous rights and indigenous justice, and how we can use unusual tools and processes to think about those relationships.” Ritts recommends "Earth Sound Earth Signal" by Douglas Kahn and "Aurality" by Ana María Ochoa Gautier to anyone interested in exploring these topics.

This episode features the track "Prepare for War" by the band Gyibaaw.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Bebbington also acts as the International Program Director, Natural Resources and Climate Change at the Ford Foundation.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Nate has found his passion in entrepreneurship and runs a small business called Health Ya’Self, which sells freshly made cold-pressed juices. Check out Health Ya’Self on Instagram.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. 

“People are really interested in mushrooms and other fungi — maybe even a little too interested,” Hibbett says. “There's a lot of hype around medicinal mushrooms and the use of fungi for bioremediation. A lot of people are just ready to believe that mushrooms are the solution for all of humanity's problems, so we need more critical thinking.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.  

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

“It’s more than simply looking at Hollywood as a profit-making machine and capitalizing on these stories that already performed well in their home culture, but also looking at what kinds of processes needed to happen for the films to be relevant to American audiences,” Grillo says. “I want students to look beyond what is being presented on the screen and find those hidden meanings they might not normally look for because they're just viewing it as passive entertainment.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

“You're influencing a whole system. By improving mom's health, she's more able to attend to, and be attuned to, the developing infant,” Darling says. “You're impacting a whole other generation and getting that generation off to a good start.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

“That’s an era where the country is almost evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, and we see some of the same problems we have now: Contested elections, arguments over fraud and elections. Parties start arguing about democracy itself at the same time,” he says. 

“The striking thing about it is we solved that problem with the election of Theodore Roosevelt and the rise of the progressive movement … I don't know that it's likely to happen anytime soon, but American history suggests that we do have a precedent for solving problems like what we see today.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

“She's accused, she's arrested, she's in jail for about seven or eight months, and her mother is executed during the trials. When this child is released, she's so traumatized that she is never able to really recover,” Christ-Doane says. “She's been my primary focus this year, and her story is staying with me because it's just so awful. It speaks to witchcraft history, but more broadly, the fate of women in colonial society.”

Christ-Doane suggests the book “A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience” by Emerson Baker to anyone who wants to learn more. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

“I found that forest areas with higher connectivity and high vegetation productivity have more sounds from animals and also more frequencies that come from animal sources. In this case, the majority of sounds are from birds,” Sangermano says. “On the other hand, the areas with more lights or traffic, or more human edges — for example, near backyards or agriculture —presented lower sounds from animals. The main takeaway is that, through the sounds, we can evaluate the impact of humans on biodiversity.” 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

“I got the hang of how to deal with agents and how to negotiate deals for bands to come play,” he says. “It was never any long-term plan, but one thing led to another, and success happened over time. At this point, with an established client roster, I have to love the music first.” Webman suggests Michigander and Georgia Harmer to anyone looking for new music.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe to Challenge. Change. on Apple and Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

October is LGBTQIA+ history month. Check Clark's LGBTQIA+ resources site for special programing, links to affinity groups, related courses, and more.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe to Challenge. Change. on Apple and Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Grolnick has discovered her expertise as a parenting researcher is an asset during times of chaos. “In the aftermath of a disaster, having consistent routines again becomes really important … You want to help kids feel less helpless.”

Grolnick recommends the book “Between Parent and Child” by Haim Ginott for anyone who wants advice about successful parenting. 

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Power-Greene tells us about the inspiration for this novel and how he’d like Allie’s character to live on after readers put down the book. “The Confessions of Matthew Strong,” published by Other Press/Random House, will be available next month.

Current students and alumni can hear more from Power-Green and fellow Clark faculty during a roundtable event at noon on Wednesday Nov. 2. Attend in-person at Dana Commons on campus or via Zoom.

ASMR videos have racked up millions of views, and rank among the top five YouTube searches globally and in the U.S. Most often, creators record themselves whispering into a microphone or using motifs of touching and tasting to create an intimate online experience. Manon and Niu have studied thousands of ASMR videos for a co-authored paper examining the trend as they try to better understand the culture and community.

“ASMRtists can't reach through the screen and tickle you with a feather, but they can reach through the microphone and tickle you with a whisper by virtue of the fact that everything's being amplified. That’s something I think is really underappreciated,” Manon says.

These videos are more than just entertainment for some viewers. Researchers are finding that the calm and quiet of AMSR can help ease anxiety.

“We do see a lot of videos created for people with insomnia or sleeping issues,” Niu says. “And I do see comments that say, ‘Hey, this helped me fall asleep.’”

Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

To learn more about internships, check out Clark’s Career Connections Center. 

Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

“I'm living a life where I have no regrets in those decisions because I've learned from and appreciated all of the positives and growth,” she says. “I was able to capitalize on making sure that I fulfill what I believe is my purpose.”

Kiem says that while there are objective measurements of student success, she works from a more holistic lens. 

“I want to pay attention to the love and joy and satisfaction piece of their experience,” she says. “Students are resilient. They will overcome, and they will persevere, but do they love the experience?”

Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Have a suggestion for the podcast? Email producers Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson at Clark with your show ideas and feedback.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or whenever you listen.

Moore finds inspiration everywhere when writing her own music — sometimes she puts on Spotify and just starts jamming. She’d considered other majors, but after some soul searching knew music was the right choice.

“I've been singing since I was a baby,” she says. “Music is my life. It's everything to me.”

Students in Davey’s Mass Atrocity Prevention in Theory and Practice course last spring created podcasts that explored the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in detecting potential atrocity, what genocide is and how to prevent it, and the role of state vs. non-state actors in perpetuating mass violence. In this episode, you’ll hear clips from Tom Atwood ’24, Ezra Schrader ’24, Aedan Achilles ’24, Mackenzie Sullivan ’25, Penelope Kogan ’22, M.A. ’23, and Nico Resnik ’24.

Davey recommends that listeners interested in his area of research read “The Wasted Vigil” by Nadeem Aslam, a fiction work about the interconnections of war and its impact in Afghanistan; “Congo: The Epic History of a People” by David Van Reybrouck, the essential reader on Congo; and “Devil on the Cross” by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Kenyan fiction on the impact of capitalism post-independence.

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson and Andrew Hart for Clark University. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

We want to note that views expressed by Hack in this episode are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the president and fellows of Harvard.

During this episode, Hack referenced the books "Crafting Law on the Supreme Court" by Forrest Maltzman, James F. Spriggs, Paul J. Wahlbeck and "How Judges Think" by Richard A. Posner.

Learn more about political science at Clark

Learn more about a concentration in Africana Studies at Clark.

Find resources and learn more about Langman's work at schoolshooters.info.

Learn more about Clark University.

Learn more about economics at Clark.

Read more about the inaugural ceremony and the academic symposium held in celebration of the weekend.

Szekely's research focuses on the foreign and domestic policies of nonstate and protostate military actors (rebel groups, guerrillas, insurgents, etc.,) in the Middle East. 

As Jackson became the country’s newest justice, Kennedy, who leads Clark’s mock trial team, works to give students a sense of what it’s like to be in the courtroom.

Learn more about Clark University's Prelaw Advising Program.

Home to a uniquely rich undergraduate program and a landmark doctoral program, the Strassler Center is the first and only institute of its kind. Since 1998, it has gained international standing as the foremost PhD program training students in Holocaust History, the Armenian Genocide, and other genocides perpetrated around the globe.

Learn more about Clark's IDCE Department and read about Carr's contribution to the IPCC in the news:

• The Boston Globe: The effects of climate change are worse than we thought, an unflinching new UN report finds
• The New York Times: Climate Change Is Harming the Planet Faster Than We Can Adapt, U.N. Warns

Sperling has been studying Russia since she was in college in the 1980s and is teaching a course on Russian politics this semester. Learn more about political science at Clark.

Learn more about Art History and Game Design at Clark.

Learn more about the Mosakowski Institute