In this episode, we listen to a conversation between Lysanne ter Brinke (assistant professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam; Healthy Start fellow) and Milene Gonçalves (associate professor at the Technical University Delft). Both are members of the ambition “Youth participation” in Healthy Start, a consortium that aims to better understand and support the healthy development of all youths in the Netherlands. PAST (00:01:43): We learn how different academic fields (developmental psychology versus design) have influenced how Lysanne and Milene define and use “youth participation” in their work ..read more

In this bonus episode, we listen to a conversation between Reshmi Marhe (assistant professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam) and Laura van Duin (psychologist at De Nieuwe Kans, Rotterdam). Both are members of the ambition “Youth Delinquency and Addiction” in Healthy Start, a consortium that aims to better understand and support the healthy development of all youths in the Netherlands. PAST (00:01:40): We learn that Reshmi and Laura both obtained a PhD and worked in the same department. Their paths have since diverged: Reshmi continued focussing on research in forensic and legal psychology and ..read more

In this episode, we talked to Ceren Abacıoğlu who is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.  PAST (00:02:11): Ceren talks about the struggles of studying and working in another country, about adapting to new cultures and new working environments. She explains how she became interested in the concept of acculturation, meaning the changes that happen if people from different cultures are in contact with one another over an extended period of time.  PRESENT (00:09:08): We discuss the article by Kunst and colleagues (2021) about majority group accultur ..read more

In this episode, we spoke with Paul Gorski who is Paul Gorski, the founder of the Equity Literacy Institute, U.S.    PAST (00:01:47): Paul shares how during college years he developed an interest in social justice while being aware of his own privileged identities in academia. Later, when Paul was a professor, he also became interested in activist burnout, meaning the stress-related symptoms and illnesses that may occur among activists who tend to work in highly stressful and unpredictable environments.   PRESENT (00:13:20): Paul discusses an award lecture by Gloria Ladson-Billi ..read more

In this episode, we spoke with Tabea Hässler who is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Zurich in Switzerland.    PAST (00:01:32): Tabea shares how as a high school student and activist, she launched a campaign against racism and homophobia after noticing that these topics were ignored at school. She explains how decorating the school overnight and bringing in speakers and press to speak against racism and homophobia were her first steps to becoming an activistic scholar.   PRESENT (00:11:33):  Tabea discusses an article by Saguy and colleagues (2009) on positive intergr ..read more

In this episode, we spoke with Laura Taylor who is an Assistant Professor at the University College Dublin in Ireland.  PAST (00:02:00): Laura shares her incredible and winding path into academia, from being part of human rights and peace building work with NGO’s in Guatemala and Nepal, studying and teaching at university, and eventually pursuing a Ph.D. program in both peace studies and psychology. She explains how she ended up focusing on children, mental health, and on the constructive and agentic ways in which children can respond to conflict and violence.  PRESENT (00:14:33): La ..read more

In this episode, we spoke with Sauro Civitillo who is an Assistant Professor at the European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.  PAST (00:02:15): Sauro shares his experiences as a “first-generation student”, meaning that he was the first one in his family to attend university and to follow an academic career. He talks about how his parents supported him and about the positive impact one of his teachers had by having high expectations of him. He also talks about the sudden choice to become a researcher at age 31 and how he got three ..read more

In this episode, we talked to Prof. Dr. Andreas Zick who is the Scientific Director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence (IKG) and Professor at the Faculty of Educational Science at Bielefeld University, Germany. Our main topics are social identity theory and intergroup conflict, but also diversity in German scientific institutions and the link between research and society.  PAST (00:02:03): Andreas describes his personal academic journey along key, including contributing to the first cross-European survey on prejudice and racism. Here he addresses ana ..read more

In this episode, we spoke with Gülseli Baysu who is a Lecturer at the Queen's University of Belfast, U.K. As a psychologist she focusses, among other things, on cultural diversity, discrimination, and Muslim minorities in Europe. In this episode we talk about the awareness of ethnic/racial discrimination and how it relates to youth well-being, and inequalities regarding Western and non-Western research samples in psychology.  PAST (00:01:43): Gülseli talks about her experiences as a “first-generation university student”, meaning that she was the first one in her family to attend universit ..read more

In this episode, we talked to Josefina Bañales who is an Assistant Professor in the Community and Prevention Research Area at the University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC, U.S.). Our main topics are critical consciousness and how social scientists can learn ‘with’, ‘from’ and ‘from within’ marginalized communities through participatory action research.  PAST (00:02:03): Josefina describes her personal connection and dedication to the well-being and liberation of low-income communities of color and how sharing people’s stories has helped create knowledge about her own and other communities PRE ..read more