In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student Pranali Thakkar interviews Alexandra Devin, a creative arts and drama therapist. Pranali speaks to Alexandra about her journey from the arts to therapy, what drama therapy looks like in practice, and how imagination and play intersect with deep emotional work. Alexandra Devin is a licensed creative arts therapist and registered drama therapist in Beacon, NY.  She graduated from NYU Steinhardt in 2013 with a Masters in Drama Therapy. She has extended post-graduate training in psychodrama methods, and also studied the other creative arts therapy modalities of dance/movement, art, and music at The New School.  Her current therapy patients and life coaching clients are adults struggling with anxiety and/or depression, with additional coexisting issues of relationships, life transitions, body image, or past trauma.For a full transcript of this episode, please email [email protected]. 

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student, Kyli Fox Soug, interviews Makena Naegele, the founder and CEO of oyster. Kyli speaks to Makena about helping job seekers find genuine career communities and engage in mentorship conversations in the changing career landscape.Makenna Naegele is an NYU Stern alum with a background in UX design, data science, and entrepreneurship, and has worked at firms like frog, Capgemini, and Women in Innovation. She has worked on projects spanning from media and entertainment to tech and innovation. Today, she is the founder and CEO of oyster, a career-discovery and micro-community app designed to help job seekers find genuine community, engage in mentorship, and build their careers with intention. oyster is founded on the belief that your ideal career exists and that someone out there is likely doing it right now, you just need to be connected to them. oyster helps you not only survive in your jobs, but thrive in your career. For a full transcript of this episode, please email [email protected]. 

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student Avani Advani, interviews Joshua Lewis, an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the NYU Stern School of Business. Avani speaks to Joshua about the human side of decision-making, how “loss aversion” influences what we value, and why some people chase risk while others avoid it entirely.Professor Lewis researches consumer behavior, managerial decision-making, and global risk management. His research addresses wide-ranging themes such as when people will invest to improve outcomes they care about, how to optimally set targets, whether people neglect low probability risks, and much more. His work has been published in leading journals such as Journal of Consumer Research, Management Science, Psychological Science, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.In 2019, Professor Lewis received the Society for Judgment and Decision Making’s Hillel Einhorn Award for the best paper by a new investigator, and in 2020, he received ACR’s Best Paper award. He received his BS in Economics from the University of Warwick. He holds a PhD in Decision Processes from the University of Pennsylvania.For a full transcript of this episode, please email [email protected]. 

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student Mia Xiao interviews Daniel Ketchum, a Principal Narrative Designer at Wizards of the Coast. Mia speaks to Daniel about how Gallatin’s interdisciplinary education helped him get a foot in the door at Marvel and continues to shape his approach to learning.Daniel Ketchum is a narrative and creative leader with more than two decades of experience shaping some of the most iconic stories in pop culture. A BA '06 graduate of NYU’s Gallatin School, pursuing a concentration titled "Storytelling in the Graphic Novel." Daniel has built a career at the intersection of creativity, worldbuilding, and strategic IP development. He spent over a decade at Marvel Entertainment as an Editor, contributing to landmark titles including Uncanny X-Men, The Amazing Spider-Man, Punisher, and many more. In 2018, Daniel joined Wizards of the Coast, where he has held roles including Senior Franchise Art Director, Principal Designer for IP Development, and Principal Narrative Designer for Dungeons & Dragons. Across these positions, he has led cross-disciplinary creative teams, guiding the development of new worlds, for some of the most influential fantasy franchises in the world.For a full transcript of this episode, please email [email protected]. 

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student Hodan Barreh interviews Niobe Way, a Professor of Developmental Psychology at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Their conversation delves into Dr. Way’s research across cultures to better understand skills around emotional development and connection. They discuss how identity influences emotional health and the importance of softness and vulnerability in healing and building meaningful relationships.Dr. Niobe Way is a developmental psychologist and author whose work centers emotional development, friendship, and the ways culture shapes identity. A professor at NYU, she is widely recognized for her research on boys’ friendships and the social forces that discourage vulnerability and connection. Her scholarship challenges narrow definitions of strength and belonging, opening space for relational and embodied forms of healing. Her work has inspired interdisciplinary conversations across education, mental health, and community-based wellness initiatives.For a full transcript of this episode, please email [email protected]. 

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student Kylie Rah interviews Michelle Cortese, an XR designer and professor at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Society is in a transitional period where fields like Art and Digital Technology constantly overlap, creating new roles without clear job descriptions. Kylie and Michelle explore the practical method of Positioning the Overlap—a necessary process for defining and sustaining a career in an environment that lacks a clear professional vocabulary. Michelle Cortese is an XR designer, educator, and author. She splits her professional time between Metaverse design leadership at Meta Reality Labs and teaching VR design at NYU. Her work explores immersive interaction systems; the ethical implications of embodied technology on end users; and the transmutation of human expression across new technologies and formats.Michelle has authored AR and VR design research published via Bloomsbury, Meta, IEEE, OneZero, MIT's Immerse Journal, and more; she has also exhibited work at CES, Tribeca Film Festival, SXSW, and Sundance.For a full transcript of this episode, please email [email protected]. 

In this episode, Sarah Rosenthal speaks with Jonathan Pollak, an Agile Product Owner at Verizon. Sarah speaks to Jonathan about his journey from journalism into e-commerce and how AI is affecting the telecommunications landscape.Jonathan Pollak is a trusted Marketing Executive and Senior Digital Product Manager with experience in both startups and Fortune 500 companies. He creates eCommerce and Digital Product Strategies that transform products and brands and deliver significant YoY sales growth. For the past twelve years, he has modernized Verizon’s digital sales flows and processes. He completed a B.A. in English & American Literature from the NYU College of Arts and Science.For a full transcript of this episode, please email [email protected]. 

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student Yara Tarie interviews Talika Basantani, a math teacher at Energy Tech High School. So many school students dread math – a phenomenon commonly known as “math anxiety.” How can we combat this anxiety? And how can we encourage students to find meaning and support while learning math? Yara sits with Talika to talk about her love for math, how her time at NYU informed her teaching practice, and what a supportive math classroom might look like. Talika Basantani is a math teacher at Energy Tech High School in Queens. She is also an alum of NYU Steinhardt, where she earned her MA in Teaching in 2023. While at NYU, she learned about the Illustrative Mathematics curriculum, which she now applies daily in her classroom to make math useful and enjoyable for her students. For a full transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student Advait Sunil interviews Aditya Ramamurthy, Lab Manager at Movement Recovery Laboratory. Having received his MS in Biotechnology from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Aditya brought his “scientific mindset” to a new challenge: attending business school and supporting scientific ventures. Advait and Aditya speak about Aditya’s curiosity growing up, how it led him to a career in research and innovation, and the connection between scientific thinking and business thinking.Aditya Ramamurthy is the Lab Manager at Movement Recovery Laboratory. After finishing his MS in Biotechnology at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, he completed an MBA at Columbia Business School, focusing on management consulting and strategic decision-making. His diverse experience includes managing high-impact research projects and evaluating early-stage startups, with an ability to drive innovation and secure funding.For a full transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student Jenny Jamison interviews Dr. Becca Franks,  Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at NYU.  How can we use research to improve the lives of animals and support a healthier planet? Jenny speaks with Dr. Franks about her journey from veterinary medicine hopeful to animal welfare researcher, how her focus on fish is changing the conservation landscape, and how we should shift our understanding and perspective of the natural world.Dr. Becca Franks is Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at New York University, where she is the Director of WATR-lab and Co-Director of the Wild Animal Welfare Program.  After earning a BA in Anthropology from New York University and a PhD in Psychology from Columbia University, she was a Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Animal Welfare Program at the University of British Columbia. Her research and teaching lie at the intersection of animal welfare science and environmental conservation, with a focus on animal behavior, aquatic animals, human-animal relationships, and quantitative methods. She has published over 70 scholarly articles, chapters, and commentaries driven by the core question: how can science contribute to ongoing efforts to repair human relationships with other animals and the rest of nature?For a full transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].