Recent Episodes

Josie wrote a pharmaceutical development thesis about looking for a new way to develop antibiotics. She also tells us about her interest in biology and chemistry and looking for bridges between the disciplines, and how chemistry can be used to do things like examine snake poop to learn about snake evolution.

Reed community members can read Josie's thesis, “A Codrug for Resistant Coinfection: The First Clinically Relevant Antimicrobial-Antiviral Ionic Cocrystal” online in the Electronic Theses Archive:
https://rdc.reed.edu/i/e2a19aba-968a-4281-bd0b-bccc4dce68f5

Explore more interviews with Reed College alumni on our website:
reed.edu/burnyourdraft

#67: Antimicrobial Innovation with Josie Bicknell '24, Biology

Juno Kerelis '24 was the third student podcast producer on Burn Your Draft, and we're so happy to get to speak to them on the other side of their time at Reed. If you've been listening since Juno hosted the podcast, you may have noticed little musical interludes during some of the episodes. Most of those were composed by Juno! Thank you for your work on the podcast, and for coming to talk to us about your year studying the Invisible Man.

Reed community members can read Juno's thesis, “Yams Extending Infinitely Across Time: A Blues Philology of Ellison's Invisible Man” online in the Electronic Theses Archive:
https://rdc.reed.edu/i/38b592a4-61fb-4d2c-8235-6901a7ff1820

Explore more interviews with Reed College alumni on our website:
reed.edu/burnyourdraft

#68: Ellison's Invisible Man with Juno Kerelis '24, English

We're back for the 2025–26 school year after taking a hiatus last spring. Today, Ocean shares his thesis experience with us which was focused on studying writers from the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, especially Édouard Glissant, and tells us why he thinks poetry and art is important.

Ace Lackey '27, our new student producer, produced this episode for us. Welcome to the podcast Ace!

Reed community members can read Ocean's thesis, “ rhizophora” online in the Electronic Theses Archive:
https://rdc.reed.edu/i/ba4917ec-7250-448e-976a-ac001f5b3edc

Explore more interviews with Reed College alumni on our website:
reed.edu/burnyourdraft

#69: Inventing the Future with Ocean Chamberlain '23, Comparative Literature

Emma's economics department thesis explored the effect that Tony awards have on the consumer demand for Broadway shows.

Reed community members can read Emma's thesis, “'It's All About the Green': The Tony Award's Effect on Broadway Show Demand” online in the Electronic Theses Archive:
https://rdc.reed.edu/i/2ec90330-430a-417d-ad4b-b724611a5c60

Explore more interviews with Reed College alumni on our website:
reed.edu/burnyourdraft

#70: Value of a Tony with Emma Bramson '23, Economics

Amelie started out in the biology department at Reed because she wanted to study bacteria and living things, but then she got a chance to start learning from the biochemists on the faculty. They helped her build the bridge from chemistry to life, which led her to switch her major from biology to biochemistry and molecular biology.

Amelie was also the second student producer for Burn Your Draft, working with us from 2021–22, and it was a delight to get to talk to her.

Reed community members can read Amelie's thesis, “MntR: The Mastermind of Manganese Ion Homeostasis” online in the Electronic Theses Archive:
https://rdc.reed.edu/i/9e05e465-0d21-4fb0-9de1-e6d4d2bf1349

Explore more interviews with Reed College alumni on our website:
reed.edu/burnyourdraft

#71: Bags of Chemistry with Amelie Andreas '24, Biochem and Molecular Biology

“Burn Your Draft” is a podcast exploring the year-long senior thesis experience at Reed College, an independent liberal arts and sciences college in Portland, Oregon. Each episode showcases a senior or recent graduate and interviews them about their thesis: what is it, why did they do it, and what comes next. This podcast is a joint production of Reed students, staff, and alumni, and was made possible by a gift from Seth Paskin '90. New episodes released every other week during the academic year. Episodes may contain explicit language and may deal with sensitive topics. The views, information, or opinions expressed on this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of Reed College.