In the fifth episode of our Engagement series, Shane interviews Dr. Mandy Agnew, a biological anthropologist who directs the Skeletal Biology Research Laboratory at Ohio State. Dr. Agnew tells us about how her grandparents and mentors helped shape her journey to anthropology. She also discusses her ongoing research with industry partners and the importance of collaborating and communicating with stakeholders at all phases of the research process.

S5E5 - Interview with Dr. Mandy Agnew (Biological Anthropology)

In the finale of our Engagement series, Shane interviews Dr. Erin Moore, the newest faculty member in the Ohio State University Anthropology Department. Dr. Moore speaks to us about her research with women and girls in Uganda and with multinational nongovernmental organizations. Shane and Dr. Moore discuss the concept of a "gender panic" and the importance of being transformed by research.

S5E6 - Interview with Dr. Erin Moore (Cultural Medical Anthropology)

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel sits down with Dr. Joy McCorriston to discuss archaeobotany, how to teach the Anthropocene to undergraduate students, the role and importance of collaborative research, a project connecting Ohio State to HBCUs and the origins of agriculture as a subject of study.

Joy McCorriston Interview April 7 2022

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel sits down with Dr. Scott McGraw to discuss primatology, how to teach about primates to undergraduate students, the role and importance of teeth in the study of primates, his role as chair of the Anthropology department and colobus monkey conservation. The referenced teeth article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24592, and the red colobus action plan is at https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/49478.

Scott McGraw Interview September 21 2022

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel sits down with Dr. Anaís Roque to discuss community health, her research on resource insecurity, the case of Puerto Rico, the strengths of interdisciplinary research and the collaborative lab she is developing on campus. Anaís' publications can be found at https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5yt016MAAAAJ&hl=en, and students interested in the Community Health Lab can sign here at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyXwoxCXjnyZcR8Yz29o7vQS9y0swZbmQS_Ycp0Qz7j4ZvBA/viewform!

Anaís Roque Interview January 24 2023

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Holdsworth to discuss her work on the Mother-Infant Microbiomes, Behavior, and Ecology Study (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37556398/), the relationship between maternal stress and infant health caregiving behaviors and infant methylation (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajhb.23876), her PhD research on role of social support on infant health(https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10995-018-02706-z), her future directions for research and teaching at Ohio State, and her upcoming work in press on the impact of cannabinoids on breast milk.

Elizabeth Holdsworth Interview September 11 2023

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel sits down with our new forensic anthropologist Dr. Stephanie Cole. They discuss forensic anthropology's methods and implications, Dr. Cole's PhD research on subadult sex estimation (https://scholarworks.unr.edu/handle/11714/8364), the Morphological Pelvis and Skull Sex Estimation Database (https://www.morphopasse.com/program.html), the Ontogenetic Subadult Sex Estimation System (https://stephanie-j-cole.shinyapps.io/OnSEt-System/) and Ohio State's new B.S. in Forensic Anthropology (https://anthropology.osu.edu/major-forensic-anthropology-bs).

Stephanie Cole Interview September 28 2023

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel sits down with our lecturer specializing in primatology, Dr. Jeffrey Peterson. They discuss multispecies ethnography, the foundations of primatology, Dr. Peterson's dissertation on Social Traditions and Social Networks among Long-Tailed Macaques in Indonesia (https://curate.nd.edu/show/bv73bz63b34), robbing and bartering among these same long-tailed macaques (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-11776-7), and methods for getting students excited about anthropology.

Jeffrey Peterson Interview October 6 2023

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel chats with PhD candidate Steven Rhue to discuss the effects of household water insecurity on child health and well-being, a recently systematic review article on the topic by Steven and colleagues (https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wat2.1666), Steven's fieldwork on the subject with children ages 5-10 in Belém, Brazil, and Steven's experience at UN 2023 Water Conference in March 2023 (more here: https://medicalhealthhumanities.com/2023/05/01/what-did-it-all-mean-the-united-nations-first-conference-on-water-in-over-50-years/). You can read more on the topic in Steven's piece Acknowledged but Unheard: The Absence of Children's Voices in Water Insecurity (https://medicalhealthhumanities.com/2021/03/26/acknowledged-but-unheard-the-absence-of-childrens-voices-in-water-insecurity/).

The study, “The effects of household water insecurity on child health and well-being” was supported by the Household Water Insecurity Experiences Research Coordination Network (HWISE- RCN) funded by the National Science Foundation (grant BCS-1759972)

Steven Rhue’s doctoral dissertation research is supported by the National Science Foundation (grant BCS-2215227) and The Ohio State University Office of International Affairs and its’ Global Gateways.

Steven Rhue Interview November 28 2023

In this interview, Andrew Mitchel chats with PhD candidate Craig Shapiro to discuss the insights from the text Polynesia, 900-1600 Past Imperfect by Madi Williams (https://www.arc-humanities.org/9781641892148/polynesia-9001600/), the role and importance of epistemology and community archeology, Craig's ongoing fieldwork in Samoa, and conclude with considering the quandary of moving beyond the practice of artifact expatriation.

Craig Shapiro A Story Of Us December 14 2023

In this interview, Andrew sits down with Maddison Elliott, who is graduating with her MA this semester in anthropology. They discuss The book Buzz (https://nyupress.org/9781479827381/buzz/), Maddison's MA thesis on pollinator protection, hierarchies of insects, roundtable method of teaching introductory anthropology courses, and the Wicked Science program at Ohio State (https://u.osu.edu/wicked/)!

Maddison Elliott A Story Of Us April 10 2024

This is the first episode of our Migration series! We'll give you an overview of how different anthropologists study migration in the past and present. We'll also give you a preview of the rest of the series.

S1E1a - Pushes And Pulls, Bridges And Barriers

Ohio State University Department of Anthropology faculty member Dr. Robert Cook and graduate student Laura Crawford discuss two North American migrations, archaeology, and material culture. This podcast was made in collaboration with the American Anthropological Asssociation.

S1E3b - Conversation With Dr. Robert Cook and Laura Crawford

Dr. Carolyn Dean, Professor of History of Art and Visual Culture at the University of California, Santa Cruz, gave the 14th Annual Paul and Erika Bourguignon Lecture in Art and Anthropology at Ohio State University on March 23, 2017.

Bonus Interview with Dr. Carolyn Dean - "Flesh and Stone: The Throne of the Inka"

Recorded February 2017. In this episode, Dr. Lucas Delezene talks about his work broadly and, specifically, about the teeth of a new hominin species: Homo naledi. At the time of recording, the age of the specimens was unknown. In May, it was announced that these hominin fossils date from  236 to 335 thousand years ago (Dirks et al., 2017 https://elifesciences.org/articles/24231)

Bonus Interview with Dr. Lucas Delezene - "Teeth of Homo naledi"

How does stress affect your health? And what, exactly, can affect your stress? In this episode, we talk with biological anthropologist Dr. Crews, and hear about his research in exploring allostatic load in populations across the world. Listen to find out how they are the same, and how they are different.

S4E1 - Interview with Dr. Crews (Biological Anthropology)

What can human waste tell you about culture? How do different cultures manage waste and compost? In this episode, we talk with cultural anthropologist Dr. Nick Kawa, and hear about his research in environmental anthropology around the world. Ps. did you know that you can paint with compost?

S4E2 - Interview with Dr. Kawa (Cultural Anthropology)

How do islands preserve the past? How do humans transform their environments? In this episode, we talk with archaeologist Dr. Julie Field, and hear about her research in the Pacific Islands with population growth and the trajectory of environmental change. By speaking on diversity of biology, culture, and thought, we can study where we have been and answer the question of "where are we going?" (Bonus: Learn a new knock-knock joke!)

S4E3 - Interview with Dr. Field (Archaeology)

Do raccoons have a preference on what they scavenge? How does our environment and what we consume in our lifetime affect how we decompose? In this bonus episode, we talk with forensic anthropologist Dr. Dawnie Wolfe- Steadman, and hear about her research at the Forensic Anthropology Center at University of Tennessee, Knoxville (a.k.a The Body Farm) where she works with donated bodies to inform science and criminal justice. From this, we recognize Anthropology's multiple disciplines and raise the broader questions about the human body and culture.

S4E4 - Interview with Dr. Steadman (Forensic Anthropology)

In this bonus episode, we interview Dr. Amara Solari of Penn State University and discovery the intersection between art and anthropology in the Pre-Colombian Yucatan. Dr. Solari discusses the transition of Mayan culture to Christianity, including the adoption and idolization of the Virgin Mary.

To read her book: https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-08332-8.html

Bonus Episode with Dr. Amara Solari:  Idolizing Mary in the Pre-Colombian Yucatan

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Filiberto Penados, the academic director of CELA-Belize. After describing the reality and struggle of indigenous peoples in Belize (a small country in Central America) to affirm their rights to land and imagine and create a self-defined future, Dr. Penados describes how he has participated in this as an engaged scholar. He explains the ideas of "re-rooting and re-routing," centering around his basic question of "How do you educate in a post-colonial context? How do you engage in de-colonial education and development?" Listen to this episode to find out how Dr. Penados integrates Maya ways of knowing and being into learning, which is centered at a community level.

Bonus Episode with Dr. Filiberto Penados: Engaging with Indigenous Voices

Have you ever stuck your hand in cold water and watched it prune? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Bruce Floyd of the University of Auckland. After describing his circuitous path to anthropology, Dr. Floyd describes his research studying "cold induced vasodilation response (CIVD)" as a hypotheses for understanding the Peopling of the Pacific. How does this relate to prune-y hands? Listen to find out...

Bonus Episode with Dr. Bruce Floyd: Populating Polynesia

Do you know the origins of the term "slash and burn agriculture"? In this episode we talk with Dr. Sean Downey, an ecological anthropologist who works in Belize. Dr. Downey describes the colonial view that led to the term "slash and burn" for the practice that many anthropologists and ecologists prefer to call, "Swidden" agriculture. Dr. Downey's research asks the questions, "how do community social norms lead to sustainable forest outcomes, even under the clearing regimes that they use to provide subsistence for their families?"

Listen to this episode to find out more about how Dr. Downey conducts his research, and preliminary results!

S4E4 - Interview with Dr. Downey (Ecological Anthropology)

What can we learn from paleofeces (a.k.a. dried ancient feces)? In this episode, we talk with archaeologist and paleoethnobotanist Dr. Kris Gremillion, and discuss her research with Native American plant remains in the caves and rock shelters of eastern Kentucky. She covers topics including: understanding the origins and development of agricultural systems, the challenges of working with plant remains, and how understanding ancient plants could help fight food insecurity in the future.

S4E5 – Interview with Dr. Gremillion (Paleoethnobotany)

How can you use anthropology without realizing it? In this episode, we talk with Donna Firm, an OSU alumna (class of '73), who took her anthropology degree and applied it to a lifetime with the Ohio State Department. Donna, who celebrated OSU's centennial, reflects on how anthropology has changed over the last fifty years, and tells us how she still keeps anthropology in her life today.

Bonus Episode: A reflection on 50 years of anthropology, with Donna Firm

"Where are you from?" In this special bonus episode, students from the Columbus Metro Early College Middle School (6-8th grade) answer this question as a part of their January-term project. With the idea that "Where are you from" means so much more than what is your family background, students take the time to tell us about what shaped them as who they are today, including: stories of their parents' home countries; ancestral stories shared by family members; what it means to move; different food traditions within their families; and the influence of art, games and reading. We are excited to share their stories as a part of our podcast, and hope that you enjoy them too. An index of topics is listed below: 

SECTION 1: "Home" (4:33)
Mariah (4:43): Family trips to Maryland
Saleh and Omar (6:24): "The Horn of Africa," Somalian history and language
Pradnya (12:00): "The World Inside Ohm", Hinduism and Yoga
Marguerite (15:23): "Mobile Home" What it means to move
Jillian (17:24): European Roots from Family tales
Holden (19:15): "Zoomin' As A Human", Family traditions and cycling

SECTION 2: "Food" (20:51)
Paolo and Graham (20:57): "The Meals that Made Us", Food traditions from Germany and Poland (plus Pizza!)
Austen (24:48): Snacking and friendship
Oumar (26:16): Influence of Dad's African culture

SECTION 3: "Hobbies" (29:42)
Jacob (29:50): Dungeons and Dragons, and creativity
Loic (32:31): "Comic Origin: Batman" The history of Batman
Ali (33:45): Life lessons and impact of Anime
Isra (37:47): Reading and Harry Potter
Iza (40:04): Art and reading books
Zaiden (42:59): Art and culture

CONCLUSION (44:19)

Bonus Episode: Where are you from? With students from Columbus Metro Early College Middle School

A new season is coming! In this episode, we introduce the new Voice of the Podcast, Shane Scaggs, and the theme of this season--engagement.

S5E1 - Introducing Engagement and Shane Scaggs

In this episode, we interview PhD student Taylor Tomu who discusses her various research during her time at OSU. Taylor answers questions such as, "What does the experiences of Black women in the medical system tell us about how that system operates?" and considers how the medical system operates as a social system with a culture. Her current research focuses on the Black women at the front lines of COVID who are helping people navigate and continue to navigate their health, particularly in areas of pre-existing disparities and outcomes. Finally, Taylor talks with us about her recent co-authorship of a book titled, "The Unwelcome Stranger"--a children's book that helps parents talk about the COVID-19 pandemic with their families.

S5E2 - Interview with Taylor Tomu (Medical Anthropology)

In this episode, Dr. Anna Willow, an environmental anthropologist, describes her work with indigenous activists across Canada. Dr. Willow's research focuses on industrial extraction, it's detrimental effects on people and landscapes, and the activists who are resisting these forces and trying to transform society.

S5E3 - Interview with Dr. Anna Willow (Environmental Anthropology)

In episode 4 of our Engagement series, we interview Dr. Mark Anthony Arceño about his research on the taste, place, and identity of winegrowers from central Ohio and Alsace, eastern France. We discuss the role taste and place play in adaptation to climate, economic, and legislative change, as well as the importance of staying connected with local food producers. Following the theme of our Engagement series, Mark Anthony and Shane discuss research ethics and a vision for engaged anthropology

S5E4 - Interview with Dr. Mark Anthony Arceño (Food Anthropology)

An original podcast brought to you by the graduate students of the Department of Anthropology at The Ohio State University. Join us once as we explore the human experience!

We are now a part of the Anthropology Public Outreach Program at The Ohio State University. Follow us @ohiostateAPOP

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