In the thirteenth episode of Talk Media to Me; PhD Council member Femke van Bruggen (VU) talks to Gudrun Reijnierse, associate professor of Language and Communication at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, about the role of metaphors in political media campaigns and communication.

In the twelth episode of Talk Media to Me, PhD Council member Nurul Khansa Fauziyah (Maastricht University) talks to Sufri Eka Bhakti (University of Kent, UK) about how currently AI is shaping media studies. AI has helped many content creators to create beautiful visuals, but on the other hand, a content creator makes deepfakes and misuses other people's work with AI. The discourse on AI in shaping media studies is increasingly massive. In this episode, we will invite you to hear our discussi...

In this episode of Talk Media to Me, PhD Council member Nele Kadastik (RU) talks to PhD candidate Gaia Yonah (VU) about the power and complexity of storytelling. Gaia’s research bridges media studies and psychological analysis, focusing on how narrative structures shape emotional and cognitive responses. More specifically, she explores narrative complexity and how it unfolds in complex narratives, stories that challenge viewers’ understanding through ambiguity, fragmented structure, and inter...

In the tenth episode of Talk Media to Me, PhD Council member Keerthi Sridharan (UL) talks to Miriam Matthiessen (EUR) about visualizing invisibilized supply chains in inland shipping, the tangled nature of field work and method in media studies, and how to balance democratized knowledge production with institutional support and equitable labor practices.

In the ninth episode of Talk Media to Me, PhD Council member Merit Zimmerman (EUR) sits down with dr. Idil Galip (UvA) to talk about the growing prominence and status of memes in the art world, the "memetic turn" in media research, and their shared excitement for Severance and The White Lotus.

In the eighth episode of Talk Media to Me, PhD Council member Maud Rebergen (RUG) interviews her colleague Alexander Smit (RUG) on his dissertation research about how low-literacy adults experience the digitalized society and what policymakers can do to better include this marginalized group.

In the seventh episode of Talk Media to Me, PhD Council member Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) and his colleague Roselinde Bon (HU) talk about the prominent political role that big tech companies seem to be taking currently in the United States. They discuss how the second term of Trump is setting the stage for more political control through tech, and how occurrences such as censorship are used by big tech companies as strategic unknowns.

In the sixth episode of Talk Media to Me, PhD Council member Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) talks to Nick van Hummel (RU) about his research on children and their media usage. They discuss how identity is socially and relationally constructed by children when interacting with media. Simultaneously, they also explore how differences in the fields of Media Studies and Social Sciences can be bridged in doing research on this topic.

In the fifth episode of Talk Media to Me, PhD Council member Maud Rebergen (RUG) and her colleague Nathalie Fridzema (RUG) talk about their history with Habbo Hotel, an online game from their youth which has recently been making a big comeback. They also discuss their media months, which (at time of recording in July) revolved around HBO's House of the Dragon and the European Football Championship.

In this episode of Talk Media to Me, council members Nataliia Vdovychenko (TU) and Dennis Jansen (UU) discuss their lives as media scholars studying the intersection of war and media, in Ukraine and the Netherlands respectively. Why is it important and meaningful to study such a topic? How do you keep yourself sane when dealing with such heavy subject matter? They also talk about their 'media month', which at the time of recording in late June was still very much about the new instalment of t...

In this third episode of Talk Media to Me, PhD council member Zheyu Shang (UL) and her colleague Ye Jiang (UL) talk about fan fiction and fandom on Chinese social media platforms. They start with an impressive piece of fan fiction work that creates a romantic relationship between Tomie (the heroine of a Japanese horror manga series Tomie) and Iron Man (from the Marvel Universe). Ye shares her experiences as a fan fiction reader, creator, and researcher. From fan fiction, they further di...

In this second episode of Talk Media to Me, council members Bartosz Zerebecki (EUR) and Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) talk about their media month. What kept them busy in February and March? As media scholars, they ask themselves what diverse representation in media actually means. Going back to their childhood memories, they talk about queerness in media, diversity in blockbuster movies, and para-social relationships with movie and television characters.

We have rebranded ourselves! In this first episode of the new season, council members Dennis Janssen (UU) and Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) talk about their media month. What kept them busy in December and January? As media scholars, they ask themselves if it is possible to change your experience of media consumption: can media scholars still watch/read/play/listen to media 'uncritically'? Does that ruin the experience? Is it ethically correct to be an 'aca-fan' in media studies? You'll hear all about ...

This is the third of three special episodes that were recorded during the RMeS/NICA career event in June 2023. In this episode, Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) interviews Thomas Poell, Professor of Data, Culture & Institutions at the University of Amsterdam. Thomas tells about his journey as an academic scholar and gives tips and tricks on how to thrive in academia. How do you know if academia is the place where you want to work in? How do you get recognized within a university as a starting scholar?...

This is the second of three special episodes that were recorded during the RMeS/NICA career event in June 2023. In this episode, Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) interviews Karin van Es, Associate Professor of Media and Culture Studies at Utrecht University. Karin shares her academic journey and how she found the balance in working with people in- and outside academia. How do you make sure that your research stays connected to world? What can researchers do to rightly manage all potential stakeholde...

This is the first of three special episodes that were recorded during the RMeS/NICA career event in June 2023. In this episode, Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) interviews Pepita Hesselberth, director of NICA and lecturer in Film and Digital Media at Leiden University. Pepita shares her academic journey and which choices she has made to find funding for her research. How do you write just the right PhD proposal? How do you make sure that your research is appealing to NWO? Pepita provides in th...

Bartosz Zerebecki (EUR) interviews Lejo Siepe, a director of the Media Training Center Northern Netherlands. Lejo is a journalist for daily and weekly newspapers, radio and TV programs. He made several documentaries, wrote countless articles, and published four books. In this episode, Lejo gives advice to scholars about connecting media and making scientific research more available to the publics through media.

Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) interviews Mirko Tobias Schäfer (UU), Associate Professor at the Department for Media and Culture Studies, Utrecht University. His publications cover user participation in cultural production, datafication, politics of software design and communication in social media. In this episode, Mirko shares his experiences with the co-creation of knowledge with partners 'in the field'. As one of the co-founders of the Utrecht Data School, Mirko evaluates how you as a researcher bui...

Bartek Zerebecki (EUR) interviews Julia Kneer, an associate professor at the Department of Media and Communication at Erasmus University Rotterdam. As a scholar, Dr. Kneer researchers the effects of gaming on violence but she also boasts rich experience in mentoring younger scholars. In this episode, she talks about networking effectively and connecting with others during conferences. Dr. Kneer concludes with some anecdotes about why hats and towels might help you connect with other scholars ...

Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) interviews Vincent Crone (UU), Senior Fellow at the Teaching Academy Utrecht University. As a fellow, he studies and teaches about the development and training of starting teachers in the humanities and the possible differences in the development of teachers within different disciplines. In this episode, Vincent shares his experiences with the teaching positions that PhD's in Media Studies usually have to take. How do you make sure that you are in charge ...