Each episode, I talk with a guest and try to learn something new. About me: I grew up in Tokyo, went to boarding school in New England, studied Computer Science, Linguistics, and Russian at Princeton, taught math and CS at a high school in Florida, and am currently a graduate student at Cambridge.
Katya Ivshina is a PhD student in Applied Mathematics at Harvard studying geometric machine learning Katya's Instagram: @katya.ivshina Katya's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KatyaIvshina YouTube канал Кати на русском: https://www.youtube.com/@ekaterinaivshina Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (1:16) Katya's research explained at two different levels (23:25) What excites you about the future of this field? (29:20) Katya's journey to doing a PhD at Harvard (42:20) Cultural differences in the US (54:22) What do you do outside of research and academics? (1:03:20) Advice for current and prospective grad students (1:14:05) Closing question: Topological data analysis explained simply
Ana Tsai is a PhD student in Biology at MIT from Stockton, California. (0:30) What was your childhood like? (3:25) Growing up with mixed heritage (9:50) Smell of freshly picked tomatoes (11:57) Did you ever imagine becoming a grad student? (15:18) Researching immortality (20:24) What do you do on a daily basis, Zelda protein (24:30) Humans (and fruit flies) are basically a donut (25:10) Optogenetics (28:40) Generalizing from fruit flies to other species (32:00) Setting goals in grad school (34:20) Teaching and connecting with students (42:00) Breaking out of bubbles (51:00) Bees are really cute (55:00) Potlucks with friends (57:15) Where do you see yourself going after grad school? (1:07:00) What would you tell someone who's thinking about going into research?
Gun Ahn is a visiting graduate student at MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences, where he studies pathways in the brain that are important for our understanding of depression. He is the author of several books, including one about why Finland has the reputation as the happiest country in the world.
Anna Ivanova recently completed a PhD in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from MIT. She studies language and cognition in the brain using tools such as fMRI brain imaging. She is now starting a post-doctoral researcher position at the MIT Quest for Intelligence. Language models & speech vs. thought: https://theconversation.com/googles-powerful-ai-spotlights-a-human-cognitive-glitch-mistaking-fluent-speech-for-fluent-thought-185099 Language vs. computer code comprehension: https://news.mit.edu/2020/brain-reading-computer-code-1215 Mental health blog post: https://oge.mit.edu/the-breaking-point/
Leora Eisenberg is a PhD student in the Department of History at Harvard University. She is a a talented researcher and a lover of languages. She has studied Central Asian Soviet history, Ukrainian language policy, and other fascinating and timely topics. Join us for this wide-ranging and illuminating conversation!
Lily George is my high school classmate and one of my oldest friends. Last year we did a book club and read Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton. In this podcast, we discuss some of the main themes of the book and their relevance in modern life.
Anna Clark is a student at Stanford University, studying Engineering Physics. She is passionate about renewable energy and addressing climate change.
Kat Kajderowicz is a PhD student at MIT interested synthetic biology, aging, neuro, and science communication. Check out her #SynBio journal club (@DnaDeviants on Twitter).
Greta Tuckute is a PhD student in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. She uses fMRI scanning and computational models to study how the human brain processes language. In this episode, we discuss some of the recent progress in this exciting field, the similarities between artificial neural networks and the human brain, and future directions for this research.
James Brown-Kinsella is interested in the idea of nonsense in ancient Chinese philosophy. He studied philosophy at Princeton, completed a Masters degree at Peking University, and is currently a graduate student at Cambridge.
Daniel Yamamoto is half Japanese and half British, and spent his childhood in Tokyo and Yokohama before moving to the UK for university. He is currently a graduate student at Cambridge.
Cecily Polonsky joins Modus Mirandi to discuss our shared interests of Russia, languages, teaching, and more. Cecily spent her early childhood in Moscow before moving to Cambridge, England. She studied comparative literature at Princeton and has previously been a teacher in New York City.
Justinas Mickus is a graduate student in Politics and International Studies at Cambridge. He has previously worked in a policy think tank in his home city of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Tez Clark is a PhD student in Philosophy at NYU. She studies epistemology, a branch of philosophy that explores the nature of knowledge.
Delaney is a PhD student in Philosophy at UNC Chapel Hill. She is interested in moral and political philosophy. Prior to her PhD, she did her undergrad at Princeton, and before that, she spent a gap year volunteering in Peru. Delaney is also passionate about the outdoors, and was a leader trainer in Princeton’s Outdoor Action program.
Jennie Kim has interned at the White House, worked as a middle school math teacher in Florida, and currently works on policy at a major tech company. She is passionate about education and tech, and how they are influenced by government policy. In this episode, we discuss our teaching experience, our journeys out of teaching into the tech world, and anti-Asian discrimination.
My father grew up in Lynn, Massachusetts, where his dad was a WWII veteran and his mom was a school teacher. His post-college gap year teaching English in Japan would change the trajectory of his life, leading to a lifelong interest in the Asia-Pacific region as well as deep personal connections to Japan. After many years working in Tokyo, London, and Washington DC, he now works at the Asian Development Bank in Manila, an organization working to eradicate extreme poverty in Asia through investing in sustainable development.
Will Nolan is a graduate student and Barry Scholar at Oxford studying Philosophy. He is also an avid runner, a student of the classics, and a former high school teacher.
Zartosht Ahlers credits the beauty of nature for his incessant need to be left alone.
Isabelle DeSisto is a graduate of Harvard, and currently studies Politics and International Studies at Cambridge, where she is a Fiske Scholar at Trinity College. Her interests include Soviet-Cuba relations and the politics of the former Soviet Union and Latin America.
Julia Clark is a high school senior at a boarding school in Virginia, and is the youngest guest (so far) on this podcast! Born in Tokyo but having lived in London and Manila, Julia brings a unique perspective to a discussion of Generation Z, performative activism on social media, and one of her academic passions: the classics.
Nate Gadiano was the president of the Princeton Tigertones, a world-class mens' a cappella group. He studied Italian and Medieval Studies. Nate currently works at a Catholic boys' school in the Washington, D.C. area, where he runs admissions and teaches a physics class. Check out Nate’s poetry at https://dailypaths333061334.wordpress.com/.
Mike Agrippina is a consultant-turned-teacher from Atlanta, Georgia. After teaching in Jacksonville, Florida for two years through Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) program, he returned to Atlanta and currently teaches at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. He is passionate about faith, family, and fitness. In this episode, we talk about his unique path from the consulting life to the classroom, share our biggest learning moments from our time as teachers, and discuss the pandemic’s impact on education.
Gabriela Molina studied Biology and Spanish at Princeton University and currently works in the nonprofit sector. In this episode, we discuss whether souls exist, how to conceptualize the soul, and how this relates to different cultures and religions, ecology, and mixed heritage. Check out her work and her content editing service at https://www.allthespacesinbetween.com/. To support this podcast, share it with your friends and connect with me on Instagram @modusmirandi to get updates, submit questions, and give feedback.
Jessi Glueck is an alumna of Harvard, where she studied English with a secondary in Classics. She delivered the Latin Oration at the 2017 Harvard Commencement. Jessi received a masters degree from Oxford before teaching at a boarding school in England for two years. She is currently a graduate student at Cambridge.
Declan Kunkel is a graduate of Yale University and current graduate student at Cambridge.
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