Tune in to our conversation with Andrea, a third-year PhD student in Clinical Psychology based in Chicago, about her path to grad school with a background in social work and what her day-to-day life looks like. Andrea also breaks down how she structured her career according to her long-term goals, and why she chose to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Finally, the three of us discussed the similarities and differences in each of our path to academia and current experiences.

• Research areas: Clinical
• Career stage: PhD student
• Affiliation: Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
• Follow Andrea on Twitter @AndreaHaidar_ !

A few months later, we are back! Kat and I have been busy with grad school, but we finally sat down and recorded an episode in light of recent events, specifically the overturning of Roe v. Wade. In this episode, we talk about how we have been dealing with the current news cycle, how we try to navigate the terrains of 2022, and how we experience these events as 20-something grad students struggling to find meaning and focus in our everyday work at the same time of war, continuing pandemic, and diminishing human rights. We find ourselves questioning a lot, and there is a glimpse of desperation, anger and frustration, but we know we aren't shouting into the void: through commiseration and candidness, we come to undertand that we are not alone, and that you may be feeling a lot of the things that we are, too. Hope y'all take care out there and, if applicable, acknowledge the disruption that politics has brought to either yourself or someone you love, for what is political is personal. 

Informative & interesting articles:

• 26 States Are Certain or Likely to Ban Abortion Without Roe: Here’s Which Ones and Why by the Guttmacher Institute
• “The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion” When the Anti-Choice Choose By Joyce Arthur

A few resources below:

• Abortion Resources by Women's Health Clinic 
• A Guide to Abortion Resources in a Post-Roe America by Wired
• National Network of Abortion Funds

Tune in to our conversation with Cas, the host of Clinically Psyched Pod (a podcast about the hidden curriculum of grad admissions to Clinical Psychology programs), where she talks about her interests and knowledge in Sexual Psychology! We also discuss her ongoing journey to grad school and share our own experiences and difficulties in our respective applications cycles. Shows mentioned: Succession (available on HBO), Sex Education (available on Netflix), Pop Culture Detective (YouTube channel); this came up in our post-recording chitchat and requires reader's discretion (TW: may elicit the familiar urge to burn down the patriarchy even before climate change ends us all; I was too caffeinated for this).

• Research area: Clinical, Sexual Health
• Career stage: aspiring student
• Follow Cas on Twitter @PodPsyched!