Futures Initiative Podcast

Episode 1:8 of the Futures Initiative podcast will be hosted by CUNY Peer Leaders (CPL) Director & FI Academic Program Manager, Lauren Melendez. She will be joined by two CPL participants, Simridhi (Simi) Sharma an undergrad at John Jay College majoring in Coding, Network Security and Digital Forensics and Christopher (Chris) Arzu an undergrad and senior at Hunter College majoring in Political Science and legal studies. 

C...

FI’s University Worth Fighting For series presents podcast episode 1:7, “The Fellow to Faculty Transition.” FI fellow and host, Tatiana Bertolucci is joined by former FI fellow and post-doc, Dr. Megan Henriquez to discuss her journey from student to colleague in her field of Biological Anthropology.

This episode will speak to you whether you're a first-generation college student just starting out, a graduate stude...

What is a “polycrisis” in higher education—and what can faculty, students, and administration do about it? In this conversation, Drs. Lisa M. Di Bartolomeo and Kevin M. Gannon define and deconstruct what is at stake as universities are suffocated by political demands and the rise of corporate models to restructure non-profit higher education. They discuss their new book, The Campus Crisis Toolkit: Strategies and S...

What does it mean to center students in higher education—and why does democracy depend on it? In this conversation, Christina Katopodis and Jason Hendrickson make a compelling case for transformative teaching as essential democratic practice. Public higher education is infrastructure for democracy, but only when it centers students. Together, we explore what transformative teaching demands: rigorous pedagogical practice, comm...

What can Puerto Rican Studies & Bad Bunny’s music teach us about the future of research?

Join us for Episode #4 of the Futures Initiative podcast, dropping January 20th, as Faculty Chair Shelly Eversley sits down with Director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro), Dr. Yomaira Figueroa Brim and FI Fellow/PhD Candidate in English, Vallerie Matos for an insightful conversation on Puerto Rican and Diasporican cultu...

Why does Queer Studies matter for us all?

Join us for Episode #3 of the Futures Initiative podcast, dropping December 16th, as Faculty Chair Shelly Eversley sits down with Professor of English and Director of CLAGS, Matt Brim and Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Kevin Nadal for a vital conversation about the integration of Queer Studies across academic disciplines and everyday life.

At a time when queer and trans communities ...

Join us for Episode #2 of the Futures Initiative podcast, dropping November 18, as Faculty Chair Shelly Eversley sits down with Professor and journalist Moustafa Bayoumi and Distinguished Professor Michelle Fine for a vital conversation about academic freedom in our current moment.

At a time when what we say, what we teach, and what we study on college campuses faces unprecedented challenges, this episode explores why our classroom...

The future of higher education? It’s happening right here. Every month, we bring you lively, no-jargon conversations that spark new ideas, challenge old systems, and show how innovation and equity can work hand in hand for the public good.

In our first episode, we dive right in. Futures Initiative Faculty Chair Professor Shelly Eversley talks with Distinguished Professor Cathy N. Davidson, the founder of FI, about why innovat...