The Knowmads Podcast

Hello everyone, welcome to season 2 of the Knowmads podcast. Since Season 2 was long overdue, we had to start with someone who’s not just had a remarkable academic journey in physics, but also someone who’s been a great mentor to all his students and really, to everyone who walks into his office. So in this episode, we’re sitting in the office of Professor René Bellwied — a leading experimental physicist and a core member of the ALICE collaboration — which stands for A Large Ion Collider Experiment — one of the major experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider or the LHC. A few days ago, along with his colleges, he recieved the 2025 breakthrough prize in fundamental physics, which is one of the most prestigious award in science. We talk about the early universe, the beauty and chaos of large-scale collaborations, and what the future of physics might hold. Whether you're someone who thinks deeply about the universe or someone who just loves hearing how big science gets done, there's something for everyone. 

Hi Everyone, This is Episode 15 of The Knowmads Podcast.The mother’s Mental health during the time of pregnancy is extremely crucial. Studies suggest that prenatal stress and trauma have the capacity to propagate through generations. Our guest today is a UH graduate student at the Laboratory of early experiences and development studying cognitive and behavioral neuroscience. Livia Merrill’s  research studies the impact of prenatal stress on the cognitive development of the new born. She has strong opinions about policies surrounding such tangible research and the dissemination of scientific findings. You’re all in for an extremely illuminating conversation.So let's go.xoxo The KnowmadsYou can find Livia on Instagram @the_liv_lifeYou can find The KnowmadsPrachi Garella: Website: https://www.prachigarella.comLintree: https://linktr.ee/prachigarellaBhavay: Website: https://www.bhavaytyagi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bhavaystyagi/To reach us you can email us at: theknowmadsofficial@gmail.com

Hi Everyone, This is Episode 14 of The Knowmads Podcast.Whether you're a parent searching for that delicate equilibrium between responsibilities and aspirations, or someone looking for a force of motivation to go back to school, start a different journey, or simply someone seeking a tale of inspiration, you're in for a treat.From her humble beginnings, serving tirelessly for a non-profit organization in the vibrant heart of Latin America, to the classrooms where she ignited young minds as an educator, and now juggling between being a grad student and a mother. Kristen's journey has been a tapestry of inspiration.This is a beautiful conversation where we talk about her challenges, and the invaluable lessons she's gathered along the way. So let's go.xoxo The KnowmadsYou can find The KnowmadsPrachi Garella: Website: https://www.prachigarella.comLintree: https://linktr.ee/prachigarellaBhavay: Website: https://www.bhavaytyagi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bhavaystyagi/To reach us you can email us at: theknowmadsofficial@gmail.com

Hi Everyone, This is Episode 13 of The Knowmads Podcast.Most of us who grew up in bilingual or a multilingual homesoften wonder if the new babies in the family will be able to understandthese different language(s). In this episode we dive deep into the fascinatingworld of early language development in children. Our guest todayChristina Diaz Griep is a psychologist from University of Houston where her research involves understanding how children growing up in bilingual and monolingual households navigate the intricate journey of language acquisition. So let's go.xoxo The KnowmadsYou can find Christina:@Christygriep on InstagramYou can find The KnowmadsPrachi Garella: Website: https://www.prachigarella.comLintree: https://linktr.ee/prachigarellaBhavay: Website: https://www.bhavaytyagi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bhavaystyagi/To reach us you can email us at: theknowmadsofficial@gmail.com

Hi Everyone, This is Episode 12 of The Knowmads Podcast.Long after abolishment of Slavery in the US, in the late 1800s the effects are still seen in different forms. The unbalanced dynamics of power between prison authorities and prisoners illustrates hints of slavery even today and remains ignored. Our guest today is a historian from Rice University and in her research she particularly highlights the oppressive experiences of incarcerated black women in the late 20th century in jails in Texas. She talks about various forms of abuse that is witnessed even today in Texas Jails. It’s a very illuminating and thought provoking podcast, I’m sure you’ll like it. xoxo The KnowmadsYou can find Nina:@Nina.nevill on InstagramYou can find The KnowmadsPrachi Garella: Website: https://www.prachigarella.comLintree: https://linktr.ee/prachigarellaBhavay: Website: https://www.bhavaytyagi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bhavaystyagi/To reach us you can email us at: theknowmadsofficial@gmail.com

Hi Everyone, This is Episode 11 of The Knowmads Podcast.Have you ever wondered why do we dream, are we conscious whilewe are sleeping? How is our brain able to generate a 3 dimensional visual image every night while our eyes are closed? Our guest today Adriana Alcaraz Sánchez is a philosopher, from University of Glasgow. In new recent work. She talks about objectless sleep awarenessand compares the ideologies of western philosophy regarding consciousness while onesleeps with various different philosophical traditions from other parts of the world.This is an extremely intriguing conversation where Adrian explains some of the interesting concepts in philosophy. Since we recorded this online the quality of audio may not be the best but I assure you that, the quality of the conversation is immaculate.So let's goxoxo The KnowmadsYou can find Adriana:@Hawally_ on X (twitter)Website: http://www.adriana-alcarazsanchez.xyz/You can find The KnowmadsPrachi Garella: Website: https://www.prachigarella.comLintree: https://linktr.ee/prachigarellaBhavay: Website: https://www.bhavaytyagi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bhavaystyagi/To reach us you can email us at: theknowmadsofficial@gmail.com

Hi Everyone, This is Episode 10 of The Knowmads Podcast.Political discussions and associated ideologies almost always resolve in thinking about national leaders and the large scale effects of policies that finally lead to geo politics. The conversations often lack the microscopic details and the penetrative effects of policies at the lowest local level, where ‘in principle’ it actually matters. Studies suggest that such discussions ,amongst young students, who are these future leaders, are completely missing in recent times. The drive and necessity of social acceptance and the high sensitivity surrounding these topics renders the young mind extremely hesitant and sometimes completely helpless. In todays episode we aim to break this notion apart. Our guest today is a 3rd year physics graduate student at the University of Houston. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and astronomy from Emory University. His research is in experimental particle physics he specializes in designing and building equipment and systems for highly sensitive particle detectors. Daniel shares with us his true opinions about recent American Educational Policies and how that affects lives of graduate students and since it’s not possible to not talk about physics on The Knowmads Podcast, we talk about the current state of Dark Matter detection in the community.xoxo The KnowmadsYou can find Daniel at: https://www.instagram.com/here_comes_duffEmail: dhuff@uh.eduYou can find The KnowmadsPrachi Garella: Website: https://www.prachigarella.comLintree: https://linktr.ee/prachigarellaBhavay: Website: https://www.bhavaytyagi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bhavaystyagi/To reach us you can email us at: theknowmadsofficial@gmail.com

Hi Everyone, This is Episode 9 of The Knowmads Podcast. Right before getting into the double digits of episodes we decided to do an ask us anything episode. Although we weren't able to answer all the questions that you guys had asked we answered ones that were most interesting and kind of captured many details in the questions that we missed. We would like to thank you all for the wonderful questions and support and we're truly grateful. We'll keep doing the ask us anything episodes since it is a great way to get feedback from our audience and for us to gauge what is it that you all like. We hope you enjoy this episode it's one of the longer ones. xoxo The KnowmadsYou can find The KnowmadsPrachi Garella: Website: https://www.prachigarella.comLinktree: https://linktr.ee/prachigarellaBhavay: Website: https://www.bhavaytyagi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bhavaystyagi/To reach us you can email us at: theknowmadsofficial@gmail.com

Hi Everyone, This is Episode 8 of The Knowmads Podcast. During the academic stages of our lives we spend most of our time developing tools and skills that aid our research and problem solving ability and this is true for all fields of study. Now most students think that this is it! This is how you can essentially get your dream position. Well what is often missed are the soft skills that are absolutely crucial to provide us that edge over others when applying for jobs. Our guest today is almost at the end of his PhD and has effectively picked up on some of these skills throughout his journey and we understood the essence of sharing it with the world. In this conversation we talk about the effect of time management, having a platform to showcase yourself, networking, a functional relationship with your advisor and much more. It was truly an honest and candid conversation with a lot of perspectives hope you enjoy it.xoxo The KnowmadsYou can find Aymen at: https://www.instagram.com/thelifeandtimesofaymenWebsite: https://www.aymenshamoon.comYou can find The KnowmadsPrachi Garella: Website: https://www.prachigarella.comLintree: https://linktr.ee/prachigarellaBhavay: Website: https://www.bhavaytyagi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bhavaystyagi/To reach us you can email us at: theknowmadsofficial@gmail.com

Hi Everyone, This is Episode 7 of The Knowmads Podcast. Every rational human has once in their life thought about the implications of porn on oneself and the society. Gail Dines, an anti-porn sociologist and professor at Wheelock college claims in her work that due to the adverse implications of pornography, it has become a public health issue and perhaps a solution is to enforce a complete ban on the porn industry. Our guest today Andrew Baldassarre is a philosopher and his current work is in response to this idea. He believes that it is important to acknowledge the pedagogical power of porn and to harness this aspect for the betterment of our society. xoxo The KnowmadsAndy Baldassarre - a Houston-based philosopher and beekeeper is a recent graduate of Northeastern University in Boston, MA. In the Spring of 2022, he received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, with a double major in Philosophy. You can find Andrew at: https://www.instagram.com/really_me_andrewbWebsite: https://www.andrewbaldassarre.comYou can find The KnowmadsPrachi Garella: Website: https://www.prachigarella.comLintree: https://linktr.ee/prachigarellaBhavay: Website: https://www.bhavaytyagi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bhavaystyagi/To reach us you can email us at: theknowmadsofficial@gmail.com