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Residential Spread

Residential Spread

By The ResSpread Crew

A podcast about college & coronavirus. We are term-limited contingent faculty teaching the humanities in U.S. higher ed. Our schools have experienced massive disruption, shifts, and changes due to the spread of coronavirus. On this show, we investigate the sources and consequences of the policies that led us here and discuss what it's like to navigate higher ed during a pandemic as members of the precariat. The views expressed on this show those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company.
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Fee'd Up

Residential SpreadApr 12, 2021

00:00
54:38
Endemic

Endemic

For our final episode of the year, we talk about "Endemic COVID." It's not here yet, so why do so many people want to convince us that it is? What will the push for endemic COVID mean for higher education? What will it mean for the future of our show?

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_yMHtACiS8N4e6IIZK1dyvuu365AoeFjiF1Zeyf7VnA/edit?usp=sharing

Dec 13, 202144:48
Remote Access

Remote Access

This week, Aimi Hamraie joins us to discuss the Critical Design Lab. The lab has developed strategies for accessible teaching during the pandemic, hosted a series of remote-access nightlife parties, and is currently working on the Remote Access Archive, which seeks to track and document "the ways disabled people have used remote access before and during the COVID-19 pandemic."

https://www.mapping-access.com/

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j16jsJAG5TkG5cUuk2MWh6y3P36TOmX-SfbRKN8Ue2Y/edit?usp=sharing

Dec 06, 202124:58
It Came from the Desk of the Provost

It Came from the Desk of the Provost

We're extending the Halloween season into mid-November to talk about that most scary of all experiences: the email from upper admin. We share some truly spine-tingling examples of the genre and discuss the features that make them simultaneously scary and formulaic.


Transcript:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1glS732ztWrmq_bhKSukfW456wvW05IT0WQoa3juaSog/edit?usp=sharing

Nov 15, 202101:05:06
Bonus Episode: "Lightning Round News Recap"

Bonus Episode: "Lightning Round News Recap"

This week, we are going through some headlines related to higher education and the coronavirus. We talk academic freedom in Hawaii and Florida and about bad dorms at Howard and UC Santa Barbara.


Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U2VVsvvn5OPxKnPCtXJ8cYmCuwE1ojg_a8uuI_sXnts/edit?usp=sharing

Nov 08, 202124:31
Censure!

Censure!

After the University System of Georgia voted unanimously to put new limits on the protections of tenure, the entire system may face censure from the AAUP. What does that mean? We take a look at the list of schools currently facing AAUP censure to find out.

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12xkAZEScNuyVpsjfag9eMLMdCyEjZN_dHgGg9bJj0ls/edit?usp=sharing

Nov 01, 202143:08
"The COVID Hot Take with Travis Chi Wing Lau"

"The COVID Hot Take with Travis Chi Wing Lau"

This week, we are joined by Travis Chi Wing Lau, an assistant professor of English at Kenyon College. Travis is currently working on a book titled "Insecure Immunity: Inoculation and the Anti-Vaccination, 1722-1898," which explores the British cultural history of immunity and vaccination in the 18th and 19th centuries. We talked to him about researching, writing, and teaching during the pandemic and about how he understands the impulse towards the "COVID hot take."

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16s1j2RQ6uStdmrybzHk8ASeuvECONZVAJP7fbmIsU-M/edit?usp=sharing

Oct 18, 202144:36
Bonus Episode: "Less than Zero"

Bonus Episode: "Less than Zero"

Why do so many people seem to think that "Zero Covid" is a bad goal? The discourse around this idea is so toxic--and wide spread--that we spend 35 minutes unpacking this concept and how it gets (mis)used to denigrate efforts to stop and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We also squeeze in some "Bad Art Friend" talk.

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ASKTSu2DMBnv-LKPrvhggx-8H04r-hNWrikFJ8CCyao/edit?usp=sharing

Oct 11, 202135:15
Counting Cases
Oct 04, 202129:35
Bonus Episode: "An Oracle of the Pandemic"

Bonus Episode: "An Oracle of the Pandemic"

Brown University Economist Emily Oster returned to the news last week when her team launched their new "COVID-19 School Datahub." The Datahub seems to suggest that the most pressing consequence of the pandemic has been...shifts to remote learning. 

We explain why Oster's data--and the claims she derives from it--is so troubling (and so lucrative).

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1taL0yOkdAv1GaLCVWW4lZ-Qb3BVewHYgU8FCrt0dPck/edit?usp=sharing 

Sep 27, 202132:38
"Georgia on my Mind"

"Georgia on my Mind"

This week, we bring you a conversation we recorded last month about how we got to a place where colleges in Georgia would be teaching in person with few COVID mitigation policies in place. We've now spent nearly a month teaching under those conditions, and while a lot of things have happened, the big picture remains the same: the Board of Regents and school administrators are intent on going forward with unsafe teaching, learning, and working conditions. We discuss where those policies came from and spend a not insignificant time discussing a uniquely Atlanta institution: the Taco Mac.

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1taL0yOkdAv1GaLCVWW4lZ-Qb3BVewHYgU8FCrt0dPck/edit?usp=sharing

Sep 20, 202141:56
"Neoliberal Death Machine"
Sep 13, 202149:45
Bonus Episode: Job Loss

Bonus Episode: Job Loss

We "celebrate" Labor Day by calling attention to an important report on job loss in the University System of Georgia conducted in November of 2020 by the United Campus Workers of Georgia. What they found was that schools were not "chopping from the top." We talk job loss and disaster capitalism during the pandemic in our first bonus episode of the season!

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tyu8hM73xJ-fbRu4Rdw07d8_3R3PZqZNffuJVrem8f4/edit?usp=sharing

Sep 06, 202113:03
Delta Force

Delta Force

Perhaps the only podcast that ever wanted to become irrelevant is back for a third season. We kick off the fall with a discussion of the Delta Variant and what schools are and are not doing to mitigate spread on college campuses. 

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pp7d1hDXLH8d748cXdKr3O0Czkpn8IBsXPWBCI7XS38/edit?usp=sharing

Aug 30, 202125:25
Bringing Normal Back

Bringing Normal Back

In our series finale, we talk about schools' efforts to return to "normal" in the fall. What does "normal" mean, after the past 15 months? And how did the pandemic expose the problems with business as usual in higher ed?

Georgia Department of Public Health Interactive COVID Vaccine Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/3d8eea39f5c1443db1743a4cb8948a9c

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lOivOKKeTolAhGy3_ikE9czDJqPkFisu9V4MD7sTTd0/edit?usp=sharing

Jun 01, 202159:51
Vaccine Dreams

Vaccine Dreams

This week, we start with a Temperature Check that highlights how few schools are requiring students to be vaccinated for coronavirus in the fall. But we use that as a jumping-off point for a broader conversation about the complexities of conversations about vaccines. That conversation starts with Eula Biss's On Immunity: An Innoculation, but it takes us to Greek myth, to eighteenth-century satirical prints, and to Lee Edelman's No Future

"100 U.S. colleges will require vaccinations to attend in-person classes in the fall.": https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/us/colleges-vaccinations-enrollment.html

On Immunity: An Inoculation: https://www.amazon.com/Immunity-Inoculation-Eula-Biss/dp/1555977200

"Miami school bars vaccinated teachers from seeing students": https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56905752

"The cow-pock,-or-The wonderful effects of the new inoculation!": https://www.themorgan.org/blog/cow-pock-or-wonderful-effects-new-inoculation

"No, We Don’t Know if Vaccines Change Your Period: We do know that researchers do not study menstruation enough.": https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/opinion/coronavirus-vaccines-menstruation-periods.html


Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IWVyYXYVTFDtlDvzrc4q4OK3UDevXBMPfbGGdlKjZPg/edit?usp=sharing

May 24, 202156:08
College for All
May 17, 202145:00
Conferencing During COVID

Conferencing During COVID

With limitations on travel during the coronavirus pandemic, many academic conferences went fully virtual over the past year. This week, we talk about our experiences attending and presenting our work at those conferences. What did we miss about the in-person experience? What did we like about digital conferences that we'd like to see more of when things return to "normal"? 

"Academic Conferences After the Pandemic": https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/learning-innovation/academic-conferences-after-pandemic

Tips for making a virtual conference more realistic: https://twitter.com/JuliaFtacek/status/1379765946840199169?s=20

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WVz8jnxloAo-g3Z8JyjhMtzxr6Burp8IfchmvXei7Qs/edit?usp=sharing

May 10, 202150:18
Students Against Sonny

Students Against Sonny

This week, Rick Hart and Alex Ames, student activists with the Students Against Sonny group, explain why the Georgia Board of Regents' reported plan to make Sonny Perdue the next chancellor is so dangerous. Shortly after we recorded this episode, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the board has paused the chancellor search. Listen as we discuss the historical origins of the notion of a politically independent chancellor in Georgia and Rick and Alex explain what they want from the chancellor search.

Sign their petition: https://www.change.org/p/sonny-perdue-students-against-sonny-protecting-the-future-of-georgia-higher-ed

"Sonny Perdue under consideration to lead Georgia's higher ed system": https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/sonny-perdue-under-consideration-to-lead-georgias-higher-ed-system/2I6E6D4EKBGUNFA5BTBYJBBJJE/

"The Jolt: "How badly do Sonny Perdue’s allies want him overseeing Georgia’s universities?": https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/the-jolt-how-badly-do-sonny-perdues-allies-want-him-overseeing-georgias-universities/ATWSHP254BG27C6UAX5G6DOTIM/

"Georgia Board of Regents Pause Search for New Chancellor": https://www.ajc.com/education/georgia-board-of-regents-to-pause-search-for-next-chancellor/XCZWFRVWJRBPXOMOULXCEKHJXE/

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u65niVVZwXMMhWT_vIvTs9bhr6kqbGjoD3BGdCPECRM/edit?usp=sharing


May 03, 202145:15
Hedge Funds that Occasionally Teach Classes

Hedge Funds that Occasionally Teach Classes

Apr 26, 202149:49
The P3s Strike Back

The P3s Strike Back

This week, we return to the subject of Public-Private Partnerships (P3s). We are also checking back in with Corvias, the Rhode Island-based development company that operates many dorms across the University System of Georgia. Corvias's interactions with USG during the pandemic show one example of what can happen when the terms of a P3 deal stop benefitting the private partner.

‘Ethics and Best Practice’: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/03/10/new-documents-reveal-strained-relationship-between-u-system-ga-and-dorm-operator

"Corvias Campus Living Secures $548.3 Million In Private Financing For First-Of-Its-Kind Public-Private Partnership With The Board Of Regents Of The University System Of Georgia": https://www.corvias.com/news/corvias-campus-living-secures-5483-million-private-financing-first-its-kind-public-private

"As U.S. soldiers battle landlord, confidential records shine light on his lucrative business": https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-military-developer/

"School’s back: How the neoliberal “privatization of risk” explains the deadly decision to re-open campuses": https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/10/08/schools-back-how-the-neoliberal-privatization-of-risk-explains-the-deadly-decision-to-re-open-campuses/

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R0WzbUP9k_L8V6iToapSBJLfbH-F78enVsTUCw-c4gA/edit?usp=sharing

Apr 19, 202155:22
Fee'd Up
Apr 12, 202154:38
P3s: Provosts, Pandemics, and Profits

P3s: Provosts, Pandemics, and Profits

Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) are arrangements between public institutions like colleges and universities and private, for-profit businesses. They've become increasingly popular in recent years, as public funding for higher ed dries up. This week, we look at how one recently retired provost imagines using the pandemic as an excuse to create more opportunities for private profit in a public institution.

"Executive-Level Administrator Salaries": https://www.higheredjobs.com/salary/salaryDisplay.cfm?SurveyID=48

"Looking at the Future of Georgia Tech Through the Lens of the Pandemic Experience": https://news.gatech.edu/2020/07/10/looking-future-georgia-tech-through-lens-pandemic-experience 

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F7DjhgGnjTNavseh5bIuwVqoHB7ywvVBUcvR75tn5wI/edit?usp=sharing

Apr 05, 202149:13
Amateur Hour
Mar 29, 202146:30
A Year of Pandemic Precarity
Mar 22, 202141:31
Endowments: If not now, when?
Mar 15, 202150:28
A Shock (Doctrine) to the System

A Shock (Doctrine) to the System

In this episode, we introduce a series of episodes that ask how money works in higher ed, and how the coming austerity cuts in the sector often reflect larger, existing administrative priorities rather than any coronavirus-based reality. This week, we look at those existing--and looming--cuts in light of Naomi Klein's concept of "disaster capitalism," which she defines it in her 2007 book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism https://naomiklein.org/the-shock-doctrine/

"How Power Profits from Disaster" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/06/naomi-klein-how-power-profits-from-disaster

"Job-Focused or Cheaper?" https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/job-focused-or-cheaper

"Overview of Georgia's Fiscal Year 2022 Budget" https://gbpi.org/overview-of-georgias-2022-fiscal-year-budget/

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RtSz8RmpUoJVi_LbzrnUqnHS3jg8-GGjknPMHXEyX4Q/edit?usp=sharing

Mar 08, 202141:14
The State of Georgia v. All its Teachers, Pt. 2

The State of Georgia v. All its Teachers, Pt. 2

Last week, we tried to make sense of Brian Kemp's public media campaign against teachers who want to be vaccinated. This week, we put that fight into context by tracing the longer history of conservative attacks on the very idea of teaching as a professional career.

“Governor: We Must Strengthen the Teacher Pipeline” (https://www.ajc.com/education/get-schooled-blog/governor-we-must-strengthen-teacher-pipeline/SLJJE7XBLVF5VH7TSEHFIRBAWY/)

“Strengthening the Teacher Pipeline Won’t Matter if the Destination is the Sewer” (https://www.ajc.com/education/get-schooled-blog/opinion-strengthening-teacher-pipeline-wont-matter-if-destination-is-a-sewer/HKTUADQ5OZBSTIBOABHWJZGJLU/)

Work Won't Love You Back (https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/work-wont-love-you-back/)

"What's at Stake in the Fight over Reopening Schools" (https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/whats-at-stake-in-the-fight-over-reopening-schools)

Transcript (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jau5YmpmjOLSBMd1SO_UtJCjVy79-TeDiUNslNg7rfA/edit?usp=sharing)

Mar 01, 202141:60
The State of Georgia vs. All its Teachers
Feb 22, 202130:29
A Quiet Place (for Taking Tests)

A Quiet Place (for Taking Tests)

This week, we welcome former Brittain fellow Jesse Stommel (@jessifer) to talk about the rise of ed tech in the age of COVID. Fair warning: this is a scary episode, because these companies are scary--for students and for faculty!


"Exam Anxiety: how remote test-proctoring is creeping students out" https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21232777/examity-remote-test-proctoring-online-class-education

"How teachers are sacrificing student privacy to stop cheating" https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/recode/22175021/school-cheating-student-privacy-remote-learning


Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hf2MTDDjeDjqX-ptyW0xtWAboOR8iPS0TT91KuXB5as/edit?usp=sharing

Feb 15, 202140:38
A Man with a Plan

A Man with a Plan

Joe Biden's COVID plan is out, and we are here to break down what it might mean for colleges and the people who live, work, and teach in them.


"National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness" (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/National-Strategy-for-the-COVID-19-Response-and-Pandemic-Preparedness.pdf)

"Billions in Aid Head to Colleges" (https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/01/15/education-department-releases-billions-aid-colleges)

"COVID-19: The Biden-Harris Plan to Beat COVID"" (https://www.whitehouse.gov/priorities/covid-19/)


Episode Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nkP_RQGnFwzTqxXhOi0Ob_9T4xNAFIeL2vKCk3cywMQ/edit 

Feb 08, 202157:29
New Variants, Old Protocols

New Variants, Old Protocols

This week, we talk new COVID variants--which are far more contagious--and schools that aren't updating their protocols to address these new challenges.

"Still going to the grocery store? With new virus variants spreading, it’s probably time to stop": https://www.vox.com/22220301/covid-spread-new-strain-variants-safe-grocery-store-n95-masks-vaccine?fbclid=IwAR3Cu9YpfO4rcotJY69qxJkJ-vRzuJsBEB4kD3dwQNVyfBbXq5uC0hT34ok

"What you can do to avoid the new COVID variant right now": https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/well/live/covid-b117-variant-advice.html

"Emerging Coronavirus variants may pose challenges to vaccines": https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/health/coronavirus-variants-immunity.html


Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lE0auZq30yamn15t0LRifDE7nIOfL-9BDX9wSMP3Td4/edit?usp=sharing

Jan 31, 202155:31
New Year, New U.S.

New Year, New U.S.

We're back! We kick off the new season by taking stock of the state of the pandemic--and higher ed--at the start of the Biden administration.


"Joe Biden to speed release of COVID-19 vaccines upon taking office" https://abc7news.com/biden-covid-vaccine-joe-covid-19-vaccination-appointments-how-to-get/9468172

"Biden's Choice for Education Secretary": https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/01/04/biden-selects-miguel-cardona-education-secretary


Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10bifbS010GJBVTkmRyOkohfMi_11EgE3vI12NrPeDcg/edit?usp=sharing

Jan 25, 202147:26
Season 2 Teaser

Season 2 Teaser

Residential Spread will be back with our first full episode of season two next week. For now, enjoy this brief teaser, in which we offer resolutions for the show and for ourselves. 

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16GQURGG32mt_NevjUchzM6_752wMT1DLp3xfb7duTUQ/edit?usp=sharing

Jan 19, 202109:51
"Final Exam"

"Final Exam"

In our first season finale, we give higher ed their final exam. To help us, we welcome Benjy Renton (@bhrenton). Benjy tells us how he went from a student in a cancelled study abroad program to one of the foremost experts in COVID-19 and higher education, what schools did right (and wrong) in the fall, and how they can re-think definitions of success in the spring. 

A brief fact-check: two days after we recorded this episode, the New York Times updated its campus COVID case number to 324,000, and even more people connected to the White House tested positive.

"College COVID Outbreak Watchlist"

"Where We Stand with COVID-19--November 13"

"Benjy Renton '21 Garners National Recognition for Contact Tracing the White House"


Transcript

 

Nov 30, 202051:42
Viral Influencers
Nov 23, 202036:05
Dashboard Confessional
Nov 16, 202049:58
Data-Driven Decisions
Nov 09, 202054:58
Over My Dead Body
Nov 02, 202042:14
Hail to the Vectors

Hail to the Vectors

This week, we are joined by Nathan Kalman-Lamb (@nkalamb), Lecturing Fellow at Duke University and co-host of of the End of Sports podcast (@EndofSportPod). Nathan helps us answer an important question: why the hell are we playing college football during the COVID-19 pandemic? We also force him to play a game of "Who said it?: College Football Coach, College Administrator, or GOP Politician." The game is harder than it sounds!

"Cancelling the College Football Season Isn't Enough"

"LSU's head coach: 'Most' of our players have had COVID"

"SEC tells players COVID cases 'on every single team' are unpreventable"

"SEC warns of fines, bans for coronavirus protocol violations"

"Why America Needs College Football"

"Why America Needs College Football--Part 2"


Episode Transcript


Oct 26, 202057:21
Meaningful In-Person Experiences
Oct 19, 202049:00
Discipline & Punish
Oct 12, 202050:08
"Student Led, Student Read"
Oct 05, 202031:27
In the Dawg House

In the Dawg House

This week, we welcome guests Zainub Ali and Maggie Mitchell. Zainub and Maggie are undergraduates at the University of Georgia, and they spent the summer protesting UGA's punitive housing cancellation fee, which the school refused to adjust in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, Zainub and Maggie discuss their kafkaesque efforts to combat those policies.

Check out their instagram account, #WaivetheFeeUGA: https://www.instagram.com/waivethefeeuga/

Episode Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GnJhzO-v6GqFSYMSitiVqzt4ZGXN7uF7pLyCuxnIs_Y/edit?usp=sharing

Sep 28, 202025:52
Enhanced Disinfection Protocols
Sep 21, 202030:57
Liability Blues
Sep 14, 202025:11
Environmental Growth
Sep 07, 202025:10
Reasonable Accommodations
Aug 31, 202025:30
Clusterf***(s)
Aug 24, 202036:58
Bored of Regents
Aug 17, 202026:45
"Record Scratch/Freeze Frame"
Aug 10, 202023:13