Podcast
The podcast where two biochemists say the quiet parts out loud, about grad school, mental health, gatekeeping, and everything academia pretends isn't a problem.
Hosted by Chloe Kirk, PhD and Victoria, PhD - two biochemists who've lived the system from the inside. Every episode is a real conversation: no sugarcoating, no PR spin, just science with teeth.
In this season finale of Performing Academia, Chloe and Vicky dive into the cracks threatening the future of scientific training—from the confusing patchwork of postdoc salaries to the declining trust in universities—and uncover the policies that keep us stuck. You'll discover how outdated funding models, lack of transparency, and the disconnect between research and public understanding are fueling a crisis.
Academia has given us so much - and it's also deeply, structurally broken in ways that don't get talked about nearly enough. That's what this podcast is for.
Grad school isolates people. Burnout is normalized. We're not pretending otherwise.
It rewards the wrong things and punishes the people who ask hard questions.
When people feel like they don't belong in research, science loses.
Every episode, we talk to people who are actually doing something about it.
Two biochemists. One mission. Honest conversations about reforming the broken parts of academia.
Chloe is a biochemist and science communicator whose PhD at the University of Miami explored protein aggregation at the intersection of cancer biology and neurodegeneration. She's since built a career that spans science communication, patent law, and policy - working as a Science Correspondent at BiotechTV, a former patent law clerk at Arnold & Porter, and a Washington Science Policy Fellow with ASPET. With a BS in Molecular Biology and Legal Studies from UW-Madison and 110K+ followers across her platforms, she's made it her mission to make science impossible to ignore.
Vicky is a biomedical scientist and educator whose PhD at Florida International University focused on JNK3 - a kinase with direct implications for neurodegeneration and brain stress signaling. She went on to expand her research at Yale University into cancer metabolism, studying uveal melanoma, and now teaches as an Adjunct Professor at Sacred Heart University and the University of New Haven. She brings both deep scientific expertise and rare candour about the personal realities of life in academia.
New episodes drop every other Friday - honest conversations you won't find anywhere else. Pick your platform and never miss one.
Researchers, advocates, educators, former academics - if you've lived something academia doesn't talk about, Chloe and Vicky want to hear from you.
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