The Ampersand

When stories reflect the people we become: Jennifer Ho

If storytelling is an art, today's guest is a maestro. Jennifer Ho is a professor of ethnic studies and director of the Center for Humanities and the Arts at the University of Colorado Boulder. On today's episode, our finale for season three, Jennifer's ability to convey meaning through compelling narratives is on full display. She discusses growing up in California, navigating cultural differences in the U.S. South, finding joy in hardship, countering racism and the manner art can bring about true reconciliation.
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Learn more about Jennifer's research.
Learn more about the Center for Humanities and the Arts.
Follow Jennifer on Threads.
 
Original music composed by Nelson Walker.
Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Of Muppets, ground-truthing and jazz: An interview with Eric Small

Beyond a wild ride of an interview, Eric Small gifted us a new favorite word that describes his hydrological research on water, energy and carbon budgets of the Earth's surface—ground-truthing. On today's episode, Eric explosively (i.e., like a Muppet) walks us through the practice of matching on-the-ground maps with satellite data. Beyond the sheer hilarity of his and Erika's conversation, what makes this such a fun interview is his unwavering belief that easy answers are hard to come by and they only get more complex the closer you choose to look.
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Learn more about Eric's research.
 
Original music composed by Nelson Walker.
Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Building bookshelves of connections—Charles Eagan

Empathy is trending again—we are reminded in venues as wide as SNL sketches and self-improvement podcasts that growing our capacities to step into another’s point of view and feel their perspective brings boons to our interpersonal, professional and emotional lives. The practical work of looking for opportunities to empathize often goes unsaid or appears trickier to realize. Today’s guest, though, is a veritable maestro in building connection points with those fortunate enough to meet him. Charles Eagan in an award-winning academic advisor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience in the College of Arts and Sciences at CU Boulder. On today’s episode, he discusses some of the strategies he employs to create points of connection, even with the most withdrawn students, so that they feel seen, valued and willing to engage with their college experiences again.
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Learn more about Charles.
 
Original music composed by Nelson Walker.
Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.
 

Bringing change and finding community along the way: Eswari Duggarala

Activists have expressed that the work of changing oppressive structures requires tirelessness and strength. When we consider how this looks lived out, striking photos and stories of campus protests, marches and sit-ins focused on a given issue come to mind, but how do communities come together to advocate for change? Today's guest, Eswari Duggarala (she, they), is the co-founder of Students Against Campus Sexual Assault at the University of Colorado Boulder, and they recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in ethnic studies. Eswari discusses how they sought to make Boulder's campus a safer, more just and equitable place for all students, and, in doing so, how they discovered a profound community of friends who lift each other to continue the work of change.
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Learn more about the organization Eswari helped found, Students Against Campus Sexual Assault and follow SACSA on Instagram.
 
Original music composed by Nelson Walker.
Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

When words become you: Julie Carr

After reading a poem out loud, we hope you've had the experience of inexplicably welling with emotion. Be it joy, grief, adoration for beauty or those emotions harder to describe, we've found these literary experiences can dramatically alter our points of view. But why? What in tightly written pieces of prose causes us to shiver with goosebumps, weep or smile ear-to-ear? Julie Carr is an award-winning poet and activist who has authored seventeen books of poetry, prose and translation, and on today's episode she delves into the way poetry and written words can transform their readers. Julie also explores the manner dance has influenced her writing, continues to show up in her art and influenced her most recent collection titled Underscore. 
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Buy Julie's newest collection, Underscore.
Learn more about Counterpath.
Read more about Julie and her work.
 
Original music composed by Nelson Walker.
Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.
 

The Ampersand NYC: Coming Oct. 22 to Peoplehood in Chelsea

The Ampersand is bringing ANDing to the Big Apple! Join Erika and Producer Tim for an evening of networking and nostalgia at the first roadtrip version of Arts & Sciences CU After Work. We're busy in our ANDer's Workshop whittling experiences and games to complement our keynote discussion (with mystery guests) about the essence of ANDing.
Save your spot!
Details:
Oct. 22, 20246:00 – 8:30 p.m.Peoplehood's Flagship109 W. 17th St.New York NY, 10011
Cost is $35 per person. A portion of the registration fee supports A&S student scholarships.
Light dinner, wine, beer and beverages will be served.*Space is limited.
Thank you to our host, Elizabeth Cutler, for opening up the space in Peoplehood for the event! 

Love what was. Live into what will be: Francois Baptiste

Nostalgia can be tricky business. Love of the past can lead to a slowing stasis of the people we are/were or our refusal to let relationships evolve. But remembering places and experiences can fill us with warmth or teach us to live into our respective nexts. Today's guest beautifully threads that balance. Francois Baptiste is co-founder of the company 3DEEP Productions, and he has built a successful career in the music promotion industry. At the same time, he is keenly aware of his past experiences' effect on that path. Today's episode is filled with glorious recollections of Boulder in the early 1990s—the budding Hip Hop scene, shows at The Fox and after-parties with the University of Colorado as the nexus—but Francois notes the lessons he learned that spurred him to stretch beyond these city limits and stay at the forefront of innovation and creativity.
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Learn more about Francois' company, 3DEEP Productions.
Original music composed by Nelson Walker.
Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Dance down the street like you own it: Tin Tin Su

Today's guest owns that dance. Tin Tin Su is an intellectual force, whose research on tiny fruit flies led to fresh discoveries and innovative approaches to radiation therapy for those living with head and neck cancers. While she offers us a snippet of her work in the lab, Su spends today's episode discussing the childhood experiences in Burma and India that shaped her worldview, her interest in the U.S. and a leadership style that still finds space to dance.
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Learn more about Tin Tin Su's research and the Su Lab.
Learn more about Tin Tin's company, Suvica.
Tin Tin's latest NIH Biosketch.
Tin Tin's publications on NCBI.
Learn more about the Woodstock School.
 
Original music composed by Nelson Walker.
Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

ANDing brain evisceration: Ava Altenbern

Over our years, we've collected quite the stories of A&S students at the University of Colorado Boulder living out the alchemy of ANDing. Their experiences perpetually nudge what we suppose our students can experience—opportunities that reach for the boundaries of the profound and even the obscure. Our guest today, Ava Altenbern (art history, biochemistry '24), puts the unexpected on full display. From an internship at a Colorado morgue to her bubbly optimism while navigating death to searching for her art style to an honors thesis on riboswitches, she delves into the manner these interests wove together and shaped how she views a world she is thrilled to step into.
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More about Ava's current work with NIAID and the Ivanovic Lab.
Original music composed by Nelson Walker.
Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Tenacity fused with patience: An interview with Aba Arthur

Tenacity is often portrayed as acting with a confident, if insensible inevitability. Characters like Creed's Donnie Johnson, Selena and even Jack Sparrow of The Pirates of the Caribbean barrel into adventures filled with long odds and only slightly wavering determination. While their stories are wrapped within a film's tidy two-ish hours, how can we maintain the same level of drive when our plot lines extend out months, years and even decades?
Today's guest, Aba Arthur, found that happy medium in her pursuit of a Hollywood career. While the list of roles in her film credit continues to grow—The Color Purple, Wakanda Forever and Respect to name a few since 2021—Arthur discusses on today's episode how she pursued and found a deep self-belief that this pathway she chose was right and worthwhile. 
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Follow what's new with Aba on Instagram @abathegoddess.
Original music composed by Nelson Walker.
Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.