The Ampersand

Studying the best of humanity, even our darkest parts

At what point does the drive for positivity become toxic? This week’s guest, June Gruber, studies moments that people deny themselves the full complexity of their emotions in order to try and stay happy, even when their experiences warrant feeling anything but joy. Gruber, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder, studies the dark side of happiness, but in today’s interview she also explains how complex emotions give her hope in humanity’s capacity for good.
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To support Gruber's efforts to help student mental health, check out the Emerge Project.
To learn more about and support Gruber's work on happiness, emotions and well-being more generally, visit the Positive Emotion & Psychopathology (PEP) Lab's gift fund page.
 
Music by Nelson Walker.
Episodes recorded at Interplay Recording in Boulder, CO.
 
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.

The Ampersand Summer Special

We're back! Our lovely listening ANDers made season one such a huge success that we're spending this summer recording seasons two and three of The Ampersand! While we're hanging out at Interplay Recording in Boulder learning about toxic happiness, playing with gender in Dungeons and Dragons and the way music can mobilize people toward a just and equitable society, we wanted to offer listeners something to satiate their thirst for the alchemy of ANDing. 
I hope you'll enjoy this conversation between me, Erika Randall, and Producer Tim Grassley about The Ampersand's origins and the surprises along the way.
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Recorded at Interplay Recording.
Theme music written and performed by Nelson Walker.

“I’m like guacamole, baby. I’m extra.”

Sammy Ramsey’s interests have always been wide, but many mentors told him to keep those passions private and choose one professional lane. On The Ampersand’s final episode of season one, Ramsey, who is an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado Boulder, discusses how he navigated these pressures, chose to embrace his full self even if it got him kicked out of graduate school and how fighting to bring his entire identity to work and life generally has helped him become a stronger biologist, speaker, graduate student mentor, researcher and human being.
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For more on his research and speaking opportunities, visit Dr. Sammy’s website and the Ramsey Research Foundation.
 
Music by Nelson Walker.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
Episodes recorded at Interplay Recording in Boulder, CO.

Fitting your story in: An interview with Sarah Sohkey

Why is it challenging to tell our stories, even when we are deeply passionate about the subject matter? On today’s episode of The Ampersand, Sarah Sohkey, an associate professor of political science at the University of Colorado Boulder, reflects on her fascination with Russia, policy reversals and territories within the former Soviet Union and the strategies she has tried to convey her research to students, colleagues and the public. She also describes her efforts to transform undergraduate research, wishing she grew up in the 1980s, effective lying and more.
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For more information about Sohkey’s research on Russia and policy reversals, visit Sohkey’s faculty bio or Sohkey’s research page.
Learn about CU Boulder’s undergraduate STUDIO Lab.
Music by Nelson Walker.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
Episodes recorded at Interplay Recording in Boulder, CO.

When people listen: An interview with Aliya Trapp

On The Ampersand, we highlight stories of people who dive into their interests. Equally important is the way we tell our stories. Today’s guest is Aliya Trapp, an undergraduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder majoring in ethnic studies and international affairs. Aliya loves to cook, garden and plays bass in a Grateful Dead cover band while diving deep into her studies. Besides chasing her interests with abandon, though, she reminds us just how important ANDing conversations can be.
Mentioned in today's episode:
Serial Podcast.
In the Dark podcast. 
Unreformed: the Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children
Equity and inclusion in the wine industry.
The vineyard where Aliya will work after college.
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone by Heather McGhee.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo are the South African men’s choir who perform Isicathamiya and Mbube on Paul Simon’s Graceland.
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For those concerned about Erika’s vocal drop to baritone, she was recovering from a head cold during the recording. Please feel free to email well-wishes.
Music by Nelson Walker.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
Episodes recorded at Interplay Recording in Boulder, CO.

Veggie shakes, mental health and wooded walks in Jackson: An interview with Christopher Lowry

When Christopher Lowry told us there is correlation between the number of plants you eat and emotional well-being, we stopped. Lowry, who is an associate professor of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado Boulder, has spent his career digging into the manner microbiome diversity in the gut affects our mental health. On today’s episode of The Ampersand, you’ll hear about his research, the childhood experiences that set him on his academic journey and that his findings are more than just interesting knowledge—they change the way he chooses to live.
For information about Lowry research watch his 2020 TEDxMileHigh talk “Plants, the microbiome, and mental health.”
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Music by Nelson Walker.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
Episodes recorded at Interplay Recording in Boulder, CO.

The mid-PhD pivot: An interview with Karen Bailey

A mid-career pivot is terrifying enough, but what if you decided on a new interest midway through your PhD’s field research? That’s part of Karen Bailey’s story, who is today’s guest on The Ampersand. Bailey, who is an assistant professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, discusses her training as an ecologist that took her to Africa, the effect of seeing parallels between one of the largest droughts in southern African history and her own community's struggle with food insecurity, and her subsequent research on equity and environmental systems. Along the way, we also discuss her love of podcasts, literature, fantasy movies and so much more.
Check out Bailey’s podcast the Creature Connection.
More on Bailey’s research.
 
Music by Nelson Walker.
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.
Episodes recorded at Interplay Recording in Boulder, CO.

A career following curiosity: An interview with Leilani Arthurs

How do you talk to your kids about their interests? For kids who become college students, that conversation often affects the major they choose first—a process that many worry abound in implications on rest of their lives. In the case of our guest, her major choice simply led to more interests, questions and opportunities to dive into new fields of research. Leilani Arthurs is a hydro-geo-chemist who studies volcanoes, water, educational access and so much more. Hear her story of what it looks like when someone simply follows her curiosity. 
For more information on Arthurs’ research, visit her University of Colorado Boulder profile page. 
Music by Nelson Walker. 
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley. 
Episodes recorded at Interplay Recording in Boulder, CO. 
Official captions coming soon.

To see your community on the big screen: An interview with Gabby Mejia

What does seeing your community in films accomplish? For today’s guest Gabby Mejia, the experience galvanized her desire to create visual stories that give voice to her experiences and bring positive societal change. Mejia discusses her background, her emotional response to seeing movies like Black Panther and the possibilities she sees when she collides her interest in film and social justice. 
For more information on Mejia's creative work, see her online portfolio and her YouTube channel.
Music by Nelson Walker. 
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley. 
Episodes recorded at Interplay Recording in Boulder, CO. 
Official captions coming soon.

When we are made of Venn Diagrams: An interview with Hayley Muth

In an era of specialization, many of us feel pressure to pick a thing—one skill, interest or passion that sets you apart. This one thing characterizes our identities, the way we talk, how we perceive ourselves and the stories we tell. But what happens when your one thing doesn’t pan out as planned and you need to pivot? That’s the story of our first guest in The Ampersand’s inaugural season. Hayley Muth graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder as a dance performance major, then pursued a career in dance, pivoted to a career in technology and is now a product manager at Instagram. Hear the lessons she learned as she uncovered and wove together these facets. 
Music by Nelson Walker. 
Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.  
Episodes recorded at Interplay Recording in Boulder, CO. 
Excerpt of Matthew Wigton's "Old Guard," performed by Wicked Cinema, used in the introduction. 
Check out Jared Angle's ballet brillance.
Official captions coming soon.