COMM As You Are

Performing Labor, Pricing Art: Dr Brendan McCauley on Art Practice in the Digital Age

What happens to art when the gallery moves online - and when artists can no longer afford to live near it? Dr Brendan McCauley joins us to explore how digital platforms, economic pressures, and the pandemic have reshaped creative practice. From regional artists in Western Mass to global changes in film editing software, Brendan's work examines how production communities adapt—and what gets lost in translation. This episode unpacks how space, labor, and technology intersect in the art world today.

Data, Dissent, and Digital Communities: Larri Miller on Critical Computational Social Science

Larri Miller is helping define a new subfield: critical computational social science. In this episode, we talk about their research on right-wing digital communities, their commitment to mixed methods, and the epistemological roots of conspiracy belief. Along the way, we unpack the limits of data, the politics of platforms, and why understanding the “why” matters as much as measuring the “what.”

Language Under Pressure: Alina Ali Durrani on Discourse, Power, and the Global South

How does political language change when it moves from newspapers to social media? PhD candidate Alina Ali Durrani joins us to trace how meaning, ambiguity, and power shift across media ecosystems in Pakistan. Her dissertation analyzes Urdu-language op-eds and viral Twitter posts, unpacking how discourse travels - and distorts - between platforms. From TikTok virality to the algorithmic amplification of ideology, this episode maps the messy, multilingual terrain of political communication in the Global South.

What Counts as a Genre?: Cinema, Critique, and Communication with Kathryn Burrell

Is a rom-com just a rom-com? In this episode, PhD candidate Kate Burrell reflects on her journey from theater and film studies to a deeply interdisciplinary project on cinematic genre. Drawing from documentary studies, critical media theory, and cultural studies, Kate shares how streaming platforms like Disney+ and Netflix are reshaping narrative conventions - and why genre is never as stable as it seems. From the French New Wave to Marvel’s media empire, we explore the messiness of genre, the politics of storytelling, and the labor behind the spectacle.

Adolescents, Tech, and Tensions: Navigating Media Literacy with Cecilia Zhou

Cecilia Zhou joins COMM As You Are to discuss her mixed-methods research on children and media, examining how gender norms, digital advertising, and parental mediation shape adolescent experiences online. Drawing on fieldwork in both China and the U.S., Cecilia offers a critical look at media literacy, datification, and the ethics of growing up in a platformed world.