Advertise on podcast: BG Ideas

In this episode of the BG Ideas podcast, we’ll be sitting down with Dr. Bill Mullen, a renowned scholar and professor of African American Literature and American Studies. As the author of James Baldwin: Living in Fire, Dr. Mullen believes Baldwin is more than a liberal figure: he was a radical revolutionary. Listen how he explains Baldwin’s suggestion that racism and homophobia harm not only those who suffer perpetration, but also the perpetrators themselves. Finally, Dr. Mullen discusses the relationship between class and race within academia, with an emphasis on Baldwin’s thoughts on this matter. Did you know that James Baldwin taught at BGSU? Listen to this episode to find out more!  A transcript for this episode can be found here.

In this new episode of BG Ideas, Dr. Valeria Grinberg Pla sits down with previous ICS director Dr. Jolie Sheffer and founding director Dr. Vivian Patraka to look back on the foundation of ICS in 1996 and what ICS means today. As founding director, Dr. Patraka built ICS from the ground up and through many challenges saw how it evolved from an idea to a desk and a copy machine, to now a public humanities center. Listen along, as Dr. Sheffer shares her motivation to introduce the ICS internship program, allowing students to build research, communication, and media production skills while working for ICS. Find out how the BG Ideas Podcast fits into the mission of ICS as a public humanities center, and how both, Dr. Patraka and Dr. Sheffer envision the future of the institute. A transcript for this episode can be found here.

In this episode of the BG Ideas Podcast hosted by Halima Lul Ali, a graduate research assistant with ICS, we’ll be sitting down with Dr. Erik Garabaya Casado, a teaching professor of Spanish at BGSU’s World Languages and Cultures department, as he discusses the future of language learning in relation to the rise of generative AI. Listen along as Dr. Garabaya explains how generative AI can help raise critical language awareness. Also, find out why he has an open mind when it comes to translanguaging. Dr. Garabaya also brings light to how teachers can navigate discussions about dialects and how they are stigmatized by English and Spanish speakers alike, as well as by Large Language Models. Finally, dive into students' surprising responses to AI’s integration into language classes and what the future of language learning will look like at the college level if generative AI continues to grow in popularity amongst teachers. A transcript for this episode can be found here.

In this new eye-opening episode of the BG Ideas podcast we’llbe sitting down with Bowling Green State University Associate Professor of History Dr. Rebecca Mancuso as she engages in the shocking—but much needed—conversation on hazing in Northwest Ohio. Following her ICS Faculty Fellowship Public Talk, How Many Times Can You Learn That Lesson? A History of Hazing at an Ohio Public University, 1920-2000, Dr. Mancuso’s research shines a light on an issue that most want to deny and aims to prevent harm to future students.  If you would like to know more about Dr. Mancuso and her research, you can read about it here in the Sentinel-Tribune: https://www.sent-trib.com/2026/03/15/history-of-hazing-is-faculty-fellowship-talk-topic/ A transcript for this episode can be found here.

This episode of the BG Ideas podcast features Dr. Olga Sanz Casasnovas and Dr. Pedro Porbén, professors of Spanish at BGSU’s World Languages and Cultures Department, as they discuss the significance of José Lezama Lima’s first novel Paradiso 60 years after its publication. Listen along, as they examine how the protagonist, José Cemí, breaks the mold for expectations of Cuban men at that time and how Paradiso challenges its readers with the concept of “otherness.” As the conversation unfolds, our guests also share the novel’s history of controversy and censorship due to Cemí’s exploration of his sexuality. A transcript for this episode can be found here.

In this special episode of the BG Ideas podcast, we celebrate 30 years of the Institute for the Study of Culture and Society (ICS) and seven years of the BG Ideas podcast itself. To celebrate, ICS Director Dr. Valeria Grinberg Pla takes us back to several discussions, speakers and topics from rethinking human potential to our justice system and how individuals can spark change to capture what ICS wants to achieve: Sparking meaningful conversations and change in the communities we serve and allowing ideas to come from anywhere, not just the classroom. Stay tuned for part 2 as Dr. Grinberg Pla covers even more conversations and topics that are important to ICS’s core values and mission.     Anything we missed? Send your thoughts our way at [email protected] and see if your suggestion gets featured on part 2.     To keep up on current ICS happenings you can follow us on:  Instagram (@ICSBGSU)  TikTok (@ICSBGSU)  Facebook (@BGSUICS)  LinkedIn (@ICSBGSU)  A transcript for this episode can be found here.

In this episode of BG Ideas, we welcome Rosemarie Poiarkov, Max Kade Writer in Residence in Fall 2025 at Bowling Green State University, where she was also featured in the Prout Chapel Reading Series. Throughout the episode we discuss how literature affects imagination and listening throughout society.  Follow along, as she discusses the importance of listening in literature and the way that different perspectives can impact a story.  Thinking about how we change as we grow older, she reflects on how in her different novels, youth novels and stories, she articulates that perspective shift. Rosemarie dives into the 1968 student movement in France and what that means for literature. Want to know more about Rosemarie Poiarkov’s  writing and theater projects? Check out her website here.  A transcript for this episode can be found here.

In this episode of BG Ideas, we welcome Rebekah Monroe, a current Clinical Psychology PhD student at Bowling Green State University and recipient of the 2023-2024 Graduate Teacher of the Year Award. Throughout this episode, we explore the various ways religious trauma shapes identity, often producing both positive and negative effects. Listen as Rebekah discusses different forms of religious trauma, including betrayal trauma and cultural hegemony, alongside her own research on the relationship between adverse religious experiences, specifically their interpersonal dimensions. This conversation also addresses sexual harassment and trauma in relation to religion, and how these experiences can be intertwined as it is a spectrum rather than a fixed binary. Do you want to see more from Rebekah? Follow her on LinkedIn here.  A transcript for this episode can be found here.

This week, Claudia Salazar, an award-winning Peruvian Writer, literary critic, and scholar, joins us on BG Ideas. She has a PhD in Latin American Literature from New York University and is recognized internationally for her contributions both as a novelist and as a cultural critic. In this episode, we discuss how emotion can provoke a different way of understanding, conversations surrounding gender and sexuality in Peru and Latin America, and the process of navigating a novel through different translations. She wanted to find languages that addressed the violence of the war in Peru during the 1980s without reproducing violence and to center the experience of women during this time. Listen as Claudia Salazar reminds us of the many ways readers can understand a text, showing how meaning is constantly being formed, shaped, and contested. If you are interested in learning about Claudia Salazar’s book Blood of the Dawn, click here and follow her on Instagram @clausalazarjimenez.  A transcript for this episode can be found here.

We welcome Haley Shipley on this week's episode of BG Ideas. Haley is a Doctoral Student in American Culture Studies at BGSU, Co-President of the Ray Brown Association, and a Graduate Student Supervisor at the Browne Popular Culture Library. In this episode we discuss how the Browne Popular Culture Library earned its name, what materials you can find in the archive, and what makes this archive the so unique in the United States. We also talk about the Ray Browne Association and its annual conference where students can showcase their own work. Finally, our conversation turns to archival futurity, examining how digital media can be preserved and maintained in an increasingly online cultural landscape. The Browne Popular Culture Library is all donation based. If you are interested in donating your own collection or part of it, click here for more information. A transcript for this episode can be found here.

In this episode of BG Ideas, Dr. Kristine Ketel joins us to discuss the relationship between humans and robots. Kristine recently earned her PhD in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University in the Spring of 2025. Based on her research on the cultural and ethical implications of artificial intelligence and human robot interaction, she argues that robots aren’t all bad. She highlights how robots are not replacing humans but instead they are being used as a tool to help flourish human relations and interactions. While integrating robots into more aspects of our lives may initially feel threatening, she reminds us that these technologies also bring meaningful possibilities and benefits. Listen to find out what else she says about human relationships with robots. Do you want to know more about Kristine and her work? Check out her LinkedIn here. A transcript for this episode can be found here.

In this episode of BG Ideas, we are joined by two guests, Joe Macdonald and Garrett Scherff. Joe Macdonald is a Popular Culture Graduate Student at BGSU studying counterculture, the goth subculture, and the capacity of fandoms to evolve into spaces of cultural resistance. Garrett Scherff is an instructor in the Department of Popular Culture within the School of Cultural and Critical Studies at BGSU, interested in Tabletop Role Playing Games and cultural critique within those games. Joe and Garrett discuss Popular Culture and how fan communities are contributing to society. Specifically, Joe and Garrett discuss the different kinds of fan communities, how technology is helping/harming popular culture, and how both are reshaping the media. Want to read Garrett’s Thesis Gaming Against Adversity-Resistance in Tabletop Role-Playing? Click here to download it. Want to hear more from Joe? Check out his podcast, The Glorious Beard. A transcript for this episode can be found here.

In this episode of BG Ideas, Dr. Clayton Rosati, Associate Professor in the School of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University and ICS Fall 2025 Faculty Fellow, discusses how the raise of artificial intelligence (AI) impacts our landscapes, communities and resources. Specifically, he focuses on the growing infrastructure that is being built around the country, from Virginia, the so-called internet capital of the world, to Northwest Ohio. Dr. Rosati touches on his studies regarding the history of culture and how AI is affecting the data that is being collected in different places where data can be stored, such as “server farms” or “data plantations.” Listen as he explains how server farms impact labor, natural resources such as water, and energy cost. We invite our listeners to check out Dr. Rosati’s work which can be found on his page: https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/media-and-communication/faculty-and-staff/clayton-rosati.html. A transcript for this episode can be found here.

In this episode of BG Ideas, Dr. Rachel Walsh, Associate Teaching Professor of English and International Studies at Bowling Green State University and ICS Faculty Fellow in the fall of 2025, discusses Pat Heartly and Dick Fontaine's recently restored documentary on James Baldwin, I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1982) and how it foreshadows the current backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion. In I Heard It Through the Grapevine, James Baldwin visits the settings of the 1960’s civil rights struggle in the south. Join us, as Dr. Walsh explores the power of multiethnic US literature from James Baldwin to Ocean Vuong to resist disenfranchising. Listen to how Dr. Walsh talks about the struggles with traditional literature and the growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in literature. Want to know more about Dr. Walsh? Click here to check out her website.  A transcript for this episode can be found here.

In this vibrant episode of BG Ideas, Arigon Starr, award-winning Kickapoo artist and performer, joins us for a powerful conversation on Native storytelling as an avenue of resistance and healing through music, theatre, and comics. In our conversion, Arigon  conveys the importance of using art to illuminate, respond to, and challenge injustices, emphasizing the transformational effect of balancing humor with emotion. Implementing Native American traditions of storytelling in tandem with contemporary forms of expression, such as comics, she reframes dominant narratives about what it means to be indigenous and reclaims joy. Through music and performance, Arigon connects with diverse audiences using art as a pathway to process historical trauma without being consumed by it. Would you like to know more about Arigon Starr? You can check out her website https://arigonstarr.com/ and also follow her on Instagram @arigonstarr. A transcript for this episode can be found here.