Piled high and Deep

I love talking to people with PhDs. To me someone with a PhD is not that far removed from say an artist, musician or writer. They have chosen to explore a topic in-depth and become the leading authority in the world on that subject. So join me as we Pile it high and Deep with doctorates from around around the world as we explore their journey's their research and what they have done with all that knowledge they shoved into their brains.

Last refreshed: August 21st, 2025 at 9:12 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Episode 15 – Justin Harmon, PhD – Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences

One might think that an undergrad degree in Leisure Studies wouldn’t lead to much more than a couch. That is certainly not the case for Justin Harmon. Sure the years right after graduation were a bit on the lackadaisical side of life, he was working, but he was more focused on the living. It wasn’t until the end of his masters that he found his calling and a way to turn a love of music into a study of culture.

Oct 11, 2017•1 hr 19 min

Episode 14 Sheila Schroeder, PhD – Film and Media

Teaching and filmmaking drive Sheila Schroeder. One is not more important than the other; for Sheila it is an almost symbiotic relationship. Her passion for filmmaking was fortified in graduate school where she she thought she was just going to be a teacher. Then she realized it would take a PhD to reach her final goal. https://portfolio.du.edu/sschroed/page/75

Sep 28, 2017•1 hr 5 min

Episode 13 Brian Zaharatos, PhD – Applied Math and Statistics

Brian Zaharatos has is certainly a man of many interests. He has managed to take one of those to the finish line with a Doctorate in Applied Mathematics and Statistics. There is a second point of interest also compelling and keeps him thinking and more than likely he will someday, not to far away, have a second PhD. In the meantime he’ll keep stuffing young minds with the wonders of applied math. Here is a link to Brian's Blog https://bzaharatos.wordpress.com

Sep 14, 2017•1 hr 13 min

Episode 12 – Christy McCain, PhD – Biology

Today’s journey begins with a father who is a HS biology teacher sharing his love of the natural world with his children. Throw in some art, an adventure with the Peace Corp in Central America and you end in a museum. Sounds a little like Indiana Jones. Here’s the link to the lab website http://spot.colorado.edu/~mccainc/index.htm

Aug 30, 2017•1 hr 14 min

Episode 11 – Adam Bradley, PhD – English

Never discount the power of a grandmother and her ability to instill a love of literature into a young boy. That's just one of many themes in the journey of Adam Bradley. Other themes include strong mentors, a love of Rap and Hip-Hop music and finding a way to combine all of this into a wonderful stew that is working to further the discussion of race and inequality in America. Link to Adam Bradley's website : http://www.adamfbradley.com

Aug 16, 2017•1 hr 33 min

Episode 10 – Joe Loughry, PhD – Computer Science

There can’t be many PhD journeys that last 35 years from day one of college to final ceremony, but for Joe Loughry it just made sense. He knew from an early age he wanted to get his PhD, but to get there he needed to put in some time in the real world of computer programming and cyber security.

Jul 26, 2017•1 hr 9 min

Episode 9 – Eric Spana, PhD – Biology

What do fruit flies and the video game Mass Effect have in common? you might not think very much, but today on the podcast those are major themes. You see fruit flies have been the focus of study for Eric Spana, PhD, in between games of Mass Effect and any number of other video games he loves to play. Then he decided to mash up his love of science and video games and talks about at science fiction conventions. Its a great gig. Academic by day, video game junkie at night.

Jun 07, 2017•1 hr 26 min

Episode 8 – Christopher Haynes, PhD – English

There’s nothing quite like a shiny new PhD. The burdens of the academic journey have slid off the shoulders of Chris Haynes, and now he needs to figure out what comes next. The journey was anything but a straight line. He grew up in a family of academics, so it is in his genes. His academic focus started with music, then it was onto medieval literature, and ended with comic books. Not exactly a traditional English Lit kinda guy and its probably not your traditional dissertation. But for Chris, t...

May 24, 2017•1 hr 13 min

Episode 7 – Shawn Sapp, PhD – Chemistry

Dr. Shawn Sapp is the lead scientist in a forensic engineering firm, that means he investigates the causes and origins of accidents. But it’s not really where he expected to end up after finishing his doctorate. To be honest, given his experiences during his PhD it makes sense he would end up here, because his journey can be perhaps be defined with one word; change.

May 10, 2017•1 hr 25 min

Episode 6 – Erin Macdonald, PhD – Astrophysics

Dr Erin Macdonald’s love of science came from watching Star Trek, specifically Captain Kathryn Janeway. She went to Scotland for her PhD where she put together the building blocks investigators would later use to identify gravitational waves. But you know dreams change. She been working in the aerospace industry of late, but now she wants to spread the word about science and one of the places she does that is comic book and science fiction conventions. Here’s the link to Erin’s website http://ww...

Apr 26, 2017•1 hr 12 min

Episode 5 – Steve Lamos, PhD – English

For Steve Lamos the path to his doctorate was actually more about staying in school to play in a band. It wasn’t until he had established himself as a tenured professor that the dreams of his childhood were realized, being a touring musician. Now he has to balance adult responsibilities with those dreams starting to come true. Here’s the link to Steve’s band http://www.americanfootballmusic.com

Apr 12, 2017•1 hr 9 min

Episode 4 – Wendy Vaulton, PhD

For Wendy Vaulton the road to her PhD was longer than most. After her course work was completed at Brandeis University she had to get a job so she could live. Then she got in involved in other really nifty policy stuff and the dissertation took a back seat, or maybe it went in the... Continue Reading →

Mar 22, 2017•1 hr 7 min

Episode 3 – Zachary Reed, PhD – Food Science

Zach Reed wasn’t the best student in HS or early on in college, it also didn’t help that he had to fight cancer. But it was a food science class that helped defined his PhD journey. It was also advantageous that Zach likes to cook and enjoyed his chemistry classes. These were the perfect ingredients for a PhD in Food Science.

Mar 15, 2017•1 hr 15 min

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