Introducing Lab Notes
Welcome — and thank you for being here
Research is often presented as clean, linear, and objective. In reality, it’s messy, deeply human, and shaped by power, access, exhaustion, ethics, and curiosity in equal measure. Lab Notes was created to talk honestly about that reality — without sensationalism, gatekeeping, or pretending that burnout is a personal failure.
This podcast is part of Research Exchange, a platform built to support ethical research, early‑career scholars, and meaningful interdisciplinary collaboration. Lab Notes is one piece of a larger ecosystem that includes a newsletter, community spaces, and future educational programming.
If you’ve ever loved science but felt alienated by academic culture — or if you’re simply curious about how knowledge is actually produced — you’re in the right place.
What Lab Notes is (and what it isn’t)
Lab Notes is a long‑form, conversation‑driven podcast centered on early‑career researchers, practitioners, and interdisciplinary experts. Episodes focus as much on the process of research as the outcomes.
What you can expect:
Honest conversations about graduate school, academia, and research careers
Discussions of ethics, responsibility, and harm in research
Explorations of emerging technologies and methods
Reflections on mental health, relationships, and identity in research spaces
Clear science communication without oversimplification
What you won’t find:
Hustle culture masquerading as mentorship
Prestige signaling for its own sake
“Just work harder” narratives
Science stripped of its social and ethical context
This podcast treats research as both an intellectual and moral practice — because it is.
Who this podcast is for
Lab Notes is intentionally interdisciplinary and accessible. It’s for:
Undergraduate and graduate students navigating research for the first time
Early‑career researchers feeling burned out, uncertain, or isolated
Scientists and practitioners working outside traditional academic pathways
Non‑scientists who want thoughtful, honest insight into how research actually works
You don’t need a PhD to listen — just curiosity and a willingness to engage critically.
Why the name Lab Notes
Lab notes are where the real story lives: the failed experiments, unexpected results, ethical questions, and half‑formed ideas that never make it into a polished paper. They’re personal, imperfect, and essential.
This podcast embraces that spirit. Lab Notes is about documenting the thinking, uncertainty, and lived experience behind research — not just the conclusions.
What’s coming next
Episodes of Lab Notes will feature solo reflections and guest conversations, including topics like:
Mental health and relationships in graduate school
Navigating ethics in sensitive or applied research
Emerging tools and technologies (without the hype)
Career paths beyond academia
What it actually takes to sustain a life in research
New episodes launch soon. If this resonates with you, subscribe, share, and consider joining the broader Research Exchange community.
We’re glad you’re here — and we’re taking notes.