Burn Your Draft

Ace sits down with Emilie Kelly '25 to discuss Berlin’s war memorial Neue Wache, or New Guardhouse, the centerpiece of Emilie’s anthropology thesis. Following a semester abroad in Berlin, Emilie became fascinated by the...

Ace chats with Lucas Forshee about his thesis on the molecule strychnine, which, despite being poisonous, was used as a stimulant for athletes in the 1904 Olympics. Lucas shares a bit about the chemical composition of...

In this episode, we hear from Caleb about the central theme of violence in McCarthy’s 1985 novel Blood Meridian and its relevance to modern times. Responding to the grimness of McCarthy’s book, set in the 19th-century...

In today's episode, we hear from Rhiannon about restorative justice, therapeutic horticulture, and how their intersection can present alternatives to the carceral justice system for young adults. Rhiannon shares about...

In this episode, Lucas joins our host and producer Ace to explore the history of student protests in 20th-century Lebanon. Together, they unpack why these movements can only be fully understood through the lens of class...

The idea for Liz Organ's thesis, "The Makings of a Good Birth," emerged from a moment of doubt about career paths and a deep frustration with how often women are ignored in the birthing process. What began as a casual...

In this episode, we hear from Hannah, a sociology major whose thesis journey crossed disciplines but always circled back to climate change. Her project draws on eighteen interviews with oyster farmers working along...

In today’s episode, our producer Ace sits down with Claire, an English major with a creative writing concentration, to discuss weird fiction, the Reed library—and what may or may not lie beneath it—and the complexities...

In this episode, we hear from Henry, an English major whose thesis journey took a few unexpected turns: from exploring Pacific Northwest regionalism to diving deep into the world of literary naturalism. Henry unpacks...

Arianna focused on the impacts of the closure of a Walmart in her hometown of Albuquerque for her thesis in the anthropology department. She also tells us about how Reed College's Anthropology Student Fund helped to...

Amelie started out in the biology department at Reed because she wanted to study bacteria and living things, but then she got a chance to start learning from the biochemists on the faculty. They helped her build the...

Emma's economics department thesis explored the effect that Tony awards have on the consumer demand for Broadway shows. Reed community members can read Emma's thesis, “'It's All About the Green': The Tony Award's Effect...

We're back for the 2025–26 school year after taking a hiatus last spring. Today, Ocean shares his thesis experience with us which was focused on studying writers from the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, especially...

Juno Kerelis '24 was the third student podcast producer on Burn Your Draft, and we're so happy to get to speak to them on the other side of their time at Reed. If you've been listening since Juno hosted the podcast, you...

Josie wrote a pharmaceutical development thesis about looking for a new way to develop antibiotics. She also tells us about her interest in biology and chemistry and looking for bridges between the disciplines, and how...