In this episode, we explore collaborative writing models and practices between graduate students and their faculty co-authors. Vlad first describes collaborative writing as a standard practice in social science and science fields. Then, Vlad offers a unique live collaborative writing model that he and his faculty co-author tried out that led him to abandon the way he used to share and receive feedback on co-written projects. If you feel like you’re stuck in limbo for a while after sending a draft or revision to your co-author, have a listen to this episode and see if you’d like to try it out yourself!
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Our Guest
Vlad Chituc is a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, where he works with Michael Frank and Ben Domingue as part of the LEVANTE project. Psychologists often ask people to rate their subjective experience — on a scale from one to ten, how happy are you? how wrong would that be? how strongly are you feeling that emotion? His research draws from sensory psychophysics and information theory to understand what those numbers actually mean. Vlad completed his PhD at Yale University, and his dissertation was advised by Brian Scholl. This work was awarded the Glushko Dissertation Prize from the Cognitive Science Society. [Dissertation] [Glushko Prize Talk @ CogSci 2025]. Vlad has written publicly for outlets like The New York Times, The New Republic, and The Daily Beast. Explore his website here: https://vladchituc.com/
Credits
A heartfelt thanks to Ryan McEvoy, Podcast and Video Producer at Yale Teaching Studios, for teaching me podcast production and his continued guidance and quality control, The Poorvu Center for supporting the Write In Podcast project, and my wonderful team at the Graduate Writing Lab for their insights and motivation.
Other Suggested Podcasts on PhD Life and Afterlife
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Grad School Confidential
Suman Varghese & Robert B. Desjardins
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The PhD Life Raft Podcast
Dr. Emma Brodzinski
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Learning on the Job
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My PhD Experience
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Groups of 4–7 students who meet weekly to share feedback, make progress, and support one another on a common project.
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