Remember how, just two years ago, if you asked colleagues or students how they were doing, the noncommittal, socially acceptable way to say things were normal was a simple, "I'm fine," or, "pretty good"? Have you noticed how recently the standard answer has become, "I'm tired"? The state of the world has pushed many of us to stop trying to pretend everything's fine, or to stop using "good" as the baseline for our mood.

That situation is where this episode begins. Hear from Kaitlin Clinnin (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) and sarah madoka currie (University of Waterloo) as they discuss the current condition we find ourselves in—not just our working conditions, but the condition of struggling to perservere amid a ongoing pandemic with changing labor expectations and living situations. Life is different now than it was two years ago, and acknowledging the effect on our emotional wellbeing helps us better understand our own needs.

While this episode won't solve the problems of the pandemic, or remote work, or exhaustion (sorry!), we do discuss ways to extend ourselves grace and compassion as we take on the affective labor of teaching in today's world.

This episode talks relatively little about students. Instead, we take some time to help us recharge, regroup, and refocus to round out the year.

A complete episode transcript is available.

Special thanks to:

• Blue Dot Sessions for our theme music
• Anchor.fm for show hosting