Welcome back to part two of our conversation with Dr Tina Skinner.
In the first episode, we explored Tina’s powerful work on gender-based violence and asked a vital question: How do we do ethical, sustainable research in such a heavy, emotionally charged field?
In this second half, we shift gears to focus on Tina’s latest initiative, The Researcher Wellbeing Project — a project that dares to ask the questions most academics have never been invited to consider. What does it really mean to work day after day with emotionally challenging material? And what is that work doing to the researchers themselves?
Tina’s mission is clear: to improve the wellbeing of those carrying the emotional weight of this research. And she has a plan to make that happen.
We pick up our conversation with Tina reflecting — with her trademark honesty and vulnerability — on her autoethnographic work. From there, we dive into the realities that sit at the sharp intersections of gender, disability, and academic expectations.
And finally, we zoom in on the Researcher Wellbeing Project itself: what it’s uncovering, why it matters, and how it might just change the way we care for the people doing some of society’s most emotionally demanding academic work.
Researcher Wellbeing Project
Skinner, T., Brance, K., Halligan, S. et al. Coping with Emotionally Challenging Research: Developing a Strategic Approach to Researcher Wellbeing. J Acad Ethics 23, 2559–2583 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-025-09665-5
Also mentioned:
Skinner, T. (2011). Dyslexia, mothering and work: intersecting identities, reframing, ‘drowning’ and resistance. Disability & Society, 26(2), 125–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2011.543859
Podcast researched & hosted by Dr Omar Phoenix Khan, University of Bath.
Theme music by SHEZ.
