Here's an episode all about data—mobile phone data, to be exact. What are we talking about when we talk about using “mobile phone data” in our research? How are these data generated? Who produces them? What is this data good for…and maybe not so good for? How is it accessed and used? So many questions! To help provide some answers, in this episode Rachel, Levi, and Dani are joined by special guest, Wenfei Xu, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at UC Santa Barbara.

AI is now definitely changing how we live our (geography) lives. Join Rachel, Dani, and Levi for a chat about how Artificial Intelligence is emerging in our GLAD lives. How is it being used "in the wilds" of teaching, research, coding, publishing, and beyond. Should you be farming out your peer reviews to a computer? Vibe coding with your friend Claude? Setting out on AI-generated running routes? And, as always, do we really need more papers faster than ever before? We chat through this, with some advice and reflections on where AI might change our own practice and how it's certainly changing the way academia (writ large) works.

Let us know what you think at thegladpodcast@gmail.com. Did we miss something about AI that you now can't live without? Have we missed your favorite anecdote about a deluge of digital dreck? Send us an email!

Resources we discussed:

Nature's recent editorial on peer review and AI https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00894-7

Harper Reed's post on how to code well with LLMs https://harper.blog/2025/04/17/an-llm-codegen-heros-journey/

Ethan Mollick's "reasoned optimism" about thinking with AI https://www.oneusefulthing.org/

Simon Willison's blog tracking the frontier of LLMs https://simonwillison.org

Join us for the second part of our conversation about the academic job market! This half, we'll talk a bit about the nuts and bolts of putting together your application and the process from applying to interviewing for (and maybe even getting) the job! Caveat: we're mostly familiar with the US and UK academic job markets and we stick to what we know best in this episode!

Let us know what you think by sending us an email at thegladpodcast@gmail.com or leaving us a review on whatever podcasting app you use! it really helps us out.