As the Research Adjacent podcast approaches its 3rd birthday, Sarah looks back on the past year and looks forward to 2026

Sarah talks about

1. What she does when she isn’t making the podcast
2. Top episodes and notable moments from 2025
3. Things she said she would do in 2025 vs what she actually did
4. Coming in 2026 – including live events and sponsorship opportunities

All the links Sarah mentions

1. Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn or sign up for her events newsletter, Gathering with Purpose
2. Listen to Sarah’s personal playlist of new music in 2025
3. Check out the Challenges mini-series
4. Top episodes of the year – Policy Director Rosalind Gill and Influencing Others with Orla Kelly and Joanna Royle
5. Hear Sarah’s story on the Papa PhD collaboration episode
6. Live event episodes – at the IRCC25 Conference, Festival of Hidden REF and the Academic Adventures podcast
7. Working with freelancers episode and the Research Adjacent Directory
8. Complete this form to suggest a podcast guest
9. Browse the podcast back catalogue and take the quiz for personalised suggestions
10. Get in touch if you are interested in sponsoring or advertising on the podcast

Did you know Sarah donates a tree for every episode published? This year we have planted 24 trees with rewilding charity Trees for Life. Visit the Research Adjacent virtual grove here

Your attention is never taken for granted and knowing that

there are people out there listening makes it easier for me to actually get

on the mic and put this together and feel like it's worth all the effort.

You may or may not have noticed, but I have been slightly shifting the focus

of the podcast over the last few months.

And then perhaps for some of you, the most exciting announcement

is I am hoping to do some live events of some description in 2026.

Hello there.

I'm Sarah McLusky and this is Research Adjacent.

Each episode I talk to amazing research adjacent professionals about what

they do and why it makes a difference.

Keep listening to find out why we think the research adjacent space

is where the real magic happens.

Hello there.

I'm your host, Sarah McLusky and welcome along to what is going

to be the last episode of 2025.

And so in what has become a bit of a tradition in the three years now

that I've been doing the podcast, this episode is going to be a

little bit of a review of the year.

So I have been really enjoying other people's LinkedIn

posts and things around this.

And I do love all the Spotify unwrapped and all that sort of stuff as well.

So this is my version.

In this episode, I'll tell you a bit about what have been my personal highlights of

this year, some of the things that have been either particularly interesting

or particularly noteworthy for me.

And I'll also have a look back to the review of the year I did last year and

some of the things I said I was gonna do in 2025 what I've done and what I haven't

done, 'cause there is a bit of a mix.

And then also tell you a bit about what is coming up in 2026 as well.

So that is my overall plan and so I did mention there Spotify Unwrapped.

And one of the things that has helped me to get into the headspace for doing

this episode today is I have been listening to my, not my Spotify Unwrapped

playlist 'cause I have to say this year my Spotify Unwrapped was a bit weird.

Some of you maybe know already that I'm a yoga teacher as

well as doing other things.

And so my Spotify Unwrapped was all yoga music, which isn't necessarily what I

choose to listen to the rest of the time.

But what I do throughout the year, I've done this for the last few years

now, is that anytime I hear a song I like, whether it's on the radio or

somebody shares it with me, something like that, I put it onto a playlist,

and I make myself a playlist of year.

So I've been listening to my 2025 playlist just out walking the dog while I was

getting ready to record this episode.

And what was interesting about it, and it's the same feeling that I

get when I look back at the year.

Some of the songs I put on them, I'm like, was that this year?

Surely that was ages ago.

And so it's the same with some of the things that I look back

at, some of the episodes and things like that for the podcast.

Some of them I'm like, was that this year?

I thought that was ages ago.

And other things can actually be really recent and they

feel really different as well.

So if you're curious about my personal Spotify playlist, I will

put a link in the show notes.

You might be interested to see what my taste in music is like.

So you're very welcome to have a look.

So now that I have got myself into the headspace of looking back on the

last year how has it been for me?

Well, I think before I go on to talk about the podcast, I thought I would

just indulge myself a little bit by talking about some of the other work

I do because that is something that has come up quite a lot this year.

I talk to people and they know me from the podcast, but then they'll

say, but I don't actually know what you do the rest of the time.

So indeed the podcast is not my full-time job and what I do is I am fully freelance.

But what I do most of the time is actually I help run and organize and

train people to run research events.

And by research events, I mean anything from your standard kind of

academic conference, but actually what I do a lot of is smaller

workshops and facilitating those.

And I think essentially the way I think about it is that I help

people to have conversations, and I think that is one of the reasons

why I like the podcast as well.

Because what I do is I help to get people together in a room.

So that might be academics talking to people with lived experience

of a particular condition that they want to research.

It might be people talking to stakeholders.

It might be bringing together people from different disciplines and

helping them to work together as well.

And another thing that I am really, really interested in doing is thinking

about how we can make the most of those times that we get together and

actually have proper conversations when we're there, rather than just cramming

that space full of presentations or somebody stood at the front of

the room just talking to everybody.

So that is what I do for my business.

And so if that sounds like something that you would like some help

with, then please do get in touch.

And so the freelance work that I do, I just do under my own name, which is Sarah

McLusky, sarahmclusky.com is my website.

And you'll find it on, wherever you'll find links on the podcast website.

And I'll put links in the show notes and everything like that as well.

And if events and doing events better, or encouraging people to have better

conversations around research is something that you're interested in.

You might also enjoy my newsletter, which called Gathering with Purpose

because I like to encourage people to really think about why they

are gathering people together and how to get the most out of it.

So I'll put a link to that in the show notes as well.

So please do sign up if that sounds like something of interest to you.

So thank you for indulging me on that.

Because obviously if I am able to keep running my business, it helps

me to keep creating the podcast.

So, coming back to the podcast then.

Research Adjacent in 2025, how has it been?

I think one of the things that's really interesting looking back is, I do look

back at the statistics and I'll tell you a little bit about that as well.

But also I think what is always really interesting for me is I just think back

to last year and what are the things that stood out in my mind and some

of the things that I have been really proud of that I've done this year is

where actually I've done something that has been a little bit different.

So one of the things I did this year that was a little bit different is

at the start of the year, I created what I called the Challenges Series.

And what we did in the Challenges Series is I invited some guests along to talk

about sticky situations that come up very often in the research adjacent world.

And so there were four episodes in that series.

There was finding community about networking with Jeni Smith.

There was Navigating Change with Andrew Millar.

We had Jenny Brady talking about imposter moments and Orla Kelly and Joanna

Royle talking about influencing others.

And interestingly, that episode with Joanna and Orla was one of the top two

most downloaded episodes of this year.

It was number one on Spotify and and the second most downloaded overall.

So that is obviously something that has really struck a chord

and that is something that I hope to do a bit more in future.

I have got a couple of people lined up.

I particularly have somebody in my sites to talk about people in

research adjacent roles navigating their own career because that's one

thing that comes up again and again is the lack of structured career paths.

So I've got somebody that I'm hoping I can get in to come and talk about that.

And then if there are other topics that you would like me to cover, then

please do and I can keep adding to that challenges series as we go through.

Speaking of top episodes, the other top episode of the year, which was

the most downloaded across all the platforms was when I spoke to Rosalind

Gill, who is the policy director at, let me just get the right, the exact

right name for it the National Center for Universities and Businesses, NCUB.

And so that was a really interesting that came out as one of the top

listened two episodes as well.

I think that it shows that there's a real appetite.

People want to know more about policy engagement and also I think it can be

a little bit of a mysterious world, which I think is possibly why people

are so interested in that one as well.

And obviously Rosalind was a great guest, so thank you very much to her for

coming along to speak to us about that.

And if there is anybody else out there listening who does know

the policy world and who would be interested in coming along as a

guest, then that would be fantastic.

Some of the other things that I did this year that I really enjoyed,

one thing was the collaboration episode that I did with David Mendes

of the Papa PhD podcast, where I interviewed him, he interviewed me.

We put them out at the same time, the opposite way round on different feeds.

So it was a really fun way to think about putting that collaboration out.

So I really enjoyed that and thank you to David for reaching out and suggesting it.

And then I have also enjoyed the episodes that I have recorded

this year at live events.

So some of them are out already, some of them are not out yet.

Some of the ones that are out already is the episode that I recorded at the

International Research Culture Conference in September and that was the first

time I got out my little handheld microphone and got people to talk to me.

So that was really interesting and I was giving a talk there as well about career

progress in research adjacent careers.

I also really enjoy going along to the Festival of Hidden Ref as well,

and speaking to the hosts there of the What The Ref podcast and also some

of the other people who were there in the audience, again, had my little

microphone out and then just a couple of weeks ago, it hasn't come out yet, but

it's gonna be the first episode out in January, I did a live podcast recording

on stage at the Impact Ignite Conference in Southampton, and that was a really

fantastic bunch of people together in a room convened by Tamika Heiden, who

was a guest, she had an episode in this year as well, just in the autumn.

And so getting together lots of impact people from lots of different

universities and that was really great room, lots of fantastic people there,

so I really enjoyed going on to that.

And you will hear that podcast recording coming out in January.

And then that isn't the only live podcast recording I did.

I think some of you might have previously heard of me talking about the other

podcast that I've been creating this year, which was done for the University

of the West of Scotland and the Connect-Ed Network and Converge via Orla Kelly.

And that's the Academic Adventures Podcast.

And we also did a live podcast recording for Academic Adventures.

And if you are working in the knowledge exchange space, entrepreneurs in

residence, academic spin out companies, things like that, I think that you

would really enjoy that podcast series.

So again, I'll put a link in the show notes and you can go and check it out.

Something that I created in 2025 that is very close to my heart is the episode

that I did this Autumn, which is all about how to work with freelancers.

And that's 'cause I am a freelancer myself.

But also when I did work in universities, we used to employ lots of freelancers

and it has made me very aware of some of the challenges, the pitfalls.

But also what you can do to make it really work well and to work

really effectively with freelancers.

So that episode there I think is an absolute gold mine of

useful information if you do find yourself contracting freelancers.

And it grew out of the small community that I have for freelancers who work

in the research adjacent world and they're all the sorts of conversations

that we have in the community all the time are what led to the that episode.

And so if you are listening to this and you are a freelancer, or you're

thinking of being freelance, then please do come along, check out the

community, come and join us, and we would love to have you there.

It's a really supportive group who all understand what it's like to be

an independent business, self-employed business owner in this little strange

little corner of the world, which is a little bit different to other

people's freelancing experiences.

So those are some of my personal highlights from the last year

and some of the episodes that have been most memorable to me.

And that's not to say that I don't really appreciate all of my guests.

They give up so much time to come on the podcast and put so much trust

in me that I really appreciate it.

So thank you so much to all of my guests who have been

part of the podcast this year.

As always, there's always room for more guests.

I am currently lining up guests into 2026, so if you have somebody

who you think would be a great guest, please do get in touch.

And that is partly as well a plea because I do know that there are

some gaps in what I have covered.

I think partly it comes down to how confident people are coming on and

talking on a podcast, but I do know that there are some gaps, so I would love

to have some more people on the podcast who do some of the more administrative,

maybe behind the scenes work a bit more.

So people who work in places like the research office doing finance, doing

contracts, legal, all that kind of stuff.

So if you know anybody who would be willing to come on who fits in

that category, then please do either encourage them or nominate them

on their behalf, whether they'll thank you for that, I don't know.

And also I know that I have got a bit of a gap around roles like technicians,

research software engineers, those kind of slightly more technical

and less people centered roles.

And that is weaknesses in my own personal network.

So again, a plea out to you that if you listening are that person

or if you know somebody who is, then please do get in touch.

There's a little form you can fill in to suggest a guest, whether

that's you or somebody else, and I would love to hear from.

Some of the other things that I said I was gonna do, some of them I have

done, some of them I haven't done.

I'll tell you a bit about that.

Yeah, the challenges series is something that I promised this time last year

and that came out early in the year.

Really enjoyed doing it, and I hope that there will be some more

episodes to come around those topics.

I did say I was gonna do an episode about my story, which I haven't done

directly, but it's partly because I did do it on the Papa PhD interview.

So if you are interested in hearing how I ended up doing what I am doing now, then

please do go and check out that episode.

I'll put a link in the show notes and you can listen to the bit where

I talk about my career journey.

Other things that I said I was doing this time last year, I

said I was working on a book.

I have to admit, the book hasn't progressed very much.

It's still sitting there half written, and this is why I didn't make it as an

academic because I can create podcasts and websites and things like that events,

yes, hard deadlines, but when it comes to actually writing things, that is

not necessarily my area of expertise.

I don't know, I might finish it one day, but I'm not making any promises.

Another thing I did say I was gonna do as well was make the back

catalogue a bit more searchable.

And that is something that I have done.

So you can now go to the website and you can filter the back catalogue by category

and find episodes you're interested in.

So say for example, you are interested in impact, you can go and search

for Impact and it'll pull up all the different guests and conversations

we've had that are related to impact.

Also, I think this time last year, which I feel like this is

one of those ones that's weird.

I was sure it was longer ago this time last year, apparently I launched the quiz

on the website as well, which will also help you to narrow down the back catalogue

and find some interesting episodes.

So that has now been running for a year and has had quite a few

submissions, so I hope the people who've used it have found it useful.

If you did, I'd love to know what you thought of the results that you got.

So those are some of the things that I said I was gonna do last year to now I'm

gonna do an equally bold promise and I'm gonna say what I am gonna do in 2026.

And let's see if I actually do those things, it will be, I will be as

interested to see as you are if I actually do all of these things.

And you may or may not have noticed, but I have been slightly shifting the focus

of the podcast over the last few months.

I am still covering career stories, I still really want to share these stories

of how people get into the work that they did, but I am also interested

in covering more broad topics that are in this research adjacent area.

And so if, again, if you have a subject that you would like to propose

there, a topic you would like to talk about, then please do get in touch.

I still have the rule that I will not have guests on the podcast.

It's my podcast.

I can decide nobody whose main job is as a researcher.

It has to be people whose main job and the topics are things that are of interest

to people who are research adjacent.

Research adjacent guests and research adjacent relevant topics, please.

Feel free to suggest them.

But yeah, so you might note a slight shift in the focus of

the podcast over the next year.

As we've got to 80 episodes, 83 episodes.

Now I am gonna commit to getting to a hundred.

If my maths is right, I should get to a hundred episodes in late summer this

year providing nothing dramatic happens.

After that we shall see what happens.

It's a slightly scary number.

But in order to help support the podcast, what I am gonna do for 2026 is I'm gonna

open up the podcast to sponsorship.

And that means that if you have something, or if you know of somebody who might be

interested, who has an event, a product, a job, an opportunity, something like

that, that they would like to advertise to the research adjacent community,

to our listeners who are all over the world, primarily in the UK but all over

the world, and either currently working in research adjacent roles, or aspiring

to work in research adjacent roles.

So if that sounds like an audience that you would like to reach, then please do

get in touch to ask about sponsorship of the podcast because at the moment it

does get to the point where paying for all the software and the hosting and

just the time it takes to put it together it would be good to make it a bit more

sustainable and help to cover those costs.

Some other things that I'm hoping will grow in 2026.

If you haven't already checked out the Research Adjacent Directory,

please do go and have a look at it.

That is a new listing service on the website where you can find freelancers who

do amazing things in the research adjacent space and specialize in working on these

sometimes really niche topics and areas.

So that will grow and please do go and check it out.

And I'm gonna be sharing a bit more as we go through the year about some of the

fantastic people who are listed on there.

And then the other thing, perhaps for some of you, the most exciting announcement

is I am hoping to do some live events of some description in 2026, there has

been talk of a conferencey type thing.

That is definitely a possibility.

I am scoping out whether that would be feasible for the autumn.

And then also I am looking at potentially doing some smaller networking events

around the country in the months leading up to that, and that is because when I

have been to some of these events like the IRCC conference, the Festival of Hidden

Ref, Impact Ignite, what is so clear is the appetite there is for people to get

together in a room and chat, not just, one of the things I think that research

adjacent can bring is I can get together people from across different institutions

or across different organizations.

But also people who are across different job categories as well.

So it could be a potentially really great opportunity to mix with people

who are in the same world, but doing slightly different things.

And I'm hoping that kind of thing will help people with their career

progress and just navigating this squiggly research adjacent world.

And then the other thing that I would love to do, and something that you

could help me with in 2026 is to help the podcast to reach more people.

And one of the main ways that people hear about podcasts is from friends and family.

So if there are people that you know, colleagues, you could share it online, you

could share it in your communities, places like LinkedIn, but I would love it if you

could spread the word about the podcast and try and help us to reach more people,

because that not only makes me feel like the effort that I put into making the

podcast is worthwhile, but it also makes the podcast more appealing to sponsors

and advertisers and things like that, and it grows the community so that we can

make live events, network events, things like that more useful and all of that

ultimately is helpful for people like you.

And it helps me to keep the podcast going.

So if you haven't already told people, I know a lot of you are loads, so

many people come up to me and say, oh, I heard about the podcast from,

somebody that I work with, whatever, or I'm always recommending the

podcast and I absolutely love that.

I really appreciate it so much.

So thank you for that.

But yeah, keep spreading the word.

So I think that is everything that I was gonna mention today.

It remains to say if you are listening to this roughly in real time around

when it's coming out, I hope that you have a lovely festive break.

I am gonna take a slight pause with the podcast over the Christmas

holidays because there would've been an episode coming out, I think it's

New Year's Eve, it would've been coming out, and I was like, yeah,

no let's just take a little break.

So we'll be taking a little break over the holidays and coming back in January.

I think January 13th is gonna be the next episode, which is intended at the

moment my intention is that will be the one from the Impact Ignite Conference.

So keep your ears peeled for that one.

Thank you so much for.

Listening to the podcast in 2025, perhaps in 2024 and 2023, if you

have been listening since then.

Your attention is never taken for granted, and I appreciate it so much, and knowing

that there are people out there listening makes it easier for me to actually get

on the mic and put this together and feel like it's worth all the effort.

So thank you so much to you for listening.

Have a wonderful holiday.

I shall see you in 2026.

Thanks for listening to Research Adjacent.

If you're listening in a podcast app, please check you're subscribed and then

use the links in the episode description to find full show notes and to follow

the podcast on LinkedIn or Instagram.

You can also find all the links and other episodes www.researchadjacent.com.

Research Adjacent is presented and produced by Sarah McLusky,

and the theme music is by Lemon Music Studios on Pixabay.

And you, yes you, get a big gold star for listening right to the end.

See you next time.