It's the final episode of our third series and we sign-off in style with PhD candidate Tobe Nneli.

Tobe's research focuses on how social media-enabled connections between citizens at ‘home’ and in the diaspora shape citizen perceptions of state legitimacy in new democracies.

Specifically, his study seeks to understand historical and cultural factors that shape citizens’ perceptions of state legitimacy; interrogate debates on how social media provides agency for citizens at home and in the diaspora to engage themselves and the state; explore how such relations determine political/development outcomes in the home country; and assess how these are applicable in Nigeria.

Tobe also talks to us about his pathway back into higher education from the private sector, the demands of self-directed study and offers up his advice for those considering the challenge of a PhD for themselves.

For the penultimate episode in this series, we welcome Claire Burchett for a discussion about her PhD research: Everyday victimhood on social media: the framing of Jews and anti-Semitism in the populist radical right online space in France, Germany and Austria.

Claire's research examines three radical right political parties: the National Front in France, Alternative for Germany, and the Freedom Party of Austria, with a particular focus on posts made by the parties and party officials on social media platforms to see how they talk about Jews, anti-Semitism and Israel and if that has changed over time.

Through her research, Claire hopes to analyse the different, overt and implicit, ways in which the parties communicate anti-Semitism, including how surface-level sympathy for Jewish communities is used as a political weapon; how the reactions and comments of other social media users can result in anti-Semitic amplification, and the role of victimhood narratives within this; and how different social media platforms differ in their enablement of anti-Semitic discourse due to their regulatory and technological differences.

After the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016, a nationwide network of pro-EU movements and groups emerged. For many, the focus of their efforts was to convince both the public and government to reverse course and think again about leaving the bloc entirely.

Other groups campaigned for a so-called 'soft Brexit', respecting the result of the vote but pushing for the UK to remain in a customs union or in closer alignment with the EU than many in the pro-Brexit camp had called for.

But, when the UK officially left the EU on 2020, much of the discourse seemed to die away and campaign groups fell silent. So what changed and where are they now?

In this episode of Call My Supervisor! we speak to PhD student Kai Steemers, whose research is focussed on the activities past, present and future of pro-EU movements in the UK.

We also catch up with Kai about life as a PhD, his experience of teaching at King's and his advice for those thinking about pursuing their studies.