History takes over the airwaves
The School of History has been featuring heavily over the airwaves recently with a number of academics sharing their knowledge and expertise.
Here is a round up of the radio programmes and podcasts the School of History academics have been appearing on:
Free Thinking: BBC Radio 3
Last month, Dr John Gallagher, Associate Professor of Early Modern History presented a Radio 3 programme, Free Thinking: Dead languages which discusses how Egyptian hieroglyphics were deciphered 200 years ago, and how the invention of the Cyrillic alphabet, developed in the Balkans over 1,000 years ago, still has political repercussions today.
Dr Gallagher said: “Presenting Free Thinking on BBC Radio 3 is always immense fun – you’re in charge of a sharp, fast-moving conversation with some really fantastic minds. I loved exploring the language of ancient Pompeii and Cyprus alongside debates about Slavonic script and Egyptian hieroglyphs with my expert guests. This programme is one of a series of programmes and podcasts which I’m presenting for the BBC, supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council – our next episode is about the Victorians and language, and goes out on BBC Radio 3 at 10pm on 6th December 2022.”
BBC History Extra podcast
Head of the School of History, Professor Sanjoy Bhattacharya has contributed to a BBC History Extra podcast on History and Science. It was recorded live at the Royal Society, in association with the Wolfson History Prize and Professor Bhattacharya discussed how science could be taken into a societal context to understand the role historian can play.
Professor Bhattacharya commented, “It was so enjoyable to spend an evening discussing the links between history and science, as they are practiced and influence policy. Organised by the Wolfson Foundation, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its book prize, the setting in the Royal Society and a full house of attendees from all walks of life made discussions all the more interesting.”
East Street Arts: In practice podcast
Dr Laura King, Associate Professor in Modern British History has recently done a podcast with East Street Arts in Leeds and this episode centres on the relationship between arts and health. Dr King chaired the discussion which involved a wide-ranging chat about the relationship between the arts and health, with Leeds-based artist Ellie Harrison - Artistic Director of The Grief Series - and Mick Ward, formerly of Leeds City Council, now associate at Nurture Development, Health Innovation Lab, and Trustee at PAFRAS (Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers).
Dr King explained, “We discussed what ethical collaboration looks like, how to have difficult conversations with collaborators and members of the public on tricky subjects like grief, and how we might take a broader perspective of health to think about a person's whole life, and not just through the prism of one particular illness or condition. I loved taking part in this conversation- there was a rich discussion about what really good collaboration means, from beginning to end - a lesson very relevant to academics.”
Oh! What a Lovely Podcast: Poppy watch
Professor Jessica Meyer co-presents ‘Oh! What a Lovely Podcast’ and is now in its second year. In this episode, three First World War historians take a light-hearted yet scholarly look at the places where the history of the war meets popular culture.
Professor Meyer said, “We have looked at everything from Georgette Heyer's relationships to the history of the war to how the war is represented in computer games. This episode, Poppywatch, released shortly before Armistice Day, looks at the Twitter account @GreatPoppyWatch to consider how commemoration of the war is conducted and policed in the age of social media.’
You can subscribe to these podcasts by following the programme links.
