London was transformed by the Great War. The capital was bombarded from the air for the first time and 668 people lost their lives in raids by Zeppelins and German aeroplanes. But death and destruction were also accompanied by an unprecedented economic boom, and the rise of women as they entered the workforce in huge numbers. All these major developments are explored in this podcast by Professor Jerry White, of Birkbeck’s Department of History, Classics and Archaeology. He shares the findings an...
Jun 06, 2014•17 min
Getting the most out of your studies is important, whatever your age or background. In this podcast, Professor Pat Tissington shares his latest research about what helps, and what hinders, progress at university. His findings are based on a nationwide student survey and are published in his new book, entitled Study skills for business and management: how to succeed at university and beyond, which he co-authored with Christos Orthodoxou. Professor Tissington continues by describing his own varied...
May 20, 2014•13 min
Inspiring talks and workshops about happiness, work, local history and more are taking place at Birkbeck’s pop-up university in Willesden Green until 31 May. In this podcast, Annette McCone, Birkbeck’s Widening Access Manager, explains why this hub for outreach activities was created to offer local residents the opportunity to explore new topics and find out about studying at Birkbeck. David Tross, associate lecturer at Birkbeck’s School of Social Sciences, History and Philosophy, also describes...
Apr 25, 2014•11 min
To mark International Women’s Day 2014, in this podcast we hear from an all-female line-up of Birkbeck academics and the College’s President, Baroness Joan Bakewell. Baroness Bakewell discusses her experiences as a female student at Cambridge in the 1950s and one of the first female television presenters at the BBC. She shares reflections on her recent meeting with Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi (0:00 – 8:50). Dr Rosie Campbell (Department of Politics) reveals the results of her ...
Mar 05, 2014•31 min
Steve Biko – leader of the Black Consciousness Movement – was one of the key figures in the liberation struggle in South Africa. The radical student leader, who arguably rivalled the importance of Nelson Mandela during the 1960s and 1970s, is the subject of a new biography by Dr Derek Hook, of Birkbeck’s Department of Psychosocial Studies. In this podcast, Dr Hook explains the significance of Biko’s anti-apartheid campaign and his death in police custody. He also discusses his own dilemma about ...
Feb 25, 2014•16 min
Last summer’s riots (2011), good and bad capitalism, and the life-changing opportunities created by Birkbeck all feature in Birkbeck Voices – the first in a new series of monthly podcasts. Professor Mike Hough, co-director of Birkbeck’s Institute for Criminal Policy Research, discusses the effectiveness and fairness of the criminal justice system, with particular reference to last year’s riots (0:00-6:48 ). Professor Bill Bowring, of Birkbeck’s School of Law, explains how civil liberties are inc...
Feb 11, 2014•29 min
Birkbeck alum Rob Williams re-lives the excitement of winning silver at London 2012, and academics talk about sport and business, and intensive law courses in this latest episode. Rob Williams talks about rowing for Team GB in the lightweight men’s four in a thrilling Olympic showdown this summer. He also shares his research in electron microscopy as he has just completed his PhD at Birkbeck and UCL’s Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology (0:00-06:38). Sean Hamil, a Director of Birkbeck’...
Feb 11, 2014•25 min
New research about the advantages of part-time study is shared in this episode, which also features a discussion about the films of J.M. Barrie – the author of Peter Pan. Claire Callender, Professor of Higher Education Policy at Birkbeck, explains how part-time students benefit professional and personally from their studies well before they graduate. She co-wrote the longitudinal study Futuretrack: Part-time students, and draws on its findings in the interview (00:00-09:03). Ian Christie, Annive...
Feb 11, 2014•16 min
Interviewees discuss how the Department of Politics celebrated its 40th anniversary, and how a new project is investigating the links between Down’s syndrome and dementia. Dr Alex Colas, of the Department of Politics, describes the events staged for the landmark birthday, including Professor Deborah Mabbett’s lecture about austerity under Margaret Thatcher and the Coalition Government, and a talk he chaired about the dilemmas of humanitarianism (0:00-7:26). Professor Annette Karmiloff-Smith, of ...
Feb 11, 2014•16 min
The history of pain from the 18th century to the modern day and reflections on Barack Obama’s presidency of the US are shared by researchers in this podcast. Professor Joanna Bourke , of the Department of History, Classics and Archaeology, talks about how people have described and perceived pain in recent centuries. She also highlights the interdisciplinary discussions at the recent 'Pain and its meanings' symposium organised by the Birkbeck Pain Project and the Wellcome Collection. Professor Ro...
Feb 11, 2014•13 min
Match-fixing in the beautiful game and Be Birkbeck – a new membership scheme to promote public debate – are both discussed by academics in this podcast. Dr Andy Harvey, of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, gives his reaction to the headline-grabbing Europol announcement about hundreds of suspicious football matches. He also explains his research efforts to counter the illegal practice of match-fixing as part of his Don’t Fix It! project, which will lead to a Code of Conduct, education programm...
Feb 11, 2014•18 min
The health of migrants, and the impact of imperialism and racism, are both discussed by the authors of new books in this podcast. Dr Jasmine Gideon, of Birkbeck’s Department of Geography, Environment and Development Studies, speaks about the health problems faced by migrants, including the trauma and stress experienced by refugees (0:00-8:22). Her research focuses on Latin American migrants in London, many of whom try to solve their health conditions outside the NHS by visiting unregulated docto...
Feb 11, 2014•19 min
Baroness Joan Bakewell, Birkbeck’s new President, talks about the importance of part-time study and her excitement about joining Birkbeck in this 12-minute podcast. The distinguished journalist and Labour peer is injecting renewed energy into Birkbeck’s campaign to champion the vital benefits of part-time study for the economy, employers and employees when national figures show a sharp drop in part-time student numbers. Baroness Bakewell also shares her memories of the late Professor Eric Hobsba...
Feb 11, 2014•14 min
Professor Glaucius Oliva, head of the Science without Borders initiative, speaks about his time as a PhD student in the crystallography department at Birkbeck in the 1980s and his future plans for the ambitious Science without Borders programme. Science without Borders is an initiative of the Brazilian government which aims to send 100,000 undergraduate and postgraduate Brazilian students to study at top universities around the world. Dr Jose Lopes, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of...
Feb 11, 2014•11 min
David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, talks about the links between universities, industry and government in excerpts from a speech delivered at the Triple Helix International Conference – an event co-hosted by The Big Innovation Centre, Birkbeck, and UCL Advances. Luciana Berger, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy, then describes her fascinating and enjoyable experiences studying an MSc in Government, Policy and Politics at Birkbeck. She praises the diversity of the ...
Feb 11, 2014•13 min
Professor David Latchman, Master of Birkbeck, shares his interest in genetics, findings from his research, and describes the courses on offer through Clearing this August in this 12-minute podcast. He describes how his work in the laboratory has contributed to the origins of promising trials of a new therapy for melanoma, a deadly skin cancer. Professor Latchman explains how studying the Herpes Simplex virus at BioVex – a company he co-founded – has led to research developing anti-cancer drugs b...
Feb 11, 2014•12 min
Professor Philip Dewe, Vice-Master of Birkbeck, describes the state-of-the-art campus opening in Stratford this autumn, and Birkbeck’s commitment to providing higher education in east London. University Square Stratford is a unique collaboration between Birkbeck and the University of East London and it is conveniently located in the centre of Stratford. The £33m five-storey building includes teaching and performance spaces, and student support services. Professor Dewe also speaks about Birkbeck ...
Feb 11, 2014•11 min
Gloria Miqueles – a Chilean activist and Birkbeck alumna – shares her extraordinary and inspirational account of surviving prison and torture during Augusto Pinochet’s brutal regime. She explains her memories of the coup in 1973, and her involvement in the resistance. Miqueles later moved to London in exile and studied for an MSc in Development Studies at Birkbeck. She recently spoke about her own experiences and those of other women involved in the resistance at a conference at Birkbeck called ...
Feb 11, 2014•12 min
Demographic research rarely dominates the headlines, but the comparison of the last two censuses has proved to be an exception. In this interview, Professor Eric Kaufmann, of Birkbeck’s Department of Politics, describes his analysis of the figures, which show that the proportion of white Britons in London’s population fell from 58% to 45% between 2001 and 2011. He explains that the decline is not the result of ‘white flight’, but the consequence of long-term demographic trends as white Britons a...
Feb 11, 2014•14 min
On 23 January 2014 a team at the world-leading ‘Babylab’ at Birkbeck launched a new Europe-wide study of the early emergence of autism and ADHD. With over £2.5 million in funding, the team are now embarking upon the Studying Autism and ADHD Risk in Siblings (STAARS) project, which will map brain development from birth in order to identify the earliest signs of these lifelong social communication and attention disorders. Dr Emily Jones explains the benefits that earlier diagnosis would bring to i...
Jan 21, 2014•10 min
On Wednesday 27 November 2013, novelist Alan Hollinghurst spoke about his writing and his Booker Prize-winning novel, The Line of Beauty, to an audience of Birkbeck students and alumni. Find out more about Birkbeck's School of Arts: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/arts/
Jan 13, 2014•1 hr 30 min
Recent international climate change talks and the heightened risk of climate change-related flooding in the UK are discussed in this podcast. Dr Diane Horn, of Birkbeck’s Department of Geography, Environment and Development Studies, speaks about these matters, including her latest research, which was published in Nature, about the limitations of the Flood Re insurance scheme. Dr Horn describes the advantages and disadvantages of the Flood Re scheme currently being finalised by insurers and the G...
Dec 19, 2013•14 min
