This podcast is a dramatisation based on the account of a 21-year old woman called Almaz. In 2014, Almaz was living in a women's refuge in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where she was recovering from her ordeal working as a domestic maid in Saudi Arabia and told us her story. Almaz represents the story of thousands of African and Asian migrant workers trapped in abusive and exploitative situations across the Gulf. The true story of one woman reveals the experience that far too many domestic workers endu...
Aug 07, 2018•13 min
This episode is a companion piece to the previous podcast where we interviewed Wonde Nevens and Gavin Price. In this episode Verity, Wonde and Gavin speak to Dr. Stuart Murray, from Bond University, Australia. The three guests discuss Stuart’s new book which represents five years of work around the area and paradigms connected to sports diplomacy. Wonde and Gavin ask Stuart how his book connects to the current sport diplomacy and governance issues that have played out in 2018. More information o...
Jul 19, 2018•24 min
In this episode, we interviewed Maryka Holtzhausen, a Vitality Netball Super League player from South Africa. A netball fanatic, Maryka, has just finished her first season at the Severn Stars franchise and has 98 caps for South Africa, playing in three Commonwealth Games and two Netball World Cups. Maryka speaks to SOAS teaching fellow Verity Postlethwaite about her career inside and outside of netball, especially, experiences living and playing elite netball globally. More information on Maryka...
Jul 19, 2018•16 min
Why is it important to talk about mental health as PhD students? In this month’s episode of The Impostors, we discuss this question from a UK and cross-cultural perspective, reflecting on the mental health challenges many of us face in the pursuit of a doctorate, and also sharing advice on how to help ourselves and others. About the guests: Liana Chase is completing her PhD at the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at SOAS: https://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff132223.php Laura Hamilton is a P...
Jul 18, 2018•54 min
In this episode of The Impostors we look back to the different rites of passage we have to go through as PhD students; from the first year upgrade, to the submission of the thesis, to the viva. Are rites of passage useful to think about, or are these just bureaucratic formalities? And how do we get ourselves through it all? Here is some great advice from people that have been (almost!) through it all. About the guests: Dr Rebecca Bradshaw completed her PhD in History of Art and Archaeology at SO...
Jul 18, 2018•52 min
The new SU sabbatical officers/Co-presidents for 2018-19 introduce themselves: Hau-Yu (Democracy & Education), Youssra (Equality & Liberation), Soph (Activities & Events) and Jess (Welfare & Campaigns).
Jul 16, 2018•4 min
This is the first of two companion podcasts. In this episode, we interviewed Wonde Nevens, a current SOAS student who has recently completed the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy module – Sport and Diplomacy: ‘More than just a Game;’ alongside Gavin Price SOAS alumni and now Associate Tutor for MA Global Diplomacy programme and trade specialist in the UK Government. Wonde and Gavin speak to SOAS Teaching Fellow Verity Postlethwaite about their thoughts and experiences on sport in Et...
Jun 25, 2018•19 min
Rachel Beckles Willson, ethnomusicologist, writer and musician was a guest at SOAS Radio, to present a new album she recorded "Today is Good!" by young asylum-seekers recently arrived on the coast of Europe. In the run up to the Arts Against Slavery Launch Event on June 30th, Miia Laine had a conversation with Rachel about her work in Sicily, the process that took Rachel from providing music workshops in reception centres in Sicily to recording the album and launching a new charity. Album Launch...
Jun 25, 2018•31 min
This is the fourth episode of the SOAS’ Environmental Movement’s podcast. Clare joins Hannah in the SOAS Radio studio to discuss why she is currently 14 days into a hunger strike – which is primarily because of proposals to build a new runway at Heathrow airport, and the impact this will have on carbon emissions. They discuss the climate crisis, aviation, Heathrow expansion plans, the impending Parliamentary vote & how you can get involved. Listen to find out more! Relevant groups: https://w...
Jun 22, 2018•16 min
Tribe of Doris is an annual summer school of music, dance and ceremony taking place in August each year at Standford Hall in Leicestershire. This is a collection of soundscapes from the workshops, performances, showcases, special moments at this unique festival. Whilst you journey through the summer school’s workshops featuring Afro-Colombian song, performances of Jamaican percussion, to moments around the communal campfires, you’ll hear the joy of learning, the rich diversity on offer, the inte...
Jun 06, 2018•22 min
Joined in the SOAS Radio studio by Nisha, Halimo & Dimitri ~ 1:33 Question: Why Boycott the NSS? 10:12 Question: Complaints & people going through disciplinary procedures as a result of the hard picket 13:56 Question: The women's wudhu facility is very poor and lacking compared to the men's. Can this be resolved? 15:00 Constitutional reform 16:30 S.U. survey - fill it out here for a chance to win 5x £50: https://soasunion.org/news/article/6013/All-Student-Survey-out-now/ 18:30 #SavetheGr...
Jun 04, 2018•29 min
Here is our next episode in the Global Sport Conversations Podcast Series. We interviewed Simon Kuper, a Financial Times columnist and author, who has been at the forefront of journalistic commentary of current affairs with a specialist focus on global football and football tournaments for over three decades. Kuper speaks to SOAS academic Dr J Simon Rofe about: his own work, his preparations for the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup and some general reflections on the dynamic of sport, diplomacy and f...
May 17, 2018•13 min
In this episode of The Impostors, we take down the topic of procrastination, our struggle with it, but also how we manage to get everything done, and even spare some time to work on other interesting projects, asking ourselves, can procrastination ever be useful? About the guests: Jonathan Galton is a PhD student based at the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at SOAS: https://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff115658.php When not writing his thesis or out on a long walk, he composes music and play...
May 14, 2018•54 min
An omnipresent topic in culture yet often a taboo in conversation, six Londoners reflect on their different stages of broken hearts. A sound collage put together from four interviews conducted over winter 2017/18. Produced by Miia Laine Artwork by Lena Laine
May 13, 2018•22 min
I sit down with author Mahesh Rao to interview him about his short story collection One Point Two Billion. We talk about his writing process, his motivations for his short stories, and his short stories as vignettes into different cross-sections of modern neo-liberal Indian life.
May 08, 2018•1 hr 16 min
In this first episode, we speak to Reylon Yount, an MA student of “Music in Development”. Reylon plays the yangqin, a percussive string instrument also known as the Chinese hammered dulcimer. As a biracial Chinese American, he cherishes the opportunity he has to stay connected to his heritage through music. He is also interested in the potential of music to create the cultural conditions necessary for sustainable development. Listen to/buy his EP here: www.reylon.bandcamp.com Contact: www.reylon...
May 07, 2018•57 min
Join all four co-presidents in the SOAS Radio studio today discussing the past couple of very eventful months here at SOAS Students' Union. The co-presidents respond to some questions submitted by SOAS students, including: 3:46 Why is the SU not letting students hold them to account? 6:26 Why is the SU acting like a rogue entity whereby they dismiss and intimidate all those with grievances. 8:21 Why did some S.U. co-presidents vote against having a referendum to hold them to account? 14:38 Why w...
Apr 23, 2018•40 min
Here is our next episode in the Global Sport Conversations Podcast Series. Today we interview Dr. J Simon Rofe and Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff, who respectively, have been at the forefront of academic scholarship in and around sport diplomacy across the past decade or so. Simon and Lindsay speak to Verity about their own perspectives on: what is sport diplomacy and governance; who benefits, in particular, is an athlete a diplomat? And some thoughts on the future of the debate. For more information on...
Apr 23, 2018•21 min
In this conversation with Nico Marzano - film curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London - we speak his work as a curator and about the upcoming edition of a very special small film festival, called “Frames of Representation”. We speak about the idea of the film festival as laboratory; as a space for discovery for innovative cinematic language and as a space where cinema and art become dynamic forces for change. Why does the 'film festival as laboratory' matter? Can cinema change the...
Apr 20, 2018•23 min
Here is our first episode in the Global Sport Conversations Podcast Series. A collaborative project between: the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, the Japan Research Centre, the Centre for Media and Film Studies and SOAS Radio. All proudly funded by the Research and Enterprise Office Seedcorn Initiative. The purpose of this podcast series is to explore, with industry and academic experts, the role sport has played in their lives and professional practices. It is an exciting opportu...
Apr 17, 2018•22 min
In this first episode of The Impostors, three anthropologists look back to the beginning of their PhDs, the difficulties of writing ethnography, and the silver linings that help them get through the process.
Apr 16, 2018•1 hr 3 min
In this episode, Laura Siegler talks to Omar Salha, Phd Student at SOAS University. Omar’s research focuses Muslim football players and their role in the integration of the Muslim community in Britain. He is also a member of Football Beyond Borders, an organisation that supports young people from low income background in education, work and public life through football practice. Omar talks about structural improvements through accommodation of religious practices in football clubs, and the diffe...
Apr 09, 2018•31 min
University staff UK-wide have entered the 4th week of striking in one of the biggest industrial actions of the sector. On March 12th, an agreement between the University College Union (UCU) and employers represented by Universities UK (UUK) was proposed and later rejected. The meeting discussing the proposal at the UCU North London Headquarters drew a crowd of hundreds of strikers protesting the deal. Miia Laine for SOAS Radio spoke to some of the university staff present about their views and e...
Mar 14, 2018•9 min
Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, SOAS South Asia Institute – Research Associate In an age where a number of South Asian states seem to re-define their nationalism, Pakistan is engaged in building both its identity and partnerships aimed at re-defining the country's role and status in the hierarchy of nations. It no longer considers itself a weak embattled state that has limited capacity to respond. Pakistan's new power configuration aims at a more significant role in South Asia and also the Middle East. The i...
Mar 09, 2018•33 min
SOAS Radio was unbelievably glad to be hosting this musical legend, Seun Kuti, who is holding up the mantle of political afrobeat. Listen as Nick and Seun preview Seun's soon to be released album Black Times, out on March 2nd, and talk some serious politics, such as corruption worldwide and also delve a little into Seun's past. Catch Seun's gig with Soundcrash on March 2md at Electrics Brixton and buy the new album @passerdj
Mar 01, 2018•1 hr 8 min
In this interview with the Yemeni-American photographer Yumna Al-Arashi we will speak about her upbringing and education in the US and about a project she researched at SOAS. We will talk about being a visual artist in the times of Instagram and how to play with the media in order to have an impact. Yumna will share an experience of turning pain into something positive and constructive, she will talk about what it means to be vulnerable as an artist and how it is important to find and share joy.
Mar 01, 2018•40 min
In this podcast, Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri (Director of the Centre on Conflict, Rights and Justice at SOAS) talks to Prof. Kathryn Sikkink (Harvard Kennedy School of Government) about her book "The Evidence of Hope: Making Human Rights Work in the 21st Century", the forgotten Latin American origins of human rights and the erasure of agency of the global south, and the unknown drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Feb 22, 2018•35 min
In a post World Radio Day interview with SOAS teaching fellow Verity Postlethwaite, we talk about the complexities of sport, including, reconciliation, colonialism and gender based historical sporting moments.
Feb 20, 2018•17 min
Check in with the 4 co-presidents of SOAS Students’ Union to get an update about what’s been going on & some of the key things coming up, including all things election & UCU-strike related! 01:12 – 4th UGM coming up 03:04 – SOAS Green Week 03:45 – University Mental Health Day 04:26 – UCU strike & what the S.U. is doing 17:09 – Students’ Union Elections 20:55 – What advice would you give to someone thinking of running in the election? Intro & outro song: Video recorded by Ed Emery...
Feb 16, 2018•29 min
In this interview, Maisie talks to Soledad from Insightshare about how participatory media and sports projects can be used in community and personal development, existing gender barriers and sports projects in public spaces. More about insightshare: http://insightshare.org
Feb 14, 2018•4 min
