Head of Department of Religious Studies, Dr Chris Deacy interviewed Professor John Lyden in the latest episode of his Nostalgia Interviews podcast, and the first episode of 2021. Chris writes, “Professor John Lyden was such a great person to interview for my latest Nostalgia Interviews podcast. John edits the Journal of Religion and Film and is based at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. We talk about our shared research and teaching interests, growing up in Connecticut, wanting to be a scientist, seeing ‘The Music Man’ as a child, how culturally he feels that he grew up in his parents’ era, being shaped by his family, the dangers with the Trump Presidency, how people vote, the importance of using good sources, teaching an online course on ‘Star Wars’, how there shouldn’t be a distinction between education and fun, how (to paraphrase Iron Man) everything works out the way it’s supposed to, and lockdown.”
Dr Chris Deacy also interviewed Professor Johanna Stiebert from the University of Leeds, as the last episode of 2020. Chris shares his thoughts, “Johanna Stiebert is my last Nostalgia Interview guest of 2020 (we’re on number 93!). Johanna, who was born in New Zealand and grew up in Germany, teaches Biblical Hebrew. We discover why Glasgow was the best place next to heaven and learn about Johanna’s time in Botswana at the height of the HIV epidemic, as well as why a shooting at a Tennessee church made her leave the US. We find out why she likens New Zealand to a beautiful birdcage, and how she always thought she would be working in the area of human rights. We talk about poetry, radio, the teachers who made an impression, how people’s first memories are often shame-related, why we reconstruct the past, and walking backwards into the future.”
