It’s been a great month for podcasts, following the launch of the first student-staff departmental podcast. Dr Chris Deacy has had three new guests on his ‘Nostalgia Interviews’ podcast this month:
Professor Bob Bowie, Professor of Worldviews Education and Director of the National Institute of Christian Education.
Bob, who works at Canterbury Christ Church University, talks about training as an RE teacher, why people study religion and growing up in Enfield, preferring to live in the countryside than the city. He also speaks about being bullied at school, the opportunity to see that violence as a gift, and why he references ‘Casablanca’ when teaching ethics, among other topics.
Nichola Zacher, children’s author.
Nichola is the Canadian author of the ‘Marley’ series of children’s books. She discusses how the books are a response to her father being diagnosed with dementia and how the books draw on real life experiences from her dad’s life. We learn that the influences on her writing are love, acceptance and empathy and that the books are a good way to connect with children. She talks about Mr. Rogers, rollerblading with Marley, nostalgia, and how Facebook helps Nichola to spread her messages of love.
Charles Musselwhite, Associate Professor, Centre for Innovative Ageing, Swansea University.
Charles is a specialist in gerontology and is based in Swansea but about to move to Aberystwyth as Professor of Psychology. His PhD was on how young boy racers change in their lifetime. He talks about how the most interesting parts of people’s lives are often the everyday rather than extraordinary. He discusses growing up near Portsmouth and being into prog rock, especially Marillion. Charles also speaks of how the journey is often as important as the destination, suffering from rose tinted glasses syndrome, keeping diaries, and how friendships evolve in ways we might not anticipate.
Future interviewees include Stacey Rand, Peter Malone, David Cheetham and Bettina Schmidt.