In the latest episode of the Nostalgia podcast series, Dr Chris Deacy, Reader in Theology and Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, speaks to Michael Hession, an American lawyer and documentary maker.

Michael has recently completed a film about Rev Brian Hession (no relation) – a cancer patient who fought in the 1940s and 50s against the stigma of illness and who had also been a filmmaker (and whose work Chris covers in his own Religion and Film teaching and research). Michael tells us how his study of Brian Hession reignited his interest in film noir and they talk, in turn, about the value of ambiguous endings.

They also talk about why nostalgia comprises ‘history plus emotion’; what motivated Michael to enter the legal profession; the influence of ‘The Buddy Holly Story’; voting in the 1992 Presidential election; what it is that triggers sad memories; why life is a marathon rather than a sprint; and what his 13 year old self would have thought about what he has achieved.