As a film historian, Ian Christie has become increasingly interested in how audiences respond to films, which we can now view in so many different ways. Having taken part in a large empirical study of film viewing across the UK in 2011, he identifies some of the benefits, including unexpected ones, that we may gain from our viewing - which may well be greater than usual at this time.

Speaker: Professor Ian Christie FBA, Professor of Film and Media History, Birkbeck, University of London

Transcript: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/podcasts/10-minute-talks-can-watching-films-be-good-for-us/ 

If a society is measured by how it treats its worst off, we have reason to think hard and well about how we manage the lives of those in prison. Philosophy – in particular, the collaborative doing of philosophy – has here a role to play. Join M M McCabe as she explores how introducing philosophical discussion into prisons may matter.

To find out more, visit Philosophy in Prison: https://www.philosophyinprison.com/

Speaker: Professor M M McCabe FBA, Professor of Ancient Philosophy Emerita, King’s College London

Transcript: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/podcasts/10-minute-talks-philosophy-in-prison/

Music can keep us physically, emotionally, and socially strong. But just how does music help? In this talk Tia DeNora considers everyday musical engagement as a way of regulating emotion, holding focus, managing pain and promoting social connection (including the sense of connection). She explores some of the reasons why music is a particularly valuable medium for wellbeing and suggests that this value derives from the interaction between what music offers and people’s resourcefulness as they interact with and care for music.

Speaker: Professor Tia DeNora FBA, Professor of Sociology of Music, University of Exeter

Transcript: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/podcasts/10-minute-talks-music-and-wellbeing/

Tom Shakespeare discusses how people with a range of physical and sensory disabilities in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia have achieved educational, employment and family success. Drawing on the findings of a DFID-funded research project conducted with local academic partners, he highlights some of the stories shared and barriers overcome.

Speaker: Professor Tom Shakespeare FBA, Professor of Disability Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Image: © Simon Maina / AFP via Getty Images

Transcript: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/podcasts/10-minute-talks-how-disabled-people-achieve-good-lives-in-three-african-countries/

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Asia as well as Europe.  Today's China is drawing on its collective memory of the war against Japan to shape its politics at home (including "victory over the virus") and abroad, as it seeks to reshape international order in Asia.  This talk explains what happened during World War II in China and why it matters so much for the politics and society of that country today.

Speaker: Professor Rana Mitter FBA, Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China, Director of the University China Centre, University of Oxford

Image: © Feature China / Barcroft Media / Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Transcript: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/podcasts/10-minute-talks-chinas-good-war/

Revd Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch Kt FBA talks about how to understand Thomas Cromwell, even though so many of his own letters have vanished from his vast surviving archive.

Speaker: Revd Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch Kt FBA, Professor of the History of the Church, University of Oxford; Fellow, St Cross College, Oxford

The world’s leading professors explain the latest thinking in the humanities and social sciences in just 10 minutes. 

Image: © Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex by Hans Holbein the Younger / CC National Portrait Gallery, London

Transcript: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/podcasts/10-minute-talks-making-the-real-thomas-cromwell-stand-up/