Hi guys,

After a crazy few months, I’m back with a new episode—and a new vibe. Welcome to the first of many solo episodes, where it’s just me sat on the floor with my lil mic and a more personal, stripped-back chat.

In these episodes, I’ll share stories, life experiences, and thoughts on what I’m going through or passionate about. While I love intellectual and formal interviews, and I'll still do them, I’ve always found immense value in candid conversation, focussing on openness, honesty, and vulnerability—things we can all learn from.

Graduating university a few months ago, I’m reflecting on advice I wish I’d had and tips for anyone navigating uni life.

Hope you enjoy,

Kanak x

Today I am joined by researcher, lecturer and counsellor Dr. Ashley

She teaches on the BSc, iBSc Psychology and MSc Health Psychology programmes, is a postdoc researcher in the PIMS project that looks at psychological interventions for sexual challenges in Multiple Sclerosis at King’s College London and is a counsellor at cliniQ, a clinic for trans, non-binary, and gender diverse people.

In this episode we talk all things about:

-      what is sex, gender and paraphilia?

-      The different types of sex

-      Are labels with sexual orientation and gender helpful or harmful?

-      The differences between kink, fetish and paraphilia

-      The advice Dr Ashley would give NHS staff when speaking about sexual health with patients

Some of Ashley’s research we talked about:

Sexual behaviours and fantasies scale:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34843283/

BDSM research:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31617765/

Sexual health resources:

NHS guide to sexual health services: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/sexual-health-services/guide-to-sexual-health-services/

Find your nearest sexual health clinic: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-health-services/sexual-health-information-and-support

Get STI testing at home (in London and Surrey): https://www.sexualhealth.cnwl.nhs.uk/order-form/

Brook: sexual health and wellbeing being support under 25: https://www.brook.org.uk/

LGBT sex and sexual health: https://thebeyouproject.co.uk/resources/topic/sex_and_sexual_health/

https://www.lgbtplus.org.uk/

Hi guys,

I am really excited today as I get to talk to Dr. Sacha

He is also the co-director of the Centre of Philosophy and Art and the Co-Editor of the British Journal for the History of Philosophy.

We talk all things to do with philosophy and art, some of

-       How do you define the philosophy of art?

-       Is art truthful?

-       Does art need to be purposeful?

-       Can art ever be truly owned?

And much more!

Find out more about Sacha:

His website: https://www.sachagolob.com/

Wikipedia page (which is really cool that he has one!): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacha_Golob

Kings College London page: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/sacha-golob

His research work here: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/sacha.golob

His chapter on decadence and aesthetics in decadence and

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/decadence-and-literature/decadence-and-aesthetics/48CEAAC7931B5E59F76E414B256CEB54

Find out more about the Centre of Philosophy and Art

Check out the British Journal for the History of

Check out the Instagram for this podcast: https://www.instagram.com/allthehype_pod/

Hi guys,

In today's episode, I am joined by Dr. Sally Marlow, who is the Associate Dean of Impact and Professor of Practice in Public Understanding of Mental Health Research at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s College London.

She is also a BBC broadcaster making documentaries about mental health for BBC radio 3,4 and the World Service.

We talk all things about the relationship between music and mental health including:

- Is there a connection between music and the brain/body?

-  Are there differences between playing and listening to music on mental health?

-  The relationship between music with cognition, memory and focus.

And lots more stuff!

Find out more about Dr. Sally Marlow:

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/sally-marlow

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/dr-sally-marlow-to-be-first-researcher-in-residence-at-bbc-radio-3

Watch her inaugural lecture here: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/professor-sally-marlow-delivers-her-inaugural-lecture-never-too-late

Her Sound Young Minds project we talked about:

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/sound-young-minds

https://cityoflondonsinfonia.co.uk/participation-project/sound-young-minds/#:~:text=Sound%20Young%20Minds%20works%20with,the%20core%20of%20our%20work.

Her article in The Psychologist about music and mental health: https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/music-and-magic-between-ears

Listen to her on the Music Matters podcast:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001cns4

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/hVmhzKyP69WS0yv1mCppLW/six-things-we-learned-about-the-power-of-music-on-mental-health

(Btw: for once, I didn’t have any audio problems. I just accidentally said in the introduction that Dr. Marlow started her academic journey at age 29 when it was 39 –as she says in the episode- making it all the more impressive!)

Hi guys,

Today I am joined by Dr Michael Priestley.

He is a researcher at King’s College London as part of the UBelong project to understand loneliness in university students.

His research focuses on student mental health and wellbeing

He has also worked on other research projects including exploring intra-individual personality variability and the effectiveness of music education intervention in primary schools. He has also taught modules in the School of Education at Durham University.

He uses his research expertise to collaborate with other organisations

He completed his undergraduate degree in Education studies

In this episode, Michael is joined by Nathan a research

In this episode, we talked about:

-      The idea of University being the ‘best time of your life’

-      Neoliberalism in higher education

-      What universities can do to improve student mental health

-      Things that may cause and contribute to poor student mental health and loneliness

And much more!

You can find more about Dr Michael Priestley here: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/michael.1.priestley

Links to his research we talked about:

Neoliberalism in higher education: https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/3254/1/Priestley_TwoDecadesOfNeoliberal.pdf

Student mental health research methods: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638237.2021.1875419

Student perspectives on improving mental health services at

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/capr.12391

Research priorities for student mental health: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open/article/key-questions-research-priorities-for-student-mental-health/099D7EE7367D11E9875A53AF5853FBC6

Toolkit for students and researchers on how to navigate student mental health: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/243453032/SMaRteN_Higher_Education_stakeholder_engagement_report_-_final.pdf

More information about the UBelong study and how to get involved: https://www.u-belong.uk/

Hi guys,

Sorry I have been AWOL for the past few months but I am back and I can't wait to bring you these conversations!

*Disclaimer: I am not sure why the sound is so quiet, I will sort this out in the next episode. I am slowly getting there with the audio, it will be good one day.

Today's episode is all about adult ADHD with Dr Eleanor Dommett.

Ellie is the deputy director of the undergraduate psychology course at King’s College London and conducts both neuroscience and educational research. Her neuroscience work centres around a brain structure called the superior colliculus, specifically its potential role in adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the impact of psychostimulant drugs on the structure. Her educational research focuses on the use of educational technology, including lecture capture and virtual learning environments. She also started and actively runs the ADHD research lab at the Department of Psychology at King’s.

Furthermore, Ellie teaches on the BSc Psychology course and is the Principle Fellow of the Higher Education Academy contributing to several articles to the Times Education Supplement and the Science in Parliament Magazine. She also provides research briefings to the House of Lords in the area of education (so sick omg).

In this episode, we talk about adult ADHD including:

And much more!

Ellie's research we talked about:

1. Education and ADHD specifically looking at working memory/cognitive load:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ejn.16201

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0301932https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X24000137?via%3Dihub

2. Exercise and ADHD: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/2/129

3. Mindfulness and ADHD: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5318/3/4/31

4. Current study about dietary protein and ADHD (scroll down on this page): https://www.adhdresearchlab.com/adhd-studies.html

Research papers I read about the association between trauma and ADHD symptoms:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/brb3.2748

https://www.academicpedsjnl.net/article/S1876-2859(16)30416-8/abstract

Ellie's ADHD Research Lab:

Website: https://www.adhdresearchlab.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adhdresearchlab/

You can find more about Ellie here: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/ellie-dommett

Hi guys, 

Disclaimer: I don’t know what was wrong with the mic but their voice is quieter than mine for some reason. Sorry guys for the bad audio again but it’ll be fixed in the next episode. But this episode is important!! 

Today’s episode is more of an informal conversation with my friend + cosplayer Kai (pronouns: they/them). 

We discuss things such as: 

- What got them into cosplaying

- What advice they would give beginners

- What actually goes on in a con

- The cosplaying industry as a whole 

As someone who is outside of that world and doesn’t know much about cosplaying, it was really insightful. 

Kai opens up about: 

- How cosplaying has influenced their personal life 

- How they deal with social media hate 

- Whether they feel pressure to uphold a standard on social media 

- What is their aim when they cosplay 

Thank you @kashomon for being so honest and open I loved having you! 

Check out their socials: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kashomon/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kashomon

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kashomon

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kashomon

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/kashomon

Support them through: 

Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/kashomon

Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=NVXUZ2TCWRRMW

Let us know what you thought of the episode in the Q&A box below!!

Hi guys, I’m finally back!!

I sit down with Dr Duncan Jackson, a reader of Organisational Psychology and Human Resource Management at King’s College London.

Our conversation focuses on his research on situational judgment tests, assessment centres and 360-degree reviews.

We talk about questions such as:

- Do situational judgement tests and assessment centres measure the skills and abilities they are supposed to?

- What is the best way to tackle an assessment centre?

- Does performance increase after 360 reviews?

Dr Duncan Jackson: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/duncan-jackson

His research papers we talked about:

Situational judgement tests: https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joop.12151

Assessment centres:

https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joop.12398

(currently undergoing review) https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/assessment-centers-reflections-developments-and-empirical-insight

Hi everyone,

Introducing my new podcast: All The Hype!!

I will break down different topics with a variety of guests to find out whether they are worth 'all the hype' they may or may not go through in the media.

Let me know if there are any topics you would like me to discuss!

Hope you guys enjoy it, the first episode is out on Thursday 21st of December.

Kanak xo