Best Of Belfast: Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast

Rory O’Connor, a native of Derry, is Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Glasgow where he directs the Suicidal Behaviour Research Laboratory, one of the leading suicide research groups internationally.    He is a world leader on suicide research and prevention and has been working in the field for 25 years, beginning with his PhD on suicide and self-harm at Queen’s University of Belfast.    Rory is the current President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and past President of the International Academy of Suicide Research – the only person from the UK and the 2nd person globally to hold both offices.    He has published extensively in the field of suicide and self-harm and has advised on and contributed to six BBC documentaries on suicide, including the BAFTA-nominated Life After Suicide with Angela Samata, Suicide and Me with the rapper Professor Green and Our Silent Emergency with the DJ Roman Kemp.    He published the award winning book When It Is Darkest: Why People Die by Suicide and What We Can Do To Prevent It in 2021.   Check it out.   https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/rory-oconnor-suicide-prevention

Matthew Scott is a Digital Media Entrepreneur working hard to change Media Entertainment, Digital Storytelling and Digital Democracy.

Over the last 20-years he has worked as a creator, producer, marketer and innovator with the likes of SKY, BBC, Discovery Networks, Nike, Coca-Cola, Ford, Lego, Intel, Sony Pictures and countless more.

His new company Play Human focuses on helping creators/brands engage with their audiences in the post-social world.

In today’s episode we talk about:

• Growing up on Bangor
• His early days as a storyteller
• What got him into tech
• How he ended up working with some of the biggest brands on the planet
• What the post-social world will look like
• And the biggest lessons he’s learned along the way.

Check it out.

 

//

https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/matthew-scott-play-human

//

Dr Yassin Brunger is a Lecturer in Human Rights Law and Co-Director of the Gender Justice and Society Research Network at Queen’s University Belfast.    Originally from the Gambian, Yassin spent 20 years living in the Middle East and is rooted in transnational understandings of justice and human rights. As a long-term feminist and scholar-activist, her academic work remains informed by the lived experiences of post-conflict, justice and peace of marginalised communities in the ‘Global South’ — amplifying struggles for justice within and beyond legal frameworks and academia.    Closer to home, Yassin is a dedicated champion of gender and racial justice in Northern Ireland. She has received national recognition for her contribution to the first 'Black History Month campaign' in Northern Ireland and formerly served as one of the inaugural Co-Chairs of IRise, the University's Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network.   In this episode we talk about:

• Growing up in the Middle-East
• Her experiences in white middle-class England
• What justice actually is
• What racism in NI looks like
• And most importantly what we can do about it

  Please note: This episode also contains reference to gender and racial-based violence. If you are affected by anything discussed in this conversation we have signposted a few phone numbers and links below for you to avail of.   The Rowan Sexual Assault Referral Centre 0800 389 4424 Freephone 24/7 http://therowan.net/   Women's Aid NI: https://www.womensaidni.org/get-help/   Northern Ireland Council for Racial Equality https://nicre.org/services/   Lifeline 0808 808 8000   //   https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/yassin-brunger

Colly Graham is a 78-year-old international businessman, sales training expert and great-grandfather.

He's also a former alcoholic, rough-sleeper, petrol-bomber, prisoner and member of the RAF. 

In today's episode we talk about:

- The secret to a happy marriage

- Old drinking dens in Belfast

- Sobriety

- Spiritual experiences

- What most young people get wrong about life

- And balancing contentment with ambition

 

Check it out. 

//

https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/colly-graham-sales-xcellence

//

Dear friends!

Excited to share with you today a very special conversation with someone I've only met once who left a big impression on me.

The short story is that I got more from a two-hour chat with Rabo (Polish-Canadian Engineer, Writer and Product Manager) at the launch of Mark Dowd's new business in December than frankly, I have in most relationships outside of my inner-circle.

Today's podcast is my attempt to recreate some of that magic and dive deeper into a wide-range of rabbit holes we left unexplored including:

• Practical ways to slow down and appreciate beauty
• Why community is so broken in the 21st Century
• How Rabo's simple, yet powerful app can help
• The value of intergenerational relationships
• Navigating the tension between wanting to show up with the desire to escape
• His path into becoming a polymath and why the advice to "find your passion" never worked for him
• Some of the strange jobs he's had along the way (from documentary-making to sewer-diving)
• How different experiences change the way we view the world
• Why some of us are naturally attracted to entrepreneurship
• And the kindest thing someone has ever done for him.

It's rare to meet someone with as much depth and experience as this dude right here and I hope you enjoy this brief, dipping of the toe into the wonderful world of Rabo.

Enjoy.

— Matt

 

//

- Favourite quote: “Art must be exaggerated. Bend until your spine cracks.” ~ Szukalski (Polish Artist)

//

 

Show notes:

- Definition of sonder

- Revere App

- Rabo's writings

 

Webpage for this episode: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/mark-rabo-beauty-and-community

 

Professor John Barry is the C0-Director of the Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action at Queen's University Belfast, and C0-Chair of the Belfast Climate Commission.   He’s also a recovering politician, public servant, electric-car driving, foldable bicycle riding activist himself, as well as a lover of The Lorax by Dr Seuss — but I’ll let John tell you more about that himself.   In today’s episode we talk about:

• His origin story as a climate-activist 
• Why we have the wrong end of the stick when it comes to “climate change”
• What the economy is actually for
• The wisdom of Dr Seuss, Lord Of The Rings, The Matrix and more
• And most importantly, what you and I can do to take meaningful action.

  Check it out!   https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/john-barry-climate-activist

Sea-swimming, sauna-sweating and aufgussing (wait, what?!). 

Join myself, Scott and special guest Ryan Scollan on another esoteric adventure — this time up the North Coast on Benone Beach in our favourite sauna in the world: Hotbox!

Medical Disclaimer: please do not do anything mentioned, discussed or actually done in this episode.

Enjoy!

//

Notes:

- Check out our interview with Anna & Carl

- Book your own Hot-Slot Sauna Session here

- Scott's website

- Ryan's website

- Matt's website

//

Today's episode webpage: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/esoteric-sauna

 

 

Dr. Ryan Milligan is a lecturer in the Astrophysics Research Center at Queen’s University Belfast. His research focuses on the study of the sun and how it can impact our planet.   After graduating from Queen’s University in 2007 he spent several years at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center outside Washington, DC, and two years at the University of Glasgow, before returning home in 2019.    Before embarking on his astrophysics career, Ryan was a full-time truck driver, and can still be seen behind the wheel from time to time. He is also an avid solar eclipse chaser.   In today’s show we talk about:

• Growing up working in fish factories in Ardglass
• The life-changing moment of experiencing his first total solar eclipse
• How he went from truck-driving to studying Astrophysics
• Landing jobs at NASA, University of Glasgow and Queen’s University
• His incredible TV Show Space Truckers that was picked up by the BBC
• Why studying solar flares matters
• His plans to launch a rocket in 2024
• And the most challenging/successful moment of the journey so far. 

  Check it out.   https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/ryan-milligan-astrophysics  

Dr Caoimhe Rooney is a mathematician at NASA that searches for life throughout the universe by studying distant planets, known as exoplanets.    Following an undergraduate degree in mathematics at Trinity College Dublin, with a scholarship year at UCLA, Caoimhe achieved a PhD in Industrially Focused Mathematical Modeling at the University of Oxford.    In pursuit of her dream to apply her transferrable mathematical skills within the space sector, Caoimhe was awarded the NASA Postdoctoral Program fellowship to model the formation and distribution of clouds in exoplanet atmospheres at NASA Ames Research Center, California. She continues to work at NASA Ames as a Research Scientist.   Motivated by the under-representation of women in maths, Caoimhe also co-founded Mathematigals, an educational outreach initiative with the aim to encourage young girls to pursue mathematics by making it fun and accessible while showcasing its many applications.   In today’s show we talk about:

• Why GCSE maths is a terrible representation of what the field of mathematics is really like
• How she ended up landing a job at NASA
• What it’s like looking billions of years into the past
• How the atmosphere of exoplanets can be observed using light
• Her dreams of becoming an astronaut
• Favourite space/maths related movies 
• And her greatest challenges/successes from the journey so far

  Check it out!   https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/caoimhe-rooney-NASA-mathematician

What a ride the last few weeks have been! Highly recommend you going back and listening through the six different episodes we've released as part of this Addiction Series.

Today's episode is a final recap conversation and overview with my dear friend Professor Steve Ilardi from our new Mental Health podcast.

If you would like to hear other episodes in this series (including ADHD 101, Depression 101 and Anxiety 101) please check out https://mentalhealth.fm/

Other than that thanks so much to everyone who made this series possible and I really hope it's a useful tool for you and the people you care about.

— Matt