Cuppa Tea with Richard

Richard shares a deeply personal cup of tea with his mum, Rosemary. Together they reflect on family, disability, resilience, and love. Their conversation covers everything from raising two children with learning disabilities to wartime memories, dinner party guests, and the importance of never giving up on people. A moving, funny, and heartfelt podcast.

Richard chats with Darren Chapman, runner-up for Kingston University’s People’s Award for Innovation. From high-risk labs and inclusive practice to fitness and mentoring, this warm and uplifting conversation is full of humour, insight, and inspiration.

Richard is joined by Thuy Mason in the 15th episode of his podcast. Thuy is a senior lecturer at Kingston University and it the director of the masters in Pharmacy course. She is the winner of the Kingston University People’s Award for Inclusivity and is a driving force behind the university’s BAME staff network. Thuy joins Richard to have a chat about her work at Kingston University, some of the star students she has taught and how she likes to relax.

New Episode: Supporting Students with Purpose – A Conversation with Jane Hargreaves

In this episode, Richard speaks with Jane Hargreaves, Student Engagement Manager at Kingston University and recipient of last year’s People Award in the Ambitious category.

Jane shares her insights on how universities can support students through every stage of their journey. She explains why some students struggle with attendance, what her team does to help them, and how it feels when students you’ve supported finally get their degree.

Tune in for an inspiring discussion on what happens behind the scenes at Kingston University.

New Episode Drop!

Richard sits down with the brilliant and hilarious Mel Giedroyc for a heartwarming and witty conversation that covers everything from the glitz of the Eurovision Song Contest to the real talk on writing books, royal shenanigans, and dream dinner party guests. Their instant connection and infectious humour are guaranteed to lift your spirits.

✨ Plus, don’t miss the shout-out to Richard’s moving book (for which Mel wrote the foreword) “Don’t Put Us Away”—a powerful memoir you can explore here: https://www.routledge.com/Dont-Put-Us-Away-Memories-of-a-Man-with-Learning-Disabilities/Keagan-Bull/p/book/9781915080417

In this episode, Richard sits down for a cuppa with Jim Blair, a consultant nurse with over 20 years of experience supporting people with a learning disability in a range of roles and settings. Jim shares his insights on improving care, talks about his work with the Special Olympics, and describes his interests outside of work.

In this episode, recorded in Chicago at IASSIDD World Congress 2024, Richard asks Rachael Wanjagua from Kenya about her work with people with intellectual disabilities in rural African communities; inclusive research – and elephants.

Kick off the new year with a fresh episode of Cuppa Tea with Richard! This week, we’re joined by John Casson – former British diplomat who left behind his job at 10 Downing Street to become national leader of the L’Arche community (where people with and without learning disabilities, including Richard, share their lives together) —to explore his inspiring career U-turn and what drives true leadership.

We have arrived in Chicago ahead of the 17th International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IASSID) conference. We have an exciting week ahead of us.

Our first podcast of the week was recorded before our first morning at the conference. We discuss what it means to be here and what is on the agenda for the coming week.

Emily-Handley Cole joins a Cuppa Tea with Richard to discuss how the tragic death of her brother Richard, who has a learning disability, has influenced her life so far. Emily promotes the physical and mental health of people with a learning disability by working as a senior clinical psychologist in the NHS and working as a health improvement insight manager at NHS England on the LeDeR programme. She is a proud mum and avid skydiver; her insight and openness make this a delightful listen.

Twitter: @EmilyHandley_1