In this episode, Professor Peter Shirlow, the Blair Chair and Director of the University of Liverpool's Institute of Irish Studies, talks about his life, his values and his work at the coal-face of "conflict transformation" in Northern Ireland.

We start with his family background in Lambeg and the values he grew up with, moving onto his adopted city of Liverpool, before swinging back into the bit in the middle: his role talking to Loyalist and Republican prisoners in the 90s as part of the process towards the ending of the terror campaigns.

On the way, we talk about what punk, post-punk and ska music meant to Peter as a teenager and how he sees himself culturally these days. He reflects on common misunderstandings about Northern Ireland and about the unionist community there in particular, challenging the lazy, wide-of-the-mark received wisdom.

Peter's expertise as an academic, on top of his first hand experiences, bring a breadth and depth of insight into Northern Ireland society that few can match. And he likes a story.