Ryan explains how computers can help us overcome the human constraints on reading time. The distance of distant reading brings out the scale of history. We chat about the computational study of culture and literary history, and what computers have got to do with creativity. Ryan gives plenty of exciting examples from his research. He talks about telling the history of words like ‘culture’, capturing a geography of emotions of London, and the question of what Jane Austen really tells us about what Mr Darcy looks like. We also hear about Prosodic, a tool Ryan developed for metrical-phonological annotation (give it a try on one of Shakespeare’s sonnets – or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!).

Dr Ryan Heuser is a research fellow at King’s College at the University of Cambridge.

Deborah Cameron explains how feminism and linguistics work together and we learn about her experience as a stand-up comedian, too. We chat about the importance of stories and narratives as a powerful way of human thinking. Deborah reminds us to critically look at how repeated narratives get normalised, as in the influence of folklore on crime reporting. 

We talk about equality, training targeted at women, and systemic challenges for feminism. Deborah shares advice on public engagement, the impact of linguistics, and the value of writing textbooks. She describes linguistics as an eye opener of culture and social relations. It is a way to think about lived experience – which sometimes can include a man in a potato suit.

Deborah Cameron is Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford. Her books include The Myth of Mars and Venus.

Stephen explains the basic structure of reality in simple terms. We chat about how knowledge is created collectively and how talking and debate are part of the process. Words and actions are closely related, which becomes very clear when Stephen likens certain forms of debate to a blood sport! He shares fascinating examples of the relevance of philosophy to many areas of life, from public health to football. It’s clearly always useful to have a philosopher as a critical friend! Stephen also tells us about his experience as a novelist and his views on systemic historical injustices. When we talk about equality and diversity, I test some very tough questions on him!

You don’t want to miss this!

Stephen Mumford is Professor of Metaphysics at Durham University and author of the novel "Glimpse of Light". 

Julie talks about Shakespeare and adaptation, how he gets used by different times and cultures and what we can learn from his plays about everyday practices. She shares her experience of teaching Shakespeare in the pandemic, where the closure of theatres was not only a historical moment but had become “now”. We chat about the need for languages of the humanities to talk about the climate crisis. We discuss challenges of equality and diversity, and the need to demystify how institutions work. Julie powerfully talks about stories of grief and love, languages of hope, and how theatre is about making things new. She shares with us her own story of getting into Shakespeare, what she learned from travelling the world, and why it’s important to find the longer horizon. She encourages us to use the tools that language offers and to take the opportunity of literature as “a way of thinking it through”. Tune in and give it a try!

Julie Sanders is Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at Newcastle University, and Professor of early modern literature and drama.

Ganna explains how data science can help us understand human behaviour. She talks about different types of biases that affect human behaviour (like when we tend to think we are better drivers than we actually are), how data is biased, too, and how building algorithms needs insights from qualitative research. Ganna gives us lots of examples, including from her work on movies and supporting scriptwriters. She shares her thoughts on diversity in tech, positive change, and powerful story telling. As a behavioural data scientist, Ganna combines economics, psychology and computer science. She is co-author of The Big Bad Bias Book and has just written her first children’s book The Smartest Animal of them All.

Phil shares his thoughts on reading as an aid to living. He talks about the vitality of reading aloud and together in a group. We learn about his work in Liverpool and activities of the Reader. Phil is Emeritus Professor of Literature and Psychology at the University of Liverpool. His most recent books are Reading for Life (OUP, 2020) and with Fiona Magee, Arts for Health: Reading (Emerald, 2020).