Nostalgia Interviews with Chris Deacy

My guest this week, for my 200th Nostalgia Interview, is Christina Kim. It was terrific to catch up with Christina, who is Senior Lecturer in Linguistics, before I left the University of Kent in July 2024.

Christina begins by remembering the visa issues that consumed her time upon arriving at Kent just over a decade ago and how it took a while to work out who everybody was in the School of European Culture and Languages at the time.

Christina grew up in Los Angeles and went to university in Boston and was doing a postdoc in Chicago before moving to the UK. Christina discusses how she had not lived outside the US before moving to Canterbury.

She has a linguistics, psychology and cognitive science background and we talk about how there are different sides to ourselves that define us in different ways. Christina also discusses the allure of going to another countries and how Canterbury feels very different from California.

Christina reflects on growing up in LA and the dimensions with which it is possible to connect with people. In turn, I refer to my experience of walking on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2002 and how it didn’t relate to the Hollywood of my imagination.

Now that Christina lives outside of LA, she can see how it’s perceived, and why people have polarizing opinions of the place, and she remembers trips to different types of cinemas around LA. Christina insightfully discusses how this is her nostalgia now but that she couldn’t have known at the time that she would be nostalgic about this period. We reflect on what nostalgia means in this context.

We talk about the possibility of reframing and inserting ourselves back into our pasts, and Christina brings up a particular memory she has relating to The Bodyguard. We talk about the different lenses through which we look at the past, how we interact in different social contexts, whether there is anything we have to prove to others e.g. from our childhood, and whether other people have moved on in the same way we have, and so whether it is healthy to ‘go back’.

Then, at the end of the interview, we talk about whether it is possible to be nostalgic about negative experiences and we find out why Christina is more of a looking back than a looking forward type of person.

My guest this week is Eleni Kapogianni who I have known for about a decade. Eleni lectures in Linguistics at the University of Kent, and we talk about the big role that film (and film dialogue) plays in her research. Storytelling and fiction is a big hobby for Eleni, and we discuss the permeable nature of the work-life balance and find out about her work in pragmatics and discourse analysis, and how discourse is shaped by societal trends.

Eleni talks about growing up in a seaside town in Greece and living on her grandparents’ farm. Her parents are both academics, her mother is a Philosophy Professor and her dad’s area is Politics. Eleni was taken to Philosophy conferences at a young age, and we learn that she knew from when she was a child that she wanted to be a teacher.

She did her MPhil and PhD in Cambridge before coming to Kent, and Eleni reflects on how different Linguistics conferences are now compared to the Philosophy ones she went to as a child.

We talk about filmic representations of our professions and about the role of music and identity. Eleni has always loved radio as a medium. She didn’t have TV when growing up and Eleni reflects on the magical and confessional nature of radio, with a community coming together. And, she talks about the importance to her these days of podcasts.

We find out what Eleni’s younger self would think about what she is doing now, and vice versa. We learn that her best friend from when she was young is (and always has been) a sheep herder and that Eleni is the only one from her village who went away.

Then, at the end of the interview, we find out why Eleni is both a looking back and a looking forward type of person.

My guest this week is Gabriel Morris, Video Journalist at KMTV. We begin by talking about our Cardiff connection, and learn that Gabriel, who is originally from Hertfordshire, studied Geography in Liverpool and went into broadcast journalism. We find out where the spark for broadcast journalism came from, having grown up as a child with watching BBC Breakfast News each morning.

Like me, Gabriel used to pretend he was reading the news from teletext. We also learn why Gabriel likes to watch himself back, and he gives away one of his tricks of the trade.

Gabriel talks about his hospital radio work in Liverpool which he did for nearly two years up until the pandemic, and about the music he played and the on-air puzzles he did with the listeners. He has also done student radio, and he built his own studio in his student bedroom and was involved with ‘mission impossible’ challenges.

We learn that he would like one day to return to radio, and we hear Gabriel’s thoughts on zoo radio and find out what happened once when Gabriel left the station without handing in the key.

We talk about the intimacy element of radio and the role of podcasts. I explain too why I prefer live radio, and Gabriel talks about why it can work even better when things go wrong.

We find out that one of Gabriel’s reports was once picked up by The Sun and Gabriel reflects on how at the age of 15 he had interviewed James Cleverly, Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.

Then, towards the end of the interview, we discuss whether Gabriel knew what path he was on when he was younger (we find out that his dream job was to be a pilot) and we learn whether he is a looking back or forward type of person and how doing the interview has made him rethink his answer to that question.

My guest this week is actor and stage combat instructor Duncan Woodruff who did a History degree at the University of Kent about fifteen years ago. We learn that Duncan had a plan from when he was at school to go into acting, and that his work in fight directing was more serendipitous.

Duncan used to take part in the Dickens Festival Play every year in Broadstairs, and we talk about the relation between the director and the actor and the way actors can interact on a stage in a way they can’t in a film with an audience. Duncan also discusses how the editor can change the way in which the actor comes across.

We talk about his film Occupied (Bruce Partleton, 2024) and how it developed from the original short, and discuss the various different components which make it work, and how the audience can play detective.

We learn why Duncan is not such a fan of method acting, and we talk about the role of fiction, and we find out about Duncan’s favourite scene from Occupied.

We find out why Duncan is a fan of fantasy, in the light of what he was brought up on, and about the specifically Kent connection that inspired his acting bug.

Duncan reveals that auditions can be more nervous than doing the job itself, and that sometimes when one is performing on stage mistakes that happen can lead to a better outcome. He relays a story about what happened when an accident took place during Singin’ in the Rain at Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre and how it worked to the actor’s advantage.

Duncan discusses how the best stories are about us overcoming obstacles, and we hear his thoughts on what happens when actors stop shows to tell audience members off for using their phones, and we find out when it is acceptable to break the fourth wall.

Then, towards the end of the interview, we learn what sort of roles Duncan would like to play, and Duncan reflects on what has changed in the industry in recent times, and he refers to the golden age of performing. We also find out at the end why Duncan looks back in order to look forward.

My guest this week is Sofia Akin, journalist and main anchor at KMTV's Kent Tonight, and (as we learn in the breaking news at the end) who is about to join the BBC as a Broadcast Journalist.

We learn that Sofia, who is from West Sussex, started out as a video journalist, and she talks about how no two days are the same. Sofia gives the example of a current story at the time we recorded the podcast regarding the bombshell defection of Natalie Elphicke MP from the Conservatives to Labour.

Sofia talks about being one’s own worst critic, the role of feedback, and Sofia discusses her upbringing and her educational journey, and we find out how she got into journalism. Originally, she wanted to be a print journalist but Sofia explains why she especially loves telling a story through TV. Sofia also reveals how quickly one needs to learn in such a short amount of time.

We learn that Sofia’s favourite movie is Harry Potter and how she doesn’t get tired of it, and how she also likes to watch films which take her by surprise.

We talk about the ‘Sliding Doors’ and ‘what if’ notion, too, and about the way not having breakfast in the morning can impact in unexpected ways on how one’s day unfolds.

We find out about the teachers who have inspired her, including Rob Bailey at the University of Kent with whom Sofia went on to work at KMTV, and the experience of reporting from the count in Tunbridge Wells at the local elections.

We learn about how Sofia and her peers have been thrown in the deep end due to the quantity of breaking news over recent years, and we discuss the local element to the news in Kent.

Then, at the end of the interview, before finding out whether she is a looking back or a looking forward type of person, we have a big reveal – Sofia announces that she is moving to BBC South East in mid-June.

My guest this week is Andy Richards, Channel Director of KMTV. Born in Guernsey in 1982, Andy reveals what it was like to grow up on a small island. The first film he saw was ET and Andy discusses the importance in those days of Blockbuster Video where he worked when he was 18, and we learn about the migration in that era from VHS to DVD.

We talk about the success of particular films from those days, such as The Shawshank Redemption, the role played by technology including AI, and we talk about the importance of theatre.

Andy also discusses the culture and professions of those who live in the Channel Islands, and how arts and humanities were really important to him.

Andy went pretty much as far away as he could to university, studying for a year at the University of Teesside. He had been told he wasn’t university material, and Andy discusses how Middlesbrough was quite a challenging environment, and quite a contrast to Guernsey, and we find out why he ended up transferring to Chichester.

Andy talks about his work ethic, what he has learned about himself, and what he learned about the poverty he saw around him, and how he got into journalism.

We discover that Andy loved radio but didn’t know he wanted to be a journalist until he became one. Andy talks about an interview that went badly and how the station asked him back and he ended up falling in love with journalism.

Andy also reflects on the nature of management, and why he draws on the analogy of the end of 8 Mile in terms of the importance of owning your own mistakes.

Andy, who also worked for ITV as an onscreen reporter, reveals who his heroes are, and we find out about the decision he took to finally leave Guernsey and how he ended up running KMTV.

Then, towards the end of the interview, I ask Andy whether one can be nostalgic about negative experiences and whether he is a looking back or a looking forward type of person, and Andy ruminates on the future of things at Kent. He discusses how the media world and academia work according to different timescales.

And Andy announces an exclusive on my podcast – that Generation Why, a series I made with KMTV and where I am the lead presenter, is going to be screening on ITV.

My guest this week is Abby Hook, Assistant News Editor, journalist and presenter at KMTV where she has been based for the last two years. Abby talks about the demanding nature of journalism and how you have to love it to do it, and we learn that she grew up regularly doing drama.

Journalism wasn’t the route Abby thought she would originally follow, and she discusses how much she loves learning, and we find out why Abby doesn’t want people to recognize her for doing just one thing.

We talk about the way we present ourselves and the way others will perceive us, and how one gets their personality across when covering a range of stories, as well as about how Abby uses social media as a timeline.

Abby grew up in Surrey, and we learn about her wonderful extended family. We find out about the role that confidence plays in her life and how she originally associated journalism with a profession that people hate.

We talk about the role of the audience, and how Abby will be recognized in the street, and how her nan keeps up with her by watching her on TV of an evening.

We discuss the viewer that we will imagine speaking to when we are on TV, the things that go wrong, and about the notion of being the person who is the ‘centre of attention’, as well as about the role of music and camping growing up, and doing karaoke with her mum which was more nerve-racking than going on TV.

Abby talks candidly about the heartbreaking end of a relationship and how much the experience has taught her, what she has learned about herself, the importance of not losing oneself in a relationship, and having a strong sense of self.

Then, at the end of the interview, we discuss the concept of ‘it’s meant to be’, and Abby reveals why she is a forward-looking type of person and why she has a fear of failure.

My guest this week is Professor Paul Badham who for many years was Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Lampeter, where he began his career in 1973. His own father had done an English degree there before studying Theology at Oxford and whose own writings were influential on Paul.

We find out how Paul got interested in his seminal research on life after death, which hadn’t been a central plank of his studies beforehand. He mentions Penny Sartori’s work in terms of gathering the relevant evidence and we find out about other students of his who have undertaken research on NDEs and the afterlife, including his Canadian students who worked on the care of the dying which brought about a change of emphasis in Paul’s own work in this area.

Paul talks about being a patron of Dignity in Dying and how his work here prompted former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey to change his mind on the topic.

We discuss his media appearances and Paul talks about his regret that he has been associated so much with this particular branch of theology when his interests have spanned the wider area of Christian theology, with world religions being of particular interest to him.

We talk about his own PhD supervisor John Hick and how he made it respectable to talk about issues around parapsychology but that the work was not always seen in this way.

We find out about the funding that was available in the 1990s for students from Turkey to undertake PhDs in the department and we discuss Paul’s stance on the ordination of women and how in many ways he was ahead of his time.

We find out where Paul grew up and that his father was a vicar, and Paul reflects on how it feels as though he grew up into a different world in some respects. He did Theology at Oxford which, he reflects, was quite an old fashioned Christianity-centred degree. He talks about how the parameters of the subject and its relationship to Religious Studies was to change over the years.

We also find out about the way music has impacted on Paul’s life, and how he first met his wife, Linda, in a choir when they were both at Birmingham, and Paul talks about how music is often one of the triggers for religious experience.

We find out also how due to Paul’s health he has turned increasingly to being ‘read to’ via podcasts.

Paul also discusses his work on comparing religious experience in Britain and China, and we find out whether Paul, who was ordained, imagined that he would follow an academic or a church career.

We learn that at Lampeter Paul wanted to move away from the notion that academic theology should be taught only by believers and that other religions should be taught by atheists who were interested in religious studies. He is proud of how world religions were taught by scholars who were both within and from without the faith traditions concerned.

Paul talks about having gone five times to Japan to lecture and about his experience of working across theology and religious studies colleagues at Lampeter. It is all very different from when he arrived in Lampeter as back then everyone was a Christian theologian.

I ask Paul if there was a particular golden age from his time at Lampeter, and Paul reveals what his younger self would think about what he went on to do in his life and career. We also find out at the end of the interview whether Paul is a looking back or a looking forward type of person.

My guest this week is Henrik Schoenefeldt, Professor of Sustainable Architecture, who has been at the University of Kent since 2011. He was at Cambridge prior to moving to Kent and we learn about the role of sustainability in architecture from an historical perspective, such as from the Victorian era.

Henrik grew up in Germany in a former industrial city, a site of industrial heritage, and indeed he grew up in a house on a former industrial site.

Henrik reflects on how Covid and Brexit prompted a lot of thinking regarding identity, including his own future in the UK. He’s working on the largest conservation project in the UK at the Palace of Westminster, and reflects on how far what one does in academic work resonates with our interests as teenagers.

We find out how the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral became a personal story for Henrik as his grandmother was in Dresden during the bombing. It also links to matters of faith, as Henrik recounts.

Henrik discusses how his family did talk about the Second World War and how it shaped their lives, and we talk about the things we once took for granted but which is no longer the prism we would look through, now. We talk about crossing national boundaries and Henrik recounts how he would go on interrail journeys as a teenager, and we see the things we have in common, and how some people today want to go back to those more isolated sovereign units.

We discuss why it is that we come back to things, and we learn about his secondment over the last seven and a half years to Parliament. We find out how Henrik got into this project. We learn that the Palace is a treasure trove for the study of the development of environmental technology and design principles. He has direct access to the underground tunnels etc. in the building.

Musically, we talk about how Henrik was more interested in the popular culture of a previous age when he was growing up, and how he still listens to The Beatles today, and he is aware of the techno scene from his final days of school. He enjoys going to live classical music.

Then, towards the end of the interview, we find out whether Henrik’s younger self would be surprised to see the journey he has taken. We learn that many of his peers at a Steiner school were also interested in the environmental interests he has. And, we find out why Henrik is somebody who looks back in order to look forward.

My guest this week is Sabrina Mei-Li Smith who lectures in Creative Writing at De Montfort University in Leicester. Sabrina has written a novel set in the mid-1990s and some of the research behind her novel is heavily connected to the themes of nostalgia and identity. 

We learn about the way Sabrina examines themes of race and gender within the accepted narrative that surrounds the rise and demise of Britpop, the emergence of 1994's Criminal Justice Act, and the standardization and neutralization of alternative lifestyles. 

Sabrina also has an exhibition as a work in progress, which focuses on her novel's research materials. This exhibition consists of archive materials from NME, Melody Maker, and fanzines as a method of communication before the widespread use of the internet.

Sabrina talks about the hidden histories of mixed race performers and how we only tend to remember one accepted narrative, and we discuss what has changed over the decades and the fake and distorted memories from those eras, including the extent to which memory is a fallible tool.

We talk about the differences between autobiographies and biographies, and the way cover songs encapsulate nostalgia.

Sabrina also talks about Walter Benjamin’s collection of arcades in Paris and how until 10 years ago all of the characters in her own writing were white, female and middle class. We learn the reasons for this, and then, at the end of the interview, we discuss how we might still be in the mindset of our teenage selves.