Shelf Healing

This episode introduces UCL's new MASc (Master of Arts and Science) in Creative Health. Rebecca Markwick chat with The Rt Hon. Lord Alan Howarth of Newport CBE and Professor Helen Chatterjee MBE who have spent many years working and researching in the area of Creative Health. We discuss what Creative Health is, how it can help people, and what the new Masters degree will cover.

For more information and to access the transcript: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/shelf-healing/2021/05/13/work-life-ucl-masc-in-creative-health-with-prof-helen-chaterjee-lord-alan-howarth/

Date of episode recording: 2021-05-13
Duration: 46:25
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Rebecca Markwick
Guests: Professor Helen Chatterjee and Lord Alan Howarth

Rebecca Markwick chats with the delightful Ian Livingstone, games legend. Co-founder of Games Workshop, co-creater of the Fighting Fantasy genre of books, videogames star who brought us the brilliant Lara Croft. We chat all about the therapeutic effects of reading, how he and Steve Jackson created an entirely new genre of books that encouraged children to read and increased literacy rates. He shares some amusing stories about the launch of the first book and how they are still in print today. We also discuss co-writing, how important games are for critical thinking, and why having a sense of agency is so important when engaging in media.

For more information and to access the transcript: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/shelf-healing/2021/05/18/ian-livingstone/

 Date of episode recording: 2021-05-18
 Duration: 32:00
 Language of episode: English
 Presenter:Rebecca Markwick
 Guests: Ian Livingstone
 Producer: Rebecca Markwick (also Editor); Dr Samantha Rayner

Rebecca Markwick chats with the wonderful Audioverse Award winner and multiple Hugo and BFA finalist pop culture journalist and podcaster Alasdair Stuart all about the therapeutic effects of reading, consuming media, and writing about your favourite things. This is a fun lively chat that goes from magicians Penn and Teller all the way to The Abyss, stopping via Nick Cage and a Dalek Escape Room. All in all a wonderful insight into the perspective of a pop culture journalist writing on very popular IP with steadfast and vocal fans.

For more information and to access the transcript: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/shelf-healing/2021/05/25/alasdair-stuart/  

 Date of episode recording: 2021-05-25
 Duration: 40:03
 Language of episode: English
 Presenter:Rebecca Markwick
 Guests: Alasdair Stuart
 Producer: Rebecca Markwick (also Editor); Dr Samantha Rayner

Illustrator and bookseller Tamsin Rosewell joins Rebecca Markwick to talk about her experiences of reading and how she made the move into bookselling and illustration. She shares her deep love of non-fiction and how the speed at which you read has no bearing on how good a book is. We chat about parcel hogs, window displays, and whether Blake's Tyger was in fact an epic cat.

For more information and to access the transcript: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/shelf-healing/2021/11/09/tamsin-rosewell-interview/  

 Date of episode recording: 2021-11-09
 Duration: 36:45
 Language of episode: English
 Presenter: Rebecca Markwick
 Guests: Tamsin Rosewell
 Producer: Rebecca Markwick (also Editor); Dr Samantha Rayner 

Rebecca Markwick chats with Chair of the Hay Literary Festival Caroline Michel all about the festival in all its forms across the globe. We discuss the move to digital online festivals, the success of the festival in multiple countries, the difficulty in discoverability of events in an online setting, and how wonderful authors and speakers are. We also chat about the therapeutic effects of reading and books, and how wide ranging the Hay Festival talks and authors are across multiple languages.

For more information and to access the transcript: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/shelf-healing/2021/05/27/hay-festival-with-chair-caroline-michel/ 

Date of episode recording: 2021-05-27
Duration: 35:11
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Rebecca Markwick
Guests: Caroline Michel
Producer: Rebecca Markwick (also Editor); Dr Samantha Rayner

A lively and entertaining interview with Professor John Mullan about therapeutic reading and his very favourite authors Charles Dickens and Janes Austen. John takes us on a deep dive into what we can enjoy in literature and how he finds humour to be the very best comfort read possible. We travel through literature from Shakespeare, stopping at 18th century literature, then right though to modern day authors and thrillers.

For more information and to access the transcript: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/shelf-healing/2021/06/08/prof-john-mullan/ 

 Date of episode recording: 2021-06-08
 Duration: 36:34
 Language of episode: English
 Presenter: Rebecca Markwick
 Guests: Professor John Mullan 

Rebecca Markwick chats with writer and academic Professor Sunny Singh all about translations, why representation is needed and how important it is to see other people's stories. We also chat about the Jhalak Prize, whether teaching creative pursuits is therapeutic, and how powerful the stories and relationships attached to books can be.

For more information and to access the transcript: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/shelf-healing/2021/11/16/professor-sunny-singh-interview/ 

 Date of episode recording: 2021-11-16T00:00:00Z
 Duration: 39:29
 Language of episode: English
 Presenter:Rebecca Markwick
 Guests: Professor Sunny Singh
 Producer: Rebecca Markwick (also Editor); Dr Samantha Rayner 

This week UCL's Vice Dean of Wellbeing, Professor Samantha Rayner, chats with Henry Eliot, Creative Editor of Penguin Classics, about his new book. They meander through literary landscapes, how the time of year affects how we perceive stories, why we reach for classics, the wellbeing effects of walking and reading, and how one goes about creating compendium and companion books.

For more information and to access the transcript: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/shelf-healing/2021/11/23/henry-eliot-interview/ 

 Date of episode recording: 2021-11-23
 Duration: 37:40
 Language of episode: English
 Presenter:Dr Samantha Rayner
 Guests: Henry Eliot
 Producer: Rebecca Markwick (also Editor); Dr Samantha Rayner 

Rebecca Marwick chats with cartoonist, illustrator and writer Tom Gauld all about drawing, writing, and creating witty comics. We also chat about his new book The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess which he wrote and illustrated. An interesting insight into the mind of a very busy creator!

For more information and to access the transcript: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/shelf-healing/2021/11/30/tom-gauld-interview/  

 Date of episode recording: 2021-11-30
 Duration: 26:08
 Language of episode: English
 Presenter: Rebecca Markwick
 Guests: Tom Gauld
 Producer: Rebecca Markwick (also Editor); Dr Samantha Rayner 

Rebecca Marwick chats to prolific and award winning author Marcus Sedgwick all about his writing process, the therapuetic effects of writing, and how important reading can be for mental wellbeing. We also discuss Marcus' research into illness and writers and how illness has affected his writing practice, alongside his as yet unpublished book on chronic illness.

For more information and to access the transcript: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/shelf-healing/2021/12/07/marcus-sedgwick-interview/

 Date of episode recording: 2021-12-07
 Duration: 47:46
 Language of episode: English
 Presenter:Rebecca Markwick
 Guests: Marcus Sedgwick
 Producer: Rebecca Markwick (also Editor); Dr Samantha Rayner