The Backstage Academic

Myself and fellow sociologist Richard Remelie discuss an event we attended from the esteemed AC Grayling, one of the most eminent philosophers and authors in the realm of atheism (although he writes on a range of other subjects too). We analysis/review Graylings arguments for atheism and cover a wide range of ideas he covers in his lecture, e.g. his thoughts on inductive and deductive reasoning, uncertainty and the nature of knowledge, as well as reflecting on what atheism actually is. This lecture took place at the Manchester Meeting House and was run in collaboration with Atheism UK and the Great Manchester Humanists (links below to learn more).

Link to one of his most popular books below:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meaning-Things-Applying-Philosophy-life/dp/0753813599/ref=sr_1_1?crid=25LHPH0FL5LTX&keywords=ac+grayling&qid=1677604699&sprefix=ac+gr%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-1

Full talk can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsWJ-evms4s

Humanist link - gmh.humanist.org.uk

Joined again by my co-host and fellow bookworm Andrea to review another fascinating book. This time we are exploring the weird and wonderful world of pleasure and pain. Why do we seek it? What are the types? What connection exists between pain and our sense of life purpose? What explains our fascination with suffering in fiction? This episode is filled with insights that will not only help you understand your own interval processes better, but also allow you make better choices in your own life, towards happiness and well-being (although even more can be found in the book). We follow Paul Bloom as he takes us through the science, philosophy and morality of this poorly understood aspect to the human condition. 

A copy of his book can be found here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sweet-Spot-Pleasures-Suffering-Meaning/dp/0062910566

In a change to our normal programming I, your host, is interviewed by Kim on her new Podcast the Accessible Academic (link below) about my own research. Kim is a Senior Lecturer of Health and Social Justice in the Department of Nursing at MMU. For those that don't know I look into the intersection between homelessness and gender and how radically different your experience can be because of it. Kim also asks me about the struggles of making it to a PhD as a working class student and the challenges of being one e.g. the social isolation. We delve into a few interesting intellectual cul-de-sacs e.g. researcher ethics and the sources of our motivation. I really enjoyed appearing on her show and encourage of all you to check it out going forward. Please enjoy anyway!

You can access Kim's Podcast here:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3q2cuutNuhMPcpfdbGTAAy

Or Follow her on Twitter here:

@DrKimHeyes

Denis Rader aka ‘BTK’ (bind, torture, kill) was one of America’s more prolific serial killers, leaving a path of murder and destruction decades long. Join me and my co host Andrea Nicklin as we review Kerri Rawson’s book, which is the daughters biographical account of growing up with a serial killer. We discuss the family history/dynamics, early signs of pathology, role that religion plays, some of details of the gruesome murders, and some of the psychology of the killer that is revealed through BTK's prison correspondence with his daughter (and much more).

In this episode I virtually sit down with Darren McGarvey to do a deep dive on his new book The Social Distance Between Us: How Remote Politics Wrecked Britain. In one of my favourite conversations to date we explore all the nuances of class. Darren is already an Orwell prize winning bestselling author, due to his last publication Poverty Safari, as well being a columnist and film maker for the BBC. We discuss, the myth of the meritocracy and the complexities of privilege, how language is used to divide and discriminate, our implicit and explicit class identifiers, working class attitudes to authority and the fascinating idea of class deference. We hit on how certain communities are actively constructed differently to exclude certain populations and there is also a lot of interesting crossover with my own research on homelessness/addiction. Darren also shares his hilarious assessment of our political situation and the political class more generally. Apologises there is a little swearing in this one, but as the old saying goes…swearing is just punctuation where I come from.

Copies of his new book can be purchased from his website (link below).

https://darrenmcgarvey.com/

In this episode I am Joined by Richard Remelie, a PhD researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University, who is based in the department of education. How you ever wondered why some people are motivated to climb mountains, while others are only motivated to watch others climb mountains? - Well wonder no longer. In this episode Richard talks to us about his amazing research into understanding relationships between motivations and human flourishing, in the context of education and the student experience. We talk about the types of motivation e.g., intrinsic and extrinsic, the model he used to understand this mystery i.e. self-determination theory (SDT), the importance of reflexivity, and the differences between our physical and psychological needs. In exploring this subject, we also touch on the effect of poverty and class etc on students’ educational journeys, as well as the impact that culture can have on determining what’s important in human flourishing (collectivist versus individualist societies). Richard also talks about his experiences of working for the House of Commons Education Committee, and the difficulties associated with making changes in our political system. 

More info can be found about Richard here:

https://www.mmu.ac.uk/alumni/meet/richard-remelie.php

https://twitter.com/richardremelie?lang=en-GB

In this episode co-host Andrea and I are reviewing a recent event we attended, The Psychology of Serial Killers. The event blog is below, please enjoy. Apologies for the sound quality though, Andrea's laptop decided to end it's own life prior to recording this episode. 

"A fascinating event by forensics lecturer Jennifer Rees to explore one of Forensic Psychology’s most troubling topics. During this talk, you will discover how serial killers are classified. What are the differences between lust killers like the BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) Killer and visionary killers such as David Berkowitz (Son of Sam)? You will also investigate the phenomenon of killer couples such as Fred and Rose West and the Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, as well exploring the Folie à deux syndrome a.k.a ‘shared psychosis’."

Prevent is one of four limbs of the government’s anti-terrorism policy. It is directed at behaviours and ideas that the government deems to be extreme and to represent a possible ‘gateway’ to violent offences. The Prevent duty applies in schools, colleges and universities and many other public spaces. It professes to safeguard individuals and funnel those at risk to programmes/interventions of de-radicalisation. In light of the Government’s upcoming Independent Review under William Shawcross, many have voiced opposition to this policy, arguing that Prevent entails marginalisation, racism and problematises certain ‘communities’ that are perceived as being against ‘British Values’. Today I am joined by Prof John Holmwood and Dr Gavin Bailey, who are both counter terrorism experts as we discuss the future of prevent, it’s criticisms and the recently published People’s Review of Prevent. We also talk about John’s book (together with Therese O’Toole) on the Birmingham Trojan Horse affair and the problems of intervening in a pre-criminal space with the most vulnerable in our society.

The report can be found here:

https://peoplesreviewofprevent.org/

John’s book can be found here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Countering-Extremism-British-Schools-Birmingham-ebook/dp/B0772TGVN2