The Comfortable Spot

Today I'm joined by Justin Middleton. Justin has had a deep love of rugby since his childhood, but unlike many he chose a different path to playing and moved into the world of commentating. With years of experience commentating on rugby games in South Africa, Justin is now based in Ireland and is a regular voiceover for many national and international games. Since he is such an excellent communicator, I invited Justin not just to talk about rugby, but also to lend his experience in his profession to other aspiring commentators, so I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy to stay with us.

By accessing this podcast, you acknowledge that the entire contents and design of this podcast are the property of Ken Sweeney, or used by Ken Sweeney with permission, and are protected under Irish and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this podcast may save and use information contained in the podcast only for personal or other non-commercial, educational purposes. No other use, including, without limitation, reproduction, retransmission or editing, of this podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Ken Sweeney.

Today my guest is Daniel Whiteson. Daniel is a Physics professor at UC Irvine, and a fellow of the American Physical Society. He does research using the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and together with his co-host Jorge Cham, he is also behind the popular science podcast Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe. Daniel is a wonderfully engaging guest and we had some laughs along the way, so I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy to stay with us.

By accessing this podcast, you acknowledge that the entire contents and design of this podcast are the property of Ken Sweeney, or used by Ken Sweeney with permission, and are protected under Irish and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this podcast may save and use information contained in the podcast only for personal or other non-commercial, educational purposes. No other use, including, without limitation, reproduction, retransmission or editing, of this podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Ken Sweeney.

Today I'm joined by academic and author Professor Jennie Batchelor. Jennie has written and edited several books on women's writing, 18th century dress and early women's magazines, so I thought Jennie would be a wonderful guest to discover more about how women were perceived in 18th century media and fashion, so I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy to stay with us.

By accessing this podcast, you acknowledge that the entire contents and design of this podcast are the property of Ken Sweeney, or used by Ken Sweeney with permission, and are protected under Irish and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this podcast may save and use information contained in the podcast only for personal or other non-commercial, educational purposes. No other use, including, without limitation, reproduction, retransmission or editing, of this podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Ken Sweeney.

Today my guest is Robert (Bo) Jacobs. Robert is a historian of Science and Technology at the Hiroshima Peace Institute and Graduate School of Peace Studies at Hiroshima City University. He has published widely on the interface of nuclear technologies with human beings and communities. His book Nuclear Bodies: The Global Hibakusha was published by Yale University Press in 2022. Nuclear weapons have once again come into the spotlight with the ongoing war in Ukraine, and I thought it would be useful to get a wide picture of the history and future of these weapons, so I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy to stay with us.

By accessing this podcast, you acknowledge that the entire contents and design of this podcast are the property of Ken Sweeney, or used by Ken Sweeney with permission, and are protected under Irish and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this podcast may save and use information contained in the podcast only for personal or other non-commercial, educational purposes. No other use, including, without limitation, reproduction, retransmission or editing, of this podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Ken Sweeney.

Today my guest is journalist Cristina Maza. Cristina has reported from countries such as Cambodia, India, Serbia and Turkey. Currently based in Washington DC, Cristina writes frequently about foreign policy, international affairs, national security and politics. I've always had a deep interest in the unique sphere of US politics and was delighted to have Cristina on to chat, so I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy to stay with us.

By accessing this podcast, you acknowledge that the entire contents and design of this podcast are the property of Ken Sweeney, or used by Ken Sweeney with permission, and are protected under Irish and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this podcast may save and use information contained in the podcast only for personal or other non-commercial, educational purposes. No other use, including, without limitation, reproduction, retransmission or editing, of this podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Ken Sweeney.

Today my guest is author and broadcaster Clare Mulley. Clare's work primarily focuses on female experience during the Second World War and in this episode, we chat about two of Clare's books, The Women Who Flew for Hitler, which tells the story of Nazi Germany’s only two female test pilots, Hanna Reitsch and Melitta von Stauffenberg, and The Spy Who Loved, which is the story of Polish-born British special agent Krystyna Skarbek aka Christine Granville. Clare is a wonderful storyteller and our chat is full of interesting talking points, so I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy to stay with us.

By accessing this podcast, you acknowledge that the entire contents and design of this podcast are the property of Ken Sweeney, or used by Ken Sweeney with permission, and are protected under Irish and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this podcast may save and use information contained in the podcast only for personal or other non-commercial, educational purposes. No other use, including, without limitation, reproduction, retransmission or editing, of this podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Ken Sweeney.

Today my guest is motoring journalist Bob Flavin. Bob has a real passion for cars and with over 13 million viewers on his YouTube channel, Bob is one of the most popular motoring journalists in  Ireland. I have a great passion for automobiles and was looking forward to chatting with Bob, so I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy to stay with us.

By accessing this podcast, you acknowledge that the entire contents and design of this podcast are the property of Ken Sweeney, or used by Ken Sweeney with permission, and are protected under Irish and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this podcast may save and use information contained in the podcast only for personal or other non-commercial, educational purposes. No other use, including, without limitation, reproduction, retransmission or editing, of this podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Ken Sweeney.

Today my guest is Professor Pat O'Connor. Professor O'Connor is Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Limerick and Visiting Professor, Geary Institute, at the University College Dublin. She is an expert in gender studies and women's rights, which has made her a leading commentator on women's issues and society in general. I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with her, so I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy to stay with us.

By accessing this podcast, you acknowledge that the entire contents and design of this podcast are the property of Ken Sweeney, or used by Ken Sweeney with permission, and are protected under Irish and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this podcast may save and use information contained in the podcast only for personal or other non-commercial, educational purposes. No other use, including, without limitation, reproduction, retransmission or editing, of this podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Ken Sweeney.

Today my guest is producer and presenter Martin Quibell. Martin presents Pods Like Us in which he chats with fellow independent podcasters about their shows. Having been a fan of podcasts for over a decade, Martin decided to produce his own series and blog that helps to promote podcasts that he not only likes, but thinks need valuable promotion. Martin was and is a great supporter of The Comfortable Spot and I was keen to have him as a guest to not only find out more about his show, but also to thank him on behalf of fellow independent podcasters around the world who benefit every week from his work, so I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy to say with us.

By accessing this podcast, you acknowledge that the entire contents and design of this podcast are the property of Ken Sweeney, or used by Ken Sweeney with permission, and are protected under Irish and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this podcast may save and use information contained in the podcast only for personal or other non-commercial, educational purposes. No other use, including, without limitation, reproduction, retransmission or editing, of this podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Ken Sweeney.

Today my guest is author Becky Holmes. Becky is an influencer who works tirelessly to expose online perpetrators of romance fraud. Romance fraud is when somebody uses the ruse of a relationship to extort money. Through social media Becky publishes her interactions with the perpetrators and exposes their false identities in an effort to raise awareness of this growing problem. I was really happy to have Becky on as a guest to discuss her campaign in detail and also to find out more about her forthcoming book Keanu Reeves Is NOT In Love With You. So I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy to stay with us.

By accessing this podcast, you acknowledge that the entire contents and design of this podcast are the property of Ken Sweeney, or used by Ken Sweeney with permission, and are protected under Irish and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this podcast may save and use information contained in the podcast only for personal or other non-commercial, educational purposes. No other use, including, without limitation, reproduction, retransmission or editing, of this podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Ken Sweeney.