In this episode, Giorgia O’Donoghue, the founder of Religion Outside the University, will be speaking with Dr Joseph Webster about his ethnographic research at the University of Cambridge, which was instrumental in repealing Scotland’s Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act (2012). 

In this episode, Gaelle Biguenet will be speaking with Dr Maryyum Mehmood about Islam and the debate around Islamophobia.

Dr Maryyum Mehmood is a ‘pracademic’ (practical academic) whose work sits at the interface between academia, grassroots and policy. She is the Founding Director of The SHIFT (Social Harmony, Intercultural & Faith Training) organisation, where she facilitates pan-sector partnerships and provides consultancy, advisory, and ethical leadership training to enhance religious and cultural literacy, and tackle spiritual abuse, gender-based violence and racism. Maryyum holds a PhD in War Studies from King’s College London, as well as a masters degree in South Asia and Global Security.

"These issues surrounding freedom of speech and the responsibility to protect and safeguard people and minoritized groups especially from physical acts of violence [...] transcend the debate around Islamophobia and gendered Islamophobia and I hope it gives us a window into understanding these issues in a broader sense."

Giorgia O'Donoghue is the founder of Religion Outside the University (ROU); a student-led seminar series exploring all the ways that religion interacts with the modern world. She will share the journey that led her to create this project as well as some of the obstacles she encountered along the way. It was during a difficult time, concluding with Giorgia leaving her job, that she was given an opportunity to start a seminar series. 

"It's been an incredible three years and I'm just looking forward to continuing on that journey and it's quite sweet that ROU is coming along with me." 

Sara, Lucy, and Saffron talk about current news, political issues, and how religion is entangled in all of it. Then, they talk stress emailing George, the TRS programme coordinator, the many essays they have to do, and the many mitigating circumstance forms they've filed.

This week, Sara is joined by Giorgia for essay tips, a nerd-off, engaging with the material, being best friends with your syllabus, printing too much, maximising office hours, having many many drafts, and getting that first-class essay that you deserve!

Sara talks to 2nd Year Religion, Politics, and Society student Lucy about her unconventional entry to King's, doing GCSEs with teen mums, inconvenient first-year living situation, submitting a complaint to King's, and the gaps that are created when we don't talk about religion.

This week, Sara talks to 3rd-year Religion, Philosophy, and Ethics student Gaelle about studying TRS at King's, her dissertation based on Ingmar Bergman's Persona, coursework struggles, and future plans!

Today Sara talks to Saffron, a 2nd-year Religion, Politics, and Society student, about her faith and TRS experience at King's, as well as navigating the intersections of religion, faith, and politics in our reflection of our seminar with Tamanda Walker. 

In our first episode, Sara talks to fellow RPE student and TRS Student Seminar Series captain Giorgia about their hopes for the series, why they chose to do TRS at King's, and first-year memories.