Cassandra talks all about horror, researching gore, the anxiety surrounding releasing new work, and their inclusion of Malaysian folklore and mythos in their writing.

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Show Notes

TW: Horror and gore

Horror writer extraordinaire Cassandra Khaw joins me on the podcast this week chatting all about researching for their visceral horror writing, the impact and inclusion of Malaysian mythos and folklore in their work, and how the pandemic has affected not only their daily life, but also their writing. We chat about how horror can be a comforting experience for the reader and how the writing process can be cathartic. Also haggis and the boob ghost Hantu Tetek.

Cassandra has two new books coming out this year which are linked below.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth available 17th October
The All-Consuming World available 21st September 2021
Cassandra’s website
Cassandra’s Twitter

Things mentioned in the episode:
Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
Rupert Wong: Cannibal Chef by Cassandra Khaw
Butcher Bird by Richard Kadrey
Sophie Kinsella
Frances Hardinge
Holly Black
Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones
Blindsight by Peter Watts
Bloodtide by Melvyn Burgess
Travelogues: Vignettes from Trains in Motion by Kathleen Jennings
Saint Death’s Daughter by C. S. E. Cooney
Desdemona and the Deep by C. S. E. Cooney
These Deathless Bones by Cassandra Khaw (link to audio)
Don’t Turn On The Lights by Cassandra Khaw (link to audio)

I chat with Professor Gloria Mark and Tyler Shores about digital wellbeing.

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Show Notes

I chat with the marvellous Professor Gloria Mark and Tyler Shores all about the idea of digital wellbeing. We take a dive into the world of digital shorthand, how emotions can be contagious over digital media and the effects that task switching has on the brain. Tyler chats about how multitasking and busyness can be seen as a sort of badge of honour and why that is problematic, and we end up with a fun discussion on the value of boredom and what we all do with our browser tabs.

Gloria’s website
Tyler’s website

Things mentioned in the episode:
The Zeigarnik Effect (handy little article on this)
Browser tab parking (handy little study)
BBC values based wellbeing framework
The Now Habit by Neil Fiore
Tabs by Ohm-I

Martin chats about open access and health, what therapeutic reading actually is and how Martin’s inner critic is always with him when he reads.

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Show Notes

This week I chat with Prof Martin Eve about what therapeutic reading actually means when you look hard at it and how writing can be significantly more therapeutic at times. We discuss the wellbeing benefits of Open Access publishing, the fears surrounding it, and how entwined the nature of the literary critic is for Martin when he reads.

Works and Authors mentioned in the episode:
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Brett Easton-Ellis
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchen
See Under: Love by David Grossman
China Mieville
The Lord of The Rings by JRR Tolkien
Civilisation and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud
Lesley Thompson
Rosewater (The Wormwood Trilogy) by Tade Thompson
The Day of the Triffids by Jeff Wyndham
Distant Horizons by Ted Underwood
Redlining Culture by Richard Jean So
Toni Morrison

An insightful discussion about Creative Health and UCL’s new Master of Arts and Sciences in Creative Health with two fabulous guests heavily invested in a more holistic approach to health and with a great love of the arts.

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Show Notes
This episode introduces UCL’s new MASc (Master of Arts and Science) in Creative Health.  I 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.

Links to everything mentioned in this episode
UCL MASc in Creative Health
National Centre for Creative Health
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing – Creative Health:The Arts for Health and Wellbeing
Artlift
National Academy for Social Prescribing
Creative Families
Staying Well Project

I chat with Stella and Sasha about the balance between being a Dean, being a researcher, and how the UCL faculties of Arts and Humanities and Social and Historical Sciences have coped during the pandemic. We also chat about department pets.

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Show Notes
With me today are UCL’s Dean of Arts and Humanities, Stella Bruzzi, and the Dean of Social and Historical Sciences, Sasha Roseneil.
We talk about the difficulties of balancing work and life, how research fits into the role of a Dean, the effects of the pandemic on academic life and research, and the joy of being allowed to go out swimming again. We also talk about Pebbles the Warwick campus cat, Indiana Bones UCL’s Archaeology therapy dog and how all departments should have a pet. Sasha talks about her lovely dog, and Stella talks about her two lockdown kittens. We discuss plans for returning to physical university and how important having a holiday is, especially this year.
This is an enlightening and fun episode that hopes to give insight into the inner workings of being a university Dean in a time of great change.