Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone

Nina Baker was one of my first Countercurrent guests. In 2014 she described her varied career, from being the first female deck officer in the British Merchant Navy to her PhD in concrete science and her work in university administration. In this Countercurrent Revisited podcast we explore her longstanding fascination with the history of women in engineering.

After a five year apprenticeship as a wood and stone carver Bradford’s (a leading London workshop) in the 1950s, Tony worked at the firm for fifteen years as a journeyman. He then moved to St Paul’s Cathedral as Master Carver. There he was responsible for the cathedral’s extensive conservation and restoration programme and also created new work. In this conversation we explore Tony’s lifelong fascination with the art and craft of carving, inspired by forms in the natural world.

Professor Misha Perouansky is a consultant anaesthetist and experimental neuroscientist in Madison WI, USA. He first took part in Countercurrent 2017. In 2023 he suffered a catastrophic water-skiing accident, leading to a high above-knee amputation of one lower limb and a number of other injuries. In this Countercurrent Revisited conversation we explore Misha’s experience of serious trauma and its impact on his life and career.

Dr Emma Barker is an art historian and academic who teaches and researches at the Open University. She specialises in eighteenth-century French art and she is currently exploring ideas around art and blindness. https://www.open.ac.uk/people/eb38

Anne Desmet RA is a distinguished wood engraver, print maker and Royal Academician. Fascinated by the idea of metamorphosis, her imaginative works often draw on architectural themes. We discuss how her work has evolved over several decades, and how she brings together a wide range of styles and techniques. https://annedesmet.com

The immunologist Andrew George is Professor Emeritus at Imperial College London. In addition to his immunological research, Andrew plays a leading role in developing policy around ethical conduct and regulation of research. He has held many senior positions in universities and the health service and is also a career coach. https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/a.george

Sir Christopher Le Brun PPRA is widely known as a painter, though he also works in other media. From 2011 until 2019 he was President of the Royal Academy of Arts (RA). We discuss his approach to art and the challenges of leading the RA during a time of challenge and redevelopment. https://www.christopherlebrun.co.uk

Quassim Cassam is professor of philosophy at the University of Warwick. He is well known for his work examining terrorism, political extremism, the professional values of general medical practice and the idea of epistemic vice. In this conversation we explore how these strands are interwoven within his career. https://www.quassimcassam.com

Peter Openshaw CBE is a respiratory physician and mucosal immunologist at Imperial College London, where he is Professor of Experimental Medicine at the National Heart and Lung Institute. His because a familiar voice in the media during the Covid-19 pandemic. We discuss how his clinical and research interests intertwine, and how his Quaker principles underpin his approach to clinical practice and experimental work. https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/p.openshaw  

Dr Dan Dworkis is a board-certified emergency physician and Adjunct Professor at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He is Chief Medical Officer at the Mission Critical Team Institute. His book The Emergency Mind: Wiring Your Brain for Performance Under Pressure was published in 2021. In this conversation we explore what it means to deal with uncertainty in situations of crisis. https://keck.usc.edu/faculty-search/daniel-dworkis/