Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone

Ian Shircore combines a career writing books under his own name with his work as a ghost writer for others. After discussing his recent book about the decades-long songwriting partnership of Clive James and Pete Atkin and another about Clive James’s poetry, we explore the world of ghost writing. Ian outlines how he uses his writing skills to capture the authentic voices of people who are not comfortable with the process of creating a book from scratch. https://www.unitedghostwriters.co.uk/profiles/ianshircore/

Equally at home with jazz, classical repertoire and works by contemporary composers, Simon Mulligan is one of the world’s leading pianists. A gifted composer himself, Simon has worked with musicians from many traditions. In this conversation we explore ideas around improvisation, genres and technical skill - and talk about responding to unexpected disasters. http://www.simonmulligan.com  

Dr Sally Frampton is a medical historian who focuses on developments in surgery. Her 2018 book Belly Rippers traces the development of abdominal surgery in the nineteenth century. We discuss our different perspectives on the world of surgery and talk about our work documenting the development of keyhole surgery in the 1980s through simulation-based re-enactment. https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-sally-frampton#/

Paul Craddock’s 2021 book Spare Parts: A Surprising History of Transplants brings together his interests in cultural history, writing and engagement. In this podcast we discuss how he came to write the book and talk about the ideas within it. We look back at our collaborations over many years and explore how our ideas have shaped one another’s thinking. https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/311/311106/spare-parts/9780241370254.html    

Bill Beswick has decades of experience as a top-level sports coach and pioneering sports psychologist. In this podcast we explore his approach to working with diverse teams, asking how the question ‘if a coach supports the players, who supports the coach?’ resonates with clinical practice. https://billbeswick.com

Simon Akam is a British writer and journalist who studied journalism in New York before working all over West Africa as a freelance correspondent. He writes for the Economist’s 1843 magazine and other publications. His 2021 book The Changing of the Guard, telling the inside story of the British Army in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11, has proved highly controversial. In this conversation we explore what it means to be a journalist and a non-fiction writer.  http://www.simonakam.com/about/

Miss Sarah Itam is a consultant urological surgeon with a special interest in male and female reconstructive urology. She is passionate about communication, education and engagement, inspiring young people from all backgrounds. She gained a Distinction in the Masters in Education in Surgical Education which I lead at Imperial College London. She is also a gifted pianist, while her web series Health in HD explores health and wellbeing from different perspectives. https://www.youtube.com/c/HealthInHD

The classicist Dr Emily Kneebone talks to me about her recent book Oppian’s Halieutica: Charting a Didactic Epic (published by Cambridge University Press in September 2020). We discuss how Oppian's overlooked 3,500-line poem from the second century AD provides insights into relationships between people, fish and nature in the ancient world - issues that continue to confront us all today.

Alexandru Bolboaca has developed the idea of software design and engineering as an instance of craftsmanship. In this conversation he describes the nature of his work, and we explore its similarities with words, musical notation and other forms of expression through symbols. Alex's podcast Think. Design. Work Smart explores issues around adapting to a changing world. https://mozaicworks.com/blog/think-design-work-smart-youtube-channel/ 

Jeff Mills served a four-year apprenticeship in the 1980s, learning every aspect of his trade through constant repetition. As he became more experienced he began to lead teams of painters, working on large construction projects. Now he focuses more on small-scale work where he can attend to every aspect of a job himself. In this conversation we exchange ideas about what it means to become expert.