Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone

In this conversation Chris Peters and I discuss the fast-moving world of robot-assisted surgery and explore new developments that are changing how surgeons operate. We talk about the shifting balance between vision and touch as surgery has evolved from ‘open’ procedures to keyhole surgery and now to robot-assisted operating supported by augmented reality and artificial intelligence. 

Roberto di Napoli graduated in modern languages and linguistics in Italy before developing a career in education which has taken him to many institutions. A gifted teacher, he is passionate about making complex educational concepts accessible to people with expertise in a wide range of domains. In this conversation we explore the roles of performance and human interaction in teaching and learning. 

Heather Mayfield joined the London Science Museum in 1979 as a museum assistant. By the time she left in 2014 she was its Deputy Director. In this podcast she describes her excitement in being part of the team unpacking and cataloguing Sir Henry Wellcome’s extraordinary collection for the first time since his death. She maps her career within the world of museums and her passion for engaging with people around the ideas and controversies of science. Now CEO of Nottingham Castle Trust, Heather is back in the city where she grew up.

David Nott trained as a trauma surgeon and has worked in war-torn areas all over the world. At the same time he trained as an airline pilot, gaining his airline transport pilot's licence and flying corporate jets in parallel with his surgical career. In this podcast we discuss the challenges, excitements and downsides of living and working in some of the most extreme environments on the globe. David's book ‘War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line’ was published in February 2019. 

Phil Bayman is a combat pilot and instructor with over 4,500 flying hours experience. Alongside an active career flying combat missions in Hawks and Tornadoes, Phil is passionate about education. Six of the 2018 intake of Red Arrows pilots are his former students. In this podcast Phil describes the extraordinary world of combat flying, where pilots steer along the edge of what is physiologically possible. We explore similarities and differences between our experiences in aviation and medicine and ask what these worlds might learn from one another.  

James Peto’s interests range from art history and contemporary design to the creation of ground-breaking exhibitions at the Wellcome Trust. Our discussion explores how these interests have helped to form the Wellcome Collection’s identity as an intersection between medicine, science and the arts.

Angela Barrett is one of the UK’s leading illustrators of children’s books. Her much-loved works include Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Diary of Anne Frank. Her illustrations combine an inspired imagination with detail and humour, resulting in imaginary worlds of extraordinary power. In this conversation we explore the relationship between words and images and draw parallels between our very different worlds.

Professor Alan Spivey designs and creates biologically important molecules. In this conversation we discuss the differences between ‘following a recipe’ in chemistry and  ‘designing an experiment’, exploring our perspectives from science and medicine. We discuss the concept of ‘performance’ in a science laboratory and how this resonates with other areas of expert practice.

A taxidermist for over 45 years, Derek Frampton is one of the leading experts in his field. His work is in many museums and scientific collections, and he has worked in film and television too. In this podcast he describes how his work stands at the intersection of science, craftsmanship and art. From voles to giraffes, from crocodiles to dinosaurs, Derek’s range is extraordinarily diverse. Each day brings a different challenge, and ‘everything is a prototype’. 

Sir Terence English carried out the UK’s first successful heart transplant in 1979 and established the transplant programme at Papworth Hospital which revolutionised clinical care. In this podcast we discuss the events of that extraordinary time, looking back to the world’s first heart transplant in 1967 by Christiaan Barnard and forward to new horizons for cardiac transplantation today.