Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone

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.

The artist Rebecca Salter RA was elected Keeper of the Royal Academy in 2017. In this podcast we discuss her fascination with drawing, her time as a Leverhulme Scholar in Japan, the differences between Eastern and Western artistic cultures and her role at the Royal Academy of Arts

One of the UK's leading close-up magicians, with a international reputation as performer and teacher, Will Houstoun was Magic Circle Magician of the Year in 2015. Will is renowned for his extraordinary skill in manipulating coins and cards. Alongside his career in magic, Will studied mechanical engineering before completing a PhD in Victorian conjuring. In this podcast we discuss parallels and differences between our approaches to practical skill, scholarship and performance. drhoustoun.co.uk/ Roger and Will discuss connections between medicine and magic in Roger's Gresham College Lecture as Visiting Professor of Medical Education on 5 December 2018 at the Museum of London https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/dissecting-consultation

Roger Highfield is Director of External Affairs at the Science Museum Group. A physical chemist by training, he honed his journalistic skills while a postdoctoral researcher before becoming Science Editor of the Daily Telegraph for the next 20 years. After a spell as Editor of the New Scientist he joined the Science Museum, where he works at an intersection between scientists, historians, curators and multiple publics. In this extended conversation we explore tensions between depth and breadth, ask whether medicine is a science or a practice and talk about the craftsmanship that underpins the performance of laboratory science.