Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone
Professor Roger Kneebone
A podcast for people who like the unexpected. Join the surgeon and academic Professor Roger Kneebone in conversation with unorthodox people whose careers defy traditional boundaries and who swim against the tide.
Technical support by Justin Margovan - with my thanks
My personal website www.rogerkneebone.co.uk
Many of the people in Countercurrent feature in my book Expert: Understanding the Path to Mastery (Penguin Viking, 2020)
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/313/313248/expert/9780241392058.html
Technical support by Justin Margovan - with my thanks
My personal website www.rogerkneebone.co.uk
Many of the people in Countercurrent feature in my book Expert: Understanding the Path to Mastery (Penguin Viking, 2020)
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/313/313248/expert/9780241392058.html
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 12, 2016 • 43min
Kevin Buzzard in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Kevin Buzzard has been obsessed by pure mathematics since he was a child, winning the International Mathematical Olympiad with a perfect score at the age of 19. Now Professor of Pure Mathematics at Imperial College London, Kevin is fascinated by modular forms. In this conversation we discuss the challenges of communicating with non-mathematicians about this unique conceptual world.
Nov 28, 2016 • 44min
Timandra Harkness in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Timandra Harkness is well known as a radio presenter, comedian and science journalist. She is fascinated by mathematics and statistics and has recently published Big Data: Does Size Matter? Her career has taken many swerves, from her early days in clowning, physical theatre and the flying trapeze to stand-up comedy and broadcasting. Our conversation uncovers unexpected parallels between her experience and mine.
Nov 14, 2016 • 44min
Dr Dougal Goodman in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Dr Dougal Goodman has combined a lifelong passion for polar exploration with careers as a laboratory scientist, a member of the BP group, an expert on marine insurance and a Deputy Director of the British Antarctic Survey. He is Chief Executive of the Foundation for Science and Technology. In this conversation we explore ideas of exploration, risk and change.
Oct 31, 2016 • 41min
Nick Fox Weber in conversation with Roger Kneebone
The art historian and philanthropist Nicholas Fox Weber runs the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and leads a non-profit organisation to improve medical care in Senegal. A prolific writer, he is the author of fourteen books, on topics ranging from the Albers to the Bauhaus and the art of Babar the Elephant.
Oct 17, 2016 • 46min
Richard McDougall in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Richard McDougall is one of the UK's leading close-up magicians and a Gold Star member of the Inner Magic Circle. In this conversation we explore unexpected parallels between magic and medicine, framing the clinical consultation as a 'close-up live performance with a very small audience' and discussing the relationship between dexterity, body language and touch.
Oct 3, 2016 • 43min
Professor Ken Arnold in conversation with Roger Kneebone
As Head of Public Programmes at the Wellcome Collection, Ken Arnold established an international reputation for creating ground-breaking exhibitions which bridge medicine and art. Now the Creative Director of Copenhagen's Medical Museion, Ken's ideas continue to challenge, provoke and inspire.
Sep 19, 2016 • 32min
Prue Cooper in conversation with Roger Kneebone
The potter Prue Cooper trained initially as a visual artist and came to making slipware after a varied career in other directions. We discuss how changes in direction can bring interesting perspectives, and explore how visual imagination, attentive observation and a willingness to take risks are characteristics of medicine and bioscience as well as of pottery.
Sep 5, 2016 • 36min
Aifric Campbell in conversation with Roger Kneebone
With the writer Aifric Campbell I explore how language is shaped by its context. Aifric's career has ranged from linguistics to investment banking, and now she teaches creative writing at Imperial College London. In this podcast we compare the language of the operating theatre, the clinical consulting room and the trading floor and explore how our personal perspectives intersect.
Aug 22, 2016 • 31min
Andrew Davidson in conversation with Roger Kneebone
The illustrator and wood engraver Andrew Davidson combines artistry and craftsmanship in a career spanning decades. In this podcast he explains how imagination, draughtsmanship, dexterity and judgement come together to create unique works of art, and we discuss how surgery and medicine have similar characteristics.
Aug 8, 2016 • 34min
Dr Erica McAlister in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Erica McAlister is in charge of the diptera (two-winged insects) collections at London's Natural History Museum. An entomologist with a lifelong passion for flies and their peculiar behaviours, Erica shares her ideas about science, craftsmanship and involving the public in her work.
