Episodes
Episode 22: Historic Wartime and Public Health
Throughout history war has had a massive impact on the lives and health of people around the world. This week Kim and Esmé look at how historical wars played a part in what we understand today as public health. This episode gives an insight and background for episodes in the Autumn Journal Series also by Sparking Connections.
Episode 21: Autumn Journal Part 2
The key word for this episode is juxtaposition. We look at the next 6 cantos of Louis MacNeice’s Autumn Journal where he describes a coming war compared to his everyday life and how parts that once seemed strange have now become the new normal.
Episode 20: The Scientific Method
Ever wondered where the first ideas of Science came from or who developed the first scientific hypothesis? Kim and Esmé discuss this and more about the Ancient Greek philosophers who were considered the first thinkers in science
Episode 19: Autumn Journal Part 1
Autumn Journal by Louis MacNeice is a long poem documenting a portion of MacNeice’s life that is touched by war. This personal account begins to reveal the link between the personal and the political and the impact that has on storytelling.
Episode 18: The Truth about GMOs
Ever wondered about how they enrich cereal or how rice can have added vitamins and minerals, it is probably a GMO crop. In this episode, Kim and Esmé discuss Genetically Modified Organisms and the benefits and drawbacks of alterations made to consumable goods on a genetic level.
Episode 17:
Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius Part 2
In part 2 of this discussion Esmé gets Kim to look for textual features and they discuss the purpose and effect of this on the reading experience. You can also use the resources to answer the questions on your own too.
Episode 16: Endemic Disease of the UK
This week we discuss what makes a disease endemic and how there is always a social aspect to determining disease status. We also discuss the loss of the UKs Measles elimination status and what can be done by the community to reduce the spread of disease.
Episode 15:
Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius Part 1
In part 1 of episode 15: Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, Esmé and Kim discuss a fascinating short story by Jorge Luis Borges, subjective idealism, the relationship between language and thought, and weird thought experiments involving coins.
Episode 14: Persistent Viruses Might now be Curable?
This week Kim and Esmé discuss how a cure for Herpes could also mean a cure for other currently incurable viruses. We talk about self-limiting infections and how viruses can be incurable. Kim also teaches Esmé about latency and how that allows viruses to hide in the body potentially forever!
Episode 13: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
In this episode, Esmé and Kim discuss Mary Shelley’s 1817 novel Frankenstein, the uncanny valley, irresponsible scientists, and artificial intelligence.
Episode 12: Immortality
Immortality is in the realm of supernatural but this week we determine how much of it is potential science. This week we discuss how ageing can be reversed and what our body does to help keep us from ageing for as long as possible. We also discuss a disease that gives your cells immortality but it isn't necessarily a good thing... It's a pretty common disease too.
Episode 11: The Lake
Join Esmé and Kim in a discussion of WF Harvey's short story 'The Lake,' the cultural role of detective fiction, and the subversion of literary tropes, as well as an introduction to structuralist theory.
Episode 10: Epidemiology Technology
This episode Kim and Esmé talk about the conspiracies surrounding privacy and the internet and about the government having all your personal and GPS information. Just Kidding! This week we discuss how technology is being used to track and understand how some diseases move throughout a population and the benefits of these kinds of technological advances.