Football writer Suzy Wrack talks to urban geographer and professor at Boston University, Loretta Lees, about how growing up on council estates shaped their lives, and led them to studying the impact of space and design.
Produced for BBC Audio by Caitlin Hobbs.
3/16/2023
13:46
Suzy Wrack: The House I Grew Up In
Football writer Suzy Wrack meets with Joanne Marsden to share their stories of growing up on council estates.
Suzy grew up in on an estate in north east London, while Joanne was born on Park Hill estate in Sheffield; the council block inspired by the French architect Le Corbusier, who designed high-rises with community in mind. They discuss his idea of 'streets in the sky' - landings wide enough for milk floats to drive past high in the air and rows of shops within the estate. Together, they talk about how their experiences shaped their lives and interests in architecture and community - and how the design of spaces and buildings impacts us.
Produced by Caitlin Hobbs for BBC Audio in Bristol.
2/28/2023
13:48
Gaming and Me: Ellie Gibson speaks to Andrew Przybylski
Ellie Gibson has spent her life playing and writing about video games. It is a passion that she enjoys sharing with her son but as a parent she's become interested in the impact games play on the mind and behaviour. It's an emerging area of science and one that's frequently skewed by fevered debates about whether games are "good" or "bad". Ellie's theory is that exploring online worlds and connecting with one another through games is far more constructive than endlessly scrolling through social media, and it's a theory she explores with Professor Andrew Przybylski at the Oxford Internet Institute in the hope that he'll agree.
Producer: Toby Field for BBC Audio in Bristol
2/21/2023
13:49
Gaming and Me: Ellie Gibson speaks to Keza MacDonald
Keza MacDonald left home at sixteen to work in video games journalism, and when she first met Ellie Gibson on a trip her glasses were held together by sticky tape. Ellie was already established in the industry and became a mentor to Keza. They talk about what it was like being one of only a handful of women working in video games journalism at the time which meant being taken to strip clubs and having to laugh off inappropriate behaviour by male colleagues. Comparing their experiences to today they describe how streaming platforms have created a more open and inclusive gaming culture from women of today, but it is still far more perfect.
Produced by Toby Field for BBC Audio in Bristol.
2/14/2023
13:58
Critics and the Criticised: Luke Jones meets Simon Godwin
Imagine this: you've spent months, years even, working on a show. Now it's press night. Sat in a silent row, or peppered around the theatre, are the people whose life's work is to criticise yours - the critics. So what’s it like when your lovingly crafted new play opens and you see them out there, ready to tell the world what they think of it? Top theatre director Simon Godwin, who's worked at the National Theatre, the Bristol Old Vic and is now at Washington DC's Shakespeare Theatre Company, bares his soul about how it really feels when the lights go down and the little notebooks come out.
Presenter: Luke Jones
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton