Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone

Mark Wilson specialises in treating patients with brain injuries and is an expert in pre-hospital care. He's worked in extreme environments all over the world and has been part of a NASA team monitoring intracranial pressure in astronauts. He was awarded an OBE in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, recognising his pioneering work developing the GoodSAM community platform for roadside assistance. In this podcast we explore the many directions his career has taken and discuss similarities and differences between our experiences in and beyond the world of medicine.

Sir Antony Gormley RA is a well-known British sculptor who tries to 'identify the space of art as a place of becoming in which new behaviours, thoughts and feelings can arise'. In this conversation we explore how our perspectives from art and medicine intersect and sometimes overlap. https://www.antonygormley.com

Dave Gibbons is best known for the iconic Watchmen, which he wrote with Alan Moore and John Higgins. His recent book How Comics Work, written with Tim Pilcher, explains the complex processes of design and development, with many examples of his own work. In this extended conversation we explore the world of comics and graphic novels and discuss points of connection between our interests and experience. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Gibbons

Eleanor Crook trained in sculpture at Central Saint Martin's and the Royal Academy Schools. She is widely known for her wax sculptures inspired by human anatomy and for the emotional intensity of her work. In this podcast we explore the regions where sculpture, anatomy and medicine intersect. https://eleanorcrook.net

Justin Margovan has been providing his technical expertise for my Countercurrent podcasts since the series started in August 2014. In this podcast we discuss his varied career and explore how his experience as a DJ and his expertise in becoming a 'curator of music' has fed into his current role at the Wellcome Trust.

Mr Dan Saleh, a consultant in Newcastle, is an expert in reconstruction after complex cancer surgery. In this conversation we start by discussing the unique characteristics of this branch of surgery and the skills of moving living tissue from one part of a patient's body to another. We then explore issues around face transplantation, an area which raises profound issues around identity and personhood. As a surgeon in a research group with a special interest in face transplantation - a procedure not yet performed in the UK - Dan talks about the ethical and scientific issues he and his colleagues have to address.

Hannah Peel has a distinguished career as a musician. As a composer and performer she works with a wide variety of styles and approaches. Her latest soundtrack album is for The Deceived (Channel 5). In this podcast we discover unexpected parallels between our worlds of music and medicine and agree on the importance of close listening. http://www.hannahpeel.com

Chau-Jean Lin's company Marulin is all about tea. Chau-Jean's family has been growing oolong tea in Taiwan for five generations. She herself trained as a materials scientist and engineer, living and working in France, the Netherlands and the UK before establishing her own company. Working with a co-operative of tea farmers, including family and friends, she focuses on sustainability and raising awareness of tea across the world. https://marulin.co.uk

Sheridan Tongue is a composer, performer and songwriter, well known for composing music for programmes including Silent Witness and the recent BBC Northern Ireland series Spotlight on the Troubles: A Secret History. In this podcast we explore points of connection between his career and mine, especially around the need for attentiveness, team-working and and close listening in our work. https://sheridantongue.com Sheridan's album '2068' will be released on 16 October 2020

Brian Lobel is Professor of Theatre and Performance at Rose Bruford College. His personal experience of cancer when he was 20 has shaped his career as a performer and a passionate advocate for patients' voices. Brian and I got to know one another when we were both Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellows, and we share an interest in crossing conventional disciplinary boundaries. https://www.bruford.ac.uk/news-events/news/brian-lobel-appointed-as-rose-bruford-colleges-professor-of-theatre-and-per/