Shows
Sparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 22: Historic Wartime and Public HealthThroughout 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.
For References and more information: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/sparkingconnections/episode-22-historic-wartime-and-public-health
2020-12-291h 01Sparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 21: Autumn Journal Part 2The 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.
For more information and references visit: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/sparkingconnections/episode-21-autumn-journal-part-2
2020-12-141h 05Sparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 20: The Scientific MethodEver 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.
For references and more visit: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/sparkingconnections/episode-20-the-scientific-method
2020-11-281h 05
Sparking ConnectionsEpisode 19: Autumn Journal Part 1Autumn 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.
For references and more visit: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/sparkingconnections/episode-19-autumn-journal-part-1
2020-11-1500 minSparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 19: Autumn Journal Part 1Autumn 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.
For references and more visit: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/sparkingconnections/episode-19-autumn-journal-part-1
2020-11-151h 32Sparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 18: The Truth about GMOsEver 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.
For more information and transcripts: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/sparkingconnections/episode-18-gmos
2020-10-281h 04Sparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 17: Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius Part 2In part 1 of episode 15: Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, Esmé and Kim discussed a fascinating short story by Jorge Luis Borges, subjective idealism, the relationship between language and thought, and weird thought experiments involving coins. Join us for part 2, in which we will be looking at this story through the lens of stylistics, specifically focalisation, modality, and speech presentation.
For transcript and Bibliography go to: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/sparkingconnections/episode-17-tln-uqbar-orbis-tertius
2020-10-141h 13Sparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 16: Endemic Disease of the UKEndemic disease is disease that exists steadily in the population and did you know that the UK has a bunch of endemic diseases? 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.
For references and more information please visit: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/sparkingconnections/episode-16-endemic-disease-of-the-uk
2020-09-271h 10Sparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 15: Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius Part 1In 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. Join us soon for part 2, in which we will be looking at this story through the lens of stylistics, specifically focalisation, modality, and speech presentation.
For transcript and Bibliography go to: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/sparkingconnections/episode-15-tln-uqbar-orbis-tertius
2020-09-1439 minSparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 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!
Show Notes
Reference Article: https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/antiviral-method-against-herpes-paves-way-combatting-incurable-viral-infections#:~:text=Researchers%20at%20Lund%20University%20in,which%20have%20previously%20been%20targeted.
For more information and transcripts visit: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com
2020-08-2850 minSparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 13: FrankensteinIn this episode, Esmé and Kim discuss Mary Shelley’s 1817 novel Frankenstein, the uncanny valley, irresponsible scientists, and artificial intelligence.
Show Notes
More information, references and transcript at: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/sparkingconnections/episode
2020-08-141h 23Sparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 12: ImmortalityImmortality 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.
Transcript and full show notes on the website: pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com
Show Notes
Chang, H. M., Shirron, P. and Baudouy, B. (2020) Cryogenics. Available at: https://www...
2020-07-2856 minSparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 11: The LakeJoin 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.
Show Notes
Here are the words and names Esmé failed to pronounce! Fabula and sjužet, Ferdinand de Saussure, and Elyan Segal. The Sherlock Holmes story referenced was called 'The Creeping Man.'
Barry, Peter, Beginning Theory: Workbook and Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995)
Evans, Christine Ann, ‘On the Valuation of Detective Ficti...
2020-07-1457 minSparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 10: Epidemiology TechnologyThis 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.
Transcript at: pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com
Show Notes
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). ‘Home’. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/[Accessed: 24/6/2020]
Encyclopedia.com. (2020) ‘Epidemiology, Tracking Diseases with Technology’. World of Microbiology and Immunology. Available at: https://w...
2020-06-2855 minSparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 9: Sonnet 1: The Partial MuseIn this episode, in their discussion of Sonnet 1: The Partial Muse by the Romantic poet Charlotte Smith, Kim and Esmé talk about the relationship between poets and their readers, paratexts, and writing about being really sad.
Show Notes:
Transcript at: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/transcript-episode-9-the-partial-muse
Poem Source: http://www.famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/charlotte_smith/poems/4245
Bibliography
Brooks, Stella, ‘The Sonnets of Charlotte Smith’, Critical Survey, 4.1 (1992), 9–21
Dolan, Elizabeth A., ‘British Romantic Melancholia: Charlotte Smith’s Elegiac Sonnets, medical
discourse and the problem of sensibility’, Journal of European S...
2020-06-1453 minSparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 8: Creating a VaccineShow Notes:
*Note* I couldn’t find the specific book we were talking about but there are many books and articles talking about the gender gap in clinical trials and medicine
Unethical Trials: https://www.history.com/news/the-infamous-40-year-tuskegee-study, https://www.history.com/news/birth-control-pill-history-puerto-rico-enovid
References:
"6 Stages of Vaccine Development." Institute of Medicine. 1993. The Children's Vaccine Initiative: Achieving the Vision. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Doi: 10.17226/2224
CDC (2018). ‘Understanding How Vaccines Work’. CDC – Vaccines – Conversations. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-understand-color-office.pdf. [Accessed: 23/5/20]
Euro...
2020-05-2851 minSparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 7: 'Tis Pity She's a WhoreRevenge! Murder! Incest! In episode 7 of Sparking Connections, Esmé and Kim discuss the Caroline revenge tragedy 'Tis Pity She's A Whore,' by John Ford.
Show Notes:
For more information and Transcripts please visit: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com
Boehrer, Bruce, ‘“Nice Philosophy”: ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore and the Two Books of God’, Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, 24.2 (1984), 355–71
Bowers, Rick, ‘John Ford and the Sleep of Death’, Texas Studies in Literature and Language, 28.4 (1986), 353–87
Champion, Larry S., ‘Ford’s ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore and the Jacobean Tragic Perspective’, PMLA, 90.1 (197...
2020-05-141h 01Sparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 6: EradicationKim talks to Esmé about eradication of diseases and how it’s not as easy as you think to carry out. We also talk about vaccination and the lack of other possible ways to eradicate a disease. Finally, listen out for mentions of Smallpox, Rinderpest, Polio and Measles and how they have been eradicated or why they haven’t been removed yet.
Show Notes:
3 Blue 1 Brown. (2020). ‘Simulating an Epidemic’. Youtube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxAaO2rsdIs&feature=youtu.be. [Accessed: 25/4/2020]
CDC. (2020). ‘History of Smallpox’, Smallpox. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/small...
2020-04-2856 minSparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 5: The Crystal CaveEsmé and Kim discuss the legends of Merlin and Arthur in the context of Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave. They talk about teenage Merlin, the context of the name Ambrosius and how these legends are rooted in the same fictional text.
View the Transcript: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/crystal-cave
Show Notes:
*Correction* Esmé repeatedly says "Aurelius Ambrosius" for the historial general when they actually mean "Ambrosius Aurelianus."
Full Show Notes on pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/sparkingconnections/episode-5-the-crystal-cave
2020-04-141h 34Sparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 4: Four Science StoriesThis week to take our minds off of the Covid-19 Lock down in the UK, Kim talks to Esmé about some odd science stories that she found. Join them in discussing the common ancestor of all animals, laughing at Narwhal tusks and having an existential crisis when realising how large the universe is.
*Correction* When Kim talks about the immediate planets to our sun she means Solar System not Galaxy
Show Notes:
Find the transcript at: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/episode-4-4-science-stories
Story 1 – Worms: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200323152108.htm
2020-03-2847 minSparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 3: The Essex SerpentIn episode three of Sparking Connections, Esmé and Kim discuss Sarah Perry’s 2016 novel The Essex Serpent, male-female friendship, autism, and the importance of names, with a brief detour into fandom and shipping (I promise it’s relevant…)
Show Notes:
Transcript can be found at: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/transcript-episode-3-the-essex-serpent
Buckley, Linda H, ‘Toward a New Mythology of Eve: Women, Men and Friendship in Victorian Literature as Seen Through Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent’ (Georgetown University, 2018) [accessed 2 November 2020]
Harrison, M. John, ‘The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry Review – a Compulsive Novel o...
2020-03-141h 08Sparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 2: CoronavirusKim talks to Esmé about the current Coronavirus outbreak of Covid-19. They talk about how quickly science moves and what a Public Health Emergency of International Concern actually means.
Show Notes:
Transcript can be found at https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/transcript-episode-2-coronavirus
Original News Story - Science Daily: University of Southampton (2020) Potential Global Spread of New Coronavirus Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200129091359.htm[Accessed: 24/2/2020]
Video Link: World Health Organisation. (2020) Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). 31/1/2020. Available at: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019[Accessed: 24/2/2020]
Initial Transmission Report: Shengjie Lai, I...
2020-02-2848 minSparking ConnectionsS1 Ep 1: Ode to a NightingaleIn the first ever episode of Sparking Connections, Esmé walks Kim through one of their favourite poems: John Keats' 'Ode to a Nightingale.' They discuss paradoxes, dreams, contemporary criticism, and how Lord Byron was... a lot.
Transcript can be found at https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/episode-1-ode-to-a-nightingale-transcript
Show Notes:
Ode to a Nightingale By John Keats: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44479/ode-to-a-nightingale
References:
Image of letter from Lord Byron can be found at: https://pleaseholdfor.squarespace.com/sparkingconnections/episode-1-ode-to-a-nightingale
Bate, Walter Jackson, and Maura Del S...
2020-02-141h 08