Ep 5: Student Loneliness W/ Dr. Michael Priestley

Advice Session 1: University

Hi guys, I hope you’re all doing good. After a crazy few months, I’m back with a new episode—and a new vibe. Welcome to the first of many solo episodes, where it’s just me sat on the floor with my lil mic and a more personal, stripped-back chat. In these episodes, I’ll share stories, life experiences, and thoughts on what I’m going through or passionate about. While I love intellectual and formal interviews, and I'll still do them, I’ve always found immense value in candid conversation, focussing on openness, honesty, and vulnerability—things we can all learn from. Graduating university a few months ago, I’m reflecting on advice I wish I’d had and tips for anyone navigating uni life. Hope you enjoy, Kanak x

Ep 8: Sex, Gender and Paraphilia W/ Dr. Ashley Brown

Today I am joined by researcher, lecturer and counsellor Dr. Ashley Brown. She teaches on the BSc, iBSc Psychology and MSc Health Psychology programmes, is a postdoc researcher in the PIMS project that looks at psychological interventions for sexual challenges in Multiple Sclerosis at King’s College London and is a counsellor at cliniQ, a clinic for trans, non-binary, and gender diverse people. In this episode we talk all things about: -      what is sex, gender and paraphilia? -      The different types of sex -      Are labels with sexual orientation and gender helpful or harmful? -      The differences between kink, fetish and paraphilia -      The advice Dr Ashley would give NHS staff when speaking about sexual health with patients   Some of Ashley’s research we talked about: Sexual behaviours and fantasies scale: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34843283/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34843283/] BDSM research: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31617765/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31617765/]   Sexual health resources: NHS guide to sexual health services: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/sexual-health-services/guide-to-sexual-health-services/ [https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/sexual-health-services/guide-to-sexual-health-services/] Find your nearest sexual health clinic: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-health-services/sexual-health-information-and-support [https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-health-services/sexual-health-information-and-support] Get STI testing at home (in London and Surrey): https://www.sexualhealth.cnwl.nhs.uk/order-form/ [https://www.sexualhealth.cnwl.nhs.uk/order-form/] Brook: sexual health and wellbeing being support under 25: https://www.brook.org.uk/ [https://www.brook.org.uk/] LGBT sex and sexual health: https://thebeyouproject.co.uk/resources/topic/sex_and_sexual_health/ [https://thebeyouproject.co.uk/resources/topic/sex_and_sexual_health/] https://www.lgbtplus.org.uk/ [https://www.lgbtplus.org.uk/]

Ep 7: Philosophy Of Art W/ Dr. Sacha Golob

Hi guys, I am really excited today as I get to talk to Dr. Sacha Golob, a professor of philosophy and Vice Dean of the Arts and Humanities department at King’s College London. He is also the co-director of the Centre of Philosophy and Art and the Co-Editor of the British Journal for the History of Philosophy. We talk all things to do with philosophy and art, some of the questions we discuss: -       How do you define the philosophy of art? -       Is art truthful? -       Does art need to be purposeful? -       Can art ever be truly owned? And much more! Find out more about Sacha: His website: https://www.sachagolob.com/ [https://www.sachagolob.com/] Wikipedia page (which is really cool that he has one!): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacha_Golob [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacha_Golob] Kings College London page: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/sacha-golob [https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/sacha-golob] His research work here: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/sacha.golob [https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/sacha.golob] His chapter on decadence and aesthetics in decadence and literature: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/decadence-and-literature/decadence-and-aesthetics/48CEAAC7931B5E59F76E414B256CEB54 [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/decadence-and-literature/decadence-and-aesthetics/48CEAAC7931B5E59F76E414B256CEB54] Find out more about the Centre of Philosophy and Art here: https://philosophyarts.co.uk/ [https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphilosophyarts.co.uk%2F&data=05%7C01%7Csiobhan.lewis%40kcl.ac.uk%7Ca15a2c3910dd4fe453e108da55e422d5%7C8370cf1416f34c16b83c724071654356%7C0%7C0%7C637916735560267400%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=oEK0mAcXKeGsnXvX0tD%2BZYehGiRkci4j2FheuyZtoNI%3D&reserved=0]   Check out the British Journal for the History of Philosophy: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rbjh20/current [http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rbjh20/current] Check out the Instagram for this podcast: https://www.instagram.com/allthehype_pod/ [https://www.instagram.com/allthehype_pod/]

Ep 6: Music and Mental Health W/ Dr. Sally Marlow

Hi guys, In today's episode, I am joined by Dr. Sally Marlow, who is the Associate Dean of Impact and Professor of Practice in Public Understanding of Mental Health Research at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s College London. She is also a BBC broadcaster making documentaries about mental health for BBC radio 3,4 and the World Service. We talk all things about the relationship between music and mental health including: - Is there a connection between music and the brain/body? -  Are there differences between playing and listening to music on mental health? -  The relationship between music with cognition, memory and focus. And lots more stuff! Find out more about Dr. Sally Marlow: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/sally-marlow [https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/sally-marlow] https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/dr-sally-marlow-to-be-first-researcher-in-residence-at-bbc-radio-3 [https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/dr-sally-marlow-to-be-first-researcher-in-residence-at-bbc-radio-3] Watch her inaugural lecture here: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/professor-sally-marlow-delivers-her-inaugural-lecture-never-too-late [https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/professor-sally-marlow-delivers-her-inaugural-lecture-never-too-late] Her Sound Young Minds project we talked about: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/sound-young-minds [https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/sound-young-minds] https://cityoflondonsinfonia.co.uk/participation-project/sound-young-minds/#:~:text=Sound%20Young%20Minds%20works%20with,the%20core%20of%20our%20work. [https://cityoflondonsinfonia.co.uk/participation-project/sound-young-minds/#:~:text=Sound%20Young%20Minds%20works%20with,the%20core%20of%20our%20work.] Her article in The Psychologist about music and mental health: https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/music-and-magic-between-ears [https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/music-and-magic-between-ears] Listen to her on the Music Matters podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001cns4 [https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001cns4] https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/hVmhzKyP69WS0yv1mCppLW/six-things-we-learned-about-the-power-of-music-on-mental-health [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/hVmhzKyP69WS0yv1mCppLW/six-things-we-learned-about-the-power-of-music-on-mental-health] (Btw: for once, I didn’t have any audio problems. I just accidentally said in the introduction that Dr. Marlow started her academic journey at age 29 when it was 39 –as she says in the episode- making it all the more impressive!)

Ep 5: Student Loneliness W/ Dr. Michael Priestley

Hi guys, Today I am joined by Dr Michael Priestley. He is a researcher at King’s College London as part of the UBelong project to understand loneliness in university students. His research focuses on student mental health and wellbeing at university, including conceptualisation, measurements, determinants and delivery within the university system.   He has also worked on other research projects including exploring intra-individual personality variability and the effectiveness of music education intervention in primary schools. He has also taught modules in the School of Education at Durham University.   He uses his research expertise to collaborate with other organisations on student mental health. These include being the Student Involvement Coordinator at the Charlie Waller Trust, and being an Assessor for the University Mental Health Charter with Student Minds. He also co-facilitates a lab for PhD student and early career researchers with an interest in student mental health with the Student Mental Health and Research Network.   He completed his undergraduate degree in Education studies and English literature, master’s degree in Education studies, and a PhD in Education focussing on the University Approach to student wellbeing in a Neoliberal University Context, all at Durham university.     In this episode, Michael is joined by Nathan a research assistant part of the U-Belong project and a 3rd-year medical student at King’s College London.   In this episode, we talked about: -      The idea of University being the ‘best time of your life’ -      Neoliberalism in higher education -      What universities can do to improve student mental health -      Things that may cause and contribute to poor student mental health and loneliness And much more! You can find more about Dr Michael Priestley here: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/michael.1.priestley [https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/michael.1.priestley] Links to his research we talked about: Neoliberalism in higher education: https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/3254/1/Priestley_TwoDecadesOfNeoliberal.pdf [https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/3254/1/Priestley_TwoDecadesOfNeoliberal.pdf] Student mental health research methods: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638237.2021.1875419 [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638237.2021.1875419] Student perspectives on improving mental health services at University: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/capr.12391 [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/capr.12391] Research priorities for student mental health: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open/article/key-questions-research-priorities-for-student-mental-health/099D7EE7367D11E9875A53AF5853FBC6 [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open/article/key-questions-research-priorities-for-student-mental-health/099D7EE7367D11E9875A53AF5853FBC6] Toolkit for students and researchers on how to navigate student mental health: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/243453032/SMaRteN_Higher_Education_stakeholder_engagement_report_-_final.pdf [https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/243453032/SMaRteN_Higher_Education_stakeholder_engagement_report_-_final.pdf] More information about the UBelong study and how to get involved: https://www.u-belong.uk/ [https://www.u-belong.uk/]