Countercurrent: Conversations With Professor Roger Kneebone

The moral philosopher Onora O’Neill (Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve) has a longstanding fascination with trustworthiness. She has explored these ideas extensively, through writing and broadcasting (including her 2002 BBC Reith Lectures). Her 2022 book A Philosopher Looks at Digital Communication examines the impact of contemporary forms of communication, including social media. In this conversation we examine issues around trustworthiness within the medical realm and beyond.

As a postdoctoral synthetic chemist, Luke Delmas is fascinated by the challenges of conducting experimental work and teaching students the skills of the laboratory. He is a core member of the Chemical Kitchen project at Imperial, where undergraduate students gain laboratory skills by mastering culinary tasks.

Sarah Whatley trained as a dancer. She has a longstanding interest in how dance and choreography intersect with ways of thinking about movement in other professional areas. In this podcast we uncover unexpected similarities between our experiences in dance, medicine and education. 

Anna Batistatou specialises in the pathology of cancer and is interested in issues of perception, cognition and communication. In this podcast we explore different ways of seeing and making sense of what we observe.

Johnny Messum has a background in art history. In 2016 he established Messums Wiltshire, a multi-purpose gallery and arts centre in a converted 13th century tithe barn in Tisbury, near Salisbury. In this conversation we discuss the nature of craftsmanship and explore the triangular relationship between artist/maker, gallerist and buyer/collector, with underlying connections based on trust and care.  https://messumswiltshire.com

Kishor Gulabivala specialises in endodontics and restorative dentistry. His work requires him to integrate different forms of perception and intervention in order to diagnose and treat conditions affecting the inner contours of his patients’ teeth. We discuss how he gained these skills himself and how he passes them on to those he teaches.

Alex Auerbach is sport psychologist and Director of Wellness and Development for the Toronto Raptors, an elite basketball team based in Canada. In this conversation we discuss the nature of coaching and psychological support for individuals and teams. We uncover intriguing parallels between our experiences in sports coaching and GP training. 

Rick and I collaborated on Experimental Words, a project bringing together the perspectives of artists and scientists through the medium of poetry. In this conversation we explore Rick’s approach to collaborative work, bringing together his background in psychology with his work as a poet and performance artist. https://experimentalwords.bandcamp.com/track/communion-with-the-fabric https://linktr.ee/rickdove

Ben Thomas’s description of his role as an independent financial adviser resonates with my experience as a clinician, and especially as a general practitioner. For both of us, our roles involve developing relationships of trust and care against a background of professional knowledge and experience. In this podcast we explore the similarities and differences between our professional experiences. 

Ben Griffiths has been the Aurora Orchestra’s Principal double bass player since 2012. The orchestra is widely known for its electrifying performances of symphonies played entirely from memory. In this conversation we examine role of risk in professional performance, whether in music or medicine.

Tilda Lewis has a longstanding fascination with historical costume design and creation, having studied at Wimbledon College of Arts. Especially passionate about eighteenth century women’s hats and bonnets, Tilda talks to me about the role of ‘trimming’ at that time, and the subtleties of hat-wearing then and now. 

Alan Powers has been fascinated by twentieth century architecture throughout his career. Alongside his work as an architectural historian and teacher he is a well-known author, watercolour artist and print maker. In this conversation we explore similarities and differences between our ways of seeing and thinking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Powers

Edwina Ibbotson is a couture milliner who studied in London, New York and Paris. She’s known for combining striking designs with meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail. Based in London, she is a member of the British Hat Guild and the Art Workers’ Guild and has had work exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum. http://www.edwinaibbotson.co.uk

Peter Morris is managing director of the London-based architectural practice AAHM (Alford, Hall, Monaghan, Morris). He and his partners design buildings with a huge variety of scale and style. In this conversation we discuss similarities and differences between practising architecture and medicine and explore the role of the ‘expert generalist’. https://www.ahmm.co.uk

Geoffrey Durham’s career as a stage magician has been through many stages, from his early days in variety and his persona as The Great Soprendo, his later years as a performer in his own name, and his current work mentoring and coaching other professional magicians. We discuss the techniques of stage magic and Geoffrey’s ability to transfix an audience of thousands with his personality and skill. http://www.geoffreydurham.com/geoffrey-durham-newspaper-trick.html 

Logan Murray is well known in the world of stand up comedy. We explore how Logan helps people ‘bring their inner idiot out to play’, finding aspects of themselves they didn’t know were there. Alongside the obvious differences between medicine and comedy we discover unexpected parallels with aspects of clinical communication. https://loganmurray.com  

Ian Shircore combines a career writing books under his own name with his work as a ghost writer for others. After discussing his recent book about the decades-long songwriting partnership of Clive James and Pete Atkin and another about Clive James’s poetry, we explore the world of ghost writing. Ian outlines how he uses his writing skills to capture the authentic voices of people who are not comfortable with the process of creating a book from scratch. https://www.unitedghostwriters.co.uk/profiles/ianshircore/

Equally at home with jazz, classical repertoire and works by contemporary composers, Simon Mulligan is one of the world’s leading pianists. A gifted composer himself, Simon has worked with musicians from many traditions. In this conversation we explore ideas around improvisation, genres and technical skill - and talk about responding to unexpected disasters. http://www.simonmulligan.com  

Dr Sally Frampton is a medical historian who focuses on developments in surgery. Her 2018 book Belly Rippers traces the development of abdominal surgery in the nineteenth century. We discuss our different perspectives on the world of surgery and talk about our work documenting the development of keyhole surgery in the 1980s through simulation-based re-enactment. https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-sally-frampton#/

Paul Craddock’s 2021 book Spare Parts: A Surprising History of Transplants brings together his interests in cultural history, writing and engagement. In this podcast we discuss how he came to write the book and talk about the ideas within it. We look back at our collaborations over many years and explore how our ideas have shaped one another’s thinking. https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/311/311106/spare-parts/9780241370254.html