About Great Exchanges, A Dialogue Between Science & Community Series 3
Great Exchanges is a collaboration between Portobello Radio and Imperial College London, ahead of the Great Exhibition Road Festival on 7 and 8 June 2025. We bring together research scientists and members of the community with lived experience to discuss issues that make a difference to people's everyday lives.
Portobello Radio with Imperial College London: S4E3 The Joy Of Playing Music Together
Great Exchanges is a collaboration between Portobello Radio, and Imperial College London. This series brings together scientists and community voices, to explore the ideas that shape our everyday lives. Ahead of the Great Exhibition Road Festival, on June 6th and 7th 2026
In this episode, we turn our attention to the joy and benefits of playing music together — and why making music collectively can have such a powerful impact on connection, trust and wellbeing.
Joining today’s conversation is Professor Ian Cross from the University of Cambridge, whose research explores the social and cognitive aspects of people making music together. We’re also joined by Dr Haroun Shah, director of Nostalgia Steelband, Europe’s oldest steel orchestra. He is appearing on the Joy of Playing Music Together panel at the Festival. Together, our guests explore how what happens when people come into time with one another, and how shared rhythm, synchrony and collective participation can build social bonds, create belonging and sustain cultural heritage.
24 May 2026
Portobello Radio with Imperial College London: S4E2 A Cure For Loneliness
Great Exchanges is a collaboration between Portobello Radio, and Imperial College London. This series brings together scientists and community voices, to explore the ideas that shape our everyday lives, ahead of the Great Exhibition Road Festival on 6th & 7th June 2026.
In this episode, we turn our attention to loneliness — a growing public health concern that affects people across all stages of life, often quietly and unseen. Joining the conversation is Dr Austen El‑Osta, Director of Imperial College London’s Self‑Care Academic Research Unit. Austen helps us explore why loneliness matters, how it differs from social isolation, and why social connection is increasingly recognised as fundamental to both mental and physical health. He also discusses his teams’ contribution to the Great Exhibition Road Festival in June where he his Self Care Research unit colleagues are collaborating with the Zen Project’s Zen bus – an actual bus that has been re-kitted out for wellbeing reflection and discussions on self care. We’re also joined for this podcast by Mindy from Maxilla Men’s Shed in North Kensington, a community‑led space where men and women come together to share skills, build friendships and find a sense of purpose. Based at Maxilla Studios under the Westway, the Shed offers a powerful example of how local initiatives can challenge loneliness through connection, routine and belonging. Together, our guests explore how research and grassroots action can complement each other — from community spaces like the Men’s Shed to Festival projects focused on self‑care and wellbeing — offering practical insights into how we might feel more connected in our own lives.
30 Apr 2026
Portobello Radio with Imperial College London: 1851 Revisited
Great Exchanges is a collaboration between Portobello Radio and Imperial College London. We bring together research scientists and members of the community to discuss topics that feature in the 2026 Great Exhibition Road Festival on June 6th and 7th.
In this latest episode, we turn our attention to a pivotal moment in London’s history: the Great Exhibition of 1851. This year’s Festival marks the 175th anniversary of the largest public event the city had ever seen, and on the anniversary of the day it first opened to more than six million visitors, we step back inside the Crystal Palace — home to over 100,000 objects celebrating industry, technology and empire. Joining the conversation is Dr Jennifer Wallis, historian of science and medicine at Imperial College London. We’re also joined by Alair Ayeni from down the road in White City, one of the Festival’s 2026 Young Producers helping to re‑examine the Exhibition’s legacy through a contemporary, decolonising lens.
https://www.greatexhibitionroadfestival.co.uk/
13 May 2025
Portobello Radio With Imperial College London: Voyage To Venus
Host Piers Thompson interviews Dr. Philippa Mason from Imperial College London and amateur astronomer Ben Thorp Barnes about the EnVision mission to Venus and the allure of rocky planets and Jupiter's moons.
13 May 2025
Portobello Radio With Imperial College London: The Plastic Challenge
Piers Thompson interviews Katherine Welch, Molly Parry, and Carolina Fattori about the pervasive problem of plastic waste and potential solutions being explored by researchers and community activists.
13 May 2025
Portobello Radio With Imperial College London: Dancing Yourself Healthy
Piers Thompson interviews Alice Gregory and Sarah Evans about the physical and mental health benefits of dance, including its potential role in addressing the mental health crisis and its viability as an NHS prescription.
Who has been a guest on Great Exchanges, A Dialogue Between Science & Community Series 3
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Dr Philippa Mason
Ben Thorp Barnes
Katherine Welch
Molly Parry
Carolina Fattori
Podcast Authority Score: 28 / 100
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