Talking Humanities introduces projects and reflections from researchers across the Arts and Humanities Faculty at Durham University. The faculty is home to a vibrant culture of ideas and research activities.
Talking Humanities features insights into collaborative projects working across the university and beyond - changing the ways in which we think and work. These highlight the transformative strength of Arts and Humanities and hope to inspire further reflection and activity.
Law and the Humanities - Dr Maryam Mirza and Professor Tom Hamilton
Dr Maryam Mirza and Professor Tom Hamilton explore what happens when we approach law not only as rules, courts and institutions, but through literature, history and human experience — asking whose voices are heard, whose are missing, and how people live with the consequences of legal power.
13 Mar 2026
From Ancient Texts to Ethical Tech - Dr Thea Sommerschield and Professor Sue Black
For this episode we join Dr Thea Sommerschield from the Department of Classics and Ancient History and Professor Sue Black from the Department of Computer Science at Durham University.
This free-flowing conversation brings together Thea’s work on AI and ancient inscriptions, with Sue’s work supporting women in tech and challenging bias in AI.
We hear about the very different paths that led them into their research, before the conversation opens out into a fascinating discussion about ancient inscriptions, women in tech, the value of interdisciplinary research, and the importance of using technology in ways that are thoughtful, ethical, and transformative.
20 Feb 2026
Rivers of Ink Part 2 - Ross Ashton and Karen Monid
In this second part of Rivers of Ink, we’re at St Paul’s Church in Jarrow with artists Ross Ashton and Karen Monid of The Projection Studio, whose touring installation reimagines the Codex Amiatinus through projection and sound. They explore the research behind the work, the challenge of visualising a world with little surviving evidence, and the wider history of writing and book-making that shaped the manuscript. We also discuss authorship and authenticity through the fascinating story of Codex’s altered dedication page, the labour of the monastic community who produced it, and how art and academia can open this complex historical and religious object to wider audiences.
9 Feb 2026
Rivers of Ink Part 1 - Professor Francis Watson & Lauren Randall
In this episode we bring together Professor Francis Watson from the department of Theology and Religion and Lauren Randall, a Phd researcher at Durham University. They are both working on the manuscript Codex Amiatinus, the world’s oldest bible and about to tour their latest project, Rivers of Ink which looks at the making of the Codex Amiatinus and how it came to be produced in the North East of England.
We talk about what makes Codex Amiatinus such an extraordinary manuscript, how it was made at Wearmouth and Jarrow, and how Rivers of Ink brings that story to life for audiences today through sound, light, and talks touring the region.
30 Jan 2026
Thinking Space: How the Humanities Shape Our View of the Cosmos
Dr. Nikita Chu, Dr. Chris Cowie, and Dr. Vladimir Brljak examine how the humanities shape our understanding of space, from historical cosmologies to contemporary space exploration debates, in this interview episode.
24 Oct 2025
The Absence/Presence of Durham’s Black History
Professor Nayanika Mookherjee, Dr. Sol Gamsu, and Dr. Liam Liburd examine Durham's Black history through archival research and a walking tour, revealing the links between local institutions and global histories of colonialism in this interview.
30 Sept 2025
Science and the Humanities: Modelling the Black Death
Historians, physicists, and archaeologists discuss their interdisciplinary project at Durham University, which uses the JUNE model to simulate the Black Death's spread through medieval England in this interview.
4 Aug 2025
Coal Stories: Exploring Durham’s Hidden Mining Past with Dr Adrian Green and Sandra Bell
Dr. Adrian Green and Sandra Bell guide listeners through Durham's coal mining past, revealing how coal shaped the city's streets and social history in this interview.
23 May 2025
VR, AI & Empathy: Rethinking English with Dr. Alistair Brown
Dr. Alistair Brown explores the crucial role of English studies in fostering empathy and critical thinking, especially with AI's rise, while adapting literature education through VR, in this interview.
23 May 2025
Durham University and the BFI - Dr Ladan Cockshut, Professor Simon James and Stuart Burnside
Dr. Ladan Cockshut and Professor Simon James discuss gaming research, its link to science fiction, and the preservation of gaming heritage with Stuart Burnside in an interview.
23 Jan 2025
Durham University and the BFI - Dr Ladan Cockshut with Stuart Burnside
Welcome to the third of our podcasts from the BFI Reuben Library. In this episode, we join Stuart Burnside, Video Games Manager in the certification unit at the British Film Institute and Dr Ladan Cockshut assistant professor for research culture in the Department for Modern Languages and Culture at Durham University.
Stuart and Ladan discuss the establishment of game studies, film to video game adaptations, participatory games development, issues around archiving our games heritage, and how gaming can transform the way we think about culture and the humanities.
5 Dec 2024
Durham University and the BFI - Professor Simon James with Senior Librarian Katie Reddington
This is the second in a series of conversations with specialists from the BFI and is a discussion between the BFI Reuben Library’s Senior Librarian Katie Reddington and Professor Simon James. Simon James is Professor of Victorian Literature in the Department of English Studies. He has edited five H. G. Wells novels and six numbers of The Wellsian, the learned journal of the H. G. Wells Society, and written one book and several articles on Wells.
Katie and Simon discuss Wells' love of libraries and books, his novel the Time Machine, transformative humanities, and Wells’ forays into the world of film. Katie also shares some of the BFI Reuben libraries wealth of resources that relates to Wells and his film work.
31 Oct 2024
Durham University and the BFI - Introducing the BFI Reuben Library with Senior Librarian Katie Reddington
Since 2021, Durham has been working in partnership with the British Film Institute to make BFI Player available to all Durham University members.
The partnership has delivered research events, skills workshops for academic staff and students, careers training, the Durham Film Festival, and community outreach activities.
This is the first in a series of conversations with specialists from the BFI and we begin with an introduction to The BFI Reuben Library which is situated at BFI Southbank in London. Our guest is Katie Reddington who is the senior Librarian.
30 Aug 2024
Accessing Classics - Professor Arlene Holmes-Henderson
In this episode, we are joined by Professor Arlene Holmes-Henderson.
Arlene is Professor of Classics Education and Public Policy at Durham University. After studying Classics at Oxford, Harvard and Cambridge, Arlene qualified as a schoolteacher and taught in high schools for over a decade before returning to academia.
We talk about how classics education is beginning to thrive again and the fascinating projects Arlene has been involved with to make this happen. We discuss the many advantages of studying classics, her work with policymakers and making a stand against attacks on the value of the arts and humanities.
19 Jul 2024
Our Natural Heritage: An Interdisciplinary Conversation - Professor Bob Baxter and Dr Simona Capisani
In this episode we visit upper Teesdale in County Durham with Professor Bob Baxter and Dr Simona Capisani.
Bob is from the Bio Sciences Department at Durham University and has a long interest in climate change and its impact on plants.
Simona is an assistant Professor of Environmental Philosophy and has interests in climate justice and issues around environmental philosophy and conservation ethics.
We talk about this unique area of outstanding natural beauty and the work of Botanist Margaret Bradshaw, who has dedicated her life to studying it. In 2023, at the age of 97, Margaret published her first book: Teesdale's Special Flora: Places, Plants and People.” Bob and Simona reflect on the impact of Margaret’s work and discuss interdisciplinary approaches to tackling climate change.
19 Jun 2024
The Manner of Leaving - Dr Georgina Robinson
Content warning: topics discussed in this episode include death, deaths during Covid and infant death. Listeners who may be sensitive to these topics, please take note.
In this episode we visit South Road Cemetery in Durham with Dr Georgina Robinson.
Georgina is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Theology and Religion and Centre for Death-Life Studies at Durham University, with research interests primarily grounded in the interdisciplinary field of death studies.
Whilst 80% of British people choose cremation, Georgina has been researching alkaline hydrolysis, also known as water cremation. On our walk through the cemetery which offers traditional burial, cremation and woodland burial we talked about death taboo, death style, water cremation her fascinating work with funeral directors during COVID and the inevitable— emergence of digital death and our online legacy.
30 May 2024
Medieval Science - Professor Giles Gasper and Professor Brian Tanner
In this episode we are in Durham with Professor Giles Gasper and Professor Brian Tanner.
Giles is Professor in High Medieval History specialising in the intellectual history of the high middle ages and particularly in the development of theology. Brian is an Emiritus professor in the department of physics. They are both member of the interdisciplinary Ordered Universe project which studies the scientific works of the 13th century polymath, Robert Grosseteste.
They talk about how they met through the Ordered Universe and how their work in humanities and the sciences became intertwined. They discuss the unexpected discoveries and co-authored publications which came from the project, engaging with artists and young people as well as offering advice on setting up large-scale research projects.
Who has been a guest on Talking Humanities
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Dr Nikita Chu
Dr Chris Cowie
Dr Vladimir Brljak
Nayanika Mookherjee
Sol Gamsu
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