Wayne Meeten in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone
Release Date: 06/16/2025
Per Palmgren in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone
Per Palmgren is Associate Professor in Medical Education at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden where he is the director of doctoral studies at the Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics. In addition to his work as an academic, Per is an award-winning ballroom dancer who has represented his country many times. He also teaches and adjudicates in dance competitions. In this conversation we explore these different instances of performing.
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Ian Walmsley in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone
Professor Ian Walmsley is Provost of Imperial College London and Chair in Experimental Physics. He has a distinguished career as a researcher, both in the UK and overseas. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and has many awards and honours, including a CBE. Ian has a specialist interest in quantum information processing and leads a research group in this field. He is about to step down from his role at Imperial and take on the leadership of the Oxford Quantum Institute. In this podcast we explore what quantum computing is and how non-specialists like me might think of it.
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Deborah Safron in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone
Dr Deborah Safron is a sociologist and independent scholar who was brought up in America. As part of her research she is documenting the now abandoned practice of ‘reading vacations’ at Oxford University, and exploring how long-form reading might be revived - both for young people and those in retirement. We discuss how these ideas might help disadvantaged young people to experience intensive reading as they study, complementing the role of AI.
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Dave Stachowiak in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone
Dave Stachowiak is an expert in leadership. He established and directs the Coaching for Leaders Academy in the USA, drawing on his experience with Gale Carnegie and his doctorate in organisational leadership. He started his weekly podcast Coaching for Leaders in 2011 and recently invited me to take part in an episode. In this conversation we explore the nature of leadership before comparing notes on our experiences in podcasting. My conversation with Dave on his podcast:
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Charles Hayter in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone
Charles Hayter is a radiation oncologist, author and playwright. After an early career studying and teaching drama, Charles changed direction and became a medical student. He was inspired by radiation oncology’s combination of technological precision with the human experience of patients coming to terms with cancer. His book Cancer Confidential was published in 2022. In this podcast we compare our experiences within and beyond the world of medicine. Cancer Confidential: Backstage Dramas in the Radiation Clinic (University of Toronto Press, 2022)
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Rachel Vickery in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone
Rachel Vickery is a human behaviour and high performance consultant. Initially an international gymnast on the New Zealand National Team, she retired from athletics at the age of nineteen. She trained as a physiotherapist and gained extensive clinical experience before specialising in supporting people from a wide range of high pressure professions and fields - including medicine, sport, the military and law. Rachel’s approach integrates physical, mental and emotional dimensions. In this podcast we discuss our shared fascination in looking across conventional disciplinary boundaries.
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Sophie Yates in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone
Sophie Yates is a distinguished harpsichordist - recitalist, broadcaster, recording artist and teacher. We first recorded a Countercurrent conversation in 2017. In this podcast we explore Sophie’s ability to listen with forensic accuracy in her world of music - and compare this with the role of listening in clinical practice and other areas of performing.
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Ashley Solomon in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone
Ashley Solomon is Head of Historical Performance and Professor at the Royal College of Music. He is a baroque flute and recorder player who has performed as a soloist all over the world. He co-founded the baroque ensemble Florilegium in 1991. Since then they have made over 35 recordings and performed all over the world, including almost a hundred appearances at London’s Wigmore Hall. Ashley has been working with indigenous musicians in Bolivia for over twenty years, uncovering and exploring a baroque musical tradition dating back to the Jesuit missions in the 17th century. ...
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Mark Oakley in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone
The Very Rev Dr Mark Oakley is Dean of Southwark. He has held many ecclesiastical roles, including Rector of St Paul’s Covent Garden, then Chancellor at St Paul’s Cathedral. He is deeply interested in poetry, is a prolific writer and has a PhD in English literature. A turning point for Mark as a young minister in his twenties was his work with young men dying from HIV/AIDS. In this conversation we explore the role of poetry and metaphor in Mark’s ministry and find surprising resonances between our areas of practice.
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Stephen Kovacevich in conversation with Roger Kneebone
Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone
Stephen Kovacevich is one of the most celebrated concert pianists of his generation. Since his Wigmore Hall debut in 1961 he has been known for his interpretations of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and Schubert. Stephen and I look back over his career and discuss his experiences as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and conductor, collaborating with many of the world’s leading performers and orchestras. He and pianist Martha Argerich will be performing at the Wigmore Hall in October 2025 in a concert to celebrate his 85th birthday.
info_outlineWayne Meeten is a distinguished craftsman whose work builds on ancient Japanese metalworking techniques and is profoundly influenced by Tai Chi. Wayne has studied in Japan, working with leading experts in the field. His works are created from a flat sheet of metal using only a hammer. He has won numerous awards for his work, which is in many private and public collections. In this podcast he traces his journey from his early days working in a jeweller’s shop in Brighton through a series of unpredictable twists and turns.