Happy New Year! We are kicking off 2026 with something different. In November, Techne held its annual Student-Led Conference in London, during which the Technecast team organised a discussion around the idea of untranslatability.
We first hear from Felix, who came up with the idea for the session and provided our participants with a plethora of examples from different languages and disciplines. Then, we dive into the results of the discussion led by Adrianna.
We are grateful to all participants for giving us some fascinating insight into the cultural uses of language. One participant even managed to smoothly tie the discussion to our conference theme (Gateways, Barriers and the Space Between - can you spot it?).
Fancy a history lesson?
In the latest Technecast episode, Adrianna is talking to Thomas Nixon-Roworth from Sheffield University on his research around clergy and lay relations in mid-17th century England.
Explore this complicated and fascinating part of English history by tuning in to Technecast on your preferred podcast app.
🎙️ New episode day! 🎙️
This week, we’re joined by Ruby Hornsby, a doctoral researcher at @universityofleeds , for a fascinating conversation at the crossroads of social ethics and technology 🤖✨
We dig into one big question: Can humans and robots ever truly be friends?
We explore what friendship means, why she argues it can’t exist with machines, and what this reveals about connection in the digital age.
Listen now on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts! 🎧👇
/episode/40SB0350XPLfxEuiszfcAP?si=443f96827d3f4968
🚨 New episode day! 🚨
In the first installment of our 'Nature' theme, Isabel catches up with friend of the podcast, PhD researcher and filmmaker @vivimellegard . She fills us in on how her PhD journey has been progressing, and shares an immersive soundscape of her practice with us 🐒🍃
Listen below on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!
/episode/6kC5nylkiMDw12c8eK3L9d?si=3stfXggxRgezzK9sBKITAw
New episode is here!
Continuing our Heritage and Memory series, Adrianna Chmielewska talks to Helen Williams on her research into representations of motherhood.
Helen Williams is a first-year doctoral researcher in creative writing at Brunel University of London. An experienced motherhood journalist, Williams is writing a novel based around her research on the ways relationships between generations of university-educated mothers and daughters are represented in contemporary British fiction. One of the texts she is focusing on is Bernardine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other. In this podcast, Williams presents a piece of creative criticism: a monologue in the voice of the National Theatre, a key setting in Evaristo's novel, comparing the structure of the novel to the architecture of the theatre.
As well as reading a sample of her writing, Helen talks about her inspirations for the project and trends in matricentric literature today.
Technecast is a podcast series showcasing research from across the arts and humanities. It is produced by Adrianna Chmielewska, Felix Clutson, Isabel Sykes, Morag Thomas, Olivia Aarons, Eva Dieteren and Pragya Sharma. Fancy turning your research into a podcast episode? We'd love to hear from you at [email protected].
New episode alert!
In our first episode on the theme of Heritage and Memory, PhD researcher Tom Hull from the University of Brighton talks to us about his research project.
Tom's project uses a combination of archival research, literary criticism and creative writing to deepening our understanding of Dr James Barry. Dr James Barry was many things. He was a pioneering surgeon, performing the first successful caesarean section within the British Empire where the mother and daughter both survived. He was an army doctor in various occupied colonial territories, and was complicit in the racialised violence of the British Empire. And he also happened to be a trans man. In this episode, Tom explores how we can both recognise a person from the past as a queer pioneer, and acknowledge that history has privileged them and silenced others - for example, Barry's Jamaican manservant and companion of 35 years, John, about whom so little is known. Using techniques and theories such as Saidiya Hartman's 'critical fabulation', Tom's project seeks to address these gaps in the archive both creatively and critically.
Technecast is a podcast series showcasing research from across the arts and humanities. It is produced by Felix Clutson, Isabel Sykes, Morag Thomas, Olivia Aarons, Eva Dieteren and Pragya Sharma. Fancy turning your research into a podcast episode? We'd love to hear from you at [email protected]
🎙️ New Episode Alert! 🎉 In celebration of International Women's Day, our latest episode dives into the powerful intersection of gender and music 🎶. We’re joined by brilliant Techne students who unpack the role of women in diverse musical traditions – from opera to classical to pop and everything in between! 💪✨
Tune in to hear how our chat about women in music took us to Kendrick Lamar's iconic Super Bowl performance (how could we not?), Dolly Parton’s undeniable legacy, and Eurodance bangers reimagined as football chants.
Hit play and celebrate the voices shaping music history with us! 🎧 And don’t forget to check out the Spotify playlist for those gems we mentioned! Link in bio 🔗
#IWD2025 #womeninmusic #musicresearch #podcast #phdresearch #genderandmusic #technedtp #internationalwomensday
🎄✨New episode! ❄🥂
In our final episode of 2024, the team comes together for a roundtable discussion on the theme of ‘care’. Topics include: how can we practice self-care as researchers, particularly in the current turbulent HE landscape? What does care as methodology look like? And does care for ourselves or each other even matter while we are failing to care for our planet?
Listen here on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts:
/episode/6xvDt744T4o3YdKoKvQnnb?si=50d44806b2734753
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Image: GoodFon
📢 New episode 📢
A couple of weeks ago we had the pleasure of organising a workshop on 'The Practice of Interviewing'. Missed the session? No worries! In our latest episode you will find a recap of the workshop, including prompts on interviewing by several Technecast members as well as practice interviews by some of our participants. We hope you enjoy! 💛
Fancy turning your research into a podcast episode? We'd love to hear from you at [email protected]
New episode just dropped!
In our latest instalment of our series on 'Senses', we hear from Rosalind Holgate-Smith. Rosalind is an AHRC-funded doctoral researcher whose work looks at touch, particularly in the field of dance and contact improvisation. In this episode, Rosalind talks to Morag about her conceptualisation of 'Deep Touch', and how this conceptualisation informs and enriches her teaching and dance practice. We hope you enjoy!
You can find more of Rosalind's work here: /work
Photo for episode cover credited to Bernardo Chances.
Fancy turning your research into a podcast episode? We'd love to hear from you at [email protected]
🧙♂️New episode!🪄
This time 📺 and 📽️ researcher Jennifer Doveton - who kindly composed the technecast music for us - talks to us about the representation of labour in adaptations of some iconic British fantasy works. You'll find beautiful production, sharp social insight, and a definitive Dobby retrospective.
Listen here: https://t.co/zwN6BmNoDk
Or anywhere you podcast. Have a magic day. Cough.
New episode day! 🎉
Check out the latest instalment of our Work and Labour series, 'Dancing Degrowth', with transdisciplinary dance artist, teacher and researcher Julia Pond.
Listen here on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts:
/episode/0gPxqar08BVIgcFWlZE78N?si=0cc9dd166f7f4926
Image: Gani Naylor
