Ed Talks: Recent Episodes
Old Edwardians (KES & KEHS)
Ed Talks is the new podcast from the Development Office at King Edward's School Birmingham and King Edward's High School for Girls in which Ben Anderson (2006) talks to Old Edwardians who have gone on to have successful careers in different fields.
If you would like to feature on the podcast as guest or if you have news to offer one of the Old Edwardian's print publications, please email Adelaide Bailey at the Development Office - aab@kes.bham.sch.uk.
This podcast is produced by Sound Rebel, a podcast production company who create podcasts for businesses, organisations and charities across the UK. If you would like to talk to us about producing your podcast, please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Professor Oliver Johnson (1992) and Rik Ubhi (2004) join Ben to talk about working together on Oliver's new book Numbercrunch: A Mathematician's Toolkit for Making Sense of Your World.
Rik is the Editorial Director of Heligo (an imprint of Bonnier Books) and when Oliver's proposal came to him, he didn't know about the Old Eds link. A conversation about a mutual shared love of Aston Villa led to a conversation about their upbringings, which of course led them to realise they'd both walked the same corridors at King Edward's School.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for you - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
This episode of Ed Talks is slightly different, as we're not talking to an Old Edwardian - but instead, someone who knows Old Edwardians rather well, both present and past. Charlotte Gallant is the Foundation Archivist, and her role is to preserve and curate the archives of all of the King Edward VI Foundation schools.
In this conversation, Charlotte talks about the kind of things that are in the King Edward's archive, but also about how she curates it - what will people like to look back on? What will give them a sense of what the schools are like today, in a hundred years time? How does she choose what goes into the archive and what doesn't?
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for you - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Howard Williamson (1972) is currently a Professor at Cardiff University and has spent his career researching and teaching on the subject of young people and issues that affect them, from working as a lecturer to a government advisor in countries all over the world. Howard never had a plan for his career - opportunities have just presented themselves based around his area of expertise.
A thread that has run through his life, however, is his work with the Milltown Boys, who were the subject of his first book "Five Years" which was a groundbreaking study of youth, poverty and crime in 1970's Britain. Howard talks about how he first met the Milltown Boys when he was a student, and also about the subsequent work he did with them in "The Milltown Boys Revisited" (published in 2004) and "The Milltown Boys at Sixty" (published in 2021).
In fact, he describes his work with the Milltown Boys as a second education: "I have been immensely privileged in my life, largely from having two educations – one in an elite and prestigious secondary school, and one on the streets of Milltown."
He talks about how he always had a rebellious streak as a young man, and how King Edward's School helped to "consolidate this rebelliousness" - he believes that going to the school gave him a confidence to approach any situation, and he's as comfortable in a government meeting room as he is in a local youth centre.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for you - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Nick Varley (1986) is the founder of LookUp Communications and former CEO and founding partner of the content agency Seven46.
Seven46 were known as the "bid specialists" because of their work helping countries to bid for major sporting events, and in this conversation Nick talks about his experience working with the London 2012 team to help them shape the story that won the UK the Olympic Games.
After the success of the London 2012 bid, Nick went on to work with the teams who won bids for Rio, Tokyo and Paris, and talks about what the awarding committee are looking for when choosing a country to host the world's biggest event.
He also talks about his career as a journalist and an author, and how this experience helped him to write the speeches that people like Lord Coe and Ken Livingstone gave as part of the London 2012 bid. Despite always having a love for sport, he never thought that his career would take him in the direction that it did - even though the seeds were planted when he was in the Sixth Form at KES.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for you - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Neil Moxley (1987) is the Chief Sports Reporter at The Sunday People and has previously worked for the Daily Mirror and the Daily Star, covering sports events across the globe. In this conversation Neil talks about the play review he wrote at KES that sparked his passion for writing, and how his upbringing set him up to be able to feel confident in any situation as a journalist.
Neil writes about many different sports, but has a huge passion in particular for football. In this conversation he talks about how he has seen the game change over his thirty year career, and how the huge commercial interest in the industry of football has had both positive and negative impacts.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for you - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Jules Parke-Robinson (1993) left KEHS and went on to Aberystwyth University, but from a young age knew she wanted to join the military. After completing her Masters Degree, she went to Sandhurst to train as an Officer and subsequently joined the Royal Military Police.
Jules stayed with the Military Police for 21 years, where she became Commanding Officer of the Special Investigations branch. She explains the kind of work she did, gathering evidence across the globe, and also why she decided to leave the military and work in the corporate sector (she is currently Global Head of Investigations at GSK Consumer Healthcare).
With the Commonwealth Games now just round the corner, of course which are being held in Birmingham, Jules also talked about her role as the Chair of British Wheelchair Basketball - and what our chances are for the summer!
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for you - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Nisha Pillai (1979) is a former BBC News presenter with over 20 years experience, including being a rolling news anchor for BBC World News as well as an investigative journalist for Panorama and The Money Programme. However, this wasn't the path that she set out on after leaving KEHS as a degree from LSE led to a short career within merchant banking before she realised that this wasn't her passion and became a financial journalist, the path that eventually led her to the news desk.
In this conversation, Nisha talks about her career as an investigative journalist and in particular, one story that she was at the forefront of - the Robert Maxwell case. She also talks about her career as a news anchor, and what it's like to be on screen when breaking news comes in - she was on air on 9/11, and had to both simultaneously process her emotions as a human being witnessing one of the most tragic events in our history whilst also being the calm and collected face of the BBC.
She also talks briefly about the BBC as an organisation, and how she is proud of its history of impartiality. At the moment it feels as if the BBC is being attacked from all sides - and Nisha argues that this is exactly where the BBC should be.
Nisha has now pivoted in her career again, and loves her life as a conference host, motivational speaker, and coach - you can find out more about Nisha on her website, www.nishapillai.com
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for you - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Anya Duxbury (2019) is a recent KEHS leaver and is currently in the United States studying Business at Alma College in Michigan for a year - however, her passion is anthropology, which is the degree she's taking a short break from before she returns to Queen's Belfast to complete it next year.
In this conversation Anya talks about the subject of anthropology itself, and how discovering it almost by chance set her off in a completely different direction with her life. Anthropology is, broadly, the study of what makes us human, and Anya is particularly interested in how societal structures can influence the behaviour of the individual (Anya applies some of her learnings to the context of KES and KEHS in a case study we can all relate to!)
As you will hear, Anya is hugely passionate about the subject and has recently been appointed as the National Vice Ambassador for the UK in the Applied Anthropology Network of Europe. She believes that some of the character traits that were instilled in her at KEHS had a part to play in this appointment, and we believe these same traits mean that she has a fantastic career ahead of her!
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for you - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Dr. Chris Duncan (2009) and Dr. Sarb Clare have accomplished something extraordinary together: whilst both working on the NHS frontline of the COVID pandemic they have also written a medical textbook, published with Cambridge University Press, which could revolutionise patient care in the future.
The book is called Ultrasound for the Generalist which focuses on point of care ultrasound and the multitude of benefits that new portable ultrasound technology can provide in areas around the world: taking equipment to the patient rather than asking the patient to come in to hospital is just one of them, but one which could dramatically help people especially in areas with more barriers to access to healthcare.
The book was supposed to be published in 2020, but Sarb and Chris were needed on the frontline when the pandemic hit. They talk about their experiences of working within the NHS during this difficult time, and offer some insight in to how the NHS is faring in January 2022, nearly two years after the world first went in to lockdown.
To find out more about the book, visit https://www.generalistultrasound.com
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for you - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Melanie Etti (2007) is a Fulbright Scholar completing a Master of Public Health degree at Harvard University. She spent much of 2020 working as a researcher in Uganda and will be continuing work within the field of global health during her year of postgraduate study.
In this conversation she talks about how following her passions has been the driving force behind her career decisions, rather than following a predetermined career plan. She talks about the importance of hard work, determination and tenacity, but she's also incredibly modest about what she's achieved - very few people are offered Fulbright scholarships, and she's absolutely making the most of her opportunity in the States.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for you - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Beth Heaven (2008) is Partnerships and Digital Senior Manager working at The Walt Disney Company's head office in London - and yes, characters do occasionally pop in to say hello!
She is currently working in the products part of the business, working with partners such as Lego and H&M who use the Disney IP as part of their own product lines, but she also talks about the other areas of the business she's worked in prior to this role (including a brief stint as a presenter on Disney's YouTube channel!)
Beth's journey to Disney has been anything but linear, and being in such a creative role at one of the most creative companies in the world, it may be surprising to hear that Beth studied Biochemistry after leaving KEHS and even went for a finance job with one of the Big Four companies before deciding that it wasn't for her.
In this conversation, she talks about how important it is to enjoy your work and how she'd look for a new role if she stopped enjoying her work at The Walt Disney Company - being passionate about her work and the feeling of being challenged are hugely important to her, and allows her to be the very best she can be at whatever she's asked to do.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Duncan Grierson (1987) is an entrepreneur with a track record of building cleantech companies, and in this conversation he talks about his most recent venture, Clim8.
Clim8 is a digital investment platform which empowers anyone to invest in green companies. Clean energy, smart mobility, clean technology, clean water, sustainable food and the circular economy all have a part in creating a greener and more sustainable future, and Clim8 hopes to build a community of investors who share its passion for the environment.
Duncan also reflects on the recent COP26 Conference which he attended in Glasgow, and talks about what did (and what didn't) come out of it. He also talks about individual responsibility when it comes to the environment, and how we can all make a difference to the world around us.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Ian Metcalfe (1976) is the Chair of Commonwealth Games England and in this conversation talks about what an international event like next year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham does for a city like ours.
Ian is a proud Brummie, and came back to the city straight after university. He is a solicitor by training and had a hugely successful career with international law firm Wragge & Co (retiring as a managing partner), but sport has always been his passion - one which was very much developed when he was on the sports fields at KES.
Ian has always been an active part of KES life, and is now a governor for our independent schools and an ambassador for the AP100 campaign. He is passionate about the school's future and Birmingham as a city, and wants to see both thrive for generations to come.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Professor Marian Knight (1986) is a maternal and child health researcher and public health physician and was recently elected a Fellow of the Academy for Medical Sciences. She leads @mbrrace and @NPEU-UKOSS and has spoken widely about Covid and pregnancy as well as ethnic disparities in maternity care.
In this conversation, she talks about these issues and the research these organisations have been carrying out, but she also talks about the role of the medical researcher herself, and the lifestyle that comes in a role where two of Marian's loves at school, maths and the sciences, are rolled in to one.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
His Honour Nicholas Cooke QC (1973) is a former Senior Circuit Judge at the Central Criminal Court, often referred to as "The Old Bailey". Despite retiring as a judge a few years ago, he is keeping incredibly busy - he was recently made an Honorary Fellow at Aberystwyth University, he's doing a Research Degree at Oxford, he's on the Development Board of performing arts charity Orpheus, and he's the Chair of Fields in Trust Wales.
In this conversation, Nick is incredibly honest about how he has seen the judicial system in the UK change over the course of his career, and how this contributed towards his reasons for retiring - and for his reasons to start a Research Degree in his sixth decade.
Based on a lecture he gave on Bribery and Corruption in the City (which you can watch here), in this conversation Nick discusses the growth of specimen directions and their impact upon the role of the judge - should a judge be the lofty lawyer, the lawyer as a philosopher who evaluates the rules to see how they might be applied, or should the judge be a technician, or an applier of the rules set out by committees?
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
James Forrest (2002) was given the nickname The Mountain Man by The Sunday Telegraph, and for very good reason - he has recently broken the speed record for climbing the three British peaks unsupported, he's climbed every single mountain in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in the fastest known time, and his book Mountain Man documents the first part of this journey when he climbed all of England and Wales' mountains whilst holding down a job and trekking in his spare time.
James is now a full-time adventurer, and talks about how he has turned his passion in to his living. After leaving KES he went to university to study History, and ended up working in the charity sector. However, an office job wasn't for him - so he took a gap year in his thirties and then decided to completely change how he lived moving forwards.
James' story is hugely inspiring, and through his adventures he is inspiring many others to leap out of their comfort zones and spend more time outdoors.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Tom Johnson left school in 1965 and spent his career as a teacher. However, he always had a passion for crosswords and decided to take the leap and work as a freelance crossword compiler and editor, something the still does and loves to this day!
Tom has compiled and edited crosswords for The Financial Times, The New Statesman, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian amongst others, and recently had his first crossword in The Times. The Spectator also celebrated 50 years of its crossword recently - Tom has been involved for the last 40 of those.
In this conversation he talks about what he loves so much about his job, and the lifestyle it gives him. He also - very kindly (and patiently!) - runs through the format of Cryptic Crosswords and how to solve them, and gives a few examples... We'd love to hear how you get on with them!
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Jean Moule (1973) is an incredibly well-known character in the hallways of KEHS... She grew up in Sandwell and attended the school as a pupil in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later returned to the school as a young teacher after going to Durham University for her undergraduate degree and Newcastle University for her PGCE. KEHS was her second teaching post after working for five years at a school in Birmingham City Centre, and it was never in the plan to come back - even when the opportunity presented itself, Jean wasn't confident that she'd got the job!
Her modesty can be heard throughout this conversation, as she has had a hugely successful career at KEHS. This year, she's retiring from her post as Head of English - so we're delighted that we were able to invite her on to the podcast to talk about her career which has impacted the lives of thousands of KEHS students over the decades.
In this conversation, Jean talks about her experiences of the school from both sides of the staff room door, but also about the changes she's seen during her time at KEHS both in terms of the changes at school itself and the changes in society. She is uniquely placed to give these insights, and we thank Jean for giving up her time to participate in Ed Talks - and of course, we thank her for everything she has done for KEHS life and wish her an incredibly happy retirement!
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In this episode of Ed Talks we take a break from the norm as instead of talking to an Old Edwardian, Ben talks to four current students - two boys from KES and two girls from KEHS.
Vedika, Jimmy, Alicia and Louis are all in their final year at King Edward's and are all Student Callers raising money for the Assisted Places Fund in their summer holidays. In this episode we talk about what it's like to be a Student Caller, why they do it, and the kinds of conversations they have with the Old Edwardians they speak to - but the students also talk about what its been like to learn through the pandemic, their futures, and what they've learned during their time at school.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Lindsey Davis left KEHS in 1967 and went to study at Oxford University. She had written stories since she was young, but never thought that writing could be a full-time career. Instead, she left Oxford and went in to a career with the Civil Service.
However, she became frustrated with her job when she felt as if people were being promoted into roles because of their gender, rather than their ability. She handed in her notice and began writing again - something which did become a full-time job as she is now the writer of many historical novels with the first book in her Falco series, The Silver Pigs, being published in 1989.
In this conversation Lindsey talks about what it's like to be a writer, but also reflects back on both Birmingham and wider society in terms of how gender roles have changed since she was a girl. She's a proud Brummie who's now living back in Edgbaston after forty years in London, and she discusses what traits she developed at KEHS which have stayed with her throughout her life.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Robert Whalley left school in 1965 and went on to study History at the University of Cambridge. He didn't necessarily know what he wanted to do as a career during his time in education, but upon leaving university he applied to be in the Civil Service and was posted to the Home Office, where he enjoyed an incredibly long and successful career.
Robert started his career in Northern Ireland, and in this conversation he talks about what it felt like to be in the middle of such devastation at such a young age - he'd be on the phone to Number 10 and they would be able to hear bombs going off in the background of the call, they were that close to where he was sitting.
He also talks about his time as the Home Office's Director for Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence, a role that he was in for 9/11 and for the London bombings of 2005. He chaired the Government's COBRA meetings for these two events (as well as many others during his time in this job) and talks about what it's like to be in the room when such huge decisions are made.
Finally, Robert talks about his time as the Director of Immigration Policy for the UK. He demonstrates that those working for the Civil Service need to be strong administrators by nature, but also how they need to have an empathy for those who are affected by their decisions - understanding a situation in as much detail as possible, and from as many opposing viewpoints, is vital to success.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
Lexi Willetts left KEHS in 1999, starting her career as an intellectual property lawyer. Working as Head of IP for Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), during her tenure FIFA revolutionised their commercial programme by announcing two World Cup host countries at the same time. Some five years later and after completing a masters, she transitioned to consumer tech and is now the Founder and CEO of fashion-tech venture, Little Black Door. “LBD”, the social wardrobe app, encourages women to wear and share their wardrobes with friends, followers and resale platforms. The app creates conscious fashion consumers by allowing women to discover what’s in their wardrobe , allows borrowing between users to increase use of existing fashion, clothing use, whilst championing investment in quality slow fashion. As our awareness of the negative impact of fast cheap fashion on female working conditions and the environment intensifies, LBD is out to create more sustainable future wardrobes and improve our relationship with and use of fashion. In this discussion, Lexi also overviews the realities of choosing start-up life vs. well funded corporate life and the challenges that come with entrepreneurial life. She also talks about being a woman within a traditionally male dominated space, and how Little Black Door’s digital work experience programme is allowing her to unlock more opportunities for women to consider careers in tech.
See More from Lexi Willetts.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In this episode of Ed Talks, Old Edwardian Ben Anderson (2006) talks to four sisters who all went to KEHS - Gayatri Sehdev (2001), Sara Sehdev (2005), Jyoti Sehdev (2011) and Aarti Sehdev (2011).
Gayatri has an endless joy for learning and a desire to improve herself and the world around her. After studying Law at Cambridge, she went on to live in London, Hong Kong, Paris, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and in the latter which she completed her MBA at Wharton, where she graduated as a Palmer Scholar. Having returned to London, Gayatri is now fulfilling her ambitions of building a bridge between the fields of business and law within the legal team at London Stock Exchange Group.
Sara runs her own talent agency, Core MGMT, where she has Colin Firth on speed dial and spends her time on the red carpet. She has recently been accepted as a member of BAFTA, and has just produced her first feature film, Villain, which will be released later this year, alongside an 18-minute single-take short starring Stephen Graham, Boiling Point.
Jyoti studied at UCL and has quickly risen through the ranks of a male dominated industry. She is constantly being selected to inspire women to become engineers, to advise on how to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, and (following her particular passion of bio-mimicry) to think about where we can be inspired by nature in our structures and how we build them. Jyoti is also a vocal and brilliant advocate for LGBT+ & Allies, and also speaks openly to the mostly-male workforce about mental health issues within the industry.
Aarti has a doctorate in insect olfaction, having completed a Masters in Biological Sciences at UCL and her PhD at the University of Konstanz in Germany. She continues her breakthrough research on insect neurobiology at Yale University, USA, where she is currently undertaking her post-doctorate. Aarti’s enjoyment of learning about life on this planet is drawn from her devotion to protecting the environment, through which she has committed to achieving a no-waste lifestyle, minimising her plastic and carbon footprint. She joins her sisters on this podcast from Connecticut, USA.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In this episode of Ed Talks, Old Edwardian Ben Anderson (2006) talks to Grace Gwynne (2013), Third Six Pupil at No5 Barristers' Chambers in Birmingham.
Grace talks about her route to becoming a barrister, and how it wasn't always an easy journey - she faced a number of setbacks in her career journey and talks about how important persistence is when it comes to achieving your goals.
She also discusses how the courts are operating in regards to COVID and the backlog of cases that need to be heard as a result of shutting down in the UK's first lockdown. She also reflects on the differences between the UK and US justice systems following her time spent working in Connecticut.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In this episode of Ed Talks, Old Edwardian Ben Anderson (2006) talks to Professor Emma Rees (1987), Director of the Institute of Gender Studies at Chester University.
Emma discusses a number of topics, from the work she does at the university around gender and identity to her published work. She talks about what it's been like to lecture through COVID and how her students have been faring, and also why she has her pronouns (she / her) on her email signature.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In this episode of Ed Talks, Old Edwardian Ben Anderson (2006) talks to Sumit Dheir (2006), who since leaving university has worked in finance, first for an investment bank and now for a private equity firm.
Sumit talks about how his A Level Economics classes with Mr Mason inspired him to want to work within the field of finance, and how working within private equity allows him to use the principles he learned about with active businesses.
Sumit discusses how his role works but also about the wider economy, and whether it's a good or bad time to be in the business of investing in businesses.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In this episode of Ed Talks, Old Edwardian Ben Anderson (2006) talks to Richard Wolffe (1987), the US columnist for The Guardian.
Richard lives in New York and has been reporting on US politics for decades, including being one of only three journalists who followed Barack Obama's entire presidential campaign from start to finish as a writer for Newsweek.
In this podcast he talks about the Black Lives Matter movement and reflects on his experiences of racism when growing up in Birmingham in the 1980s. He discusses how Black Lives Matter affected the result of the US election, and what Joe Biden's victory could mean for campaigners. Finally, he talks about Donald Trump and what could lie ahead for him personally, whilst talking more widely about what he represents.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In this episode of Ed Talks, Old Edwardian Ben Anderson (2006) talks to the authors Lee Child (1973) and Andrew Child. Jim Grant (who writes under the Lee Child name) has achieved worldwide fame through his Jack Reacher series of novels, and is now handing the franchise over to his younger brother Andrew.
The Sentinel was published at the end of last month, and Ben talks to the brothers about how the handover in the writing process worked - but of course, also about their upbringing and Jim's days as a student at KES. They also touch on the subject of redundancy (Jim was made redundant by Granada Television after a hugely successful career there) - and he gives his advice to anyone who may be facing redundancy, or who fear that it may be on the horizon once the UK's furlough scheme comes to an end in March.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In this episode of Ed Talks, Ben Anderson (2006) chairs a panel discussion with three Old Edwardians - Alexa Joyce (Education & Skills Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Microsoft Corporation), Malcolm Warr OBE (Chair of CNI Scotland) and Dr. Hermine Graham (Clinical Psychologist and Board Member of the UK Advisory Board for Safer Gambling).
The subject of this discussion is "Responses to COVID" - the panel talk about the impacts that COVID-19 has had on our society as a whole outside of the physical health implications, discussing digital transformations and other positive changes that we are able to take from the pandemic with lockdowns allowing us to hit the reset button in many aspects of our lives.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In this episode of Ed Talks, Old Edwardian Ben Anderson (2006) talks to Hannah Proops (1997), an Old Ed who is now the Director of Drama at KEHS.
Hannah talks about the reasons why she campaigned to get drama taught in every year group when she took over the role of Director of Drama, and how the subject has now grown to over 70 students studying GCSE Drama and 20 students studying Theatre Studies at A Level.
She also talks about TuneUp, an initiative that was created by Hannah and Kirsty von Malaisé (the Principal at KEHS) which gives schools the opportunity to celebrate the impact of the arts in the development and mental health of young people in the UK.
The first part of TuneUp - Uplift - is taking place tomorrow (Tuesday 24th November) and incredibly, over 200 schools and 70,000 students will be involved. The resources that have been collated for this project will continue to be built and available at www.tuneup.life
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In this episode of Ed Talks, Old Edwardian Ben Anderson (2006) talks to Elliot Weaver (2006) and his brother Zander Weaver (2009) who have both been working in the film industry since leaving KES.
Recently they have directed their first feature length film, Cosmos, which is available to stream now. They talk about what goes in to creating a film but in particular about the challenges that come with producing a "no budget" movie.
You can find out more about Cosmos at www.cosmosmovieofficial.com and see which platforms you can stream Cosmos on at www.cosmosmovieofficial.com/watch-cosmos
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In this episode of Ed Talks, Old Edwardian Ben Anderson (2006) talks to Seb Heaven (2006) about his career as a doctor in Canada, and his experiences of being on the frontline during the COVID 19 pandemic.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In this episode of Ed Talks, Old Edwardian Ben Anderson (2006) talks to Dame Louise Makin (1978) about her career journey and her time as CEO of BTG PLC, a FTSE 250 specialist healthcare company which was acquired by Boston Scientific in 2019.
She also talks passionately about the environment, she discusses what the effect of being made redundant had on her life and career, and she talks about how she now spends her time on a portfolio of other roles including charity work and mentoring start-up businesses.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.
In the first episode of Ed Talks, Old Edwardian Ben Anderson (2006) talks to the author, broadcaster, comedian and classicist, Natalie Haynes (1993).
Natalie currently hosts a show on BBC Radio 4 called Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics and has been nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2020 with her novel A Thousand Ships.
This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email ben@soundrebel.co.uk.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.