Reading People: Recent Episodes
NMiTE
On Reading People, NMiTE Design Cohort members talk to thinkers, doers and innovators about their lives and the books they’re reading. We hope to capture some of the history, breadth and creativity of Hereford’s New Model Institute of Technology & Engineering.
We chat to Alex Beard, CEO of the Royal Opera House who has a CBE for his services to the arts. From classics to finance and finding his true calling, we talk leadership, the Tate, new audiences for opera and ballet and controversy!
Books: The Iliad by Homer The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
Chosen track: Ride of the Valkyries, Wagner. Experience the wonder Alex felt as a child with this as his first taste of opera!
Date recorded: 30/05/19 at the Royal Opera House, London.
Thank you for listening! We hope you've enjoyed the podcasts and while it's goodbye from the Design Cohort, we hope NMiTE students continue to record more stories and advice from brilliant guests.
Thanks to all our guests and the Design Cohort contributors: Belle Batkin, Meg de Bell, Henry Dangerfield, Whizz Ettinger, Chanel Goodman, Megan Lane, Morgan Poole, Archie Sale, Sophia Stevens, Meg Thomas, Geena Ware, Sam Whitby, Anna Yeomans.
Music from Like Radio, BGM Production Music, iTunes.
We talk to former Managing Director of BP, Co-Chairman of Eurotunnel and member of the ICI Main Board, Sir Robert Malpas. We cover human progress, creativity in engineering, living and working in different countries and leadership. Books: 1. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari 2. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow and the stage musical 3. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester 4. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
Chosen track: Alexander Hamilton, Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton Contact us: readingpeople@nmite.ac.uk @nmite_ac Find us, nmite hereford, on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher.
Publications mentioned: 1. The Universe of Engineering - A UK Perspective (2000) - RAEng/Engineering Council Working Group under Sir Robert Malpas' chairmanship 2. Energy for Planet Earth (1991) - Sir Robert Malpas, Date recorded: 24/05/19
We talk radical ideas, astrophysics, misinformation and education with Quest University's Founding Faculty member and former President.
Play: An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen. Books: The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens and A Survival Guide to the Misinformation Age by David Helfand. David's chosen track: "...given my speech tendency and my identification with Mr Pickwick, perhaps 'I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General' from Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance".
Contact us: readingpeople@nmite.ac.uk @nmite_ac Find us, nmite hereford, on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher.
Date recorded: 24/05/19
We chat to Greg James from BBC Radio 1 and Chris Smith, live from the Hay Festival! Crazy ideas, presenting radio with a hen on your head and success and fulfilment - what more could you want from a podcast?! Listen out for a hit song which could be the new Welsh anthem…. Recorded: 31/05/19 Contact us: readingpeople@nmite.ac.uk @nmite_ac Find us, nmite hereford, on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher.
Live from the Hay Festival with TV presenter, author and walking enthusiast, Kate Humble! We talk about outdoor education, success and fulfilment and her book, Thinking on My Feet.
Contact us: readingpeople@nmite.ac.uk @nmite_ac Find us, nmite hereford, on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher.
Date recorded: 31/05/19
Roma is a structural engineer whose projects include the Shard. She is a champion of diversity in the STEM sector and studied at Oxford and Imperial College London. We chat to Roma about Inferior by Angela Saini and Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik, as well as her own award-winning book called Built. Find out why all engineers should talk to a class of 5 year olds!
Roma’s Building Stories podcast: www.BuildingStoriesPodcast.com @BuildingStPod
Contact us: readingpeople@nmite.ac.uk @nmite_ac Find Reading People on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Recorded 01.04.19 - AECom office, London .
Sustainability champion, entrepreneur and businesswoman Juliet Davenport talks to Reading People. We cover the energy market and climate change, leading a growing business, management styles and the skills that future graduates will need to tackle the world’s biggest problems. Books: Pandemic by A.G. Riddle and Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott. Quote: “The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” Steven Furtick. Date recorded: 19/02/19.
Politician Jesse Norman talks to Reading People about politics, Hereford, the potential of NMiTE and shares insider knowledge on life in Westminster. Books: The Rule of Law by Tom Bingham The Long and the Short of It: a Guide to Finance and Investment for Normally Intelligent People Who Aren’t in the Industry by John Kay Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler High Windows by Philip Larkin Advice for future students: The secret to entrepreneurship, or indeed any project, is turning up at the finish line. Don’t get disheartened, don’t get turned away. Torquil Norman, Jesse’s father. Since recording on 01/02/19, Jesse has been appointed as Paymaster General and Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
Soldier, doctor, inventor and businessman Dr Malcolm Russell talks to Reading People about his experience in the Army, climbing Everest, emergency pre-hospital medical care in high stress environments, inventing life-saving medical equipment and running award-winning Prometheus Medical. Book: The Enemy Under The Microscope: a Story of the Life of Pasteur by O. Kuznetsova Quote: “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they have been given than to explore the power they have to change it.” Muhammad Ali Our chosen track: Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees Date recorded: 18/01/19
Inventor, entrepreneur and founder of Brompton Bicycle company, Andrew Ritchie, talks to Reading People about his journey creating one of the most famous bikes in the world. Book: Fermat’s Last Theorem: The Story of a Riddle that Confounded the World’s Greatest Minds for 358 Years by Simon Singh Advice: “Don’t think that there is only good in things that gets your name in the lights. I struck lucky, but there are masses of interesting things out there and good to be done. Engineering is about getting things to work and making them happen.” Our chosen track: Bicycle Race by Queen Date recorded: 14/01/19
Chemical engineering graduate Yasmin Ali talks to Reading People about graduate schemes with E.ON, her work with Women’s Engineering Society and shares her thoughts on society today.
Books: Inferior by Angela Saini So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson The Power by Naomi Alderman
Advice for future students: "Enjoy yourself and enjoy your life, but at the same time make a positive impact on those around me." Yasmin's personal philosophy.
Our chosen track: Power by Lil Mix ft Stormzy
Date recorded: 17/12/19
Our brilliant President and CEO talks about diversity and enterprise in engineering, learning from mistakes and Cheshire Cats! Also, we learn that she's 'gotta catch 'em all'!...
Books: Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
Quote: "It is never too late to be what you might have been." George Eliot
Our chosen track: Pokemon theme - Gotta Catch 'Em All
Recording Date: 11/10/2018.
Soldier Andrew Tiernan talks to Reading People about life in the army, team work and leadership, and shares some frank and eye-opening stories of active service.
Books: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad White Flag? - An Examination of the UK’s Defence Capability by Michael Ashcroft and Isabel Oakeshott King Lear by William Shakespeare
Quote: “We live as we dream - alone.” Joseph Conrad
Our chosen track: All Along the Watchtower by The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Recording Date: 19/11/18.
Founding Director and Trustee of NMiTE, businesswoman and entrepreneur Karen Usher talks about the story of NMiTE, the skills graduates need to be successful in the workplace, and her vision for Hereford as a university city.
Books: The Hunting Hypothesis by Robert Ardrey The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff
Quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead.
Our chosen track: Taking Care of Business by Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
Recorded: 29.10.18
Ex-Vice Chancellor of Bristol University, higher education government advisor and NMiTE trustee, Sir Eric Thomas joins Reading People to talk about the importance of collaboration between arts and sciences (background in medicine), his reasons for backing a new university in Hereford and his thoughts on the future of higher education.
Books: Old Filth by Jane Gardam The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse
Quote: “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people to tell us what to do.” Steve Jobs
Our Chosen Track: Another Brick in the Wall (We Don't Need No Education)by Pink Floyd
Recorded: 30/10/2018.
Nicola Goodwin, BBC Hereford and Worcester journalist, is on the other side of the mic… Nicola, a triathlete and ex-England rugby player, talks to Reading People about campaigning for recognition of munitions factory workers, Herefordshire county history and Moomins!
Books: The Folklore of Herefordshire by Ella Mary Leather The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins Tales from Herefordshire’s Graves and Burials by Nicola Goodwin
Quote/Advice: “You all know, don’t you, that if people are frightened very often, they sometimes become invisible.” Moomins: The Invisible Child by Tove Jansson
Our chosen track: The Moomins Opening Theme
Recorded 06/11/2018
Award-winning artisan cider producer and veteran music roady, Tom Oliver (Oliver's Cider and Perry) chats to Reading People about adventures in childhood literature and rock and roll. He mixes his sounds just as well as his ciders (yes, we did a taste test!) and is a local Herefordshire legend.
Books: The Once and Future King by T.H. White On the Road by Jack Kerouac Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star by Ian Hunter The History and Virtues of Cyder by R.K. French
Go to 15.04 for Tom’s take on deciding which paths to take in life.
Our chosen track: I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) by The Proclaimers
Drinks menu - Oliver's Cider and Perry... Fine Cider Gold Rush Dry Cider(with Ryan Burk of Angry Orchard, New York, USA) Shezam Cider Dry Fine Perry
Cambridge, Oxford and NMiTE academic, atmospheric scientist and talented musician, Helen Rogers talks on Reading People about climate change and clouds, the importance of manners and hard work, and the heartthrob Mr Darcy.
Books: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Advice for future students: Success is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. (Inspired by Thomas Edison)
Our chosen track: Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra Thanks to Hereford Cathedral and the Cathedral Choir for their clip of Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb.
Recorded 02/10/18.