Better Discussions

This week, I sat down to speak to Champagne On The Rocks, an acoustic music duo from Leeds whom I met at university in Manchester. I last interviewed them two years ago as part of my radio show. However, since then they have grown and added new dimensions to their music and setup. We spoke about all sorts of things- how the student music scene and wider music industry has been affected recently by COVID, their own goals and targets since graduating and the release of their debut single, 'Malibu'.

My guest this week is Oscar Cloud, the lead singer of the student band- Monday Night Special. I'm gonna talk to Oscar today about what its like being part of a band at university, his love-affair with music from an early age and his advice to students who are musical on the best ways to get involved. I also have a chance to talk to a fellow Beatle fanatic...

My guest this week is Emily Hilton, a volunteer of the Christian Union. I'm talking to her today to find out more about how she became religious and her philosophy on religion. I also am going to talk to her about the activities of the Christian Union and how she finds working with lots of different groups of people. Finally, I want to try and find out why Chritianity and religion more widely is becoming less popular in modern society, especially amongst younger people

At the start of this year, I thought of a way to change up my podcast a little. I am still going to talking to students who have incredible backgrounds, stories and viewpoints. But I will also talk to grown adults their time at university and their career I've been lucky enough to know my Grandpa for over 21 years now. And even though he is 72 years older than me, we have a lot in common. I'm wanting to talk to him today to find out: What was life like for students in post-war Britain? What inspired him to become a teacher? How impactful was his work on the students whom he worked with? Hopefully by hearing his stories, it might inspire students of today to become the next generation of educators.

In every city across the country, there is people who are forced to live on the streets. There are many causes of this and my guest this week is someone who is committed to eradicating these causes of homelessness but also eradicating homelessness itself James Doherty, a History student from Manchester Metropolitan University, organises a student-led homeless charity split called ‘Save The Streets'. I'm wanting to speak to him today to find out more about the person behind the activist-what makes him tick and his background. But also, have a frank conversation about homelessness. Is it something that can be eradicated in our liftetime? or is it simply a by product of economic growth that is impossible to eliminate?

My guest this week is here to talk about two things. Firstly, she is someone who moved to the city of Manchester from a rural area, parts of the UK where only 20% of the total population live. I'm wanting to find out what she thinks about the contrast in environments and how she found moving to a city like Manchester She has also made a name for herself at university as a highly skilled radio presenter- a new skill which she picked up whilst at university. At present, she presents her music/talk show on the university's radio station-Fuse FM where she interviews some pretty big names in the underground music scene. I'm wanting to talk to her about what it was like picking up a new skill like radio and her advice to fresher's about starting something they haven't yet done before whilst at university.

In May of this year, the world stopped still to witness one of the lagest anti-racism movements the world has ever seen. It encompassed people of all races and nationalities. Has this global awakening helped eliminate racial injustices within society or is there still a lot of work to do still? Shivaya Prasad is a 3rd Year History and Politics student from Bristol who has been a keen anti-racism activist, sharing her experiences and views in articles for a student-run magazine. She shares her opinions on anti-racist activism, 'cancel' culture and how we can have better discussions with one another when it comes to race.

Whilst studying for my A-levels, I distinctly remember someone telling me one of their fears of going to university was being around stuck-up private school kids with a ‘born to rule' attitude. I admit, it did also worry me. After all, only 7% of children are educated at private schools but at universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, the number of students who are privately educated stands at around 40%. My guest this week is, you've guessed it, a privately educated student from London. I'm wanting to talk to him today to find out more about his surprising family background, what he thinks of the private school stereotypes and his worries and fears of coming to university from a private school.

It's unfortunate that there are some of these people in the world, especially at the very top of society- the people who see climate change as a hoax or falsity that people are preaching for self-gain. However, this has tended to be in response to a global movement which has encapsulated people from all walks of life My guest this week sees herself part of this movement. Holly Smith helps run a student-led, environmentally sustainable shop here at the University of Manchester called ‘Want Not Waste'. I'm talking to her today to find out why she got involved in environmental sustainability and her views and opinions on the climate protests we saw last year

There is this general fear that a discussion about politics has the fear of turning quite sour and argumentative very quickly. It's also the case that universities across the country are hotbeds for socialist thought. This week my aim is to try and see what it's like to be in the minority opinion and investigate how political discourse can be conducted in a more civilised way. My guest is Cameron Cosh, Chair of the Manchester Young Conservatives. He talks about his political journey, what it's like to canvass, the abuse that political activists receive from both left and right and strategies to help make politics more civilised.

Giving a student a label before they have even started university seems from an outside point of view as drastically controversial. For a staggering 51% of students who start their university every year, either helpfully or unhelpfully, this is the reality. My guest this week is one of them- He is a 'mature' student. Cameron Hartwell talks about growing up on the other side of the world, his brutal but enjoyable experience in the Royal Marines and balancing a full time job at Pret whilst attempting to get into uni. It's hard to believe he did all of this by 22. Listen in to hear more about his incredible story.