South Mimms U

The law of unintended consequences applies in some surprising ways, like when you study the behaviour of the super-rich and it leads to getting seagulls hooked on tobacco. It's strange, but true. And quite amusing.The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

When everyone is telling you that your idea is a bad one, should you keep pursuing it? Most people would think not, but as this short drama shows, sometimes it can be good for you and lead to a better idea. It's counter-intuitive but worth thinking about. Mario writes popular musicals but has a passion for turning The Exorcist into a musical. Bad idea, right? He finds out why in his own way.Original music by Dave HopperThe only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Some people believe that Donald Trump is either the Second Coming of Jesus or a Jesus-like figure worthy of worship. What if he's actually Santa Claus? There's research that shows how some children, when they stop believing in Santa, experience an emotional gap in their lives so they're always seeking a new magical figure to believe in - and along comes DJT!The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Cars are a conundrum. They're vital but polluting. Even electric cars aren't that great for the environment. Is there another way? At South Mimms we're experimenting with a new kind of power source - and it's as old as time. Don't worry, it's not a wind-up!The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

When an ailing art museum needs to refresh its image to try and attract more visitors, a German industrialist comes up with an interesting way to get global attention – and it's all about cats! Which puts the cats amongst the intellectual pigeons. You'll never see an art gallery in the same way again.The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

It's happened! First Contact! And in South Mimms! Only, the aliens haven't done their research very well and emerge speaking a language only a select few understand. It could have been a 'War of the Worlds' scenario, but it turned out to be a strange encounter that is both revealing and enchanting.The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Strange sightings of possible extraterrestrial craft at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947 kicked off the whole UFO craze not just in the United States, but the entire world. And it's STILL going on. Was it hysteria or evidence that our planet is being observed by aliens? Or was it a navigational error? Were the aliens actually heading for Roswell Farm near South Mimms, Hertfordshire, here in England? We investigate weird goings on the doorstep of our university to find out the truth about Roswell!The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Everyone is trying to get on the Artificial Intelligence bandwagon. But creating a Frankenstein monster out of Lego, giving it an AI powered brain, and then bringing it to life in a storm is probably going too far. Especially when the 'monster' turns out to be... a budding Romantic poet. Madness in the wilds of South Mimms, Hertfordshire, England.The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

The Myth of Sisyphus is the ultimate description of futility. Endlessly rolling a rock up a mountain, only for it to roll back down again. One scholar believes that the modern equivalent is the humble - and annoyingly ubiquitous - leaf blower. Blow leaves from here... to there... only for them to blow back again. Is it the perfect metaphor for modern technological societies? Perhaps, especially if you combine it with AI and robotics! The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

There are lycanthropes living amongst us, quietly, carefully, controlling their reactions to the movements of the moon. And there's one in the South Mimms Zoo who just wants a quiet life. But the Zoo is thinking about highlighting its collection of weird wildlife to raise its profile and reduce its reliance on visits by annoying schoolchildren. Might they be tempted to exploit the lycanthrope living modestly within their midst? What would you do?The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

The Florida teacher who got fired for showing her class a picture of Michelangelo's David was the first sign of a revival in 'fig leaves'. Not since the Victorian era has the demand for fig leaves - actual and virtual - been so strong, and one South Mimms entrepreneur is cashing in on the big cover up. And there's one twist which will leave Mr. DeSantis wishing he'd never started his campaign of militant prudery.The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Avant Garde music is notoriously difficult to like. But some people say they do. What if we made music that was so bad that it turned out to be amazingly popular amongst the chattering classes? It worked for Stravinsky and The Rite of Spring' (which is actually quite good really). Our Music Department has a technique that deliberately offends the ears to assure its future as a classic! Can you take it?The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Animals understand death, but they don't KNOW that they're going to die. Only humans really understand that they are mortal. But what would happen if you managed to teach an animal about the true nature of their mortality? The consequences might be bad. When one intelligent chimp called Gloria gets 'death wisdom' then all hell breaks loose. The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Queues are a part of all our lives. We hate them. We try and avoid them. But there's no escape. So, why not understand how they work and how, every so often, they can lead to an encounter that can change your life. Our Queuing Studies Course, aptly called 'Queuing for Godot', is a great way of changing your mind about queues.The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

When our Mathematics department got together with our Astronomy department and got funding from a new Las Vegas based 'college' - the results were... troubling. The odds on compromising our intellectual credentials were high. The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

He might. And it's possible. More and more robots are being used to care for old people. They use AI to act as companions as well as remind old people to take their medications. So, it's perfectly possible that Putin - notorious for poisoning or defenestrating his opponents - would send a killer robot to eliminate a dissident. We play out the scenario. Hope it doesn't give him any ideas!The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Depending on your team or nationalilty, you might pick any number of vital and exciting matches from the past. But there are two which define how football evolved to become the world's most popular - and probably richest - sport. And they took place at the end of 1862 and the beginning of 1863. They defined the modern rules of the game and forced a split between soccer and rugby. And the two heroes of the story deserve their names to be chanted at every game!The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Why bother writing our own introduction: we'll get Chat GPT to do it. It's almost right. “In this podcast, the host defends ChatGPT against accusations of being a plagiarism tool. The host explains that ChatGPT is a language model developed by Open AI and is trained on a massive amount of text data from the internet. The model generates text based on patterns it has learned from the data, but it does not copy or steal information. The host emphasizes that ChatGPT is a tool to assist with generating text, not to plagiarize content. The host also encourages users to always properly cite any information used from ChatGPT and to use it ethically.” What, us worry??The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Our latest offering from the SMU Playhouse is a short play about a man who believes he's made of glass. And it's not so strange an obsession. Since the advent of domestic glass in the late Middle Ages, many men (and they're usually men) have come to believe that they are made of glass and insist on being carried about protected by hay or other soft materials. In A Heart of Glass by Anselm Rose, the predicament becomes the focus for an unexpected love story.The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

A family story that evolved into a chilling myth and an empty old house, that's the start of an investigation into how the Spanish Flu pandemic made its mark on both Malta and one man's imagination. 

The media keeps telling us that politicians are getting dumb and dumber all the time. But perhaps there's a strategy behind that stupidity and ignorance. Maybe it's fake. Maybe it's a clever tactic to get brainy people into power using the votes of... people so tired of ordinary politics they vote for candidates who seem to speak their mind. We uncover a firm of political consultants behind such famous dumb moments as Marjorie Taylor Greene's 'Gazpacho' police. 

Produced by the SMU Playhouse team, 'Are Two Minds Better Than None' is a short, powerful play about mind-uploading. It's the ambition of various tech billionaires (like Elon Musk) to upload their minds to a computer in a bid to achieve immortality. Is it viable? Will it work? What happens when the physical mind is replicated in digital software and then starts its own unique existence? Who gets to live forever, the person or the software? William Grass's play explores these themes to both stimulate and confound your mind... the real one... in your head! 

Having trouble getting up in the mornings even though you have an alarm clock, a phone, and maybe even a dawn simulator? All you need is a Knocker-Upper. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Knocker-Uppers walked the streets tapping on clients' windows to get them up for work in (mainly) working class districts near to factories. One of our academics at South Mimms U decided to revive the profession. He's also developing new forms of sound-based ways to help people get to sleep or stay concentrated when they work. Take an early morning walk and find out more...

We visit a small but significant business in South Mimms, a shop that makes and sells hair shirts for people seeking to do penance for their sins with some discreet mortification. It's a strange place but the logic of the service - especially if you're seeking to emulate the saints and sinners of the past and use physical pain to assuage your sins - is undeniable. Have a listen; you never know you might want to buy one!

Classic 70's sitcom, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, lampooned the world of work and corporate culture. It had a BIG effect on one teenager who resolved to fight against the all-pervading work culture of the modern world. The latest trend for Quiet Quitting and the accelerating Great Resignation might be a sign that Reggie Perrin was right all along.

It's simple: every writer has to learn how to deal with rejection. It's the staple of their lives. It recurs alomst every day. So, get used to it! 

Zuckerberg is betting big on the Metaverse, but is the hype based on an illusion? In fact, is the Metaverse an illusion altogether? What do we do when something bad happens in the Metaverse? Is it real enough to lead to court? Or if not, then can anything real happen while you're wearing a VR headset? This is the story of the first time the Metaverse goes on trial.

When White House aide, Alexander Butterfield, revealed the existence of recording devices in the White House during the Watergate hearings in 1973, Nixon's fate was sealed. And the missing eighteen and a half minutes in the tapes (once they'd been reluctantly handed over) cast a shadow over the President's character. It ultimate led to his resignation. What happened during those notorious missing minutes? Conspiracy, criminality, chaos? The truth is more suprising than you think.

For generations of Brits the image of the Maltese was a contested one. By the 1980s Malta had emerged as a leading tourist destination and millions of Brits flocked to an island they associated with an heroic seige during the Second World War which led to the bestowal of the George Cross to all is people. But, there was a dark side too. The Maltese in London were commonly refered to as criminals who ran a variety of illcit trades in Soho. Where did that image come from? What effect did it have on the majority of Maltese residents who had nothing to do with crime, prostituion, strip-clubs, and porn? The roots of the image go back to the 1920s and, f or our presenter, it led to a startling revelation when he went to his girlfriend's home to meet the parents!

Having a difficult conversation - about a job or a relationship or a death in the family - can be very hard. Wouldn't it be good if you can use a robot powered by Artificial Intelligence to practice the conversation you know you need to have? The robot would be programmed with specific information about you and the person you need to talk to. Then you'd practice and be ready. We're pioneering the tech - and it's producing some unexpected outcomes. 

MOBY DICK is a notoriously hard book to read all the way through. That's what most people say (especially in school). That's why one English Lit professor had some fun with a 'missing chapter' from the novel back in the 1970s. It's all about the monstrous farts that whales can produce. It caused quite a controversy. We look back at the scandal to see if it was... well... a real hoax. Or is this episode a hoax? We can't decide. 

Every time you make a digital payment, you leave an indelible record. When you use cash, it's totally private. With central banks all over the world considering creating digital forms of the leading currencies, what are the (mostly comic but still alarming) implications? Could Prohibition come back and be enforced every time you try and spend your dollars, pounds, or Euros on things that are bad for you? It's very possible. 

The 'Corinthian Spirit' is (was) all about being proud to be an amateur (someone who did great things for the sake of it rather than money) and committed to 'fair play' and a 'level playing field.' We tell the story of how two amateur football teams embodied those ideas and inspired professional teams all over the world. Specifically, Corinthians Paulista, the leading Brazilian giants, through to little Zejtun Corinthians in Malta.

Poetry is all about the sound of words. That's why Homer's epic verses are meant to be read aloud. Poetry recitals are gaining in popularity. Audiences love the sound of words and sentences performed with feeling and power. At South Mimms we're encouraging Slam Poets to strut their rhymes in public. We're also deploying gerund-breaking technology (a linguist's pun) to turn what sounds like innocent infant gurgling into resonant poetry. Don't believe it? Have a listen.

Non-Fungible Tokens clearly exist. People pay good money for them. Real money. But what are they really? Tokens that give you rights to an artwork or a video or a cartoon? Maybe. Perhaps. Probably not. A lot of people say they know, but few really do. So, we got two AI presenters to interrogate our expert in Existential Investing and the outcome was... intangible.

We revisit our Department of Corporate Development to discover a revolutionary new way to cancel all those useless meetings and cut to the chase. It saves time, money, and means you can ditch those highly paid CEO's who don't do much anyway. 

Our unique Department of Interesting Studies might sound like it's got a vague brief, but it's actually looking at a human quality which is vital to both physical and mental health: the state of being interested. Our department head introduces her Uncle Cyril, who's 104 and still interested in... everything. Inspiring. Illuminating. Interesting.

Many children have imaginary friends. They bring comfort and help kids overcome loneliness. As kids grow and make real friends, the voices in their heads fade. But what if you could bring your imaginary friend back to life? When one podcast host agreed to use digital technology to recreate his... it didn't turn out well.  

Billionaires might try to extend their lives and live forever, but their money is being wasted. Ask any dog. They know the secret of living free from fear - ignore your mortality. In this short play, we eavesdrop as one billionaire wakes from his digitally supported sleep to find that he is 500 years old... and there's nothing left to spend his riches on. 

The hair regeneration industry is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, and some researchers are using stem cells to grow human hair and restore the fortunes of balding men. We talk to one entrepreneur who's taking it step further (some say a step too far) by transplanting cells into animals. 'Curly' the pig boasts a full body of his hair. The consequences of the research are unpredictable. 

Made in 1939, The Arsenal Stadium Mystery is a strange, eccentric, and compelling movie with perhaps the best football sequences ever filmed. It even includes 'acting' from the actual Arsenal manager of the time, George Allison. Our Soccer Studies experts, Jerry and Marty, discuss why begrudgingly they have to admire the film. And, even though they're Tottenham fans, have to concede that - once again - that their North London rivals have the historic edge over them. 

Our Soccer Studies experts, Jerry and Marty, delive into the little known but significant story of Paddy O'Connell, an Irish football player and manager, who helped set up La Liga in Spain, and saved Barcelona from certain extinction over 80 years ago. Without him there'd be no Nou Camp or Messi in a Barca shirt or multiple trophies on the world stage. 

Our Anthropology Dept. decided to study cruises and cruising to see if there was a distinct society onboard some of the world's most popular ships. Recorded on Cunard's ocean liner, Queen Mary 2, in the midst of the turbulent North Sea, the attraction of cruising is revealed to be a very primal one. You'll never see cruising in the same light again.

Everywhere you look (and listen) there's stuff about 'Wellness' and many large corporates are mandating Wellness programs and activities to 'help nurture' their people. But do most of us have time for Wellness in our already busy lives? And is it leading to even higher levels of Burnout? Are corporate Wellness efforts just window-dressing?

The world is awash with conspiracy theories. Everywhere you turn someone knows of a secret plot to undermine everything in the service of dark, dark forces. But, perhaps, all those conspiracies and conspiracists ARE the conspiracy! 

Fraternities, sororities, dining clubs like the Bullingdon at Oxford, are an essential part of academic life, and at SMU we have our very own secret society, The Dashwood Club. Join us on an exclusive tour of a very odd place.

The best place to achieve true mindfulness is at a football match. Not watching it on TV, but BEING THERE! It's the only time your inner 'commentator' stops chattering and criticising everything you do. Our Mindfulness expert finds a way to record his inner voice and gets a strange surprise. 

Inspired by a true story, the 1981 movie, 'Escape to Victory' mangled history to get some football greats onto the screen with Sylvester Stallone who could not play the game with any skill or grace. Find out the truth behind the fiction. 

Composting the dead is the latest low carbon alternative to the traditional funeral. But, as always in South Mimms, the idea gets taken a little too far. This 'true crime' story uncovers one woman's murder spree with strange consequences. 

One of Business Studies lecturers thnks so, and he's set up a company to market wooden dentures! The problem is that the whole 'wooden teeth' thing is a myth, and he doesn't like it when our interviewer points that out - with firey consequences.

Organizations full of 'Yes Men' and 'Yes Women' don't thrive over the long-term. That's why the new trend is to put someone on the board who deliberately contradicts the majority and seeks to point out the paradoxes which can often be hidden in plain sight. Is a CCO a good idea? We brought one into the studio - with paradoxical results.