Advertise on podcast: Countercurrent: conversations with Professor Roger Kneebone

A first career as a human rights lawyer led to Nic becoming a district judge in the civil courts, then a circuit judge hearing criminal cases. After judging for 24 years Nic retired from the law and is now focusing on his interests in historical research, writing, photography and documentary film-making. He is actively involved in issues around the rights of indigenous peoples in South America and has recently returned from Colombia as part of a multinational delegation. His book The Infernal Tambopata: British Slavery in 20th Century Peru and Bolivia provides a historical exposé of a little known moment in Amazonian history and will be published by Liverpool University Press in November 2026. In this podcast we explore some of these many strands. https://nicmadge.co.uk/about_me.php

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, has had a long career as a Conservative politician. He represented South Dorset in the House of Commons from 1979-1987. He was a junior defence minister for two years before being appointed to the House of Lords as Lord Cranborne after the 1992 general election. In the 1990s he was Leader of the House of Lords, from which he retired in 2017. His home is Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. This conversation was recorded in early November 2023, before David Cameron was appointed Foreign Secretary by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The philosopher María José Frápolli is Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science at the University of Granada. Maria has held many senior roles, including professorships at major universities in the UK and Europe. In this podcast we explore the nature of her work and discuss the challenges of explaining the nature of philosophy and philosophical research to those outside the field.

Lieutenant Colonel Lauren Petritz-Watts is Principal Director of Music (Army) - the most senior position in this branch of the Army. In this podcast we explore the many aspects of Lauren's current role, her experience as a commissioned officer, the unique characteristics of Army music and her experience as the first woman to be appointed to her current position.  Lauren describes the key role of music in the Army, from regular formal ceremonies such as Trooping the Colour to special state occasions and overseas visits. We also discuss her personal journey within a system which offers both opportunities and challenges.

Tim Goode is Residentiary Canon at York Minster. In this podcast we explore how his own experience of disability has shaped his role in the Anglican church, and discuss the ideas in his recent book Breaking Not Broken. https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780334063162/breaking-not-broken

Sebastian Kraemer is a child and adolescent psychiatrist. His first degree was in philosophy. He then qualified in medicine before specialising - first in paediatrics (in Glasgow, Manchester and London) and then in psychiatry (at the Maudsley Hospital and the Tavistock Clinic in London).  His current work explores how people can work together effectively, despite profound disagreement and even hostility. He is especially interested in attachment as a basic drive. In this podcast we discuss many aspects of his long professional career and explore similarities and differences between our experiences. https://www.sebastiankraemer.com https://www.karnacbooks.com/product/how-do-we-even-talk-about-palestine-and-israel-one-group/98411/

Andy Stirling is emeritus professor in the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex. His many interests centre around issues of uncertainty, diversity and power in science and technology.  Andy has played a leading role in many project areas, including social justice, democratic politics and respect for the natural world. In the 1980s he was a volunteer with Greenpeace and took part in campaigns around nuclear disarmament and energy challenges. https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p7513-andrew-stirling

John Law is a pianist and composer who works across multiple genres. Initially trained as a classical musician, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In his early twenties he discovered jazz and improvisational performing and changed the direction of his career. He has recorded over fifty albums and played with a wide range of leading artists. I've followed his work for many years and have heard him play on several occasions, most recently as part of a quartet led by the saxophonist Jon Lloyd. http://www.johnlaw.org.uk https://jonlloydmusic.com/jon-lloyd-quartet

Professor Andrew McPherson, Chair in Design Engineering and Music at the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London. He has undergraduate degrees in engineering and music from MIT, a Masters in Engineering in electrical engineering from MIT and a PhD in music composition from the University of Pennsylvania. Andrew has designed many unconventional musical instruments, including an augmented magnetic resonator piano and TouchKeys which give pianists new kinds of expressive control over the sounds they create. In this podcast we explore the many strands of his career and the way in which his interests intersect.  https://andrewmcpherson.org/bio

Simon Wallace is a pianist, composer and record producer. As a performer he collaborates with many other jazz musicians, including the singer Sarah Moule. He is a prolific composer and for  nearly twenty years wrote songs with the late American lyricist Fran Landesman.  He has also written for a wide range of TV shows in collaboration with Simon Brint, and for the National Theatre, Young Vic and Edinburgh Festival. I first met Simon several years ago, when he appeared at the Pheasantry in London with the singer Pete Atkin (a previous guest on Countercurrent), performing songs written by Atkin during his decades-long collaboration with the late Clive James. https://www.simonwallace.org

Finn Macpherson is race engineer at Hitech Grand Prix. An engineer by background, Finn has coached promising young racing drivers from their early experiences of go-karting up the motor racing pyramid with single-seater open-wheeled cars to F2 level. In this conversation we explore how mechanical and human perspectives come together in Finn's work.

David Gordon is a composer, harpsichordist, jazz pianist, improviser, teacher and much else besides. He has played with many of the world's leading musicians in a wide range of genres, was the harpsichordist of The English Concert, is the pianist in the London Tango Quintet and leads the David Gordon jazz trio.  In this conversation we explore many aspects of his work, including ideas around improvisation, risk and jeopardy in performing.   https://www.davidmusicgordon.com   https://londontangoquintet.com/david-gordon/

Gary Bridgewood has been making and restoring stringed instruments for over forty years - from violins and cellos to historic instruments such as the viola da gamba. In this podcast he describes his training at the London College of Furniture, followed by his partnership with the lute maker Tom Neitzert in establishing Bridgewood & Neitzert in 1982. We explore the complex nature of his work, which combines the highest level of craftsmanship and technical mastery with his attention to each customer's individual needs.  https://bridgewoodandneitzert.london

Dr Antranig Basman is a mathematician and computer scientist who studied at Cambridge University. After completing a PhD in Computer Vision at the Cambridge University Engineering Department's Machine Intelligence Laboratory he spent five years as Visiting Scholar at the University of Colorado at Boulder. In this podcast we discuss Antranig's many interests and avenues of work, especially around pressing societal challenges which exclude the perspectives of marginalised groups. Now he is based in London and works on a range of community-oriented projects with colleagues across the world. https://ponder.org.uk

Geoff Brown is Education Services Coordinator at Middle Temple, one of the four Inns of Court in central London. He trained as an actor before moving to the world of the law and now has a particular interest in advocacy training for those at the start of a legal career - especially the Moot. In this conversation we explore Geoff's many skills and interests, including improv theatre and stand-up comedy.