Social Action and the Radical Imagination

In this conversation Dr Gary Shepherd and Sam Watling discuss a new research project to provide York-based men's social wellbeing group Menfulness with information on the attitudes, opinions and insights of their service users.

In this second podcast about the NSPCC and York St John University theatre department partnership, Rachel Conlon and Jules Dorey Richmond discuss the It’s Not Love project with Helen Westerman. They consider how the arts can challenge domestic abuse and send positive messages to young people about healthy relationships.

In this podcast, senior theatre lecturers Rachel Conlon and Jules Dorey Richmond are joined by Helen Westerman, head of local campaigns at the NSPCC. In this episode, they explore the long-standing partnership between the NSPCC and York St John University’s theatre department and how their creative and collaborative projects have resonated with audiences of young people nationwide, exploring issues of child sexual abuse and exploitation through a theatre in education touring play, online films and teaching resources on the NSPCC website and digital learning platform.

York Central is one of the largest developments on Brownfield land in the UK. Located near to York’s railway station, this 45 hectare mixed use site, will change the future of the city. In this podcast, Dr Tom Ratcliffe is joined by Dr Helen Graham and Phil Bixby from York Central Co-owned (YoCo). The discussion explores how YoCo, a community organisation, are putting in place a democratically created Community Plan for York Central to develop the site in a community-focused way that addresses housing, transport, public spaces, nature and the economy.

In this podcast Dr Everett Ndlovu of York St John University will discuss media, democracy and social justice in Zimbabwe with activist and academic Busi Bhebhe-Ndlovu and journalist and academic Bheki Ncube.

In this podcast Dr Alexandra Dales of York St John University and Dr Rory Padfield, Lecturer in Sustainability and Business at the University of Leeds discuss the role of the creative sector in communicating sustainability and climate change stories.

In this episode Dr Steve Rawle and Dr Martin Hall of York St John University discuss the making of Cost of Living, a timely short film, curated from more than half a century of archive footage, that reflects on the pandemic cycles of economic boom and bust that continue to affect society.

In this podcast York St John MA Media Production student Mpho Dintwa talks to Everett Ndlovu, Lecturer in Journalism. Mpho discusses the making of his award-winning documentary Ties that Bind. The film, which received one of the top prizes at the Sotambe International Film Festival, tells the tale of Michael Dingake, a political activist and writer who was a fellow prisoner of Nelson Mandela in the battle against apartheid.

In this podcast, York St John University PhD student Jack Hunter talks to Sophia Parker, director of Emerging Futures at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). They discuss the relationship between the imagination and social action, whether we are experiencing a crisis of imagination, and discuss examples of inspiring activism that are trying to foster radical new ways of imagining the world. Podcast transcript. 

In this final podcast about the Prison Partnership Project, we hear from two former York St John theatre students – Jordan Towers and Maia McConnell – about how the Prison Partnership Project creates the perfect landscape for students to transition confidently into employment and professional industry roles not only with exceptional experience but also with knowledge and skills in good practice. Transcript