Off The Shelf

There has been a steep drop in diversity in children’s literature, bucking the trend of years of steady increase. How is Young Adult literature responding to the politicisation of diversity? Dr Aneesh Barai, Professor Karen Sands-O’Connor, author and columnist Dr Darren Chetty and award-winning author Sita Brahmachari, discuss their creative and critical writing about diverse youths in literature.

The Morecambe Winter Gardens is a Grade 2* Listed Theatre. For five years Professor Vanessa Toulmin has been the Chair of the Preservation Trust responsible for raising over £4.4 Million pounds of funding to stabilise the building and restore its important features. Vanessa discusses the contested history of the venue, placing it in the wider context of 20th century performance studies and examini...

Musician Neil McSweeney and colleagues from the Department of Music, examine music's deep roots in Sheffield's story while envisioning the creative potential of our musicians and music organisations to help define the city's future.

As part of her curation of the Human/Nature strand, Professor Joanna Gavins discusses what it means to be human in the natural environment and the degrees to which we see ourselves as part of or separate from the natural world. How do we understand our relationship with the rest of the planet and how might we construct a future in which we can live a good life within planetary boundaries?

Contemporary Japanese Women’s writing is experiencing a “boom” in translation, with special interest from younger generations. How has this “boom” happened, and who created this landscape? Dr Nozomi Lynette Uematsu from the School of East Asian Studies is joined by translators Ginny Tapley Takemori and Allison Markin Powell from the Strong Women, Soft Power collective and Kristen Vida Alfaro, Dire...

Text in The City - 'Minds' by Benjamin Zephaniah. Read by Surriya Falconer

Text in The City - 'Laughter' by Harold Pinter. Read by Sam West

Text in The City - 'Heroes' by Benjamin Zephaniah . Read by Warda Yassin

Text in The City - 'Here Lies a City's Heart' by Berlie Doherty. Read by Maria de Souza

Text in The City - 'Getting Trashed on Cider' by Jarvis Cocker. Read by Tommi Bryson

This podcast explores our relationship with one of the most ubiquitous and controversial materials on the planet: plastic. Over three episodes, Professor Joanna Gavins talks to experts from a range of different academic disciplines to try to understand how plastic became such an integral part of modern life, how we came to have over 10 million tons of plastic polluting our oceans every year, and h...

This podcast explores our relationship with one of the most ubiquitous and controversial materials on the planet: plastic. Over three episodes, Professor Joanna Gavins talks to experts from a range of different academic disciplines to try to understand how plastic became such an integral part of modern life, how we came to have over 10 million tons of plastic polluting our oceans every year, and h...

This podcast explores our relationship with one of the most ubiquitous and controversial materials on the planet: plastic. Over three episodes, Professor Joanna Gavins talks to experts from a range of different academic disciplines to try to understand how plastic became such an integral part of modern life, how we came to have over 10 million tons of plastic polluting our oceans every year, and h...

Looking at Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, this podcast demonstrates how literary criticism can help a better appreciation of contemporary pop culture.  Join Dr Amber Regis, Dr Jonathan Ellis, and Dr Katherine Ebury to take a literary tour of some of Taylor Swift’s biggest hits, building on their recent Post45 journal,  Tis the Damn Deason: Taylor Swift’s Evermore .

Dr Clare Fisher investigates how contemporary queer authors explore the body in their work and issues of embodiment, representation, identity and language in relation to queer gender and sexuality. 

Join Dr Thomas McAuley to discover the universal appeal of Waka poetry, the most important form of Japanese verse from the 8th -14th centuries. With readings of Japanese and English translation accompanied by calming soundscapes.

Lisa Bradley and Dr Emma Heywood discuss high profile news stories in the public interest including the Lucy Letby trial, Grenfell Tower, Manchester terrorist attacks and the PTSD journalists suffer as a result.

In this Ideas Alive episode, PHD student Shriya Uday takes an in depth look at how we perceive birds, their colour and attractiveness and the global implications for the wildlife trade.

Dr Chris Blackmore, from the Mental Health Research Unit of the University of Sheffield explores the language of mental health set against the history of Middlewood Hospital, Sheffield, 1872-1996. With contributions from Patrick Murphy, Ian McMillan, Professor Brendan Stone and Professor Amanda Crawley-Jackson.

Dr Hannah Fairbrother from the Health Sciences School discusses young people's potential as advocates and changemakers, in tackling health inequalities.

Professor Beth Perry, director of the Urban Institute examines the different ways in which academics can engage with their city regions to bring about positive, more just, urban transformations. Recorded and produced by Kitty Turner

Dr Madeleine Callaghan from the school of English explores the Romantic Poets and their obsession with death and the afterlife. Recorded and produced by Kitty Turner

Professor Jonathan Rayner from the School of English presents a comprehensive study of Australian horror cinema from the 1970s up to the present. Jonathan addresses the way these films have been labelled ‘gothic’ and traces images and ideas of familiarity, monstrosity, hybridity and sublimity on screen. Recorded & produced by Kitty Turner

The final edition of a quartet of podcasts celebrating the 50th anniversary of the building of the Crucible Theatre. Ashley Barnes and Tedd George speak with Robert Hastie about the the highs and lows of the past five years and the standout moments of the theatre’s 50th anniversary season including the ambitious staging of Rock, Paper, Scissors . Recorded & produced by Tedd George

A panel of Sheffield based practitioners, politicians, activists and academics discuss the health and environmental benefits, history and context of Sheffield’s street trees and the recent crisis. Recorded & produced by Kitty Turner