Coffee & Geography

Kit talks to Helen Ilus enjoying a JFK Indian Instant Coffee coffee, chatting about roaming urban and rural landscapes, public transport, creating Tube Map-like walking aids, baking ciabatta, amongst other things! Helen is an independent graphic designer and aspiring map publisher who gets inspiration from nature, books and travel. She has a small studio in Tallinn, Estonia, where she makes maps a...

Kit chats to Professor James Cheshire over a sip of coffee from the Wood Street Roasters, talking about his new book 'Atlas of the Invisible', his rescue dog, amongst other things! James is professor of geographical information and cartography at the Department of Geography at University College London. He also engages in funded research using new types of data that looks into the future of the hi...

Kit chats to Daryl Sinclair over a sip of Pukka Cleanse Herbal Tea chatting about the concept of ‘each one, teach one’, student leadership, the pressures brought on by the education system, voice and identity, having diabetes, amongst other things! Based in Germany, Geography Teacher Daryl is a young conversationalist and fan of the 'each one teach one' idea focusing on the world today. Rather tha...

Kit chats to Phil Humphreys over a cup of Oxfordshire Co-Op ground coffee, chatting about the Oxfordshire landscape, old maps, rubbing shoulders with the legends at Lords (Cricket Ground), amongst other things! Geography teacher Phil is passionate, caring, happy (most of the time), tired (all of the time), lover of coffee, good times and running. He is particularly passionate about creating the ne...

A slightly different flavour for this episode as Kit is given a virtual table at the Geographical Association's 2022 Geography Teacher Educators (GTE) Conference. At the coffee breaks in-between sessions, Kit is joined by Amber Riches from the University of Sunderland, trainee teachers Ellie Bullock and Emily Bratt, GA President and friend of the podcast Alan Parkinson, conference lead-organiser E...

Kit chats to Andy Poulastides over a White Russian, chatting about London’s urban sprawl, European heritage, spaceships and dropping in as many Sci-Fi references as possible, amongst other things! Andy is a podcaster, photographer and ‘sci-fi aficionado’. 6 ft, about 175lb, dark brown hair, beard, usually seen in jeans and quirky sci-fi t-shirt. Andy does actually identify as a geographer because,...

Coffee & Geography returns for a second season, kicking off with Kit chatting to Lauren Sinclair and Surya Panyam over a masala chai and Coava coffee, chatting about mapathons, the student-teacher relationship, butchering chickens, amongst other things! Lauren Sinclair is a Where's Waldo and Carmen SanDiego aficionado who teaches GIS (digital mapping) to middle schoolers in Portland, Oregon in...

Season 1 of the Coffee & Geography Podcast has come to a close. It's been my first full foray into podcating as a host and producer and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, the production side of things hass been taxing at times, but I've loved developing new skills. But without a shadow of a doubt it has been all the guests that have given me the most pleasure. Rather than giving my highlights...

Kit talks to Tawny Stowe over a fragrant bone broth, chatting about colonisation of identity, music as a way to travel, being stewards of the land, what it means to be a ‘woodland priestess’, amongst other things. **A content warning: this episode contains reference to generational trauma as a result of the Canadian Indian residential school system** Tawny is a Métis business owner who works on th...

Kit talks to Ro Procter, chatting about Geography as a STEMM subject, how geography can help in discovering gender and sexual identity and what it is to be non-binary, autism as a ‘superpower’, the history behind the story of Brer Rabbit amongst other things! Ro is an autistic, non-binary and pansexual environmental scientist. They like to be as loud as they can be about their diversities because...

Kit talks to Eli Ramos over a blueberry pomegranate tea, chatting about their Pinoy identity and how that intersects with gender diversity, how science, geography and music has influenced their writing, sci-comm, amongst other things! Eli Ramos is a Pinoy scientist, creator, and journalist with an avid love for all things science fiction. They’re an award-winning writer, debater, and producer of p...

Kit talks to White Raven Woman Candace Lloyd, chatting about medicinal teas, knowledge sharing and keeping, the ‘culture shock’ of supermarkets, the disconnect and reconnect with working with the land, amongst other things! Candace is a Métis cultural advisor, speaker and educator focused on cultural awareness workshops, Truth and Reconciliation training and relationship building. Candace recogniz...

Kit talks to Niall Cole over a brew of L’Or Classique ground coffee, chatting about starting up a teaching career, the charm of the county of Norfolk, the IPCC and COP26, being a ‘ballet prodigy’, amongst other things! Niall is a Newly Qualified Teacher of Geography and keen sports person that is interested in everything and has not yet learnt to say no. This means you can find him at many teachin...

Kit talks to Dan Raven-Ellison over some Red Label tea, chatting about capturing dangerous animals, playing hide and seek, creating the Slow Ways network, amongst other things! Dan uses ‘guerrilla geography’ to challenge himself and others to think differently about the world. He does this through campaigns, collaborations, and films - ranging from founding the London National Park City to showing...

Kit talks to a bunch of their ex-high school students catching up and reminiscing over a field trip to the USA, amongst other things! Nathan is a 4th year medical student, interested in teaching, love getting outdoors and exploring, who gets an extra appreciation for the form of rivers and things when he looks down from up a mountain! Tom is a postgraduate historian whose main areas of interest ar...

Kit talks to Akhera Williams & Chantal Mayo-Holloway over some light beverages, chatting about amplifying marginalised voices in the classroom, futsal, unemployed squirrels, amongst other things! Akhera is a student geographer, community organiser, poet, and artist from South London. She studies BA Geography at King's College London and is the co-founder of the youth-led educational campaign R...

Kit talks to Alan Parkinson over some Waitrose Rwandan Arabica Light Roast Coffee, chatting about being a child of Yorkshire, past Presidents, amongst other things! NB: Some minor technical difficulties when recording this conversation means that the quality is not up to usual standards in some places. Apologies! It still won't detract from your enjoyment :) Alan is a geographer through and throug...

Kit talks to Sebastian Sterl over a cup of Earl Grey, chatting about renewable energy in Sub-Saharan Africa, trivia on flags of the world, colourful shirts, amongst other things! Sebastian is a physicist by training, experienced as consultant & researcher in a range of fields: energy & climate policy, emissions modelling, Paris Agreement & NDCs, renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro), e...

Kit talks to Jihanna Bonilla-Allard while getting a whiff of some Darkwoods coffee, chatting her multi-cultural heritage, riding her bike around Sheffield and the Peak District, earthquakes, amongst other things! Jihanna is a part Costa-Rican, part Mexican, part Californian, part Norfolk girl living in Yorkshire, currently studying for an MSc in Sustainability. When not studying, she spends most o...

Kit talks to Al Snow (they/them) while enjoying an iced coffee, chatting about the STARS, transportation systems, appreciating and taking note of your surroundings, designing theme parks, amongst other things. Al is a lesbian and non-binary Applied Physics major at University of California Irvine, whose research mainly focuses on studying superfluids, soon to attend the University of Washington in...

Kit talks to Dr Jess Tipton (she/her) over a Whole Earth Chicory Coffee, chatting about grating beetroot, empowering young people with environmental activism, amongst other things. Jess dabbled in life as a musician, Russianist, civil servant and teacher. After studying Russian and clarinet, the logical move was to work at Defra for 10 years. She then became a secondary languages teacher while com...

Kit talks to Justin Boot (they/them) while admiring a decorative Greenwell Farms coffee sack hanging on the wall, chatting about spatial awareness, photography, wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey stuff, amongst other things. Justin is a writer/gamer/reviewer/banker/hiker/photographer/world traveller still trying to find their place in the world. Currently studying Environmental Science and Geography. Some...

Kit talks to Adil Hussain (he/him) over a delightful brew of Assam tea, chatting about how the physical and human geography of his home town of Goalpara formed his identity, stand-up comedy, the power and pitfalls of popular culture for education, how nature can make you look ‘within’, and reframing what really is ‘success’. NB: Some minor technical difficulties when recording this conversation me...

Kit talks to The Curious Geographer, Ellie Hopkins (she/her) over a cool Old Spike Iced Coffee, chatting about Peckham, YouTube videos, spy novels, amongst other things! Ellie Hopkins is a teacher, author, love geography - started a YouTube channel in 2019 called The Curious Geographer where she holds live interviews with academics, journalists and professionals involved in all things geography. S...

Kit talks to Dr Keston Perry (he/him) over a Costa Coffee, chatting about colonisalism, changes in East London, how history comes 'full circle' amongst other things! Keston Perry a political economist and interdisciplinary scholar interested in Afro-Caribbean economic thought, global finance and climate justice. He is currently a lecturer in economics at the University of the West of England, and...