GeogPod

In this episode of GeogPod our host, John Lyon, talks with Philip Parker, Senior Environment Education Officer at the Wear Rivers Trust. They discuss Philip’s career, who the Wear Rivers Trust are and what they do as well as chatting about rivers, nature, pollution, farming, field trips, the importance of engaging children with nature and rivers and how they support teachers and schools. Links fro...

In another special episode to round off 2025, John talks with three members of the editorial board for the GA's journal Teaching Geography to celebrate 50 years of the publication. Listen to conversation with Eleanor Rawling, Dr Emma Rawlings Smith and Katie Richardson and find out what makes Teaching Geography such an important publication for teachers and the GA community, with personal stories...

In this special episode, Dr Charlene Rose talks to John about her work on the geographies of Caribbean cuisine, which formed the heart of her thesis, and explore themes of superdiversity, creolisation, authenticity and identity. They discuss the interdisciplinary route she took to her research, through work, study and personal experience, and consider why the political, economic and cultural aspec...

In this special episode of GeogPod, we turn the microphone over to the current presidential team:  Hina Robinson - GA President 2024-25, Denise Freeman - Immediate Past President 2023-24, and  Catherine Owen - GA Vice President and upcoming president for 2025-26. Join them as they talk about their special roles not only with the GA but as women leading geography in state schools and how their rela...

In this episode of GeogPod John Lyon speaks with Jenny Cooke, the founder of Oddizzi, about what inspired her to pursue geography and create Oddizzi. Jenny’s goal is to create adaptable, flexible and supportive resources for geography teachers that inspire young children and make them look forward to their lessons. To accomplish this Jenny and her team have visited some amazing locations, includin...

Laura Young, Scottish Influencer of the Year 2022/2024 joins John in this week's episode to talk about all aspects of her 'portfolio career' focusing on climate through research, social media and making an impact in our day to day lives.  She talks about how her academic career began with everyday geographies, taking her on to experience worldwide perspectives of place, space and communities and h...

In this episode, John Lyon is joined by Parvati Raghuram, Manu Lekunze and Melis Cin who are part of the team that developed the Global Inequalities and the Climate Crisis Lessons. They discuss how the project came to be, how we have now moved from a climate crisis to a climate emergency and how teachers can effectively educate their students without creating fear or anxiety.  They also talk about...

In this episode of GeogPod John talks to Robert Swan, who walked to both the North and South Pole, and Jenny Cooke, Founder of Oddizzi. John asks what inspired Robert to become a polar pioneer and climate change ambassador. They discuss his Antarctic journey’s difficulties, the beauty, the clear evidence of climate change and the dangers. In 2022 Robert invited Jenny on an expedition to the Antarc...

In this episode, John talks to Anthony Barlow, Principal Lecturer and the subject leader for Geography Education at the University of Roehampton. Primary education is a precious time for children to spend time with each other, time in their locality and time with their teacher guiding them and letting them explore. That's the crucial point - from 'sustained shared thinking', to focused, framed and...

In this episode John Lyon talks to Karen Corfield, Education Development Consultant and Safeguarding Lead at Discover the World Education. A few topics discussed in this episode are: Iceland and Icelandic guides, GA Annual Conference, mentoring and inspirational teachers, fieldwork, connections and memories to place, and what your third place is. Resources Discover the World Education Costa Rica t...

John Lyon chats with Alice Gadney in this episode of GeogPod. Alice is a cartographer and also known as Captain Alice, founder of Mini Map-Makers. They discuss many topics, including: her PGCE; William Smith; Steve Backshall; ‘The Hobbit’; Mini Map-Makers; inspiring children with maps from primary age; and of course, their favourite maps. Resources https://minimapmakers.com/ Series 14 of GeogPod i...

In this episode of GeogPod, John is joined by Jess Hill, Deputy Head at Alwoodley Primary School in Leeds.  They talk about how the geography curriculum at the school has grown and changed over time, to reflect the children and families at the school as well as empower the staff teaching the subject. The episode also discusses the Primary Geography Quality Mark, the school's Gold Hub status and ho...

In this episode John talks to Catherine Walker, Newcastle University Academic Track Fellow in Human Geography. They discuss her background and a wide range of topics including: how you can become a geographer in different ways; travel; cultures and landscapes; geography through stories; social science; climate change and climate justice. Resources: Opportunities, complexities, and challenges in co...

This episode, John is joined by GA Chief Executive Steve Brace to discuss: what inspired him to pursue geography; a brief overview of the GA; the different routes into geography; the independent review of Curriculum and Assessment; and his top 4 priority areas of interest for the future. Here are a few resources mentioned in this episode: Curriculum and Assessment Review – Department for Education...

In a special episode to celebrate Black History Month we join Professor Pat Noxolo from the University of Birmingham, Professor James Esson from Queen Mary University of London and Francisca Rockey, founding member of Black Geographers. They discuss the intersections between race, gender and class that affect young people today. Topics include how to navigate complex ideas in a complex world, the...

John is joined in this episode by Sabeeha Bhatti, a teacher in her second year working in a school in West London. Sabeeha talks about how she got into geography teaching and how her personal passions and identity contribute to her teaching style.  They discuss the impact of inspirational teachers, the benefits of using art in the classroom to exemplify change and how working in a diverse area wit...

In episode 81 our host John Lyon talks to Dr. Evelyn Wandia Corrado, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at University of Roehampton. They discuss her childhood in Kenya, the community and education systems as well as challenging perspectives and stereotypes, inclusive practice and pedagogy and the importance of engaging parents and including more representation in classes. Resources View...

In this special sponsored episode, Cath Rule from Rayburn Tours, Dr Rob Parker from Time for Geography and Dr Rhian Meara of Swansea University join John to talk about their recent expedition to the island of Heimaey to complete a joint project around the eruption in 1973 and its impacts. They talk about the tectonics of the island, the events of January 1973 and their effect not only on the islan...

In this episode of GeogPod our host, John, talks to Fiona Sheriff about several different topics. From Fiona’s journey about how she first got into teaching, discussing her current projects and work-life balance to the direction of the geography curriculum, and something close to her heart - the importance of using maps and taking part in fieldwork. Resources from the episode: Find out more about...

John is joined by Professor Jamie Lorimer and Dr Timothy Hodgetts to talk about what it means when geography is more-than-human.  In a wide-ranging discussion, they look at the crossovers between geography, environmentalism, anthropology and the sciences. They talk about the importance of multiple and situated knowledge and how geographers can think differently about our entanglements with the wor...

In this episode John’s discussions with Dr Philipp Horn include ‘Urban Informality’ and they explore terms such as ‘slums’ and ‘favelas’ which are less used in geography education these days. It is worth listening to the whole episode to understand the use of the words and how many of them have been adopted and reclaimed by some people who live in informal settlements.   Resources X (formerly Twit...

This episode of GeogPod was recorded live at the GA’s Annual Conference in April 2024. Our host John Lyon talked to our guest, Donald McClean, from the Sheffield Environmental Movement. In the session they discussed the importance of fieldwork, widening participation in the natural environment, supporting diverse Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic Refugee (BAMER) community groups/organisations around S...

In this episode our host, John Lyon, chats with John Hopkins, Katherine Baulcomb and Luke Hinchliffe - members of the GA's Assessment and Examinations Special Interest Group (AESIG). They discuss topics such as progression in geography, the progression and assessment guidance, sequencing, enquiry based learning and more. Resources: Progression and assessment in geography GCSE and A level results F...

In this episode join John Lyon and Professor James Esson from Queen Mary University of London as they discuss viewing the world through a geographical lens. They cover a wide range of topics including conspicuous margins, pedagogy and voice, inequality, social economy, and improving the future. Professor James Esson will also be our keynote speaker at the GA Conference 2024. Find out more about Co...

In this episode of GeogPod John is joined by Paul Chatterton, Professor of Urban Futures at the University of Leeds. A few topics they discuss include Paul’s book How to save the city, the climate crisis, social inequalities and the breakdown of our natural world. Visit howtosavethecity.org to find out more about the book. Follow Paul on X  (Twitter): @PaulChatterton9 Connect with Paul Chatterton...