Leeds Voices

Since starting out promoting the likes of The Clash, Simple Minds and U2 at the University in the 1980s, live music event promoter Stuart Galbraith gone on to become one of the most successful and respected pioneers in the live industry. Stuart is founder of Kilimanjaro Live, the company behind major tours and events putting on shows like Ed Sheeran and festivals such as Sonisphere. He received th...

In this episode we’re joined by David Gedge - songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist in one of the University’s best loved bands, The Wedding Present. In 1985, David Gedge (Mathematics 1981) formed the band The Wedding Present with his friends Shaun Charman (Economics & Sociology 1986), English student Keith Gregory and PGCE student Peter Solowka. Now the only original member in the band, Davi...

On 5 July 2024 Sir Keir Starmer (Law 1985, Hon LLD 2012) - one of the University's most prominent alumnus - became the Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.  Sir Keir is the first Leeds graduate to become UK Prime Minister, and one of only a few University-educated PMs to not study his bachelors at Oxford or Cambridge.  His journey to Downing Street started in 1982, when...

Northern Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet has survived fire, flood and the changing fashions of more than three decades. Ahead of the 2024 revival of this classic production, we discover the turbulent tale behind it. Director of the University’s Cultural Institute Wieke Eringa hears from Daniel de Andrade and Pippa Moore MBE, who danced the title roles and are now passing their knowledge on to the next...

Founder and director of Northern Bloc Dirk Mischendahl (Psychology 1995) is doing ice cream differently. He started out by making ice cream through the night and selling it from a van during the day. Now, Dirk and co-founder Josh Lee supply hundreds of theatres, arts venues and tourist attractions across the UK. Northern Bloc can be found in the Co-op, Ocado, Morrisons, Waitrose, and on all Virgin...

In this episode we’re joined by broadcaster Anita Rani (Broadcasting 2000) and physicist Ondrej Krivanek (Physics 1971), as they return to the University to receive honorary doctorates. Ondrej is a leading developer of electron-optical instruments. He talks about how the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 led to him enrolling in physics at Leeds, and looks back on three years where he comb...

Naga Munchetty is one of the most recognisable faces in the UK. Since 2014 she's been a regular presenter on BBC Breakfast, she's a presenter on 5 Live, but did you know the spark to embarking on her career as a journalist involved a trumpet and the Leeds Student? After being a musician in her teens, she had to give back her trumpet to the Inner London Education Authority before embarking on her E...

This week we speak to Dr Keith Brownlee, Director of Medical Affairs at the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Since graduating with a medical degree from Leeds in 1984, Dr Brownlee gained over 30 years’ experience caring for children and families with Cystic Fibrosis. In the podcast he speaks about the disease, the development of life-changing treatments, the work of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, and the impact...

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the NHS, and another health organisation that’s celebrating 75 years in 2023 is the World Health Organization. The international body’s renowned for its work in eradicating smallpox, polio, and most recently its efforts during the Covid pandemic.  Leeds has a long history of its alumni working for the organisation, including Dr Ian Smith. Ian completed...

This week we're coming to the end of Pride Month. The month of June is a time when we celebrate and commemorate the LGBT community. We celebrate how far we’ve come from the time of the Stonewall riots of 1969, but we also reflect on the issues that continue to face LGBT people globally.  And that’s something that we want to address at the University of Leeds. To mark the end of Pride month, w...

This week the University is celebrating its staff and alumni who have been named in the King’s Birthday Honours, and Biomedical scientist and Leeds alum Professor Steve Jackson is among them. He received a knighthood as part of the King's Birthday Honours List.  Steve is both a researcher and entrepreneur, and heads up the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, and is a professor of biology...

After struggling with a debilitating combination of fatigue and burnout during her career as an HR leader, Karina decided to take matters into her own hands. She retrained as a nutritionist, and now runs her own clinic, providing support to people with fatigue, stress and burnout. This year, she released her bestselling book, Fix Your Fatigue. Karina recently starred on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed...

Crime writer and Leeds alumnus Peter Robinson is one of the University's most well-known former students. The Leeds-born novelist's DCI Banks series has sold nine million copies worldwide, and been translated into multiple languages. Peter died last year after a short illness, but his legacy at the University continues in the literary archive he gifted to the University, and the annual scholarship...

This week on Leeds Voices we're talking to Hind Hassan (Medicinal Chemisty 2007). She broadcasts from the most hostile environments in the world – but last year Hind found herself at the centre of an armed bank raid. She spent 16 hours reporting the siege in Lebanon to thousands of followers online, filming the antagonists with guns, Molotov cocktails, and gasoline. The difference between this rai...

This week we’re joined by Leeds alum and triathlete Jonny Brownlee MBE. Jonny has completed the set – he’s won Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals. He’s been world champion, and he’s won countless European and Commonwealth medals over a 14-year career. In 2012, as well as winning Olympic bronze at the London Olympics, he also graduated from Leeds with a degree in history. He was subsequently aw...

At a time of escalating food prices and a deepening climate crisis, Jamie Crummie has created a global phenomenon that protects bank balances and the planet. The Too Good To Go app helps customers rescue unsold food from shops and restaurants, saving it from going to waste.  With the help of Spark funding from the University of Leeds, he co-founded the app in the UK with fellow student Christ...

Eurovision fever has gripped the globe and for the first time since 1997 the UK is hosting the contest, on behalf of Ukraine. Weirdly these two worlds collide for BBC Russia Editor, and song contest superfan Steve Rosenberg. The Leeds alum is known for his love of the contest and away from reporting on the war in Ukraine, he escapes from the world of Kremlin politics by learning to play 300 Eurovi...

Camilla Tominey's journey to becoming a royal journalist started at Tetley Hall, studying Law at the University of Leeds. In this candid interview she discusses preparing for the King's Coronation, reporting on the Queen's death, and reporting on royal births outside hospital while she was also heavily pregnant. Leeds Voices is brought to by the University of Leeds Advancement Team. Follow us on s...

Food broadcaster Jay Rayner tells us about how his path to becoming the UK’s most famous restaurant critic started with the Leeds Student newspaper. 2:15 Professor Anwesha Sakar explains how her research in oral tribology can make chocolate healthier without losing its taste. 11:59 Katy Richardson , Musical Supervisor of the stage phenomenon SIX , discusses waving the baton in Riley Smith Hall and...

Here’s a treat for everyone who read the student newspaper. Was it Union News, Leeds Student or The Gryphon when you were at Leeds? On this episode, you'll hear about the integral role our student newspaper has played on campus through the decades. 2 minutes 45 and 21 minutes 45 You’ll get the inside scoop from those who held the editor’s seat as they celebrate the paper that’s forged the careers...

Henry Gee used to ask a Hell's Angel called Big Paul for the Prog Rock Society's cheque book. You won't want to miss a rambling tale of dinosaurs, University Challenge and a benevolent Leeds professor told by the winner of the Royal Society Science Book Prize. 02:30 How do you count fish, and why would you do it? Based in our Aquatic Interactions Lab,  Josie South  is on a mission t...

This bumper episode features contents from the Leeds alumni digital magazine as well as a few highlights from last year's episodes. Steve Rosenberg (Russian 1991) describes momentous events during his time as the BBC's Moscow correspondent and how his life at Leeds shaped his career. 1:27 After treating casualties in Libya and Iraq, Moez Zeiton (Medicine 2009) tells how, within weeks of returning...

Did you know that the founder of IMDb went to Leeds? With a passion for film and some computing savvy, Col Needham tells us how he built the world's largest entertainment website. 02:15 Academic Dr Tom Bennett astounds us with news that plants detect signals from each other in a variety of ways, even by touch. 12:00 From Botswana, Rebecca Klein discusses her work preserving the world’s fastest lan...

Hear from celebrity podcaster, writer and 2009 graduate Pandora Sykes. She speaks about her career and waking up early to buy the second iPhone in Leeds (2:58). Long before being rated one of the best rock drummers ever, Bill Bruford was a student at Leeds. Bill discusses life as a musician on our new podcast episode — and how he chose to leave Leeds to be a rock star (18.06). Dr Jim McQuaid, who...

The creative powerhouse behind Idris Elba’s TV detective Luther, tells us about what drew him to Leeds and the genesis of his compelling detective. Early in life Neil learned that people you admire can have a terrible dark side (5:14) . We drop by the old Bodington Hall playing fields, which have now transformed into our state of the art football facilities and an "engineering marvel" (18:40) . Pr...