South Mimms U

Swear words abound on TV and in movies and suddenly those bad words don't seem so bad anymore. Is it time we had a new swear word to replace what we thought were the worst of the old bunch? How can you create one and get people to start using it? At South Mimms U we're willing to try anything. The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Comedy and climate change collide in a weird dialogue about why farts are funny and how they just might the basis for all comedy and even drama - and a scientist who wants to harness the gaseous explosions of the world's billions of cows and sheep. He thinks it'll help solve the climate crisis, but might industrializing farts reduce their comic potential? The world might be a duller plac...

We all lead busy lives and those pesky kids want a bedtime story - sometimes the same one over and over again! So, when you can't be there (or don't want to be) wouldn't it be great if you could upload a hologram of yourself to do it instead? Of course it would.  But, what might the consequences be? Find out how South Mimms U's experiment went.  The only university that makes y...

We take it everywhere. We eat, sleep, work with it. It makes us feel safe. So, in truth, our phone is really a security blanket. So, why not turn it into a REAL one!? Designers and technologists at South Mimms U have produced a prototype of the Linus Phone - a Linus Blanket for the Digital Age. That's Linus from the Snoopy cartoons, of course.  The only university that makes you chuckle AND l...

One of the most enigmatic names of the Digital Age, many believe that the founder of the Blockchain and Bitcoin is a mythical figure. He's either a she or a they or an early AI program. But we believe we've found the truth - and it/he/she lives in the tiny UK village of South Mimms. Well, kind of. You'll have to listen to find out. The crypto mystery has been solved! The only univer...

One of our staff at South Mimms U tries to become a digital hermit to understand the difference between loneliness and solitude. But is he just trying to escape a difficult personal choices he needs to make?  The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

There's a growing movement to tax robots - mechanical and software robots alike. They are, after all, threatening to take away at least a third of all jobs, with more and more white collar workers under threat from Robot Process Automation. But, if you tax a worker, shouldn't they be allowed to vote whether they're human or man-made? The principle of 'no taxation without repres...

Karl Marx is known for his political philosophy and critique of Capitalism but not for imaginative prose or parenting skills. He was, by all accounts, a loving and doting father and it wouldn't be a surprise if, at some point, he had tried to write a children's story. But could he steer clear of political analysis and stick to imaginative prose? New evidence shows that, yes, he did attem...

The inventor of the telephone - Alexander Graham Bell - thought the best way to answer it was to say 'Ahoy!'. But Thomas Edison believed that 'hello' was better and more modern. At South Mimms U we think that 'Ahoy' might be great for the digital age. Our lecturer in Technological Anthropology is campaigning to revive 'Ahoy!' - which is, by the way, how Mr B...

The rise of the autonomous car is inevitable. All the big car companies and most of the big tech ones are working on them. But will the AI technology inside their 'brains' mean that their ideas and passions could rule their engines? At South Mimms U our team has discovered that their prototype autonomous car has developed the ability to fall in love and feel passion. It's not a rout...

Charles Darwin called earthworms 'nature's ploughs' and wrote his final (and most popular) book about them. Our very own Dave Dave - musician and philosopher - has a radical theory about who's really calling the tune on Planet Earth, and it's not us humans.  The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Child labour wasn't so bad - was it? The Victorians thought it was very good for young children. Charles Dickens didn't think so after working when he was just 12. But perhaps he missed the point. A spokesperson for a new political think tank believes it would be better if we sent children out to work instead of to school. Her arguments seem weirdly logical.  The only university that mak...

Gun control is a huge issue in the USA, and the most fervent gun owners cite the Second Amendment to the Constitution. But does it really give them a right to own a firearm? Our Constitutional History expert has a new take on the amendment - which is onnly 27 words long - and a radical idea to link rights with obligations and save the lives of young soldiers in the process. His argument has real f...

Strange new software developed at South Mimms U allows us to speak to our older selves. But would you want to? And if you did, what would you say? One of our intrepid faculty tests the technology out with strange consequences.  The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

It's natural, when we see a set of terms and conditions we click 'Accept' without thinking, but what are you accepting? Usually, it's horribly complex clauses in tangled legal verbiage that ties you up in obligations without giving you any rights. Our legal expert, Terence Prole, proves the point in a very unusual way.  The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at th...

Most of us believe that we live in democracies, but every time we arrive at our workplace we enter a dictatorship. That's the unplatable truth of modern day corporate life. Your rights are constrained by your employment contract, and most of us can't even do what we want on Facebook or Twitter just in case our employer doesn't like it. We explain what this means and show how it coul...

When the South Mimms U religious studies department put on an Easter Passion Play, our Head of Religion cast an overweight actor to play the role. It caused outrage. But why? Can't a fat man play Jesus? what if Jesus himself had been... err portly? Would we worship him any less fervently? The controversy illuminates our prejudices and preconceptions. Fascinating. The only university that make...

The Keysmash is when you're lost for words - of anger, of love, or frustration - and you smash the keys to get your feelings across. Strangely, that can lead to romance. It does for two of our South Mimms academics. And all during the recording of this podcast. The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Self-help literature is a huge industry. It doesn't do anyone any good, except the authors. Actually, self-books make you more anxious. It's time to wean yourself off them says South Mimms U. The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

People love a good conspiracy theory, but when one of our academics fakes one to see just how easy it is for it to spread he does realise that he's actually... part of a wider conspiracy! And it's all about ravens at the Tower of London too! The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Ground-breaking research into the roots of plant sentience and emotions is beging carried out at South Mimms U, but it's also uncovered a strange new sexual cult. The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

If we're being led by donkeys why not ditch the humans and let Artificial Intelligence have a go?! As an experiement we created an AI candidate which won an election here in South Mimms, but power seems to have gone to its head!  The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Steve Jobs is revered by people of all faiths and none, so why not make him a saint - an actual (dead) deity?! Our religious studies department is trying to do just that.  The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

We need a new kind of porn, so says our Entrepreneurship lecturer as she explains why there's a gap in the crowded porn market for frills and lace and glimpses of bare ankles! Oh my! Intriguing. The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.

Bird watching is sexy again. The Twitchers are out in force. Listen to strange adventures from the hide at the edge of reason. The only university that makes you chuckle AND learn at the same time.