On a Wednesday late afternoon I received an email from a student. She said she was making a podcast. She wanted to interview people in the School about their science. Was I willing to be one of the subjects? And I was. I had had quite a lot to do with this student, and I trusted her. We agreed on the next Monday morning. Over the weekend she sent me a list of questions she would want to ask.
She first briefly talked me through the technology. And then we started! And the first question resulted in more dialogue than I had expected. She just asked me my full name, which I gave. And she then confessed that she had no idea how to pronounce my last name. And that everyone she had asked had given her a different answer. She also said that other staff seem to actively avoid trying to pronounce it! I wasn't aware of that. I thought they would just settle on some Anglicised version.
From that question, things became a bit more scientific. She asked me my job title, which was easy, but also what I call myself. That varies greatly! I tend to call myself a palaeoclimatologist. It's also sometimes marine micropalaeontologist. It depends on the context.
We also discussed things such as my last paper, and what it is like to work in a big research project. And how I had ended up in Wales. She also wanted to know about gender issues. She had been to Yueng’s inaugural lecture! And she also asked about how I managed to combine an academic career with things such as cave rescue.
Why does she know about cave rescue? It turns out that my blog these days is quite a hit with the students. I think I mentioned before that they seem to have discovered it, but I can't find where. And it's OK they have. I don’t really write it with them in mind, but I know it is a public blog, so anyone can read it. I have been aware from the beginning that if there are things I don't want the entire world to know, I should just not put them there. And in a way, I find that there is something about living your life in public; it makes you extra conscious of your decisions. And I am careful with privacy.
It is a bit weird to talk about my blog in a podcast and about a podcast on my blog! It is starting to sound a bit like an echo chamber. But it was fun to do.
We spoke for an hour, and then I went back to my office. It turned out I was her first interviewee. And she gave me the names of some of the people that had already agreed. I think this might be an interesting series. She will let me know when she is finished editing, and makes it public. I will provide a link when it is!
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