It's the final episode of the series, but what have we learned about emotions past, present, and future? Thomas Dixon, Sarah Chaney and Richard Firth-Godbehere reflect back on what they have learned from the series, discuss what emotions might look like in the future, whether we should stop telling people “Your emotions are valid”, and what historians of emotion looking back on our era might think in a few hundred years’ time. What will future people think about the roles of - for instance - psychiatry and social media - in shaping the ways we interpret and express our feelings in the 21st century? Is there any reason to think that things will be any less emotional in the future, or that machines and AI will fundamentally change the way human beings feel? Join Thomas, Sarah, and Richard to find out. Thomas Dixon is Director of the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions, the author of Weeping Britannia: Portrait of a Nation in Tears (2015), and previously presented "The Sound of Anger" podcast series. @ProfThomasDixon Sarah Chaney is a historian of nursing and emotions. Her most recent book is called Am I Normal? The 200-Year Search for Normal People (and Why They Don’t Exist) @KentishScribble Richard Firth Godbehere is a historian of disgust - among many other emotions - and the author of a sweeping and scintillating book entitled A Human History of Emotion: How the Way We Feel Built the World We Know. @DrRichFG "Living With Feeling" is produced by Natalie Steed for Rhubarb Rhubarb, and supported by the Wellcome Trust. It is brought to you by the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions. Find out more about our work at The Emotions Lab website.

Do wellbeing apps and emotional mood trackers make you feel nervous, furious, or happy? In this episode, historian of emotions and author Richard Firth-Godbehere goes in search of the science, technology, ethics, and feelings behind emotional AI. Fellow historian Thomas Dixon acts a guinea pig for Richard, trying out some emotion-tracking apps. with emotionally mixed results, while Richard speaks to historians, ethicists, and others about the theory of “basic emotions” that hampers a lot of emotional AI, and also the ethical dilemmas posed by the ability of big tech companies to harvest and store increasingly intimate information about our feelings and our bodies. Along the way, Richard reflects on the long history of emotional objects - and how bits of technology, old and new, can conjure up strong feelings, as well as encountering a award-winning app designed for children who have lost a loved one, and thinking about how he might have responded to it when he lost his own father. Dr Charley Baker is an associate professor of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham. @CharleyBaker1 Professor Thomas Dixon is Director of the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions, the author of Weeping Britannia: Portrait of a Nation in Tears (2015), and previously presented "The Sound of Anger" podcast series. @ProfThomasDixon Louis Weinstock is a psychotherapist and the author of How the World is Making Our Children Mad and What to Do About It Dr Sally Holloway is Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellow in History & History of Art, School of History, Philosophy and Culture, Oxford Brookes University where she researches the histories of emotional culture, love, and heartbreak. @sally_holloway Chloe Duckworth is Co-founder & CEO of Valence Vibrations Professor Andrew McStay is Professor of Digital Life at Bangor University, and the author of Emotional AI: The Rise of Empathic Media. @digi_ad "Living With Feeling" is produced by Natalie Steed for Rhubarb Rhubarb, and supported by the Wellcome Trust. It is brought to you by the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions. Find out more about our work at The Emotions Lab website.

When it comes to childhood trauma, do our bodies keep the score, and with what emotional impacts? Historian of child psychology Emma Sutton finds out about the recent explosion of interest in "trauma-informed" approaches and their impact on family relationships. She tries out some trauma-informed therapy herself, and discusses with therapists and experts what this approach can mean for dealing with the aftermath of adverse childhood experiences - including the additional harm done to families when someone decides to "go no contact" with a parent. Emma discusses with Reverend Giles Fraser the dangers of overly medicalising painful experiences - and Giles speaks about his own experience of being beaten frequently when at school. The episode ends with a visit to the Kazzum Arts project and its director Alex Evans - who speaks about the powerful influence that adults can have in protecting children from the worst effects of trauma, by being playful, curious, accepting and empathetic in their interactions with them. Steve Haines is a bodyworker and author who is deeply interested in pain, trauma and anxiety. @stevehaines66 Dr Charley Baker is an associate professor of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham. @CharleyBaker1 Dr Angela Davis is a historian of motherhood and parenting in twentieth-century Britain. She is the author of Modern Motherhood: Women and Family in England, 1945–2000. Dr Joshua Coleman is psychologist in private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area and a Senior Fellow with the Council on Contemporary Families, a non-partisan organization of leading sociologists, historians, psychologists and demographers dedicated to providing the press and public with the latest research and best practice findings about American families. @drjcoleman Reverend Giles Fraser is the Vicar of St Anne’s in Kew, as well as being a journalist and author. His most recent book is Chosen: Lost and Found Between Christianity and Judaism, and in 2017 he made a series for Radio 4 - “This Old Heart of Mine” - about the experience of surviving a heart attack and bypass surgery. It gave him the chance to reflect on matters of the heart - physical, emotional, and spiritual. @giles_fraser Alex Evans is a visual artist, director and creative facilitator living and working in London. He is proud to be the Artistic Director of Kazzum Arts, after taking on the role in June 2017. @KazzumArts "Living With Feeling" is produced by Natalie Steed for Rhubarb Rhubarb, and supported by the Wellcome Trust. It is brought to you by the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions. Find out more about our work at The Emotions Lab website.

Should mindfulness and happiness take their place on the school curriculum alongside maths and literacy? Thomas Dixon asks whether 200-year-old ideas about love, emotions, and primary education are still relevant today. He visits three schools with different approaches to emotions, and meets experts on mental health and wellbeing - asking whether there is a crisis in young people's mental health today, whether schools should be part of the solution, and if so what that solution might look like. Katharine Birbalsingh talks to Thomas about the "tough love" approach at Michaela Community School, and discusses whether it is harsh, or loving, to try to instil an ethos of Stoicism and individual resilience: "You say it's mean, I say it's love." Adrian Bethune is a primary school teacher, the author of "Wellbeing in the Primary Classroom" and founder of “Teachappy”, an organisation committed to putting wellbeing and happiness at the heart of education. @AdrianBethune Dr Lucy Foulkes is a Senior Research Fellow at the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families and an honorary lecturer in psychology at UCL. She is the author of "What Mental Illness Really Is… (and what it isn’t)". @lfoulkesy Dr Alex Turner is Applied Research Lead at The Children's Society @DrAlexLTurner Louis Weinstock is a psychotherapist and the author of "How the World is Making Our Children Mad and What to Do About It" Michael Eggleton is Headteacher of the Charles Dickens Primary School and Nursery, a research school in Southwark, where he leads their wellbeing curriculum @Michael_cdps Katharine Birbalsingh is Headmistress of Michaela Community School, Wembley, and Chair of the government's Social Mobility Commisssion. @Miss_Snuffy "Living With Feeling" is produced by Natalie Steed for Rhubarb Rhubarb, and supported by the Wellcome Trust. It is brought to you by the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions. Find out more about our work at The Emotions Lab website.

Unexpected item in bagging area! Machines can provoke many emotions, including rage and anxiety. But can they also care? In Episode 2 of "Living With Feeling", historian of nursing Sarah Chaney meets some care robots and discusses with experts what these machines are for, and what they can offer. Sarah probes the potential and the limitations of care robots - and looks at historical ideas from earlier eras about emotional qualities, including fortitude and compassion, which would be shown by the ideal human nurse. Sarah and her interviewees also discuss the idea of "emotional labour" and also the racial and gendered stereotypes associated with nursing that are embodied in the way robot nurses are designed. Dr Sarah Chaney is a historian of nursing and emotions. Her most recent book is Am I Normal? The 200-Year Search for Normal People (and Why They Don’t Exist). She is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions. @KentishScribble Robots in this episode came from the Can Robots Care exhibition at the Thackray Museum of Medicine (Paro and Miro) Dr Amelia de Falco, is Associate Professor Of Medical Humanities at the University Of Leeds @AmeliaDefalco Prof. Rena Papadopoulos is Professor of Transcultural Health & Nursing at Middlesex University, London @irena_pap Prof. Anna Romina Guevarra is Associate Professor and Founding Director of the Global Asian Studies Program at the University of Illinois Chicago @AnnaRGuevarra Amanda Gwinnup is a PhD candidate at the University of Huddersfield researching the post-war experiences of disabled WWI nurses @WW1NurseHist Professor Pam Smith is Professorial Fellow and former Head of Nursing Studies in the School of Health in Social Science Edinburgh University. "Living With Feeling" is produced by Natalie Steed, and supported by the Wellcome Trust, for the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions. Find out more about our work at The Emotions Lab website.

In this first episode of "Living With Feeling" - our new series about emotions in the 21st century - priest and writer Giles Fraser and psychotherapist Philippa Perry join Thomas Dixon for a lively conversation, tackling some big questions about the place of emotions in modern culture. Philippa, Giles, and Thomas discuss whether people are too ready to interpret painful or difficult emotions as signs of mental illness, and whether it is always true that "Your emotions are valid". Giles confesses to an emotional outburst in the middle of the night, and suggests we should all try to be a bit more like the Queen, while Philippa explains how important it is to be able to live with and contain our own feelings, and those of our children, without necessarily always expressing them. Thomas asks what Christianity and psychotherapy have to say about the idea that we are all emotionally broken or disordered in some way, and asks Giles and Philippa for their views about smartphones and emotions, and whether they would like to be cared for by a robot nurse, and if not why not. "Living With Feeling" is produced by Natalie Steed for Rhubarb Rhubarb, and supported by the Wellcome Trust. To find out more about the work of the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions, please visit The Emotions Lab website at emotionslab.org

Welcome to "Living With Feeling", our new podcast series about emotions in the 21st Century. Please subscribe via Apple, Spotify, Acast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Search for "Living With Feeling" or follow one of the links below. APPLE: https://apple.co/3aM5Rrb SPOTIFY: https://spoti.fi/3uWhKSi ACAST: https://shows.acast.com/living-with-feeling/episodes

What is the mind? Can we think of it as a ‘space’? Where might we look for the mind and what might be going on inside it when we experience solitude? These are some of the questions addressed in this episode. We hear from neuroscientist Sarah Garfinkel about the mind as an interface between brain and heart, and historian of psychoanalysis Akshi Singh about the mind as a space contained in objects that evoke memory and unlock experience. The poet and philosopher Denise Riley describes the imagined interiors of our bodies and the vulnerability of the inner voice, whilst psychoanalyst and writer Adam Philips discusses what might be happening in the mind when we can’t bear to be alone. Contrbutors: Akshi Singh (Queen Mary University of London), Sarah Garfinkel (University College, London), Adam Phillips (psychoanalyst and writer), Denise Riley (University of East Anglia) Presented by Hetta Howes Curated by Akshi Singh Produced by Natalie Steed

As part of the 'Spaces of Solitude' series, Hetta Howes presents a conversation between Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University, and the most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. Discussion ranges from personal experiences of solitude and silence, to ‘thin-places’ and speaking in tongues. Presented by Hetta Howes Produced by Natalie Steed

As part of the 'Places of Solitude' series, Hetta Howes speaks to researchers Lisa Guenther and Shokoufeh Sakhi. Lisa is a Canadian philosopher and activist who works on critical prison studies; Shokoufeh is a former political prisoner from Iran who writes about imprisonment and the self. In this conversation, they discuss the histories and philosophies of solitary confinement, and the many ways that carceral solitariness is physically and emotionally experienced. Presented by Hetta Howes Produced by Natalie Steed

As part of the 'Spaces of Solitude' series, Hetta Howes speaks to researchers Lisa Guenther and Shokoufeh Sakhi. Lisa is a Canadian philosopher and activist who works on critical prison studies; Shokoufeh is a former political prisoner from Iran who writes about imprisonment and the self. In this conversation, they discuss the histories and philosophies of solitary confinement, and the many ways that carceral solitariness is physically and emotionally experienced. Presented by Hetta Howes Produced by Natalie Steed

In this episode, Hetta Howes and Charlie Williams look at experiences of imprisonment and solitary confinement, asking how we can understand the effects of enforced isolation on the human psyche? They speak first to Lisa Guenther, who charts the rise and rise of solitary confinement in the United States and the links between this practice and the long history of slavery. Next, they hear from Andrea Brady about the ‘Jail Poems’ of Beat Poet Bob Kaufman and the perspective they provide on imprisonment as an existential condition. And finally, Hetta speaks to Shokoufeh Sakhi about her years as a political prisoner in Iran, the work of preserving connections with the world in the face of solitary confinement, and the power of creating beauty within the prison. Contributors: Charlie Williams, (Queen Mary University of London) Lisa Guenther (Queens University, Canada), Shokoufeh Sakhi (independent scholar), Andrea Brady (Queen Mary University of London) Presented by Hetta Howes Curated by Charlie Williams Produced by Natalie Steed Readings by Miles Richardson and Burt Caesar

The German sociologist Georg Simmel famously claimed that ‘one nowhere feels as lonely and lost as in the metropolitan crowd’. Hetta Howes and Charlie Williams take a walk through London to explore this classic idea of loneliness and the many ways of being alone in a city. They hear from Matthew Beaumont about the long tradition of ‘nightwalkers’, a mantle applied to vagrants, sex workers, migrants and bohemians, all searching for different opportunities in the city after dark. Hetta speaks to Leo Coleman about the development of the industrial city and the experiences of isolation that come with it, before being guided by Susheila Nasta through Sam Selvon’s classic novel of city newcomers, The Lonely Londoners. Contributors: Charlie Williams (Queen Mary University of London), Matthew Beaumont (University College London), Leo Coleman (Hunter College, City University of New York), Susheila Nasta (Queen Mary University of London) Presented by Hetta Howes Curated by Charlie Williams Produced by Natalie Steed Readings by Miles Richardson and Burt Caesar

Hetta Howes and James Morland continue their exploration of solitude in this episode, pondering the perilous places we sometimes enter in the search for aloneness. James introduces listeners to the graveyard poets of the 18th century, who sought out places of darkness to explore their biggest fears and deepest anxieties. Hetta then speaks to Josh Cohen about Emily Dickinson’s reclusive tendencies, the imagined wildernesses she created locked away in her room, and the ways in which, historically, seclusion and solitude could make women simultaneously conspicuous and invisible. Finally, she talks to Barbara Taylor about John Donne’s terrifying struggle with solitude in his sickroom and what we can learn from those most troubling forms of aloneness when care has disappeared. *Correction: the poem ‘The Wilderness’ referenced in this podcast episode was misattributed to Emily Dickinson and is by 20th-century poet Kathleen Raine. For more on wilderness and solitude in Dickinson, see her poem, ‘Had I not seen the sun’. Contributors: James Morland (Queen Mary University of London), Josh Cohen (Goldsmiths University), Barbara Taylor (Queen Mary University of London) Presented by Hetta Howes Curated by James Morland Produced by Natalie Steed Readings by James Morland and Sam West

How did gardens come to play such a key part in the history of solitude? Hetta Howes sets out to answer this question with James Morland, who moves from the idyllic but complex seclusion of Eden to the refuge of queer ecology in Derek Jarman’s garden at Prospect Cottage to offer a reading of gardens as spaces of escape. Laura Seymour discusses how 17th-century gardens provided a sense of liberty in the face of political furore, and Stephen Bending talks us through design versus wilderness and the opportunities that gardens have provided for women. Finally, Hetta speaks to Rosie Fyles, the Head Gardener at Ham House, about the history of collaboration in creating garden spaces. Contributors: James Morland (Queen Mary University of London), Laura Seymour (Birkbeck, University of London), Rosie Fyles (Ham House) and Stephen Bending (University of Southampton) Presented by Hetta Howes Curated by James Morland Produced by Natalie Steed Readings by Sam West Sound recording from An English Country Garden in July by Keith Selmes (CC Attribution License)

In the opening episode of our series, Hetta Howes and Barbara Taylor take us on a journey through the history of spiritual solitude. Why have people of faith chosen to be alone throughout the ages and what perils do they face in doing so? Hetta meets Hilary Powell to discuss the secluded lives of medieval anchorites and hermits, and Revd Erica Longfellow to learn about the sociable religious landscape of the 17th century. Later she speaks to James Morland about the natural world as a space for solitary contemplation, before a conversation with Brother James Koester about the fine line between solitude and loneliness in a modern-day monastic community. Contributors: Hilary Powell (Durham University) , Erica Longfellow (New College, Oxford), James Morland (Queen Mary University of London), James Koester (Society of Saint John the Evangelist) Presented by Hetta Howes Curated by Barbara Taylor Produced by Natalie Steed Readings by Miles Richardson

An autobiographical essay on solitude, walking, the natural world, and emotions by the novelist and nature writer Melissa Harrison. Melissa reflects on what solitude has meant to her - and to others - from her childhood and early adult years to the recent period of lockdown in the summer of 2020. Recorded outside in the Suffolk countryside, this essay explores Melissa's feelings about living on her own and how she finds her most honest self through solitude in nature. She also reflects on what is has meant for women to be on their own in the past and the present. This essay was originally written in connection with the BBC Radio 4 series, 'A Short History of Solitude': https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000m57m Find Melissa's podcast 'The Stubborn Light of Things' here: https://melissaharrison.co.uk/podcast/ This episode is presented by Thomas Dixon and produced by Natalie Steed, as part of the 'Living With Feeling' project at Queen Mary University of London, supported by the Wellcome Trust: https://projects.history.qmul.ac.uk/livingwithfeeling/

Developing Emotions is a pioneering programme of lessons designed to promote emotional literacy and emotional awareness in school children. It has been developed as a collaboration between the Centre for the History of the Emotions at Queen Mary University of London and TKAT Multi-Academy Trust. In February and March 2020 the lessons were piloted in eight schools, including Napier Primary Academy in Kent. In this episode, Thomas Dixon visits Napier School and talks with teachers there about the importance of thinking about emotions in the classroom in ways that go beyond traditional PSHE approaches. The aim is to build children's confidence in using words and images for different feelings and emotions - from love and friendship to worries, tears, and laughter - through history, drama, philosophy, and art. Read more about the Developing Emotions project here: https://emotionsblog.history.qmul.ac.uk/2020/04/developing-emotions/ Register to access resources here: https://emotionslab.org/schools/register/ Presenter: Professor Thomas Dixon, Queen Mary University of London Contributors: Rebekah Hudson and Holly Hodsoll, Napier Primary Academy Produced by Emma Barnaby for Whistledown.

Tiffany Watt Smith looks back to 1930s London to discover what a rumbled drag ball can teach us about schadenfreude – the joy we feel in another’s misfortune. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Agnes Arnold-Forster traces the history of nostalgia, from homesick Swiss mercenaries to contemporary US politics, and examines its effects on the professional lives of healthcare practitioners working in the NHS. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Join James Morland on his journey through poetic images of loneliness, as he wanders towards its emotional meaning. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

In this episode, Ed Brooker finds surprising connections between bank holidays, Charles Darwin, and that most gluttonous of terms, happiness. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

As part of 'The Sound of Anger' series, cultural historian Fern Riddell speaks with Thomas Dixon about gender, emotions, and politics. Fern is an expert on the histories of suffragism and sexuality and the author of a biography of the radical suffragette Kitty Marion, called 'Death In Ten Minutes'. Fern and Thomas debate the meaning of 'anger', how it looks and feels, whether it is always expressed in violence, and what place it had in the suffragettes' struggle.

Do we live in an age of rage? And if so, what can we learn about our furious feelings, and how to control them, from the experiences and ideas of great thinkers in the past? Those are the questions explored in a pair of thought-provoking and darkly funny new audio dramas by playwright Craig Baxter, commissioned by the Living With Feeling project at Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for the History of the Emotions, and directed and produced by Natalie Steed. SENECA ANNOYED is a philosophical tragicomedy about emotions and ideas set in ancient Rome. When the order comes to him from Emperor Nero that he kill himself, the Stoic philosopher Seneca determines to dispatch himself in a calm and dignified manner. He hasn’t counted, though, on the frailty of his own body, the incompetence of his friends, or the blind fury of his wife, Paulina. CAST: Seneca is played by Adam Kotz, Paulina by Jasmine Hyde, and Fabius by Geoffrey Streatfeild. The centurion is Michael Bertenshaw. Produced and directed by Natalie Steed. Recorded by David Chilton and Lucinda Mason Brown.

Historian of emotions Thomas Dixon completes his personal odyssey through the history, feelings, and meanings of angry emotions. In this episode, he asks whether domestic, everyday anger is the same thing as political anger, and wonders about the relationship between angry dads, angry protesters, and emotional health. Thomas hates his own anger and dreams of a world with no anger, but learns reasons that others see it as politically essential. Backstage at the 2019 Free Thinking Festival in Sage Gateshead, Thomas talks to Matthew Dodd of BBC Radio 3 about being an angry dad, and hears from Professor Kehinde Andrews about the importance of anger for Malcolm X. In a conversation about male privilege, sexual violence, and political anger, Thomas is guided by Dr Fern Riddell towards evidence of the fury and violence of suffragettes in the 1910s. Neuroscientist Sarah Garfinkel talks about the possibility of protesting without angry emotions, and Thomas ends up pondering whether disagreements about the necessity and value of political anger reveal underlying differences of both class and philosophy. And finally, what can a Stoic philosopher such as Seneca teach us about anger and emotional health? Contributors: Matthew Dodd, Fern Riddell, Kehinde Andrews, Charlotte Rose Millar, Sarah Garfinkel. The voice of Christabel Pankhurst: Karina Fernandez Presenter: Thomas Dixon Producer: Natalie Steed

Historian of emotions Thomas Dixon continues his exploration of angry emotions. In this episodes he tries to discover how anger sounds, feels, and looks. Again, diversity seems to be the norm. Different bodies feel furious in different ways, and not all cultures have the same ways of expressing emotions. Thomas hears from opera singer Lore Lixenberg, political journalist Jo-Anne Nadler, and historians Imke Rajamani and Fern Riddell. He also introduces listeners to one of his favourite books about anger, by anthropologist Jean Briggs. Contributors: Laura Rosenthal, Lore Lixenberg, Jo-Anne Nadler, Charlotte Rose Millar, Jerry Parrott, Imke Rajamani, Matthew Dodd, Sarah Garfinkel, Jim Russell, Fern Riddell, The Voice of Jean L Briggs: Karina Fernandez Extracts used with permission from Never in Anger: Portrait of an Eskimo Family by Jean L. Briggs, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, Copyright © 1970 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Presenter: Thomas Dixon Producer: Natalie Steed

As part of 'The Sound of Anger' series, psychologist Jim Russell is in conversation with historian of emotions Thomas Dixon about the idea of "anger" and basic emotions. Jim is an internationally recognised expert on the psychology of emotions and explains Paul Ekman's ideas about 'basic emotions' and the problems with the theory, especially in relation to facial expressions.

Do we live in an age of rage? And if so, what can we learn about our furious feelings, and how to control them, from the experiences and ideas of great thinkers in the past? Those are the questions explored in a pair of thought-provoking and darkly funny new audio dramas by playwright Craig Baxter, commissioned by the Living With Feeling project at Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for the History of the Emotions, and directed and produced by Natalie Steed. In DARWIN VEXED, Charles Darwin elicits the help of his love-struck daughter Henrietta, her dog Polly and flamboyant photographer Oscar Rejlander to put the finishing touches to his latest book, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). The challenge for them all is how to capture and control their powerful but fleeting emotions. CAST: Charles Darwin is played by Michael Bertenshaw, Henrietta by Jasmine Hyde, Oscar Rejlander by Geoffrey Streatfeild, and his wife Mary by Karina Fernandez. And introducing Olly as Polly, Henrietta Darwin’s terrier. Produced and directed by Natalie Steed. Recorded by David Chilton and Lucinda Mason Brown.

In this opening episode of a new podcast series about anger from the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions, historian of emotions Thomas Dixon sets out to discover what anger really is. He meets experts including psychologists and historians, and confronts his own furious demons, in an attempt to find an answer. Is there a "basic emotion" of anger or only a range of loosely related furious feelings? What can science tell us? Does anything hold together all the varieties of rage, wrath and revenge? Contributors include Lore Lixenberg, Matthew Dodd, Jo Anne Nadler, Sarah Garfinkel, Charlotte Rose Millar, Kehinde Andrews, Jim Russell and Jerry Parrott. Presenter: Thomas Dixon Producer: Natalie Steed

This is a recording of a May 2019 panel discussion at Queen Mary, University of London, on the question 'should universities teach well-being?' There is, apparently, a mental health crisis in higher education. Student referrals for counselling are soaring, and according to one study, 40% of PhDs are depressed or anxious. Students in Bristol took to the streets to demand better mental health services, while the universities minister declared the purpose of universities should no longer just be knowledge, but also well-being. What are universities' responsibilities in this area? What should students expect and demand? Can universities teach wellbeing, and what is the role of the arts and humanities in this endeavour? Panelists: Dr Tiffany Watt Smith, QMUL Drama (Chair) Shamima Akter, QMSU Vice President Welfare Prof Kam Bhui, QMUL Head of Centre for Psychiatry and Deputy Director of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine at Barts and The London Jules Evans, QMUL Centre for the History of Emotions Kevin Halon, QMUL Counselling Manager Niall Morrissey, QMUL Mental Health Co-ordinator Dr Ruth Fletcher, QMUL senior lecturer in medical law

Discover some of the surprising meanings of 'ecstasy' with philosopher and emotional explorer Jules Evans. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Historian of emotions Edgar Gerrard Hughes reflects on the ways that sounds, or silence, could express grief and mourning, especially in the nineteenth century. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

In this episode, historian Evelien Lemmens asks what a 'gut feeling' might be and explores Victorian worries about emotions and indigestion. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Historian Jane Mackelworth thinks about the place of gifts in loving relationships, including romantic partnerships between women. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

In this episode, Thomas Dixon reads some extracts from his favourite text about angry emotions, the Roman philosopher Seneca's treatise on rage - De Ira. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions, and also a part of 'The Sound of Anger' podcast series. It was produced by Natalie Steed.

Historian David Saunders talks about his research into the science and experience of anxiety in the twentieth century. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Sarah Chaney talks about the history of assumptions made about nursing, gender, and the emotions of care. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Richard Firth-Godbehere talks about the psychology of modern 'disgust' and ask what light history can shed on this emotion. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Dr Tim Read is a consultant psychiatrist who worked for 20 years at the Royal Free Hospital. He's also the author of Walking Shadows: Archetype and Psyche in Crisis and Growth, and a member of the Psychiatry and Spirituality working group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Here, he discusses 'archetypal crises' - moments which can combine aspects of spiritual awakening with psychotic episodes. How should individuals, families and psychiatrists deal with such moments, to guide them to positive outcomes. Check out also the videos from the London Philosophy Club event on spiritual experiences, which features Dr Read, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jc1rjmJG5s&list=PLx1iI_bKDuXHMjgT81NBpeQN-o-o6xoIC

Anthony Fidler discusses how western psychiatry failed to help him when he experienced occasional episodes of highly altered states (also called psychosis). Instead, he learned to navigate through these states of consciousness using mindfulness, connection practices, and other spiritual tools. Does western culture need to find a better relationship to extreme states of consciousness? Can such experiences even have a positive side, and be important stages of growth? To find out more about Anthony's work go here: http://www.easternpeace.co.uk/About.php

Geoff Mulgan is the CEO of NESTA, former director of the Number 10 policy unit, co-founder of Demos, co-founder of Action for Happiness, and a key figure in the British 'politics of well-being'. We discussed the history of this movement, its successes and failures, and what Britain's new 'minister for loneliness' can do to combat this problem. We also discussed why academics on the left tend to be so suspicious of the politics of well-being, what universities can do to support wellbeing in their local communities, and why Geoff is so coy about discussing that time he trained as a Buddhist monk.

Dr Guy Hayward is a sort of guerrilla agitator for Anglicanism, helping connect its cultural treasure to the majority of British people who no longer consider themselves Christian. A chorister and cabaret singer, he's also the founder of two initiatives - the British Pilgrimage Trust (co-founded with Will Parsons), which works to re-open and publicize ancient pilgrimage routes around the UK; and www.choralevensong.org, which helps to publicize free evensong services all around the UK. Both of these help to connect people to transcendent Christian practices, even if they don't believe in Christian dogma.

A podcast exploring the ideas and history of “normal’. How do you measure up? Where are you on the scale? And what about your children? One late Autumn night, on the third floor of Barts pathology museum, amongst the specimens pickled in their glass jars, the tight lacers liver and the bound Chinese foot, researchers from QMUL Centre for the History of Emotions gathered together an exhibition of living exhibits. Welcome to the Museum of the Normal. Producer: Natalie Steed Interviewees include: Sarah Chaney, Bonnie Evans and visitors to the Museum of the Normal Music: La valse du Tanvalacruchalo (Circus Marcus) Valse du tout au fond (Circus Marcus) Cotton (Poddington Bear) Silk (Poddington Bear) Thanks to Helen Stark, Sarah Chaney and Emma Sutton who created and curated the Museum of the Normal event. For the 2017 Being Human Festival, The Centre for the History of the Emotions is staging an event about Emotional Objects. We’ll be exploring the stuff of feeling. Talismans. Lost necklaces, found photos, fetishes and objects hidden under the floorboards. With talks, stalls and performances come and map your emotional London and bring your emotional talismans for our display. ‘Emotional Objects: From Lost Amulets to Found Photos’ 20 November, 2-5pm and 6-9pm Royal College of Nursing, 20 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0RN Free to attend but advance booking essential at https://beinghumanfestival.org/event/emotional-objects-from-lost-amulets-to-found-photos/

"Death to all daft and emotional neurotypicals who love soap operas!" Paul and Elizabeth Wady both have an autism diagnosis. In his book, Guerilla Aspies, and show of the same name, Paul Wady offers a conversion course for neurotypicals, inviting them to join the "new normal". In this podcast, one of a series of three about the idea of "normal" they talk to Natalie Steed about neurotypicals and neurodivergents, Blade Runner, religion and the tyranny of the normal. This series of podcasts was inspired by The Museum of the Normal and event organised by QMUL Centre for the History of the Emotions for the 2016 Being Human Festival. For the 2017 Being Human Festival, The Centre for the History of the Emotions is staging an event about Emotional Objects. We’ll be exploring the stuff of feeling. Talismans. Lost necklaces, found photos, fetishes and objects hidden under the floorboards. With talks, stalls and performances come and map your emotional London and bring your emotional talismans for our display. ‘Emotional Objects: From Lost Amulets to Found Photos’ 20 November, 2-5pm and 6-9pm Royal College of Nursing, 20 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0RN Free to attend but advance booking essential at https://beinghumanfestival.org/event/emotional-objects-from-lost-amulets-to-found-photos/

One evening in November 2016, as part of the Being Human Festival, David Saunders invited seventy-three individuals into a small room on the third floor of St Bartholomew’s Hospital. Once there, they disclosed their hopes, fears, and anxieties to a tape recorder. They were taking part in a restaging of a “revolutionary” therapeutic exercise called Psychic Driving. It was part of the Museum of the Normal, an event organised by QMUL Centre for the History of the Emotions. In this podcast, produced by Natalie Steed, you can hear an interview with David Saunders about Psychic Driving and the increasingly alarming experiments of Dr Donald Ewan Cameron which attracted both interest and finance from the CIA. For the 2017 Being Human Festival, The Centre for the History of Emotions is staging an event about Emotional Objects. On 20th November. We’ll be exploring the stuff of feeling. Talismans. Lost necklaces, found photos, fetishes and objects hidden under the floorboards. With talks, stalls and performances come and map your emotional London and bring your emotional talismans for our display. ‘Emotional Objects: From Lost Amulets to Found Photos’ 20 November, 2-5pm and 6-9pm Royal College of Nursing, 20 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0RN Free to attend but advance booking essential at beinghumanfestival.org/event/emotional-objects-from-lost-amulets-to-found-photos/

This is the third and final session from the Flourishing University seminar at the Centre for the History of the Emotions, which explored wellbeing in university from an interdisciplinary perspective. This session explored wellbeing among PhDs, staff, and wider society. Speakers: Amber Davis: The Happy PhD - PhD student mental health and well-being Sally Rose, psychotherapist at Leeds University: Staff well-being in higher education Danny Angel-Payne, public health undergraduate at QMUL: Open Minds and student volunteering in the local community

This is the second session of the Flourishing University seminar at the Centre for the History of the Emotions, held at Queen Mary, University of London on Friday September 8. This session looked at courses and interventions for student wellbeing in psychology and the humanities. The speakers are: Dr Oliver Robinson, University of Greenwich psychology lecturer: The transitions of higher education Professor Nigel Tubbs, programme leader of Modern Liberal Arts at University of WInchester: Liberal arts and flourishing Karen Scott, senior lecturer in political science at University of Exeter, and Kieran Cutting, political science graduate: Teaching the good life Dr Siobhan Lynch, researcher in mindfulness at Southampton University: Mindfulness for students

This is the first session of the Flourishing University seminar at the Centre for the History of the Emotions at Queen Mary, University of London, on Friday September 8. Speakers are: Jules Evans, research fellow at the Centre and lead of the Flourishing University project: An interdisciplinary approach to wellbeing in higher education (0 -22m) Rachel Piper, policy director at Student Minds: A whole-university approach to wellbeing co-created with students (22m- 35m) Daniel Eisenberg, director, Healthy Minds Network: What universities can measure in student well-being

This episode I interview Gareth Hughes, lead researcher in student well-being at the University of Derby, about what he's learnt over the last decades working on student learning and well-being. We discuss: - how Derby is introducing various psycho-education classes into all its undergraduate courses, each tailored to the needs of different course students. - how to help students in the first six weeks of university, when a majority of them show clinical levels of distress - why Gareth thinks students have worse levels of anxiety now than ever before in his career - whether Kathryn Ecclestone is right that 'therapeutic education' is itself making young people unwell - why well-being teams at university need to think beyond counselling, and consider their philosophy It's great stuff. If you want to find out more about Flourishing Universities, go to https://blogs.history.qmul.ac.uk/flourishing/

I interviewed Sir Anthony Seldon, new vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham, and Dr Alan Martin, the head of psychology, about their plan to make it Europe's first 'positive university'. That includes introducing classes in Positive Psychology for every student and staff-member. You can read more on our blog: https://blogs.history.qmul.ac.uk/flourishing/2017/07/27/sir-anthony-seldon-universities-can-help-students-become-free-adults/

In the middle of QMUL’s Mile End campus lies the remnants of the Novo Cemetery (Beth Chaim) which was awarded Grade II listed status in April 2014. The gravestones are laid flat in the Sephardic tradition to symbolise the equality of all in death. The site is only part of a much larger cemetery, which was opened in 1733, that was redeveloped by QMUL during the 1970’s and 1980’s. What remains is part of an 1855 extension to the original site, with around 2000 graves of the original 9500. What Near the middle of the cemetery, there is a circular enclosure, surrounded by a low stone wall, which marks the place a number of graves were damaged during a bomb blast in the second world war. Clare Whistler has worked with a dancer and filmmaker to create a short film inspired by the cemetery with the dancer acting as a “tear” finding her way to the central, circular enclosure. Alongside this, she commissioned a new setting of part of George Herbert’s poem Praise (III) from the composer and singer Kerry Andrew. In this podcast Clare talks about making the film and we hear some of George Herbert’s poem, read by Peter Marinker, and the new piece of music. Produced by Natalie Steed

Inspired by the story she heard at a friend’s funeral, Clare Whistler and the artist Charlotte Still have been visiting tributary streams and sources of the Cuckmere River, East Sussex and recording their experiences and encounters in photographs, poems and maps. In this podcast Clare and Charlotte take me to one of their streams and Hetta Howes explains the associations between women and water in the medieval world, especially in the context of texts written by and for religious women. With music by Katherine Gillham. Produced by Natalie Steed

“I take things out of boxes, but need boxes to put them back in” A light dabble with a search engine on the subject of “tear bottles” will lead you to a world of assertions, often by online shops, about the historical use of “tear bottles” in the mourning rituals of Romans, Greeks and Victorians with stories of how tears were collected in small, stoppered, glass bottles as a sign of respect and grief. They’ve featured in opera designs and art installations and there are at least a couple of references to collected or collecting tears in the Bible including Psalm 56:8 where God is being addressed: Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? John Gill’s mid eighteenth century Exposition of Whole Bible unpicks this with another assertion about the “tear bottle” in the psalm being an allusion “to “lachrymatories”, or tear bottles, in which surviving relatives dropped their tears for their deceased friends, and buried them with their ashes, or in their urns; some of which tear bottles are still to be seen in the cabinets of the curious.” In other translations and versions it’s not a bottle into which God’s collecting tears but a wineskin. In others he’s just writing them down on his scroll. Nevertheless, the idea of the tear bottle remains a powerful one and a way of thinking about tears and emotion. One aspect of Clare Whistler’s residency was her interviews with academics and others at QMUL about tear-bottles. She asked people to imagine a receptacle for their tears and also to collect their tears in a small book. She created poems from their answers and I have used some of these poems in the podcast. I wanted to show how Clare’s project mixed the professional investigation with the more personal reflection. We also hear Jennifer Wallis, Chris Millard and Thomas Dixon, from the Centre for the History of Emotions talk about tears in their research: the internally liquefying inmates of a 19th Century Asylum; Neil Kessel’s social experiments in the 1960’s with sales of large quantities of aspirin to weeping women and Hogarth’s Enthusiasm Delineated. Alongside this, Paul Roberts, Head of the Roman Collections at the British Museum, shows me some beautiful, tear-shaped glass bottles from the British Museum’s stores and there are some specially commissioned musical tears created by the composer Jonathan Dove. Produced by Natalie Steed

Recorded as part of the "Museum of the Normal" event hosted by the "Living With Feeling" project of QMUL at the Barts Pathology Museum in November 2016. See: http://bit.ly/2jWQRdR

An interview about the history of emotions with Thomas Dixon, conducted in Melbourne in November 2016, edited and published originally by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions.

Sad at Thirty - produced for QMUL Centre for the History of Emotions by Natalie Steed There’s a certain Slant of light, Winter Afternoons – That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes – Heavenly Hurt, it gives us – We can find no scar, But internal difference – Where the Meanings, are – None may teach it – Any – ‘Tis the seal Despair – An imperial affliction Sent us of the Air – When it comes, the Landscape listens – Shadows – hold their breath – When it goes, ’tis like the Distance On the look of Death – Emily Dickinson This podcast was commissioned by Tilli Tansey, Professor of the History of Modern Medical Sciences at QMUL, and Thomas Dixon, Director of the QMUL Centre for the History of Emotions. The piece responds to the Witness Seminar, organised by Tilli Tansey, to mark the 30th anniversary of the first publication about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in 1984. I interviewed Norman Rosenthal, the researcher who first wrote about the disorder as well as Jennifer Eastwood and Helen Hanson who are both sufferers of the disorder and who are involved in SADA (Seasonal Affective Disorder Association). Thomas Dixon and Tilli Tansey discuss their collaboration on this Witness Seminar and reflect on some of the ideas it provoked. In this podcast I wanted to reflect the story of Seasonal Affective Disorder as told in the Witness Seminar but also to try and communicate something of what it might be like to experience the disorder. Helen Hanson, the current Chair of SADA, describes how she feels her experience of SAD has influenced her work as an artist and conjures an extraordinary image of experiencing the dwindling of light on winter afternoons as “the hour of the wolf”. Natalie Steed

This podcast features an interview with Lord Richard Layard, LSE economist, 'happiness tsar' and a driving force in the politics of wellbeing over the last decade; and with William Davies, senior lecturer at Goldsmith's, and author of The Happiness Industry. We discuss how academics can influence public policy, how governments, universities and companies can improve wellbeing, and whether there are aspects of the 'wellbeing movement' that are illiberal, reductive or creepy. For good background to this discussion, check out Oliver Burkeman's long-read article on the 'therapy wars' between Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and psychoanalysis:https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jan/07/therapy-wars-revenge-of-freud-cognitive-behavioural-therapy Acronyms used in the discussion: IAPT: Improving Access for Psychological Therapies, an NHS talking therapy service which Layard helped introduce Will's book The Happiness Industry available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00WFYBGY8/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Richard's book Thrive (co-authored with David Clark) available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrive-Power-Evidence-Based-Psychological-Therapies-ebook/dp/B00JX5RCWW CBT: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, a short-term therapy for emotional disorders now freely available in the NHS NICE: National Institute for Care and Health Excellence For more from the Centre, check out our blog: https://emotionsblog.history.qmul.ac.uk/

This is an interview with the writer Geoff Dyer about peak experiences and places of numinous power. We discuss peak experiences reached through drugs, nature, love and ping-pong. Is 'peaking' a secular replacement for religion, or is there a risk the pursuit of peaks turns life into an extended gap-year? Interviewer: Jules Evans The Living With Feeling podcast comes from the Centre for the History of Emotions at Queen Mary, University of London Check out our blog here: https://emotionsblog.history.qmul.ac.uk/