The Sense of Place Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

This is a good place to start if you want to get an idea of what the sense of place podcast is all about, and what you can expect from the show!

In today's episode I talk to John Reppion. John is the editor of the fantastic book ‘Spirits of Place’ which is all about stories that are embedded in the world around us. Me and John talk all things place, history, folklore and Spirits of Place! (Recorded January 2019)

You may not have thought it, but subtle differences in the earth’s energies can have a great effect on our sense of place, and a crucial player behind this is…. vortexes!

In today’s episode I chat to Dan Shaw a researcher, and author from the US who is an expert on all things relating to vortexes and earth’s energies.

I find out what a vortex is, how vortexes have a strong relationship to geometric patterns, the significance of geometric calendars, and how these can be used to express our connection to place and the way we feel. We then discuss ley lines, and their relationship to vortexes and ancient monuments.

Finally, we have a chat about how Dan himself became interested in studying vortexes after some strange experiences, and the importance ancient knowledge plays in reconnecting us with place!

(Recorded December 2019)

“Irrespective of technology, digital placement is first and foremost a human centered practice that is concerned with improving relationships between people and places. It embraces collaboration, a co-creation design approach and encourages community participation.”

— JO REID, LEADING UK DEVELOPERS CALVIUM

This is a quote taken from the website of Hamish Sewell, today’s guest. I think it sums up nicely Hamish’s work and approach to audio-based story telling which bridges the gap between people and place. Hamish is from Queensland, Australia and has a background in radio and oral history. He has worked on several projects which connect people to their place.

Hamish is the creator of the app Soundtrails – an audio project which uses geolocative technology to bring to life the towns and stories of ordinary people in Australia!

We begin the episode by getting more detail on how soundtrails works, and why Hamish created it. The appeal of telling ‘ordinary’ communities’ stories and the creative protentional of using geolocative story telling (e.g. being able to adapt novellas into real life situations).

We then get into what drew Hamish to his work - wanting to express the connection between people and their place, the importance of meaning making, and memory making, and much more!

(Recorded December 2019)

In today’s episode I chat to Ian Rodwell the creator of the fantastic liminal narratives blog, which explores the betwixt and between liminal spaces of our world. Ian is a part-time PhD researcher at City University London, and began the blog as a compliment to his studies.

From beaches to train stations, graveyards to corridors, Ian and myself have a chat about the variety of liminal spaces he has explored. We get into the origins of the term ‘liminal’ and how it is used in terms of spaces/places, we look at Marc Augé’s concept of non-places, and chat about why humans feel the need to craft stories around liminal places and breathe life into discarded objects or symbols of the past. We also touch on the thread of folklore that runs through Ian’s posts, his love of pylons, our changing perceptions of architecture over time and much more!

Basically, if you love the mundane and overlooked places of our world this episode will be right up your street!

(Recorded April 2020)

I am sure most of you reading this have visited a cathedral or church at some point in your life. Ancient, majestic, sacred – not the kind of place you would find covered in graffiti. Well, turns out that this is not the case! As you shall find out in today's episode with Matthew Champion.

Matthew is an archaeologist, heritage consultant and most importantly a medieval graffiti expert. During our conversation I find out how Matt got into researching medieval graffiti and how he began the Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey. We discuss when people started to see graffiti as a form of vandalism - contrary to it being a completely normal part of medieval life. We also touch on how graffiti helps us relate to people of the past, and what kinds of tools they used to create their marks. Finally, we explore the different types of ritualistic graffiti (holy signs), charms, and curses, as well as Matt’s favourite pieces of graffiti he has found over the years.

(Recorded June 2020)

Episode Extras: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-extras-39091387

When you were a child did you ever have feelings of yearning, melancholy, or a wistful dreaminess to the way you perceived the world around you? If you did, you’ll be pleased to know that a movement called Hauntology explores these feelings in great detail!

Hauntology originated as a philosophical concept introduced by Jacques Derrida in his 1993 book Spectres of Marx. Put simply, it refers to the persistence of our past presenting itself in the future, in the manner of a ghost. However, in recent years it has expanded far beyond that and the term explores feelings of nostalgia, childhood disquiet and lost futures through music, art and writing – with a heavy focus on a 1970’s childhood. 

In today’s episode I have a chat to Bob Fischer - author of the book Wiffle Lever To Full! writer for The Fortean Times, Electric Sound Magazine and creator of the blog The Haunted Generation (https://hauntedgeneration.co.uk/).

Here is an overview of some of things me and Bob chat about:

• What hauntology Is and where the idea originated. • The effect old film and photographs have on you as a child. • A child’s perception of time and its hauntological effect. • Do 70’s children have a different perception of nostalgia compared to children of today? • When Bob realised his childhood feelings related to hauntology.  • Some 90’s/ 00’s kids show that gave me hauntological feelings. • The influence Alan Garner had on Bob growing up. • The changing ideas of ‘lost futures’ from the 60’s up to the present day. • Different era’s bleeding into each other creating a multi layered hauntological effect. • Hypothesising hauntological feelings of the future.

Episode Extras: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40537106

(Recorded August 2020)

Smell. One of the five senses.  Yet, perhaps one you take for granted until you have a cold? 

When you lose your sense of smell, you suddenly realise what an impact it has on your day to day life. It is crucial to the taste of food, reminds you of certain places and people, and it can even inform you of danger.

Today’s guest is Dr. Alex Rhys-Taylor, a sociologist from Goldsmiths University in London. Alex’s work focuses on the multisensory experience of urban space. He has written a book Food and Multiculture: A Sensory Ethnography of East London as well as several papers and articles exploring the multicultural food scene of East London, and has discussed the significant role smell plays in understanding the city of London. 

Alex and I chat about how he got into researching smells, why scent is so important when it comes to understanding the world around us, the changing smellscape of London, the attempt to enhance heritage sites using smell, how scents are preserved, changing opinions on the smell of Fish and Chips, and much more! 

(Recorded September 2020)

Have you ever wondered about the myth and folklore surrounding you on your trip to Ikea for that new flat pack wardrobe? Or the strange world that exists in Tesco’s car park when you do your weekly shop? Perhaps not - but today's guest, Gareth E. Rees, certainly has.

Gareth has made it his mission to explore the magic of the everyday by recontextualising the unloved spaces we occupy in modern life. Author of 'Car Park Life', 'Marshland', and 'The Stone Tide', his latest work takes its title from his website- Unofficial Britain- a mixture of fiction, articles, music and art offering unusual perspectives on the contemporary landscape.

Gareth and I discuss what triggered his interest in the mundane, and our conversation explores spaces like marshlands, industrial estates, carparks, and rubbish tips. We also discuss the theatricality of hospitals and the romanticisation of roundabouts and motorways. 

(Recorded November 2020)

In today’s episode, I chat with Archaeological researcher Rebecca Lambert. Bec's love for both contemporary and Neolithic liminal space informs her fresh perspective on how we perceive the world around us.

Bec has four key research projects, all of which exhibit her interest in liminality - 'Dialects of the Hum', 'Future Ghosts – We Are All Ghosts in the Making', 'Underpasses are Liminal Spaces', and 'Paranoid Architecture – Ballardian Concepts Within Neolithic Contexts'.

We explore each of these projects in detail, discussing the archaeology of the future, the importance of community engagement, the use of Ballardian concepts within Neolithic contexts + much more!

(Recorded February 2021)