Best Bicentenary Podcasts (2025)

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Rob Scargill – Railway Firsts on the Bicentenary train 3:30

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20d ago3:30

3:30

Curator of the Railway Futures Gallery at the National Railway Museum, Rob curated the ‘Railway Firsts’ carriage that forms part of Inspiration, the mobile exhibition train, that is touring Britain as part of the Railway 200 celebrations. The carriage celebrates the pioneering pedigree and innovation of the railway, while also highlighting landmark…

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The Railway Stinkers 15:32

2d ago15:32

15:32

The first railway chemical laboratory was opened in 1864 by the London & North Western Railway at Crewe, and the last ones lost their direct link to the rail industry when it was privatised in 1996. Whatever their expertise, every railway chemist or ‘stink’ has been asked the same question: “What do you actually do”? In this episode, stinkers David…

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Pete Waterman – A track record inspired by the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral 10:16

5d ago10:16

10:16

Songwriter, record producer and publisher, Pete Waterman is also an avid train enthusiast, sharing an interest in model railways with Jools Holland and Rod Stewart. Before a career in music Pete worked for BR, but it was watching the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral following the war that sparked his love of model railway building. Today he holds t…

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Phil Hibberd and Great Great Grandad Jabez Atkinson 9:07

8d ago9:07

9:07

The railway isn’t just in Phil Hibberd’s blood; it’s in his DNA. The son of a railway engineer and a railway wages clerk who met at the local Railway Social Club, his ancestry in the railway industry can be traced back to the mid 19th Century. It was in retirement that his father, Derek Hibberd, started to trace the family heritage. Finding links t…

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Chris Leech MBE – Rebuilding Futures Alliance 8:54

11d ago8:54

8:54

An accident on the track early in his railway career led Chris Leech to develop the first community education programme to reduce route crime on the rail network. The Track-Off campaign led to a 54% reduction in youth route crime across the UK. Today he works with the Rebuilding Futures Alliance supporting people with previous convictions turn thei…

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Anthony Coulls – From eggs to elephants 14:32

14d ago14:32

14:32

Senior curator at the National Railway Museum and Locomotion in Shildon, Anthony Coulls describes how the growth of the railway started to change human society, our diet, the economy, the concept of time, migration, the look of landscape and our national obsession with speed. Find out more about major moments in the history of the railway on our ti…

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Monisha Rajesh – Travelling the world by train 12:26

17d ago12:26

12:26

Travel writer Monisha Rajesh describes her love of literally watching the world go by through the carriage window and how she watches and listens to people as she travels the world by rail on her life-affirming adventures.By Railway 200

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Dr. Oli Betts – How the railway helped form nations 13:11

23d ago13:11

13:11

Head of research at the National Railway Museum, Dr. Oli Betts describes how the railway’s rapid expansion in the United Kingdom started to change the cultural fabric of Victorian society, opening up huge opportunities. People started to commute and holiday by train. The rail network helped to connect the country. This expansion and connection caug…

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Ziyad Aw – Escapism on the Isle of Sodor 3:14

1M ago3:14

3:14

Railway enthusiast and volunteer Ziyad’s love for the railway started on the island of Sodor. Today Ziyad has taken his love for Thomas and friends into the real railway world at both Talyllyn and Didcot railways where he volunteers. What started as a passion with Thomas, Ziyad hopes will soon become a career.…

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Matt Crossfield - Stepping into a different world 7:10

1M ago7:10

7:10

Children’s author Matt Crossfield describes how experiencing the hiss, wheeze and roar of the steam railway at Dean Forest Railway for the first time ignited a lifelong passion in him. Matt started volunteering on the railway at just 8 years old as a travelling ticket inspector at Dean Forest before his first driving experience at Perrygrove Railwa…

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Fiona Campbell – Northbound Dreams 3:38

1M ago3:38

3:38

Fiona Campbell recalls a lifetime of memories of travelling on the Caledonian Sleeper spanning childhood holidays to hen weekends to trips to London with family.By Railway 200

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Kyla Hislop - how the railways brought us fish n chips! 6:46

2M ago6:46

6:46

Kyla Hislop, interpretation curator for the Iron Bridge Gorge Museum Trust, shares her passion for making our industrial history come alive through telling the stories of innovation and discovery which have helped shape the modern world. She tells the tale of how the invention of the railways allowed fresh fish to be transported around the UK, fuel…

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Paul Stanford - how the railway made me 7:08

2M ago7:08

7:08

A lifelong railway man who’s story goes back 150 years to his great great grandfather who started a family tradition of working on the railways. Thanks to the railway, Paul met his wife, named his sons and has enjoyed a lifetime of close friendships, connections and precious memories including the time he made the late Queen laugh!…

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Reuben James – Making memories on the railways 3:48

2M ago3:48

3:48

Matt shares an emotional and heartfelt story of how the railway gave his partner’s son Ruben his first smile and real laugh in 4 years. 14 year old Ruben has a life-limiting condition but the railway has become a shared passion for Ruben and his ‘bonus daddy’, Matt, allowing them a way to make precious memories when they know time is much too short…

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Gerald Townson – The Bentham dementia friendly line 13:01

2M ago13:01

13:01

Born and bought up near The Bentham Line, today Gerald Townson is the Chairman of the Leeds Morecambe Community Rail Partnership, which includes The Bentham Line, which is celebrating its 175th year at the same time as the Railway 200 celebrations. The Bentham Line has been become known as the dementia friendly line for its efforts on inclusivity a…

1
Stephen Parr – The clock at Corris 4:40

2M ago4:40

4:40

An active volunteer guard on the Corris Railway and lifelong rail enthusiast, Stephen’s passion for the steam railways started in the 1960’s, travelling from Birmingham’s Snow Hill station to Reading where he would visit his grandad Wilfred. His enthusiasm for the railway has taken him on trains around the world. But it is his connection to Wilfred…

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Rupert Furness – My Grandma and the Sutton Coldfield rail disaster 7:48

2M ago7:48

7:48

Norman and Marjorie Fairy lived most of their lives in Sutton Coldfield, their house backing onto the railway line. A silver dish on their mantlepiece had always fascinated Rupert when he would stay with his grandparents. On 23rd January 1955 Marjorie heard a huge crash from the line. She rushed out and looking down the line saw the aftermath of a …

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Anjali Devadasan – Powering the railways into the future 6:39

2M ago6:39

6:39

Founder and CEO of innovative renewable energy company, Treeva, Anjali Devadasan is exploiting the wind turbulence caused by passing trains to generate predictable renewable power on the rail network. The technology has been proven on the roadside and is now appearing trackside. With double the energy efficiencies and increased durability Treeva’s …

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Philip Dunn – the 1980’s version of Francis Bourgeois 6:31

2M ago6:31

6:31

Executive Director of Finance and Operations at Alzheimer’s Research UK, one of the charities supported by Railway 200, Philip’s love of trains goes right back to Shildon and his school days at the Timothy Hackworth Primary school. His father and grandfather worked at the local wagon works which meant he benefitted from free rail travel. Family hol…

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Samuel Gómez Fernández – The railway as a beacon of hope 9:52

2M ago9:52

9:52

As a young boy in Costa Rica while Samuel loved playing with his model trains, he always dreamed of seeing a steam train in real life. His models gave him more than joy though, they gave him hope during periods of difficulty with his mental health. It was watching the Talyllyn Railway You Tube channel that persuaded him to travel across the world t…

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Dan Richards – Riding the overnight mail trains 11:32

2M ago11:32

11:32

Writer and broadcaster Dan Richards has a fascination with the night. Inspired by his grandfather, Robert Daniel Butler who worked on the Travelling Post Office (TPO) train between Bristol and Plymouth his love of these unique and vital sorting offices was born. A meticulously planned and timed operation, the TPOs would collect, sort and drop mail …

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Lizzie Lovejoy – The poetry of the people on the rails 7:58

3M ago7:58

7:58

Railway enthusiast and performance poet, Lizzie Lovejoy takes us on a journey through her poetry into some of the lives of the people she has met as she spends her time travelling the rail network collecting stories up and down the line at Darlington. To find out more about Railway 200 and to listen to more Great Rail Tales visit our website: https…

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Scott Dolling – A childhood spent on the rails 4:07

3M ago4:07

4:07

Scott’s mum and dad were crossing keepers at a station so his Great Rail Tale began long before he was born. Day to day and family revolved around the timetable and life at the station they called home for 40 years. By 10 years old, Scott was volunteering at the station and jumping on the trains to go up and down the line with the drivers. Today Sc…

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Alistair Johnson – Expanding the rail network coming at a personal cost 4:23

3M ago4:23

4:23

Recently retired Alistair Johnson describes historical links between the railway and abolition of the slave trade. To find out more about Railway 200 and to listen to more Great Rail Tales visit our website: https://railway200.co.uk/By Railway 200

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Mike and Andrew Lamport – Generations on the rails 5:10

3M ago5:10

5:10

Father and son, Mike and Andrew Lamport are just the latest generation of Lamports to be working on the UK rail network. Their family’s connection however to the rails can be traced back to 1846 when Mike's Great Great Grandfather became a guard at Waterloo. Can you trace your family connection to the railways further back than Mike and Andrew? To …

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Ian Smith – Railway time 8:14

3M ago8:14

8:14

Vice President of Middleton Railway Trust, Ian Smith explains how the railway standardised time across the country. From Kent to Kendal, from Penzance to Perth railway time bought the entire network and nation together to operate smoothly and in synchronicity wherever you were. To find out more about Railway 200 and to listen to more Great Rail Tal…

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Adam Sergent – modelling every tunnel in the UK 10:25

3M ago10:25

10:25

A lifelong passion for the railways led Adam to develop his career on the network. Today he is the founder of the Neurodiversity in Transport network and in 2024 was the Young Rail Professionals Volunteer of the year. As a systems support manager he has developed a model profile of every tunnel in the UK that examines the acoustic characteristics o…

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Andrew Mitchell – It’s the people that make the railway move 4:58

3M ago4:58

4:58

Railway Mission Chaplain Andrew shares some of the more amusing encounters of his life and career providing support to railway industry staff who are going through difficult times. To find out more about Railway 200 and to listen to more Great Rail Tales visit our website: https://railway200.co.uk/By Railway 200

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Helen Bartlett – Providing support on life’s journey 4:46

3M ago4:46

4:46

Railway Mission Chaplain to Northeast England, Helen has spent the last decade providing a listening ear to railway staff at stations from Berwick to Thirsk, from Carlisle to Whitby. Every day is different and the surprises are varied, for Helen though it is giving her support and care to those that need it that drives her on. To find out more abou…

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David Meara – A lifetime on the sleeper train 8:30

3M ago8:30

8:30

David Meara has been travelling on the sleeper trains from London to Scotland for over half a century. In this Great Rail Tale, David recalls the joy, excitement and romance of pulling down your blind in a grubby, dirty terminus one evening and reopening it the following morning to the sight of heather clad Highland mountains, deer walking beside t…

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Siggy Cragwell - A rewarding career in rail 5:59

3M ago5:59

5:59

Recruited from his home in Barbados to work in Britain during the Windrush era, Siggy Cragwell had a passion for the railways. He started working on steam trains in March 1962 and in the following 63 years he has worked across the network, every day enlivened by the people he meets and talks to. To find out more about Railway 200 and to listen to m…

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Bessie Matthews – Living out your childhood dream as a freight driver 12:12

3M ago12:12

12:12

As a freight driver for GB Railfreight, Bessie Matthews is living her childhood dream. A champion for women in the rail industry, Bessie drives a 66 Class from Southampton to Birmingham. In her Great Rail Tale, she describes the tranquillity of being in the cab and her passion to pass on her skills and experience to other women learning to become t…

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Ken Davies – 08721 Ken Davies 11:49

3M ago11:49

11:49

Ken Davies first stepped into the cab of a train aged 4 with his dad Ken Davies. He first drove one when he was 12, when he’d go to work with his dad. What started as a young boy’s passion has become a career lasting over half a century that has taken Ken Davies across the country in a just about every class of train. To mark his achievement, the s…

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Ash Bhardwaj – A multi-sensory journey on the rails 8:41

3M ago8:41

8:41

Award winning journalist, broadcaster and author Ash Bhardwaj shares his lifelong passion for the railways. It all started when he was a young boy, travelling through India with his family, a multi-sensory journey of discovery through his father’s homeland. Railways, Ash believes, give you access to culture and conversation like no other form of tr…

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Welcome to Great Rail Tales 1:55

4M ago1:55

1:55

2025 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway. The opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway connected places, people, communities and ideas and, ultimately, transformed the world.Part of the Railway 200 celebrations, Great Rail Tales tells the story of our railway by the people who live, work and travel the tracks. So, join u…

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Access and success: 200 years of removing barriers from education 1:01:11

8M ago1:01:11

1:01:11

This event was recorded on Tuesday, 19 November 2024 at the University’s Whitworth Hall and is the fourth and final live instalment of the Talk 200 lecture and podcast series. In contrast to the preceding three Talk 200 live events, this was a live podcast episode, centred around a panel discussion rather than a lecture from an individual speaker. …

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Talking creative and culture: Manchester's "anthropological soup" 43:55

9M ago43:55

43:55

Host Andy Spinoza invites Professor John McAuliffe, Director of Creative Manchester, Co-Director of the Centre for New Writing, and Professor of Poetry at The University of Manchester; Professor Caroline Bithell, Professor of Ethnomusicology at Manchester; and Keisha Thompson FRSA, Innovation Fellow with Creative Manchester; to explore Manchester’s…

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Bonus content: Panel discussion on 'The unmaking of everything' 47:16

10M ago47:16

47:16

In this bonus content to accompany Professor Mike Shaver’s live lecture: ‘The unmaking of everything’, you’ll hear the full panel discussion with him that followed Mike’s talk. If you haven’t seen the lecture yet, head to manchester.ac.uk/talk200 to hear from the Director of Sustainable Futures at The University of Manchester as he discusses sustai…

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'The unmaking of everything' with Professor Michael Shaver 33:39

10M ago33:39

33:39

This lecture was recorded on Tuesday, 17 September 2024 at the Jarvis Hall in London and is the third live instalment of the Talk 200 lecture and podcast series. Professor Mike Shaver, Professor of Polymer Science and Director of Sustainable Futures at The University of Manchester, discusses the complex nature of our material world, with a particul…

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Talking digital and AI: An interdisciplinary approach 53:32

11M ago53:32

53:32

Sitting down with host Andy Spinoza to talk all things digital and AI are Dr Riza Batista-Navarro, Senior Lecturer in Text Mining at the University; Dr Mauricio Álvarez, Senior Lecturer in Machine Learning; and Dr Filip Bialy, Research Associate here at Manchester, Assistant Professor at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland, and Lecturer at…

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Talking health innovation: Manchester as a living lab 44:52

12M ago44:52

44:52

Host Andy Spinoza is joined by Professor Alejandro Frangi, Director of the Christabel Pankhurst Institute and the Bicentennial Turing Chair in Computational Medicine at The University of Manchester; Dr Louise Hunter, a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology Gastroenterology; and Raluca-Elena Valcescu, Executive Officer …

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Talking fairness and equality: "We're not moving fast enough" 43:15

1y ago43:15

43:15

Joining host Andy Spinoza are Professor Colette Fagan, the University’s Vice-President for Research and responsible for leading our research and doctoral training strategy; Aisha Akram, University of Manchester Students’ Union Wellbeing and Liberation Officer; and George Obolo, a final year MBChB Medicine student at Manchester and award-winning soc…

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Bonus content: Panel discussion on 'The limits to equality — access to justice and scandal' 1:11:03

1y ago1:11:03

1:11:03

In this panel discussion to accompany the second lecture of our Talk 200 series, Nazir Afzal is joined by Tom Hedges, sub-postmaster at Hogsthorpe Post Office near Skegness from 1994 until he was unjustly sacked in 2010, aged 57, after being wrongfully accused of false accounting; barrister and advocate Thalia Maragh; and Suzanne Gower, PhD researc…

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'The limits to equality — access to justice and scandal' with Nazir Afzal OBE 21:45

1y ago21:45

21:45

This lecture was recorded on Friday, 7 June 2024 at the Martin Harris Centre as part of Universally Manchester Festival. It is the second live instalment of the Talk 200 lecture and podcast series. Nazir Afzal, Chancellor of the University and former Chief Crown Prosecutor for north-west England, discusses inequalities in access to justice and a vi…

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Talking innovation: It's in Manchester's DNA 44:51

1y ago44:51

44:51

Professor Richard Jones, Professor of Materials Physics and Innovation Policy and Vice-President for Regional Innovation and Civic Engagement, and Professor Aline Miller, Professor of Biomolecular Engineering and Associate Dean for Business Engagement and Innovation in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, join host Andy Spinoza to talk innovatio…

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Talking energy and climate change: "We don't have hundreds of years to sort this out" 40:11

1+ y ago40:11

40:11

Host Andy Spinoza is joined by Professor Alice Larkin, Professor of Climate Science and Energy Policy from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in The University of Manchester’s School of Engineering; Dr Aneeqa Khan of the University’s Dalton Nuclear Institute, and Research Fellow in Nuclear Fusion in the School of Engineering; and Aidan …

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Introduction from host Andy Spinoza 0:34

1+ y ago0:34

0:34

Find out what to expect from the Talk 200 podcast from series host Andy Spinoza. If you wish to access the transcript for this episode, you may do so by clicking here.By The University of Manchester

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Bonus content: Panel discussion on 'Health inequalities, past, present and future' 39:50

1+ y ago39:50

39:50

In this panel discussion to accompany the first lecture of our Talk 200 series, Professor Sir Chris Whitty is joined by Professor of Nursing Dame Nicky Cullum, Jade Pilkington, Director of Population Health at NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, and Chair Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, our President and Vice-Chancellor. If you haven…

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'Health inequalities past, present and future' with Professor Sir Chris Whitty 34:49

1+ y ago34:49

34:49

Professor Sir Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, the UK government’s Chief Medical Adviser, and head of the public health profession, discusses how as a society we face the hard truth that the more socio-economically disadvantaged someone is, the higher their risk of poor health. The world’s greatest killer is not any one individual d…

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Johnny and Jim talking to the BBC 3:52

4y ago3:52

3:52

Johnny and Jim G from Wiltshire talking to the Ben at the BBC about St Helena and the Falklands as a green list destination. What is there to do on St Helena ? Can you get there and how --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thesthelenapodcast/support