The trailer for our new series

Thomas Dixon introduces our new podcast series about emotions in the 21st century, with some help from Giles Fraser and Philippa Perry.

Welcome to "Living With Feeling"

with Philippa Perry and Giles Fraser

In this first episode of 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 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". Can emotions ever be wrong? 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. We explore what Christianity and psychotherapy have to say about the idea that we are all emotionally broken or disordered in some way, and Giles and Philippa share their views about smartphones and emotions, and whether they would like to be cared for by a robot nurse, and if not why not. Philippa Perry is a psychotherapist and artist. She is the author of <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/292159/the-book-you-wish-your-parents-had-read-and-your-children-will-be-glad-that-you-did-by-perry-philippa/9780241251027" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read: (And Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did) </a>- and the<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/ask-philippa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> “Ask Philippa” advice column in the Observer.</a> She says that responding to your children’s feelings appropriately is foundational to their future emotional health.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Philippa_Perry" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@philippa_perry</a> 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 <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/213476/chosen-by-fraser-giles/9780141977621" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chosen: Lost and Found Between Christianity and Judaism</a>, and in 2017 he made a series for Radio 4 - <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jhv0w" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“This Old Heart of Mine”</a> - 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. <a href="https://twitter.com/giles_fraser" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@giles_fraser</a> Professor Thomas Dixon is Director of the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions, the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weeping-Britannia-Portrait-Nation-Tears/dp/0199676062/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Weeping Britannia: Portrait of a Nation in Tears (2015)</a>, and previously presented <a href="https://emotionslab.org/sound-anger/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"The Sound of Anger"</a> podcast series. <a href="https://twitter.com/ProfThomasDixon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ProfThomasDixon</a> "Living With Feeling" is produced by Natalie Steed for Rhubarb Rhubarb, and is 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

Rethinking Emotions

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.&nbsp; 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. <a href="https://twitter.com/kentishscribble" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@KentishScribble</a>Robots in this episode came from the <a href="https://thackraymuseum.co.uk/event/can-robots-care/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Can Robots Care exhibition at the Thackray Museum of Medicine</a> (Paro and Miro)Dr Amelia de Falco, is Associate Professor Of Medical Humanities at the University Of Leeds <a href="https://twitter.com/AmeliaDefalco" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@AmeliaDefalco</a>Prof. Rena Papadopoulos is Professor of Transcultural Health &amp; Nursing at Middlesex University, London <a href="https://twitter.com/irena_pap" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@irena_pap</a>Prof. Anna Romina Guevarra is Associate Professor and Founding Director of the Global Asian Studies Program&nbsp;at the University of Illinois Chicago <a href="https://twitter.com/AnnaRGuevarra" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@AnnaRGuevarra&nbsp;</a>Amanda Gwinnup is a PhD candidate at the University of Huddersfield researching the post-war experiences of disabled WWI nurses&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/WW1NurseHist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@WW1NurseHist</a>Professor Pam Smith&nbsp;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 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 <a href="https://emotionslab.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Emotions Lab</a> website.

Robot Nurses

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 <a href="https://www.teachappy.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Teachappy”</a>, an organisation committed to putting wellbeing and happiness at the heart of education. <a href="https://twitter.com/AdrianBethune" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@AdrianBethune</a>Dr Lucy Foulkes&nbsp;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)". <a href="https://twitter.com/lfoulkesy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@lfoulkesy</a>Dr Alex Turner&nbsp;is Applied Research Lead at The Children's Society <a href="https://twitter.com/DrAlexLTurner" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@DrAlexLTurner</a>Louis Weinstock&nbsp; 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 <a href="https://twitter.com/Michael_cdps" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@Michael_cdps</a>Katharine Birbalsingh is Headmistress of Michaela Community School, Wembley, and Chair of the government's Social Mobility Commisssion. <a href="https://twitter.com/Miss_Snuffy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@Miss_Snuffy</a> "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&nbsp;<a href="https://emotionslab.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Emotions Lab</a>&nbsp;website.

Happiness Lessons

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.&nbsp;Steve Haines is a bodyworker and author who is deeply interested in pain, trauma and anxiety. &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/stevehaines66" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@stevehaines66</a>Dr Charley Baker is an associate professor of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham. <a href="https://twitter.com/CharleyBaker1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@CharleyBaker1</a>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. <a href="https://twitter.com/drjcoleman" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@drjcoleman</a>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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/213476/chosen-by-fraser-giles/9780141977621" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chosen: Lost and Found Between Christianity and Judaism</a>, and in 2017 he made a series for Radio 4 -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jhv0w" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“This Old Heart of Mine”</a>&nbsp;- 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.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/giles_fraser" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@giles_fraser</a>Alex Evans&nbsp;is a visual artist, director and creative facilitator living and working in London.&nbsp;He is proud to be the Artistic Director of Kazzum Arts, after taking on the role in June 2017.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kazzumarts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@KazzumArts</a>&nbsp;"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&nbsp;<a href="https://emotionslab.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Emotions Lab</a>&nbsp;website.

Childhood Trauma

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&nbsp;is an associate professor of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/CharleyBaker1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@CharleyBaker1</a>Professor Thomas Dixon is Director of the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions, the author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weeping-Britannia-Portrait-Nation-Tears/dp/0199676062/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Weeping Britannia: Portrait of a Nation in Tears&nbsp;(2015)</a>, and previously presented&nbsp;<a href="https://emotionslab.org/sound-anger/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"The Sound of Anger"</a>&nbsp;podcast series.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ProfThomasDixon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ProfThomasDixon</a>Louis Weinstock&nbsp;is a psychotherapist and the author of How the World is Making Our Children Mad and What to Do About ItDr Sally Holloway is Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellow in History &amp; History of Art, School of History, Philosophy and Culture, Oxford Brookes University where she researches the histories of emotional culture, love, and heartbreak. <a href="https://twitter.com/sally_holloway" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@sally_holloway</a>Chloe Duckworth is Co-founder &amp; CEO of <a href="https://www.valencevibrations.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Valence Vibrations</a>Professor Andrew McStay is Professor of Digital Life at Bangor University,&nbsp;and the author of Emotional AI: The Rise of Empathic Media. <a href="https://twitter.com/digi_ad" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@digi_ad</a> "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&nbsp;<a href="https://emotionslab.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Emotions Lab</a>&nbsp;website.

Emotional AI

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.&nbsp;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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weeping-Britannia-Portrait-Nation-Tears/dp/0199676062/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Weeping Britannia: Portrait of a Nation in Tears&nbsp;(2015)</a>, and previously presented&nbsp;<a href="https://emotionslab.org/sound-anger/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"The Sound of Anger"</a>&nbsp;podcast series.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ProfThomasDixon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ProfThomasDixon</a> Sarah Chaney is a historian of nursing and emotions. Her most recent book is called <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jul/15/am-i-normal-by-sarah-chaney-review-its-ok-to-be-strange" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Am I Normal? The 200-Year Search for Normal People (and Why They Don’t Exist)&nbsp;</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/kentishscribble" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@KentishScribble</a> Richard Firth Godbehere is a historian of disgust - among many other emotions - and the author of a sweeping and scintillating book entitled&nbsp;<a href="https://www.drrichfg.com/booklinks" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Human History of Emotion: How the Way We Feel Built the World We Know.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DrRichFG" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@DrRichFG</a> "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&nbsp;<a href="https://emotionslab.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Emotions Lab</a>&nbsp;website.

Future Feelings

Thinking about emotions in the 21st century

Historians of emotion Thomas Dixon, Sarah Chaney, Emma Sutton, and Richard Firth-Godbehere take a fresh look at the worlds of feeling and emotion in the twenty-first century. They meet emotional experts in the fields of AI, education, healthcare, and psychotherapy, and ask them what it means to live with feeling today. Should schools offer children happiness lessons? How would you feel about being cared for by a robot nurse? How can we make sense of the rapid expansion of childhood trauma as a cultural and psychological phenomenon? And can AI measure our emotions accurately, or even help us be happy? Join the Living With Feeling team for lively conversations and surprising insights into emotions past, present, and future!Contributors include Philippa Perry, Giles Fraser, Katharine Birbalsingh, and many more. Living With Feeling is produced by Natalie Steed for Rhubarb Rhubarb, and is brought to you by the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.We’re grateful to the Wellcome Trust for their generosity in making this series possible.&nbsp;To hear more episodes, subscribe to "Living With Feeling" on Acast, or wherever you get your podcasts, and find out more about our work by visiting <a href="https://emotionslab.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Emotions Lab website</a>.&nbsp;

Living With Feeling

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