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A podcast with short stories written by ourselves and others, read by ourselves sand others. Also the home for "Hope To BE Hopeful" a non -fiction podcast about hope. Brought to you by Bernadette Russell and Gareth Brierley, plus guests.
Episodes
Monday Feb 15, 2021
Monday Feb 15, 2021
I was delighted to have a chat with the performance and video artist Paula Varjack this week- we discussed many things including her journey, her inspirations, and where she finds and maintains hope for herself. We chatted about her wonderful "Manifesto for Artists in A Crumbling Arts Economy"- a fantastic artwork which developed from "Show Me The Money" her "playful investigation" of how artists survive and make a living in an austerity blighted landscape. We spoke about her show "The Cult of Kenzo" about her frustrated relationship to high fashion, and from there to the joy to be found in dressing up. We also discussed her recent art work "Coming Out To My Father". She is a hopeful, inspiring, brilliant and bold artist- I hope you enjoy listening to our chat- you can find out more about Paula here:
Subscribe to her mailing list here
Many thanks as always for listening, this podcast is to accompany my book of the same name, available from all the usual places, but if you are able I would love you to support independent bookshops and buy it from https://uk.bookshop.org/
Please subscribe and share, back soon with more hope!
Love Bernadette xx
Thursday Jan 21, 2021
Thursday Jan 21, 2021
This week I speak with the wonderful Maggie Gordon Walker : actor, writer and director of all kinds of creative projects, and founder of Mothers Uncovered- a creative support network for mums. We speak about many things including the meaning and importance of knowing and sharing words that help us understand how we feel and who we are. Such a word is MATRESCENCE- a word used to describe "the physical, psychological, and emotional changes people go through during the monumental transformation that is motherhood." (definition found here )
We speak about the community she created, and how they came together to find "joyous and defiant hope" - also about the book she wrote "The Secret Life of Mothers" (a collection of the stories and lived experiences of mothers she connected with through her work)
We also discuss the power and fun of having an alter-ego, Maggie's ideas of utopia, and Universal Basic Income. We got interrupted by her cat. We had technical hitches. We had a great chat.
You can connect with Maggie here:
and here
https://maggiegordon-walker.com/
and you can buy her book "The Secret Life of Mothers" directly from her publisher here:
Thanks for listening, this podcast is to accompany my book of the same name, published September 2020 by Elliot and Thompson. You can buy it in all the usual places but it would be brilliant if you could support indy bookshops and order it from here
Much love and more hope soon
Bernadette x
Wednesday Jan 20, 2021
Wednesday Jan 20, 2021
During 2020, the Southbank Centre in London produced a series of Art by Post booklets, designed by artists and inspired by their art collection and artistic programme . The activities were designed for adults living with one or more long-term health conditions, who through Covid-19 restrictions are at further risk of isolation. They were especially interested in giving people living with dementia, and their supporters, access to creative resources.
2,000 people across the UK took part in Art by Post creative activities from their homes, from Aberdeen to Truro and Bangor to Dover.
I was lucky enough to be one of those artists, and my booklet was called "Journey to A Town Called Hope"- containing exercises to focus on our hopes, dreams and wishes for the future, which felt really important at this difficult time.
This podcast was recorded on zoom with a group of people who had taken part in Art By Post. We thought about everything we loved about lockdown;despite its hardships, and what we missed too. It was massive fun and incredibly moving. Hope you enjoy it
More hope soon!
Love Bernadette x
Wednesday Jan 06, 2021
Wednesday Jan 06, 2021
How do we find hope in these dark times?
Can sci-fi help us find a brighter future?
For this, the first podcast of 2021, I was delighted to chat with sci-fi writer Paul L Arvidson about hope, utopias, dystopias, Iain M. Banks, Ursula K. Le Guin, Joanna Russ, wierd British TV sci- fi, feminist and queer sci-fi, and the importance of us continuing to caring for each other
This podcast is to accompany my book of the same name which came out in September 2020 and is available in all the usual places you can buy books, but I'd love it if you supported indy bookshops and bought it here
Pauls brilliant sci-fi trilogy Dark can be found via his website www.paularvidson.co.uk
Thanks and more soon
x
Monday Nov 30, 2020
Monday Nov 30, 2020
In this week' podcast I have the great pleasure of chatting with the team behind The Bank Job" documentary "a feature film and art project pushing for a national debt writeoff as part of a reset for a fairer economic system"
The seed of this fantastic project began with a conversation between co-creators Dan Edelstyn and Hilary Powell and their neighbour who had heard about "Strike Debt" in the U.S- a movement that was abolishing debt by hacking into the secondary debt market. This conversation came at a time when Dan "was looking for the answer to the question- why am I making films?..... this is the central quest of the bank job... to find a useful thing to do"
We chat about the power and hope to be found in collective debt refusal; and the idea of debt unions, of Dan and Hilary's struggle and journey to find a way to tell the story after their economic awakening when a "whole new world of knowledge" opened up before them.They developed the idea of a "community heist" in their local area of Walthamstow in London, and set about printing and selling their own money as artworks to raise funds. The sales enabled them to purchase and write off the debt of 450 local people; as well as donate to their chosen local charities.They also blew up the debt by exploding a van outside the towers of finance in the City of London.
We speak about what they hope for " there is a better way of organising society... we urgently need to change and to innovate the systems we live under... we want to look after each other and the world, and pass on something viable to our children"
Dan says his best tip is to "librate yourself with knowledge" so with this in mind, please join me to watch the preview of the film "The Bank Job" on 11th December 2020 from 7pm here to learn more:
https://membership.bankjob.pictures/preview?r_done=1
Some books Hilary and Dan recommended are:
"Debt The First 5000 years" by David Graeber
"Creditocracy and the case for debt refusal" by Andrew Ross
and check out the Jublilee Debt Campaign - a UK charity working to end poverty caused by unjust debt through education, research and campaigning
Thanks so much for listening- more next week!
Love Bernadette
insta @bernadetterussell
Monday Nov 23, 2020
Monday Nov 23, 2020
This week's podcast is with Nadia Smith, Sustainable Futures Project Manager from South East London Community Energy to talk hope and renewable energy.
Nadia speaks about the hope and inspiration she finds in the Dream Renewables project in Dzita, Ghana, and Bright, a young man who has designed a solar system for his primary school after taking part in a renewable energy course.
Her story began when she started noticing the wind turbines whilst at school in Egypt, to getting involved with Engineering Without Borders whilst at University, to working with SELCE, an organisation based in Lewisham where Nadia was born.
We speak about SELCE's origins: the co-operative was formed in February 2014 by a group of people living in Greenwich and Lewisham. They were strongly aware of the need to tackle climate change and move to low carbon energy.Their aims and ambitions include: installing solar panels on the roofs of schools, churches and community centres throughout SE London, proving cheap and sustainable energy for the community. SELCE also provide a fuel poverty advice service, giving local people advice on tariffs and energy suppliers. They have recently launched a free online and telephone advice sessions for vulnerable people.
Nadia explains the model of funding the project via selling community shares, and how "people bought shares as Christmas presents... a lot of people invest in us because they think it is the right thing to do.... they are investing in their children's future"
When the panels are installed on school roofs, the bills are halved but also "the school can show kids what renewable energy looks like"
The great news is, even if you aren't based in Lewisham, there are community energy groups throughout the UK (and the world)- so its easy to get involved. Community energy groups in England can be found here
You can find out more about SELCE here
or twitter @SELonCommEnergy
This podcast is to accompany my book of the same name, which was published in September 2020 and is available all the usual places, but I'd love it if you went here to support independent bookshops
Thanks so much for listening- more soon!
Love Bernadette
twitter @betterussell
instagram @bernadetterussell
Monday Nov 16, 2020
Monday Nov 16, 2020
This week I speak about many things including hope, storytelling, free food and time travel with award-winning British artist, producer and presenter Dawinder Bansal who shares her incredible stories via film and immersive art installations..
Dawinder and I chat about her experience of growing up in Wolverhampton in the 80s - being the "youngest daughter of twice immigrant parents"- a time which was "carefree... a brilliant time to be growing up". whilst she was immersed and supported by a tight knit community and her parents Sikh culture.
She created her wonderful installation and film "Jambo Cinema" as a dedication to her parents "for their sacrifice... and that generation who came here... with a few pounds... and a lot of hope" and she speaks beautifully about the importance of stories "we listen, we tell our stories... we come to understand each other via stories, "
Dawinder also speaks about her latest project "We Found Love in the 80s" and the encouragement she received from Martin Ware (of Heaven 17 and Human League fame) to make the project , celebrating love- there is still a chance to get involved with this if you have a story to tell about love you found in the 80s!
To find out more about Dawinder and her amazing projects please go here: https://www.dawinderbansal.com
To find out more about "We Found Love in the 80s" go here: https://www.wefoundloveinthe80s.com
Dawinder can also be found on that twitter
Thanks so much for listening as always. This podcast is to accompany my book of the same name, which came out 10th September 2020 and is available in all the usual places
You can find me www.bernadetterussell.com
twitter @betterussell
instagram @bernadetterussell
Much love and more soon
Bernadette x
Monday Nov 09, 2020
Monday Nov 09, 2020
This week I speak with Dr Dominic Galliano, physicist and Head of Public Engagement with Research & Teaching at University College London.
Dr Dom tells the incredible story of his journey as a boy from a working class background in Gibraltar who was endlessly curious, to being one of the many incredible scientists across the world striving to democratise science education. Dr Dom managed to get the necessary funding together to begin his MA “Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces” – he speaks movingly of his perseverance, determination and resilience and also of his “angels” : family members, teacher and friends who helped get him there.
Dr Dom then began his PHD in Portsmouth, along with other mathematicians and cosmologists as they investigated “the start of the universe”. Dom realised that the department was disconnected from the community it was in the midst of, and his work since has been committed to encouraging curiosity in all of us, as he says “science is driven by trying to solve a problem that the world has... This is where hope lies. and to do this we need diversity in all forms to find solutions that are more robust”
We discuss the importance of challenging the prevailing narrative of a scientist being “a lonely man who isn’t human” – and that hope lies too in this year’s Nobel Prize winners, Andrea Ghez was one of three scientists who was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics for her work on the study of black holes and the discovery of a supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, and Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering genetic scissors-used to change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision. (This technology has revolutionised the molecular life sciences, brought new opportunities for plant breeding, is contributing to innovative cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true.)
We chat about the “eternal hope” which lie in the potential of nuclear fusion and the wonder in the fact that “most of the universe is still unknown to us” , as well as utopia and Dr Doms hope that the future includes “new systems which everyone can benefit from”
You can find Dr Dom on twitter @EngagementDom
And find out more about public engagement at University College London here
And this year’s public engagement award winners here
My book How To Be Hopeful is out NOW! and can be found in all the usual places
More soon!
Love Bernadette x
Monday Nov 02, 2020
Monday Nov 02, 2020
This week, on the eve of the 2020 U.S elections, I catch up with the wonderful Nafessa Monroe, actor, poet, writer. Nafeesa speaks about the global interest in the results of the election “it gives me hope that there are people all over the world just as concerned about the state of the U.S as Americans are”
Nafeesa speaks about her journey and experiences as a young actor of mixed heritage in L.A, with all the challenges and opportunities which came her way. She tells the story of Olympia Dukakis asking her “why aren’t you living in new York? If you need help, I'll help you;” after they did a play together and her subsequent move to New York and career as a theatre actor. We speak about the power of diverse casting on storytelling, and her own company “Classics in Colour” which was “founded on inclusion”
We talk also about the importance of thanking and remembering our ancestors, about art and activism, and about the hope found in the beautiful art, craft and philosophy of Japanese kintsugi.
Lastly, we discuss the previous election, the Trump presidency and the despair and hope Nafeesa experienced as a result . She says “ I remember vividly the loss of hope, and the disbelief that this was even possible in our world” and how it is this time around on the eve of the 2020 election
“I’m just as scared, I have all the fear. I know I have done what I have the power to do, which is to vote, and in the next four years I have to do more with the power I have… to activate my arts… to show up and listen.., no matter what there is a lot of work to be done…. so how do we move forward together now?”
We finish on discussing a utopian America, and Nafeesa advises to start moving in this direction by choosing or seeking healing in some way.
You can contact Nafeesa here:
Things we referenced and spoke about can be found here:
Wonderful project about people with seemingly irreconcilable differences talking and listening. https://wearenotdivided.reasonstobecheerful.world
The Green Book trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkZxoko_HC0
Southern law poverty centre (identifying hate groups in U.S) https://www.splcenter.org
My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathways to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies is by Resmaa Menakem
Info about Kintsugi can be found here
My book How To Be Hopeful is out NOW! and can be found in all the usual places
More soon!
Love Bernadette x
Saturday Oct 24, 2020
Saturday Oct 24, 2020
I had the treat of speaking with poet, artist and wonderful troublemaker Dan Thompson this week, as he launches his Back & Fill festival: a fantastically ambitious social distance complying yet Covid-defying carnival of creativity in 12 seaside towns from Portrush in Northern Ireland to Westward Ho! in Devon. We chat about Dan's work being about hope and "giving people the power to do things themselves" and how if you are an artist and/or an activist then you can't "separate it from the rest of your life... ". We speak about an Ian M Banks inspired post-scarcity utopian future "we need to get beyond money and work" and how we can start to move towards that rosy future "start bartering, start swapping, start giving things away"
We end with a beautiful prayer by Cardinal Newman, and by chatting about the similarities between him and one of my personal heroes, Mr Motivator.
You can find out more about all of Dan's wonderful and hopeful work here
This podcast is to accompany my book of the same name, published by Elliott and Thompson, available from your local independent bookshop and here
To find out more about me, please go here
Thanks so much for listening- more soon!