Interviews on wonder, curiosity and creativity
Jack Kirby is Group Head of Collections Services for the Science Museum Group. He has worked with diverse communities in London and Birmingham and curated collections of national significance. Jack has responsibility for caring for, digitising and managing the Science Museum Group's internationally outstanding collection. Based in Manchester, UK, he leads teams across five museums and two collections facilities, from County Durham to Wiltshire.
Thomas Hills suffered from a minor head injury as a child that led to a mild case of retrograde amnesia. He's pretty sure he never actually woke up from that. This returned when he took mefloquine while in Ghana, with its fantastical and often violently lucid dreams. While a PhD student in biology studying how worms search, he continued his psychonautic explorations, looking for the trapdoor in his mind. He floated from Texas to Indiana to Switzerland to the UK. He eventually wound up as a Professor of Psychology, studying mental search and still waiting to wake up.
Last year I interviewed filmmaker Pip Piper. This Easter his new film The Vinyl Revival is released on DVD and it seemed like a good opportunity to catch up with him and why he is fascinated by vinyl records.
David Pritchard worked for the UK's Health and Safety Laboratories where he undertook investigations into gas explosion incidents and how to prevent them.
Peter Laws is an author, journalist and church minister with a taste for the macabre. He writes the Matt Hunter creepy crime fiction series, about an ex-vicar turned atheist professor, who helps the police solve religiously motivated crimes. He writes a monthly column in The Fortean Times magazine. He’s a regularly public speaker and lives in Bedfordshire.
Brian Mackenwells spent many years working in science communication, delivering and developing science shows and workshops for school and family audiences, as well as for adults. He now supports researchers to engage the public with their work. He also writes audio drama and theatre, and can also be found on stage doing standup about pencils. He has only made two children cry in the course of his career to date.
Remona Aly is a journalist and broadcaster. She writes for The Guardian and other media outlets on faith, lifestyle and identity. She is a resident Pause for Thought contributor at BBC Radio 2 on the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show and a presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Something Understood. Remona is Director of Communications for Exploring Islam Foundation which specialises in PR campaigns and creative resources. She is also an editor, presents and produces podcasts, and is on an ongoing quest to write a book (will it ever happen).
Michelle Mills-Porter is known for helping people and teams to reach Sky High Performance. She discovered the truth behind motivation, the importance of effective communication and the power of collaboration in the strangest of classrooms and spent over a decade distilling those lessons into a suite of tangible tools and training programmes that get real results. Michelle is an award-winning businesswoman, and author, consultant and a celebrated keynote speaker, delivering “The Magnificence of Humanity” to audiences far and wide.
John Bucher is a mythologist. Communicator, and strategist based out of Hollywood, California. He is also an author, podcaster, and speaker. He is the author of six books including the best-selling Storytelling for Virtual Reality, named by BookAuthority as one of the best storytelling books of all time. John has worked with companies including HBO, DC Comics, The History Channel, A24 Films, The John Maxwell Leadership Foundation and served as a consultant and writer for numerous film, television, and Virtual Reality projects. He also consults on stage magic, puzzles, and escape rooms. Currently, he serves as Content Curator for the Joseph Campbell Foundation and teaches writing and story courses at the LA Film Studies Center. He holds a PhD in Mythology and Depth Psychology and has spoken on 5 continents about using myth and the power of story to reframe how products, individuals, organizations, cultures, and nations are viewed. Disruptor named him one of the top 25 influencers in Virtual Reality in 2018.
I’m thrilled to announce that one of my optical illusions was one of the finalists in the international Best Illusion of the Year Contest. You can view the top ten here. My Ambiguous Cardboard Arrow illusion was inspired by the work of Prof Kokichi Sugihara and Terri Rogers. What I think makes the illusion special... Continue Reading →
Words on Wonder 