Episode Seven: Christmas (December 12, 2011)

The SPF Team in the Christmas spirit

This week we had a christmas special, looking at the history of Christmas, as well as playing lots of classic Christmas songs. Since it is also exam time, we didn’t have much to present this week, and instead rambled on for a while, occasionally about something geographic.

Contested Landscape of Christmas Lights
By: Ben Garlick
Ben discussed an article about Christmas light displays, and the class differences of display styles, with colours and size varying between neighbourhoods. He takes issue with it though, and tries to break down the ‘chav-bling’ stereotype of gaudy christmas displays.

Listen [1:02:02]

Episode Six: Make It So (December 5, 2011)

This week Henry was away, so Jake and Ben were left to carry the torch by themselves. They more than made up for it with an episode dedicated to Star Wars, Star Trek, with many, many soundboard clips.

The Ethics of Star Wars & Star Trek
By: Jake Barber & Ben Garlick
Jake talked a little bit about the moral codes imparted in TNG, specifically looking at the way the series can be seen as a metaphor for white America, with the crew of the Enterprise helping others whether they are wanted or not.

Ben then looked at Star Wars, examining the typical monoculture representation of worlds, even looking at the cultural identity of wookies. And using many soundboard contributions from captains Picard and Kirk, of course.

Geographical Song Analysis
Rihanna: Umbrella
Taking a look at the obvious geographical elements in Rihanna’s biggest song, Jake and Ben discussed the Jay-zeconomics as well as an interpretation through Marcel Mauss’ The Gift.

Some Rubbish Fieldwork
By: Ben Garlick
Ben wrapped up the show by talking about a bit of fieldwork he plans on doing, observing the ways in which people interact with garbage in cafes.

Listen [59:32]

Episode Five: Animals (November 28, 2011)

Today on the show we had our first of what it sure to be many episodes all about animals, looking at religion, fear, and meat eating. We also heard about the week’s headline news stories, and had our Environmental Song O’ The Week, with Life In Jail – Islands.

Eating Animals & Peter Singer
By: Henry Hawkins
Philosopher Peter Singer (who is a big fan of the show!) has published widely on theories about animals ethics since the 1970s, and is one of the few that don’t automatically put non-philosophers to sleep. His theory of speciecism, referring to the way humans implicitly give preference to humans was discussed, and the theory of making moral decisions based on achieving lesser harm.

Animals & Religion
By: Ben Garlick
This morning Ben talked about how animals are viewed through different religions, and religious frameworks. How they are valued, used, eaten (or not), and if animals have moral consideration, or are worthy of an afterlife.

Animals & Domestication
By: Jake Barber
Following on from Ben’s presentation about religion, Jake looked at the domestication of the wolf, of which there are apparently 80,000 domesticated in the US. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t tend to go well for most people.

Listen [56:45]

Episode Four: Hidden Histories of Edinburgh II (November 21, 2011)

Arthur’s Seat & The Salisbury Crags

Today on the show we had the second episode of our series on Edinburgh, looking at the Real Mary King’s Close, heard from special guest Moolten Glacyass about the geology of Arthur’s Seat, as well as a brief talk about Germaine Greer.

Local Knowledge & Germaine Greer
By: Jake Barber
Jake went on a bit of a rant this morning, talking about his problems with Germaine Greer and a particular town she has made some controversial statements about.

The Geology of Arthur’s Seat
By: Moolten Glacyass
Best known as the multi-talented lead singer/rhythm harmonica/3rd tamborine player in Holy Era of the Astral Lobotomy, Glacyass was a major player in the late 1970s early 1980s metal scene in Britain. Moolten stopped by the studio this morning to promote his latest record, called Satan’s Lukewarm Glacier. He played a song called “Arthur’s Seat at Lucifer’s Table” which was inspired by the geomorphology history of Edinburgh’s local extinct volcano.

The Real Mary King’s Close
By: Henry Hawkins
Mary King’s Close is located just off the Royal Mile, and was closed up in the 17th century due to the plague spreading through the city. Many people believe that victims were sealed inside its tenement buildings, which gave rise to the many reported supernatural experiences and ghost sightings. The close was sealed until 2003 when it was opened up, and is now a popular tourist destination.

Listen [56:22]

Episode Three: A Very Special Musical Guest (November 14, 2011)

Turbines at the Black Law Wind Farm

Today on the show we had two very special guests: Helen Whale and Jack McCarthy, from the Department of Geography to perform a couple of songs. First they performed an original song called Bumblebee, then a cover of Michael Jackson’s Earth Song.

We also had a special game of Countdown with Jack and Helen, and a couple of features from Henry and Ben.

The Black Law Wind Farm
By: Henry Hawkins
Last week Henry went on a field trip to the Black Law wind farm just outside Forth in Lanarkshire. He talked about the trip, and some fun facts about wind turbines (they are about 22 stories high! the base is made from 550 tonnes of concrete), and discussed some of the practicalities of wind farm power production.

Colonial Medicine in India
By: Ben Garlick
This morning Ben looked at the relationship between local knowledge of medicine and Western concepts of science in India. Through the lens of colonialism, he discussed how the perspectives clashed over the years, and the British goal of ordering, understanding, and conquering representations of the body through medicine.

Listen [1:00:56]

Episode Two: Hidden Histories of Edinburgh (November 7, 2011)

Greyfriars Bobby, The South Bridge Vaults, The Meadows

Greyfriars Bobby: Human-Animal Relations
By: Ben Garlick
This morning on the show we heard about some of the hidden histories of Edinburgh. First, Ben looked at the story of Greyfriars Bobby, the dog who supposedly sat by his master’s grave for 18 years, and he deconstructed what this story represents to human-animal relations.

Green Spaces in Edinburgh: An Accidental History
By: Jake Barber
Jake talked about the evolving history of green spaces in the city, focusing on the Meadows and Princes Street Gardens from their beginnings as Lochs to treasured green spaces within a busy city.

The Edinburgh Vaults: Storage, Squalor & Serial Killers
By: Henry Hawkins
Henry discussed the Edinburgh vaults, located in the foundations of the South Bridge near Cowgate, and their varying uses over the years, from storage spaces, to cramped dwellings, the haunt for serial killers, and a modern-day tourist destination.

Jake also brought us three quick stories from the week’s environmental news, and we had another edition of our Environmental Song Analysis with Bruce Cockburn’s If A Tree Falls.

Listen [49:36]

Episode One: Halloween (October 31, 2011)

The very first episode of SPF Edinburgh started with a discussion of the history of Halloween from its origins as a Celtic ceremony, the spread of Americanized Halloween culture, and the geopolitical context of horror films.

Jake brought us the week’s news, and Ben discussed the environmental song of the week, Oh, Larson B by British Sea Power.

We also had some problems with the station’s online feed, so this episode was never broadcast, and is an online-exclusive!

Listen: [56:56]