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Talking to Titans

Talking to Titans is a brand new seven-part podcast series where inspiring senior UCL women tell us their stories of achieving complex careers, managing work-life balance and surviving to tell the tale. The podcasts launched on Monday 2 March, to coincide with International Women’s Week 2020.

Talking to Titans is a podcast about gender equality in academia. Cathy Giangrande and Professor Gudrun Moore talk to seven women in senior roles at UCL about how they achieved complex careers, work-life balance, and survived to tell the tale.

They ask some of the big questions about diversity and inclusion, and spotlight the skills you need to fulfil your potential. How do you deal with the challenges women meet in male-dominated environments? Is finding a mentor good for wellbeing and advancement? Is it better to wait till you establish your career before you have children?

In each episode, Cathy and Gudrun sit down with a different brilliant mind from the UCL senior team, to share experiences, anecdotes, and a lot of good advice.

Interviewees

  • Dame Dr Nicola Brewer:  UCL Vice-Provost International and former UK Diplomat
  • Professor Stella Bruzzi: UCL Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities
  • Ruth Kennedy: Founder of the Louis Dundas Palliative Care Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital and GOSH Institute of Child Health and honorary UCL Fellow 2014
  • Professor Sara Mole:  UCL Gender Equality Envoy, Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology
  • Dame Professor Lesley Regan:  Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Imperial College, former President of Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and honorary UCL Doctorate 2015
  • Professor Sasha Roseneil:  UCL Dean of the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences
  • Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu: UCL Envoy for Race Equality, Professor of Pharmacy, Pro-Vice Provost Africa and Middle East

 

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Talking to Titans - Series Trailer

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The podcasts launched on Monday 2 March (16.00 GMT) to coincide with International Women’s Week 2020. They will be uploaded one a day until 8 March.
 

 

Episode 1 - Prof Ijeoma Uchegbu

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Ijeoma Uchegbu is Pro-Vice Provost for Africa and the Middle East and Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience. In this episode, she spoke to Cathy and Gudrun about doing her PhD while single-handedly looking after a young family, racial inequality in academia, and the work that she’s doing at UCL to bring about positive change. 

Episode 2 - Prof Sara Mole

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Sara Mole is Provost’s Envoy for Gender Equality and Professor of Molecular Cell Biology. She spoke to Cathy and Gudrun about why inequality still exists at the senior ranks in academia, and how to close that gap.

Read the transcript for episode 2

Episode 3 - Ruth Kennedy

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Ruth Kennedy is one of the founders of the Louis Dundas Centre for Children’s Palliative Care – a Centre for research, teaching and clinical practice at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and UCL’s Institute of Child Health. In this episode, she talks about dealing with the grief of her son’s death while supporting a family and running a business at the same time.
Read the transcript for episode 3

 

 

Episode 4 - Prof Sasha Roseneil

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Sasha Roseneil is Dean of Social and Historical Sciences, Professor of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, and psychoanalytic psychotherapist. In this episode, she talks to Gudrun and Cathy about sexual harassment, the importance of LGBTQ+ spaces, and dealing with emotionally difficult moments in your professional life.
Read the transcript for episode 4

Episode 5 - Dame Nicola Brewer

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Nicola Brewer is Vice-Provost International at UCL, but spent the last forty years in international diplomacy for the civil service. She talks to Cathy and Gudrun about her feelings towards the title of ‘academic’, and why mentors are so important if you want to go far in your career. 
Read the transcript for episode 5

Episode 6 - Prof Stella Bruzzi

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Stella Bruzzi is Dean of Arts and Humanities and Professor of Film and TV. In this episode, she talks to Cathy and Gudrun about gaining respect in her field, and the difficult decisions she’s made when it comes to parenting.
Read the transcript for episode 6

Episode 7 - Dame Lesley Regan

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Lesley Regan is the ex-President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Secretary General of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Head of Obstetrics and Gyneacology at Imperial College London and Honorary Doctorate at UCL. In this final episode of Talking to Titans, she talks to Cathy and Gudrun about dedicating her life to improving women’s health, and how imposter syndrome still follows her today
Read the transcript for episode 7

 

About the Hosts

Cathy Giangrande is a UCL Alumna and Art Conservationist, and Gudrun Moore is a Professor of Molecular Genetics at UCL's Institute of Child Health. They are very good friends and professional co-mentors.

Special thanks to

Whistledown Productions Ltd - one of the leading independent audio production companies in the UK
Lauren Veevers for the artwork and Caspar Harvey for the music
Professor Michael Arthur, UCL President & Provost, for his support
UCL Communications and Marketing

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