Switchboard

Switchboard speaks to the mental health service Nightline, which provides anonymous phone-in, text and online support to students in Cambridge and across the country. We discuss the mental health issues facing students as well as the role of volunteers who give their time all through the night to support their peers.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message

Switchboard speaks to spoken word artist Ms. Eva Johnson who is also studying for a Masters in Law at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. She discussed her inspirations, artistic approach and the impact that spoken word can have at home and further afield. All recordings of Ms. Eva Johnson's work in this episode are included with express permission from the artist.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message

Switchboard brings you some festive cheer as we take a look at how Cambridge students are both celebrating and taking action during 'Bridgemas' - an early Christmas celebration in November at the end of Michaelmas term. Switchboard goes along to the Belgian Society's Wafflemas event, a Channukah party at Jesus College, interviews the president of the Cambridge Homeless Outreach Programme, and attends a concert by the King's Men. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message

Our climate is changing fast, and to understand some of the implications, Switchboard speaks with a glaciologist with 40 years experience at the North and South Poles, a researcher who lived with an Inuit tribe, and an economist who pioneered the appreciation of the environment in the discipline. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message

An ex-heroin addict and prisoner, a private investigator, and a published author of alternative history share their experiences before arriving to study in Cambridge in our episode on mature students. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message

With exams over, Switchboard finds out more about how Cambridge celebrates success at the world-famous May Balls. We interview committee members from Trinity, St. John's, Clare and Wolfson to get some behind-the-scenes knowledge and unusual stories about attempted break-ins, logistical challenges and the pressure to deliver a night to remember. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message

Switchboard explores some of the mythologies and bizarre traditions surrounding Cambridge examinations. We speak to two Senior Wranglers - the position awarded to the person with the highest score in the Cambridge maths tripos exams - about their thoughts on the position, its historical prestige, its modern relevance, and the impact of high-pressure exams on mental health. We also discover the position of the wooden spoon - the prize awarded to the student with the lowest mark. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message

Switchboard reflects on the UCU strike action in Lent 2018 which had wide ranging effects across Cambridge from protests to cancelled lectures. We speak to Jana Bacevic on the impact of social media on the strike and social movements in general, Madeleine Wakeman on how the strikes affected disabled students and how minority concerns can be marginalised in student movements. Rosie Bradbury of Varsity tells us about the challenges in covering the strikes in student media, and the importance of understanding different perspectives. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message

Switchboard speaks to the King's College chaplain about the role of Christianity in pastoral care and how the values of faith help with modern issues. We also visit Cambridge's Baha'i community, the Downing College choir and speak to a third year medic from Luton who has converted to Islam. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message

Switchboard explores the different kinds of collections in Cambridge. We visit an exhibit on the suffragettes in the University Library, speak to two recycling campaigners making waste collection more environmentally friendly, discover more about the University Herbarium, and go on a tour of the University Library - one of Cambridge's most famous buildings. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message

This week we hear from a porter who spent 13 years as a paratrooper in the British Army, four international students who have served in their countries’ armies, and a daring student who is defying his father by boxing for the University. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message

In this episode Switchboard speaks to a young Welsh poet, two gifted polyglots, and a group of students who are learning to speak Latin. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message

In Switchboard's first episode we speak to the son of a Kurdish refugee now studying at Cambridge, a student who got married on her year abroad in Russia, and the King's College professor who hosts a Syrian refugee in his home. We speak to Faraj, who left Aleppo and now lives in Cambridge, live in the studio. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/switchboard/message