In the Media
Among the highlights of my career have been the opportunities I’ve had to address the general public in media appearances and through my writing. The subjects on which I have been interviewed have ranged from the long history of ‘slut-shaming’ to medieval insults to the life and legacy of Geoffrey Chaucer.
BBC Radio 4, AntiSocial: ‘Counting Sexual Partners’
Journalist Adam Fleming interviewed me about the long history of ‘slut-shaming. The episode was released on 8 September 2023.
The TLS Podcast: ‘Femmes Fatales’
Lucy Dallas and Alex Clark interviewed me about Marion Turner’s ’biography‘ of the Wife of Bath, and why Alison has continued to have such appeal for readers more than six centuries after her creation (aired 10 August 2023).
History Today: ‘Chaucer on trial’
Co-authored with Carissa Harris, this short essay reflected on the recent discovery of new Chaucer life records pertaining to the Cecily Chaumpaigne case. The essay was published in Vol. 72, Issue 12, December 2022.
The Times Literary Supplement: ‘The case for the defence’
A short essay on the discovery of new life records pertaining to Cecily Chaumpaigne’s supposed charge of raptus against Geoffrey Chaucer, published on 21 October 2022.
The TLS Podcast: ‘A Journey into the Ambiguous Afterlife
Michael Caines and Alex Clark interviewed me about the recent discovery of new Chaucer life records concerning Cecily Chaumpaigne’s release of the poet from the charge of raptus. The episode aired on 20 October 2022.
BBC Radio 4, The Forum: ‘Chaucer, father of English poetry’
Joint interview with Anthony Bale and Emily Steiner on the works and legacy of Geoffrey Chaucer. The episode originally aired on 20 July 2020.
PBS NOVA: ‘The Violence Paradox’
I was interviewed for this episode inspired by the publication of Steven Pinker’s book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. The episode aired on 20 November 2019.
The Times Literary Supplement: ‘Unfinished business’
A short essay on the resonances between the unfinished state of George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire and the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, published on 28 June 2019.
BBC Radio 4, When Greeks Flew Kites: ‘The Shame Game’
Novelist, journalist, and broadcaster Sarah Dunant interviewed me and other researchers working on shame for this podcast investigating the emotion throughout history, and its role in the present day. The podcast originally aired on 4 March 2019.
The Washington Post: ‘The medieval roots of character testimony’
This is a short opinion piece on the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings that I contributed to ‘Made By History’ at The Washington Post in September 2018.
‘Cuntbittin crawdoun! Wanfukkit funling!’, interview with Allez Savoir
David Spring interviewed me on the subject of medieval insults for the September 2017 issue of Allez Savoir, a journal published by the University of Lausanne.
Interview with Radio Télévision Suisse for ‘Les sagas fantastiques…en 2014′
This video (which is in French) is a feature prepared by Christophe Schenk for Radio Télévision Suisse on the popularity of fantasy franchises such as Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games, and Lord of the Rings, among others. It aired at the beginning of 2014.
Interview with the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions
The following is an interview conducted at the University of Melbourne in September 2013. The ARC CHE in Melbourne have also made other interviews with historians of emotion publicly available here.
Exhibition: Temptation and Salvation: The Psalms of King David
In 2009 I co-curated an exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum which featured manuscripts of the psalms, as well as images drawn from the Bible story of King David. The exhibition checklist is available here, and the Getty press release concerning the exhibition may be found here. Publications relating to the exhibition include:
Los Angeles Times: ‘Getty displays manuscripts focusing on King David’ (Martha Groves, July 20, 2009)
The Christian Index: ‘Psalms exhibit traces King David’s lament’ (David Van Biema, July 16, 2009)