The country’s only 50th anniversary performance of Allen Ginsberg’s epic poem Howl (see Reporter 510) attracted interest from the Guardian, BBC online, the Yorkshire Post and the Yorkshire Evening Post among others. Senior teaching fellow Simon Warner also spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live, Radio 4’s Today programme and BBC Radio Leeds about the influence Ginsberg’s seminal reading has had on popular culture. “Ginsberg never lost his power and appeal,” he told the Guardian. “He influenced the Beatles and the Stones, then a new generation with the likes of Patti Smith and the Clash. Kurt Cobain and Nirvana drew on his work too.”

“Contrary to some reports, Mallory was wearing just the right clothing for going up Everest – about 3.5 tog,” Dave Brook (pictured below) told BBC Look North. After analysing the explorer’s Burberry suit found on the mountain using advanced techniques developed in the school of design, Mr Brook – who also spoke to the Yorkshire Evening Post – concluded that Mallory was well-prepared for the harsh conditions (see Reporter 510).

Senior lecturer Dr Rachel Cowgill from music spoke to Radio 4 about ‘faking the classics’ in a programme chaired by one of the world’s leading Shakespearean scholars Jonathan Bate. The first of the two-part series was on Shakespeare and the second – on which Dr Cowgill appeared – was on Mozart. Dr Cowgill discussed attempts to fake compositions in the past, some of the works attributed to Mozart which are now thought to have been composed by other people, and how we authenticate new ‘discoveries’.

A £77m government scheme has not succeeded in encouraging children to maintain healthy eating habits, but University researchers found it did improve children’s awareness of the importance of healthy eating and types of fruit (Reporter 510). Nutritionist Dr Joan Ransley told the Yorkshire Post: “We found that when students were participating in the scheme their intake increased but when older pupils moved out of the scheme and became year three pupils, their intake dropped under what it was at the baseline.

“We think it would be good practice if other things were put in place to keep the promotion of fruit and vegetables going throughout their time at school.”

A touring ‘freakshow’ which reached Reading in October is a ‘retrogressive step’, professor of disability studies Colin Barnes told the Financial Times. “If we’re serious about eliminating the exploitation of disabled people, then we don’t want to ferment negative issues by allowing such shows. You wouldn’t get away with it if it was exploiting race, gender or religion. Why should you get away with exploiting disability?”

Earth and environment lecturer Mark Reed appeared on BBC Radio 4 to discuss how new climate change predictions might affect the livelihoods of people living in the Kalahari, based on his research with communities in Botswana.

Retired academic Stanley Ellis, who taught phonetics at the University during the Ripper enquiry, spent months analysing the infamous ‘Wearside Jack’ tape, concluding it was a fake. He expressed his concerns to enquiry leader detective superintendent Richard Holland, who was in charge of the Ripper enquiry.
“We began to feel that they were clearing people who could be guilty,” Mr Ellis told the Northern Echo. “So we wrote in 1979 saying we felt the letters and the tape were not genuine, but they didn’t agree with us. There was never any evidence in the letters or on the tape that the speaker was involved with the murders, and all the information in the letters was in the public domain.”
Mr Ellis also spoke to Sky News, BBC Look North and Radio Leeds about the tragic hoax, while colleague Jack Windsor-Lewis, also retired, appeared on Calendar and BBC Radio Wales.

Around 40,000 children are taking antidepressants when talking through their problems could be more help, it was revealed last month when national guidelines were issued to doctors on the use of pills as a ‘first-line’ remedy for depression. Professor of child and adolescent psychiatry David Cottrell told the Daily Mail that it was not unusual for children referred to his clinic to be taking medication, but his policy was to try psychotherapy first and use pills only if that did not work: “Where psychological therapy has been offered and is not working, medical treatment could be offered as well - the two should interact together,” he said.

Photo 1: George Hunt, who presented a reading of Allen Ginsberg's poem in Howl for Now.
Photo 2: Dave Brook