Laurence Halsted is a two-time Olympian who, after retirement from sport, became involved in The True Athlete Project which works towards addressing the pressing problems in sport – bullying, mental health issues, suffering – and reimagining sport as a force for good. He shared thoughts on his journey and the work being done in theContinue reading “Laurence Halsted: The True Athlete Project (TAP) – Towards a More Compassionate World Through Sport”
Category Archives: Podcast
Dr Niels Feddersen: Organisational Culture Change in Elite Sport… and Nature-Based Activities for Well-being
Niels Feddersen completed his PhD focused on destructive cultures in elite sport at Liverpool John Moores University. At the moment, he is a postdoctoral researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and is working on a project on nature-based activities as a well-being intervention for people with depression and anxiety. He visitedContinue reading “Dr Niels Feddersen: Organisational Culture Change in Elite Sport… and Nature-Based Activities for Well-being”
Prof. Martin Roderick: Understanding Subjective Careers in Professional Sports
Professor Martin Roderick’s fascinating research in has shed light on the world of work in professional sports that is hidden from the public gaze. He has analysed the changing meaning and work orientations of athletes as they progress in their athletic careers, and the emotional work required to live up to the public expectations forContinue reading “Prof. Martin Roderick: Understanding Subjective Careers in Professional Sports”
Dr Signe Højbjerre Larsen: Parkour as a Way of Transforming our Relationship with Urban Spaces
“Parkour can be understood as a way to recapture moments of non-alienated human experience in urban space”. This is a position advanced in Dr Signe Højbjerre Larsen’s recent article “Parkour: playing the modern, accelerated city“. She visited the Meaningful Sport podcast to share insights on the history, culture and meanings that parkour holds for practitioners.Continue reading “Dr Signe Højbjerre Larsen: Parkour as a Way of Transforming our Relationship with Urban Spaces”
Dr Francesca Champ: Working with Talented Youth Athletes in a Football Academy
Working as an applied sport psychology practitioner in professional football is a challenging task. Dr Francesca Champ shared her stories from working as a practitioner-researcher and how she has found ways to support youth players in developing a broader identity not exclusively tied to sporting success. In the UK and elsewhere, becoming a professional footballerContinue reading “Dr Francesca Champ: Working with Talented Youth Athletes in a Football Academy”
Dr Sandra Meeuwsen: Understanding the Crisis of Modern Sport by Using Philosophical Archaeology
Dr Sandra Meeuwsen’s PhD dissertation in philosophy of sport excavated into the roots of the paradoxical face of modern sport. She shared the key philosophical ideas and findings in her work in the Meaningful Sport podcast. Modern sport has an increasingly contradictory face. On the one hand, its contribution to health, well-being, character development, solidarity,Continue reading “Dr Sandra Meeuwsen: Understanding the Crisis of Modern Sport by Using Philosophical Archaeology”
Prof. Øyvind Standal: Phenomenology, ‘Deep and ‘Shallow’, and Meaning in Physical Education
Professor Øyvind Standal has written extensively about phenomenology, skills, habits, embodiment and meaning in physical education. He shared his insights in the Meaningful Sport podcast. Part 1 here: Meaning has been a core concept for physical educators for a very long time, and often explored through a phenomenological perspective. In the first part of our conversation,Continue reading “Prof. Øyvind Standal: Phenomenology, ‘Deep and ‘Shallow’, and Meaning in Physical Education”
Prof. Kitrina Douglas: What can Narrative Theory tell us about Meaning in Sport?
I had the honor to interview Prof. Kitrina Douglas – whose work has inspired me throughout my academic life – on her work on narrative identity in sport. Part 1 here: Kitrina played professional golf for a long time before becoming a researcher, and her autoethnographic work demonstrates how she felt completely disconnected from theContinue reading “Prof. Kitrina Douglas: What can Narrative Theory tell us about Meaning in Sport?”
Dr Simon Cook: Meanings of Run-Commuting as a Mobile Practice
I had the pleasure to interview Dr Simon Cook on his PhD work which explored – as a first study of its kind – “Run-Commuting” as a mobile practice. It is a term coined by Simon and means using running as a transport to move from home to work. Did you ever try run-commuting? I’veContinue reading “Dr Simon Cook: Meanings of Run-Commuting as a Mobile Practice”
Prof John Kaag: Is running a way to flee the absurdity of human existence?
How can existential philosophy, especially the works of Albert Camus, help us understand how we slip from running as a life-affirming activity to running as an obsession? Professor John Kaag visited the podcast and shared some thought provoking ideas on how existentialism can inform how we live our sport-lives. In the American Scholar, professor JohnContinue reading “Prof John Kaag: Is running a way to flee the absurdity of human existence?”