COOL TO BE CLEVER

A regular presence on British TV and radio and the author of multiple books on genetic science, Professor Adam Rutherford explains how the UK’s importance in the way we understand modern life dates back to the time Charles Darwin spent here after he returned from his voyage on The Beagle. ‘The foundations of evolutionary theory and genetics and all of biology really start there,’ he says. ‘In the middle of the 19th century, right here in London.’

And still today, the UK is a major force in the advancement of knowledge. ‘In science we punch well above our weight on the global stage, and that's a lot to do with the country’s history,’ he says. ‘It's a lot to do with science communication being very normalised in our society, and that is a lot to do with the BBC. And it's also just having some of the best universities in the world that have really focused on genetics and evolution for the last 100 years or so. It’s one of the best places on earth to study life.’

‘At school, my two best friends were Italian - for some reason, in my small hometown where there were no Italians - and it meant that I got really interested in the art, in the language. I'd go to their houses for really lovely dinners, and over time I had the opportunity to go to university and I knew I wanted to do Italian.’ Thomas Godfrey is explaining how a happy accident of his schooldays set him on his current path as a Dante expert at Clare College, Cambridge. But having lived, worked and taught in Italy and become fully immersed in the place, he’s currently enjoying being back in the UK and reconnecting with our own historic culture.

‘If you do find yourself in Cambridge and you want to sort of see something a little bit more authentic, you need to go to one of the pubs. That's where a lot of the students and professors will go to finish after a long day at the library,’ he says. ‘And the pub that I love the most is the Champion of The Thames. It's a tiny little place, really only two small rooms, and it's sort of tucked away. But it's brilliant in the winter after a long day at work.’

Andrew Groves is Professor of Menswear Systems at the University of Westminster and Director of the Westminster Menswear Archive, the UK’s leading research collection dedicated to the material, industrial, and cultural history of menswear. ‘I guess what I do is not just thinking on an aesthetic level, but thinking about how menswear works and operates as a system.’ He cites an unlikely style influence in setting him on this path originally: ‘Mr. Benn [for younger readers - 1970s cartoon character who was transformed by visiting a shop every week] was a really big influence. The idea that by changing what you wore, you had different adventures. You put on different clothes, and different things happened. I think subconsciously, for a lot of men, that's how they approach dressing.’

Groves talks about the tension that exists between ‘Savile Row and Carnaby Street, what seems traditional and what seems anarchic’ and how that constantly shapes British menswear. ‘That’s where some of the best work comes from. Designers like Westwood and McQueen understood the traditions of tailoring, which gave them the tools to subvert those conventions and take menswear forward.’ 

Alexander Dragonetti has already packed several careers into a few decades: British diplomat, schoolteacher, newspaper commentator and contestant on Series 3 of BBC’s The Traitors. His principal focus today is foreign affairs, drawing on years spent in the Middle East, including the West Bank and Gaza.

Now back in the UK, he uses social media to make complicated international issues accessible. ‘Often people don’t have the time, or they’re busy doing something else. And if I can make it simple and quick, and get the message to more people, then that’s a really powerful thing to do.’ As events overseas increasingly affect the UK, he says, ‘the more I can make it accessible, the better.’

Jon Gardner teaches at a state secondary school in Newham, East London – and offers a strong antidote to the constant carping about young people and educational standards.

‘Young people are amazing,’ he says. ‘This generation more so than any other generation has had to go through a lot.’ From the financial crash and COVID to the pressures of digital technology, he’s

impressed by their response. ‘To come through that with this resilience and this maturity and this curiosity… it’s amazing seeing what they have achieved, and what they’re going into the world to do to make it a better place.’

From his office at University College London, Dr Rafael Schacter’s work across anthropology and public art has led him to think deeply about London’s graffiti. The city itself, he says, has shaped its distinctive culture: ‘London is tough too, it has a huge amount of surveillance and CCTV, so a lot of the graffiti in London is quite tough. It’s done quickly.’ Much of its beauty comes from ‘its speed, and its form of production.’

He credits his students with keeping him connected to the culture. ‘I love teaching. One of the best things about being an academic is actually working with students, because they have real energy.’ For Schacter, teaching is collaborative: ‘I’m learning as much from my students as they’re learning from me.’