Dr Kristopher Lovell

“History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” ― Mark Twain

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History Fireside Chats

Posted by Dr Kristopher Lovell on May 31, 2020
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

History Fireside Chats Special: The Christmas Industry – History Fireside Chats

Hello and welcome to another History Fireside Chats special. In today’s special we are building on from the last chat about the Culture Industry by exploring American Christmas films during the Cold War and what they tell us about postwar American society. I’m joined in this special today by the brilliant Vaughn Joy, PhD Researcher […]
  1. History Fireside Chats Special: The Christmas Industry 49:33
  2. History Fireside Chats 9 – The Culture Industry 11:58
  3. History Fireside Chats: Halloween Special 27:09
  4. History Fireside Chats 8 – The Medium is the Message 12:27
  5. History Fireside Chats 7 – Journalism of Attachment: War Reporting During the Bosnian War 17:21
  6. History Fireside Chats 6 – A Murder a Day: The Brighton Trunk Murders and the British Press 16:22
  7. History Fireside Chats 5 – Reporting the Spanish Civil War 16:47
  8. History Fireside Chats 4 – Rosa Luxemburg 20:44
  9. History Fireside Chats 3 – The Devil’s Decade? 10:38
  10. History Fireside Chats 2: The Downfall of Chamberlain 13:27

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[RecordCovid19-119] Birmingham, Male, 22

Posted by Dr Kristopher Lovell on February 22, 2022
Posted in: #RecordCovid19 Project. Leave a comment

With the latest news regarding all Covid rules being lifted in England, I can only welcome this news. It’s two years since the pandemic really began to take off and we’ve experienced an infringement on our liberties like never before. At the beginning, I believe this was wholly justified due to a lack of scientific knowledge about the virus, the staggering number of excess deaths and the concerning link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths. 

However, since the arrival of the vaccines and the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths were severed, it made sense to be pragmatic about the situation and begin to loosen restrictions. The arrival of Omicron – a weaker/less severe Covid strain – has changed the dynamics even more, to the point where I think most people feel comfortable about a full return to normal. 

It would be common sense to still isolate if you do get Covid, but I’m pleased it’s been dropped as a legal requirement, as it acknowledges the idea we are able to make our own choices, based on the information we have.

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History Fireside Chats Special: The Christmas Industry

Posted by Dr Kristopher Lovell on December 21, 2021
Posted in: Fireside Chats. Leave a comment

Hello and welcome to another History Fireside Chats special. In today’s special we are building on from the last chat about the Culture Industry by exploring American Christmas films during the Cold War and what they tell us about postwar American society. I’m joined in this special today by the brilliant Vaughn Joy, PhD Researcher in Christmas Film History at UCL (find out more about Vaughn’s fascinating research and PhD here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/history/people/phd-community/g-vaughn-joy). We hope you will join us around the virtual fireplace as we talk It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Rambo and whether it is safe to let your family watch Christmas films this season.

I hope you all enjoy! Merry Christmas, happy holidays and thanks for listening.

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History Fireside Chats 9 – The Culture Industry

Posted by Dr Kristopher Lovell on December 18, 2021
Posted in: Fireside Chats. Leave a comment
The Culture Industry – Entertainment as Control

In today’s Fireside Chat, we explore the extent to which seemingly innocuous films and TV shows are actually trying to make us docile and passive workers, unable to rebel against capitalism.

The culture industry is a rich and fascinating theory – this short chat is only intended to be a very brief overview of the idea and is not intended to be a complete summary. If you are interested in delving more into this rich topic, I would strongly recommend looking at these sources:

  • Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, ‘The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception’ https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/adorno/1944/culture-industry.htm
  • Theodor Adorno, “Culture Industry Reconsidered”, New German Critique, no. 6 (1975): 12–19 https://doi.org/10.2307/487650
  • Held, D. (1980). Introduction to Critical Theory: Horkheimer to Habermas.

Click Here For Transcript

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History Fireside Chats: Halloween Special

Posted by Dr Kristopher Lovell on October 31, 2021
Posted in: Fireside Chats. Leave a comment



Welcome to History Fireside Chats Halloween Special. I am joined today by three victims (sorry, colleagues) who kindly agreed to talk to me about what Halloween means to them and what role it plays in society.

Host: Kristopher Lovell (Media Historian)

Victim 1: Sarah Turner (Linguistics)

Victim 2: Emma Sheppard (Sociologists)

Victim 3: Chris Smith (Historian)

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[RecordCovid19–118] Birmingham, Male, 21

Posted by Dr Kristopher Lovell on September 2, 2021
Posted in: #RecordCovid19 Project. Leave a comment

Following a positive PCR test whilst on holiday , I am now in isolation in a foreign country. Obviously at first the situation appeared to be grim but thanks to a Netflix show I realised I am incredibly lucky. I was just telling (whoever cared) about a Netflix series that I binge watched in one sitting due to the new-found time that I had. I said that the show was a decent time and a fun watch. Yet it was also apparent that it was extremely superficial , and lacking in nuance. It attempted to be ground-breaking but it ended up being fantastical. The plot was as far fetched as you could imagine, but if it was historically accurate it would not have been fun.

Likewise, The world is on fire. The country I live in is governed by a government of whom stand for systematic opression. The poor are constantly shamed, yet figures like Elon Musk have cult like followings. New variants of the Coronavirus always seem to come forth. Climate change is a serious issue and it’s impact is already evident.

I am thankful. I am able to go on holiday and be able to act like this is not happening. There are people that can not do this, people that are suffering every day. People who have it far worse than I do. I am lucky to be able to spend my time not fighting for my life but watching content of no value.

The Netflix series is privileged enough to distort and even romanticise Hollywood’s historic racism and homophobia. I am lucky to be privileged enough to avoid the horrors of the real world.

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History Fireside Chats 8 – The Medium is the Message

Posted by Dr Kristopher Lovell on August 7, 2021
Posted in: Fireside Chats. 2 Comments

In today’s Fireside Chat we explore the ideas of Marshall McLuhan and the notion that the medium is the message – an idea that remains as thought-provoking today as it did in the 1960s.

If you are interested in reading more about McLuhan I would strongly recommend:

  • Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media (2001)
  • Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore, The Medium Is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects (1967)
  • Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (1983)
  • Elizabeth Eisenstein, The Printing Press as an Agent of Change, (1979)

History Fireside Chats are produced, recorded and researched by Dr Kristopher Lovell. The audio was recorded using the CAD M179

Click Here For Transcript

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[RecordCovid19–117] Manchester, Transport Planner, female, 21

Posted by Dr Kristopher Lovell on May 31, 2021
Posted in: #RecordCovid19 Project. Leave a comment

I have very mixed feelings about the pandemic at the moment. We’re supposed to be on an ‘irreversible’ roadmap out of lockdown. But cases are just starting to rise again thanks to a new variant so it’s hard to feel completely confident in the relaxation, especially the most recent one on 17th May where you’re allowed to meet people inside. It reminds me of July last year when the pubs opened, or September last year where cases started to ride again, or December where some places were in Tier 2 despite cases rising – and those all went well didn’t they? Its sad because I felt very hopeful in April and being able to do things outside made me feel much better. I really struggled with my mental health in the January lockdown so being able to travel and see my family was euphoric. I would have been quite happy to stay in that stage of reopening for a bit longer until it was definitely safe. But now we seem to be going back to ‘common sense’, with people in some areas being ‘advised’ not to travel – it’s so frustrating. I wish the government had some guts and did things earlier instead of waiting for everything to get awful and then having to do a full lockdown. I’m not sure I could cope with a full lockdown again. All my medical care and normal mental health coping mechanisms stopped and it was awful. I can’t go there again.


Submitted 28 May 2021

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[RecordCovid19–116] Sussex, Teacher, Male, 32

Posted by Dr Kristopher Lovell on April 22, 2021
Posted in: #RecordCovid19 Project. Leave a comment

So it has been a strange few years for schools, education and the system as a whole.
As a secondary teacher I find it hard not to feel genuinely sorry for some of the students.
Year 11 and 13 are the ones who I feel most sorry for. They started their A Level and GCSE (if they start in year 10) courses in September 2019. No one would have predicted what the next two years would have been like. I remember meeting my classes and them being all genuinely excited for what the next two years of studies entail. Then Covid struck, the first lockdown from March to September was a shock, just as we were getting into the “juicy” content of the course lockdown happened.
When the classes returned in September it was like starting fresh again, the passion had been lost. It was such a struggle getting them motivated again but slowly we did it. By November I felt that my A Level and GCSE classes were back to their “normal” self once again. The spark had returned. The world once again changed again, remote learning from January to March. Then the news appeared that we would once again be giving out Centre Assessed Grades. With sporadic guidance from the government we now had to give out grades again as opposed to the end of year exams which they (And I) hoped would be happening. This feels different to last year, we are working through a complex set of algorithm to make sure each student gets the grade they deserve. My colleagues and I are all feeling the pressure.
But what about the next steps? Speaking to A Level students they are in a dilemma about whether to go onto University or not. To experience the fun of university but also get to follow and learn about subjects they love. Whilst I keep reassuring them that by September the world will be back to normal, I honestly don’t know if this is the case.
I just hope for the students sake those whose passion for the subject has been extinguished due to the pandemic find a way to reignite it.
Either way the education system will never be the same.

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Tips for Recording Audio on Phones

Posted by Dr Kristopher Lovell on February 25, 2021
Posted in: Academic Writing, Teaching Resources. Leave a comment
Infographic on how to record audio. A list of top five tips in purple presented over the top of a monochrome picture of media tech
Please see list below for text version of tips

With many courses now offering a new range of digital assessments that include audio recordings and podcasts – here are some quick tips on how to get the best out of your phone-

  • Always do a dry run and test your equipment before recording any long sessions – nothing worse than recording a 10 minute take only to discover the sound was distorted or didn’t work
  • Turn off all alerts – and easy step to miss and whilst you might not notice the vibrations when you are recording, it will be very noticeable when you are listening back to it
  • Try to keep a stable distance from your recorder. This will help avoid your listening having to increased and decrease the volume.
  • Keep the phone on a soft surface – a pad of paper for example – rather than directly on the hard table top otherwise your phone will record every minor movement!
  • Always listen back to your recording before submitting your assignment! Make sure it can be heard easily.

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[RecordCovid19–115] Leeds, Local Government, Female, 30

Posted by Dr Kristopher Lovell on February 24, 2021
Posted in: #RecordCovid19 Project. Leave a comment

One thing that has struck me about the pandemic is how quickly businesses were able to accommodate home and flexible working. As someone with a hidden disability, the early years of my career were full of struggles specifically because my employers were not willing to be flexible with me, despite above average performance. During the pandemic, I completed my PhD (whilst working part time at another university). Not having to travel most days, and being able to avoid people who I find stressful has transformed my health. I still have a disease, but it’s more manageable. My hands are no longer covered in blisters from stress related eczema. It’s meant that starting work full time after years of floating around hasn’t overwhelmed me, and for the first time as an adult I feel confident in my ability to work 5 days a week, consistently without being ill.

I’m worried that in a year or so, whenever life starts to resemble our previous life more closely anyway, employers will start to demand that we go to the workplace 5 days a week again. I won’t be able to cope with full time work if I have to add in a minimum of 10 hours communising per week, along with the energy spent on dealing with people in person. Though the pandemic has been stressful because of all the changes, for me, the changes were what I already knew I needed to succeed: the ability to work from home whilst still feeling like part of a team, having access to development opportunities, and being treated as competent despite the fact that I can’t be physically present every day. This is now normal for most people who have switched to remote working. I think many of us have enjoyed the break from commuting, and the chance to spend more time at home with our loved ones, or the personal time to pursue hobbies and interests that couldn’t be fit in before. I hope that our new normality includes a greater recognition that flexibility and the offer of increased or full home working are positive things that increase staff happiness and therefore improve staff retention and staff devotion to their jobs.

I feel really lucky with the job I got. The environment couldn’t be more positive and supportive, particularly in relation to the university environment where academic jobs are so scarce and rarely guarantee even 5 years of security. I’m excited that my new job might give me the chance to have a family at last – a luxury I don’t feel I’ve been afforded through my previous fixed term contracts. But that makes the potential of job loss all the more stressful, particularly when my partner has been unemployed for over six months. There’s a lot of pressure for me to provide for my family at the moment and I’m conscious that I could lose everything very quickly with how hard it is to get a job during the pandemic. I’ve never found it so hard to get a job before, and I’ve been working (at least part time) since I was 14. It’s so strange that such a stressful time has also brought a lot of relief. I’ll probably be sad when it all ends, as I’ve enjoyed the relief of not having to explain why I work from home a lot. I’ve enjoyed being able to rest at weekends and to not feel like I’m missing everything and everyone. I’ll miss the luxury of undisturbed working when I’ve blocked my diary out to avoid meeting requests, and the ability to wear comfy pants or pj bottoms beneath the view of the camera during meetings I can’t avoid.

I am excited to see friends, though, without worrying who they’ve been in contact with. I’m excited for live music, and feeling those first few beats of the drums. I’m excited to wander round museums. I’m excited for conferences and the opportunity to speak to people who research the most amazing things. Im excited to visit or work in other countries, to see their sights and taste their food. I’m excited for Friday drinks after work, when everyone piles into a local bar and laughs off the rubbish parts of the week. I’m excited to go to local cafes for a fancy dinner break. There are so many amazing things that we all definitely took for granted. Perhaps when it’s all over, the gratitude will overtake the intensity of the last few years politically? Who knows what it will bring. I’m happy to have a few more months at home, so that I at least have a chance of being able to work full time tor a while, but I’m really excited for all the amazing snippets of normality that are yet to come. There’s a lot to be hopeful for.

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    • History Fireside Chats Special: The Christmas Industry December 21, 2021 Dr Kristopher Lovell
    • History Fireside Chats 9 – The Culture Industry December 18, 2021 Dr Kristopher Lovell
    • History Fireside Chats: Halloween Special October 31, 2021 Dr Kristopher Lovell
    • History Fireside Chats 8 – The Medium is the Message August 7, 2021 Dr Kristopher Lovell
    • History Fireside Chats 7 – Journalism of Attachment: War Reporting During the Bosnian War August 20, 2020 Dr Kristopher Lovell
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    • History Fireside Chats 5 – Reporting the Spanish Civil War June 11, 2020 Dr Kristopher Lovell
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    • History Fireside Chats 3 – The Devil’s Decade? March 29, 2020 Dr Kristopher Lovell
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