The 2020 Big Read book was Airhead by Emily Maitlis. Find out about the vibrant events that brought students and staff together to engage with themes such as environmental changeds, meditation, navigating pain and suffering, and more.
About the book
From Prince Andrew to David Attenborough, Donald Trump and Emma Thompson, Maitlis has met some of the most influential people in politics and entertainment. Her book, Airhead, dives into the challenges of producing nuanced, contextualised coverage in an ever-accelerating news cycle. Her accounts range from profound experiences reporting on tragedies, to more surreal and humorous interactions with familiar faces.
About Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis was born in Ontario, Canada and grew up in Sheffield, the youngest of three sisters. She graduated from Cambridge and began her journalism career on a radio news programme in Hong Kong.
She joined the BBC in 2001 and last year became the lead anchor of Newsnight's first-ever all-female team. Her reporting has resonated with viewers, with more than 265,000 followers on Twitter. In 2017 she was named Broadcast Journalist of the Year at the London Press Club Awards.
At the RTS Television Journalism Awards she won Network Presenter of the Year in both 2019 and 2020.
Live interview with Emily Maitlis
- Monday, 25 January 2021, 3:30-4:30pm, MS Teams
The 2020-21 Big Read author, Emily Maitlis, Broadcast Journalist of the Year at the London Press Club Awards (2017), joined us for an interview about her book Airhead, her experience meeting some of the world’s most influential people, travelling to all corners the world, and seeking to capture and share meaningful stories. Emily kindly agreed to be interviewed live online to an audience of St George’s University students and staff and two of St George's students, Mujgana Hussainy (MBBS) and Jada-Virginia Surpin (BMS), interviewed Emily Maitlis. Read Mujgana's piece about her experience interviewing Emily Maitlis.
Events
Themed discussions
Suffering, conflict, and peace: can mindful approaches offer practical solutions? What expectations do we have around what being 'mindful' means?
- Wednesday, 10 March 2021, 4:00-5:30pm, MS Teams
Speaker and meditation lead: Amy Spatz
Join us for a Big Read workshop facilitated by clinical communication and mindfulness scholar Amy Spatz. In this session we will consider the chapter ‘An Airport Hotel with the Dalai Lama.’ We’ll discuss the expectations we hold of this man and the ancient practices he teaches. We’ll consider both light-hearted and deeper subtleties of a Buddhist approach. There will be an opportunity to meditate briefly together and share perspectives.
Encountering grief in teaching and practice
- Wednesday, 3 February 2021, 4:30-6:00pm, MS Teams
Speaker: Dr Marcus Jackson
The presenter is Associate Professor Marcus Jackson, Professional Lead for Radiography and an Associate Dean of Student Experience at St George’s University of London. Dr Jackson will discuss the ways in which we confront and cope with the hardest moments of our lives. His presentation looks at bereavement through the lens of the Sheryl Sandberg chapter and his own experiences as a health care professional; this will be followed by Q & A.
Sandberg is the COO of Facebook and author of Option B, a bestseller offering Sandberg’s personal perspective on bereavement. You can see Emily Maitlis’ interview of Sandberg, which is discussed in the chapter here.
Reflections on environmental challenges: experts, consumers, and climate change
- Thursday, 17 December 2020, 4:30-6:00pm, MS Teams
Speakers: Prof Peter Whincup (Co-Chair of the SGUL Environmental Working Group), Marta Delfino and Mahima Turakhia (St George’s SU Ethics and Environment Officers)
Peter Whincup, Marta Delfino, and Mahima Turakhia explored issues about climate change, starting from the chapter in 'Airhead' in which Emily Maitlis interviews David Attenborough, the biologist and broadcaster responsible for a remarkable series of television programmes about the natural world, most recently including `David Attenborough: a life on our planet'.
Creative writing workshop - Five ways in which you can start and keep a writing practice going, and five reasons why you should bother
- Tuesday, 6 October, 4.30pm, MS Teams
Speaker: Prof Alison Baverstock, Kingston University, the author of ‘Is there a book in you?’ and ‘Marketing your book, an author’s guide’ – both published by Bloomsbury – and jointly established Kingston’s MA Publishing at Kingston (now the top such course in London).
This practical and informative workshop explored how and why it’s worth building a writing practice – even though your life is already packed. Prof Alison Baverstock covered both the benefits and the practical stages involved, and the workshop was peppered with opportunities for practical involvement and plenty of opportunities for questions.
Book club sessions
- Thursday, 19 November 2020, 1.00-2:00pm, MS Teams. We discussed chapters 1 to 12 of Airhead
- Wednesday, 10 February 2021, 12.00-1.00pm, MS Teams. We discussed chapters 13 to 24 of Airhead.
Welcome to St George's Big Read 2020 event
- 30 September, 12:00-1:00, MS Teams
- Hosts: Dr Marcus Jackson, Associate Dead for Student Experience, Anne Binsfeld, Liaison Support Librarian, Dr Alina Apostu, Student Experience Officer