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Spirit of the Hall: A podcast for Aularians by Aularians

The St Edmund Hall Association is delighted to launch Spirit of the Hall, a podcast series brought to you by the alumni of St Edmund Hall. Spirit of the Hall features engaging conversations with some of St Edmund Hall’s most fascinating alumni, Fellows and staff.

Hosted by Olly Belcher (1999, Geography), President of the St Edmund Hall Association for alumni, this podcast provides a special opportunity for current and past members of Teddy Hall to share how that unique spirit has shaped their insights and experiences in politics, academia, business, entertainment, technology and more. Join us as we lead the way and shine a light on some of those who make Teddy Hall – and other Oxford colleges – the great institutions that they are.

Listen and subscribe online: anchor.fm/spiritofthehall

Bidisha (1996, English)

Bidisha started her journalist career at 14. Bidisha came up to the Hall in 1996 to read English Language and Literature and during her first year, she published her first book, Seahorse. Since then she has journeyed through the worlds of journalism, radio, writing and film. Bidisha started filming her Aurora series when the Covid pandemic began and so has had to embrace the world of remote filming over the past year. She has dedicated much of herself to working with London-based asylum seekers and refugees although this too has been affected by the Covid pandemic. Congressman Jim Himes (1988, Latin American Studies)

Congressman Himes spent his early childhood in Lima and in Bogota, Colombia. Upon graduating from Harvard, Himes came to Teddy Hall as a Rhodes Scholar. After a short career in banking, Himes moved into the nonprofit sector. He first took office as Congressman for Connecticut’s 4th District in 2009. Hear Congressman Himes talk about the transition from the Trump presidency to Biden and what it was like to find himself trapped in the Capitol building.

Stuart Ford (1988, Jurisprudence) and Richard Kilgarriff (1988, English)

This episode features Aularian friends Richard Kilgarriff and Stuart Ford. Richard is a former executive for Time Warner and founder of Bookomi. Stuart is a Los Angeles based film producer and Chairman of AGC Studios. Hear how, upon arriving at the Hall in 1988, Stuart fell in love with the beauty of the place, the eclectic mix of people he met there and how he believes the Spirit of Teddy Hall helped shape the person he is today. General Sir Michael Rose CBE, QGM, KCB (1960, PPE)

Sir Michael was born in 1940 in Quetta, former British India. After graduating from the Hall, Michael was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards. He subsequently served with the Special Air Service Regiment in the Middle and Far East. He commanded the Regiment during the Falkland Islands conflict and the 39 Infantry Brigade in Northern Ireland. Hear how Michael’s degree helped him to make some of the hardest decisions of his career.

Amanda Davies (1998, Geography)

Amanda came up to the Hall in 1998. After graduating, she joined Sky Sports, then the BBC and then CNN nine years ago where she has covered, amongst many amazing events, the 2012 London Olympics. Hear how she missed being at the 1999 Champions League finals, where her beloved team Manchester United played their greatest ever football game, to represent Teddy Hall in the Summer eights where they were bumped in the first fifteen seconds!