"From the Cubby" (Pt. 1) - What tales are coming from the modern streets of Canterbury?

This month we were delighted to be joined by three amazing guests, Joe Spence, Nick Chamberlain, and Avi Betz-Heinemann (whose name you might recognize from last month’s episode). All three of our guests have been involved with the documentary film series From the Cubby, which draws on six years of ethnographic fieldwork in Canterbury, England. The film series draws its name from a makeshift encampment that was a geographical epicenter implicated in an outbreak of tuberculosis. This was a wide ranging and dynamic conversation; thus, we have decided to break it into two parts, part two will be released as our December 2023 episode.  During our conversation our guests shared with us their firsthand perspective on the project and the series of events and threads that make the fabric of the story told through the project. As described by the film makers, “[this] is an extraordinary story, one that provides insights into lives on the brink, the challenges of conducting research with vulnerable populations, and a contribution to participatory and publicly engaged academia giving voice and visibility to people normally excluded from formal knowledge and film production.” We look at the actual events and tie them to some of the wider issues that affect vulnerable populations.  If you are interested to learn more about the documentary film series From the Cubby and see the trailer, please check out their webpage https://fromthecubby.com/.  If you would like to see the first film and are not able to go to one of the screenings, please send an email to [email protected] and they can share a way to watch it online. If you are interested to learn more about Joe’s academic work, please check out his profile at University of Kent https://www.kent.ac.uk/anthropology-conservation/people/4064.