PODCAST · society
Switchboard
by Varsity
Welcome to Switchboard! We're back for Lent Term and we have a brand new season of Switchboard lined up for you, plus a whole new team. Over the course of the term, producers Liv and Izzy will bring you new voices and topics each week, covering everything from veganism to Pink Week. Plus, brand new this term - a segment in collaboration with Varsity's AskVulture series! If you have a story you want covered, an issue you want to raise or want to get involved yourself just message the Facebook page or email [email protected]! You can stream us wherever you get your daily podcast fix.
Episodes
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S8. Ep7. VarsiTea on Varsity
In the final episode of this season of Switchboard, we catch up with some of the sporting community in Cambridge to talk about all things Varsity competitions. From boxing to taekwondo and women's blues football we learn about the preparations for the competition against Oxford and what it's like...
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S8. Ep6. International Women's Day
This week, Switchboard celebrates International Women’s Day by sitting down with women of Cambridge and chatting about the projects, campaigns, and art they are part of, as well as all the ways they work to empower women and work towards gender equality. With the special addition of a live…
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S8. Ep5. Campaigning for Cambridge
In this episode, we learn about various student campaigns around Cambridge. We hear about the U Bus Campaign to increase accessibility around the city for different colleges, Cambridge Period Project in their fight against period poverty in the university and beyond, and the Demilitarise…
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S8. Ep4. Vegan Virtuosos
In a slightly different format than previous episodes this season, Liv and Izzy sit down with a group of vegan and veggie Cambridge students, to hear about a variety of experiences with bringing a plant-based lifestyle to uni. Tune in for a panel-style discussion about cooking in college gyps…
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S8. Ep3. Love Without Limits
...or, The Queer, The Corporate, and The Christian. In this episode, we dive into what Valentine's Day really means, who it's for (and who is left out), and how people are celebrating their love outside of the heteronormative imagining of February 14th. This one is a heart-warmer; stories of…
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S8. Ep2. Passion for Pink Week
Just in time for the start of Pink Week 2022 (and the Pink Week Ball happening tonight, Feb 5!!) comes an episode about the history of Pink Week, from its conception years ago to its resounding success today. Our very own host, Liv, is Pink Week President this year, so she gives us the scoop on...
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S8. Ep1. Considering Covid
In the first episode of a brand new season of Switchboard, our hosts Liv and Izzy bring you student voices from across the university reflecting on and chatting about their experiences throughout the past two years. Tune in to hear from Yasmin, Tara, and Ayomide as they unpack their covid...
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S7. Ep8. Switchboard: A Year in the Life
To close out the term, and the academic year, Izzy, and guest host (and Varsity head editor!) Liz Haigh sit down with the previous four hosts of Switchboard to reflect on the past year and their time as producers and hosts of the podcast.
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S7. Ep7. Exams: Exhaustion or Elation?
Izzy and her guest host Laleh Bergman Hossain chat about their experiences with online exams and hear about a variety of different exam conditions across the university, as well as some predictions and opinions about exams going forward.
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S7, Ep. 6: Navigating North and South
Izzy and her guest host Alex Oxford discuss the North/South divide and how this affects the Cambridge experience, exploring both the UK and Italy.
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S7 Ep5. Pride, Power and Partying
Listen to Izzy and her guest host Ted chat with LGBT+ identifying students about their experiences in Cambridge, as well as the work they and others are doing in various spaces around Cambridge to make the university and the city all the more accepting!
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S7. Ep4. Investigating the Indian Covid Crisis
Izzy and her guest host Inika Murumbi take a look at the impact of the Indian Covid Crisis for Cambridge and its students, and how we have been doing what we can to support those suffering most in this time...
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S7. Ep3 Seeking Spirituality
Izzy and her guest host Nora Redmond discuss spirituality and faith both inside and outside the Cambridge bubble. From the Christian Union to Mindfulness, the duo discuss the different experiences of students either finding religion at university or feeling more detached from it.
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S7. Ep2. Matter On Your Mind
As it's Mental Health Awareness Week, Izzy and her guest host Libby Warr take stock of mental health in the last year. With interviews from students, researchers and Cambridge helplines, the episode reflects on the past and looks forward to the future. Special thanks to the interviewed guests:...
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S7. Ep1. Learning from Lent
In our first new episode of the series, new host Izzy and her guest host Theola discuss the highs and lows of this year's Lent term. We spoke to Ashlan, an Executive officer and soon-to-be president of Cambridge RAG, who spoke to us about organising virtual events and the incredible ways that the...
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S6. Ep10. Reflections
In our final episode of Season 6, we reflected on the last year and our hopes for the roadmap. We were grateful to have Alex, a member of the Switchboard Team, share an honest account of her recent experiences, which presented their own challenges independent of the impact of Covid-19. We hope…
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S6. Ep9. The Trodden Path
Inspired by our own quarter-life-crises, we searched out current Cambridge post-graduates. We wanted to ask them what they were doing when they were our age and how they chose their post-graduate studies. This episode has lots of helpful advice on how to think about post-graduate education from...
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S6, Ep8. LGBTQ+ History Month
This week's episode celebrates LGBTQ+ History Month! We chatted to Cam FM Queer Hour, a student talk-show covering topics across all corners of the LGBT+ community. They've produced episodes on lesbian motherhood in the 70s, the Lavender Scare and the Canadian fruit machine this month! We chatted...
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S6. Ep7. Love In Lockdown
Love in lockdown
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S6. Ep 6. Confessions, confessions...
We must confess.. we've spent far too long scrolling through Facebook. But is this really such a waste of time? In this week's episode, Amber and Eliza explore the goods and ills of Cambridge confession pages and consider how their role has changed during Covid-19. We chatted with the anonymous...
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S6. Ep 5. Refreshers on Freshers
Here with a *fresh* new episode, Amber and Eliza take us back to March 2020 when Y13s across the country had their A Level exams cancelled by lockdown. Current offer holders might be able to empathise and older years will certainly be curious. We heard a range of experiences from current…
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S6. Ep 4. Creativity Out Of Crisis
In response to Episode 10 of series 4 ‘Creativity in Crisis’, Eliza and Amber examine whether the arts scene during lockdown is quite so bleak. They chat with theatre veterans Jonathan Powell and Jasper Cresdee Hyde about the ADC Online Season. Considering another prominent feature of the…
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S6. Ep3. Mind Your Health
As we enter the first week of a remote Lent term, Switchboard is helping you stay tuned to the needs of your mind and body during lockdown! This episode, Amber and Eliza are speaking to Kit Treadwell (representing Student Minds) and Lucy Patchett (one of Varsity’s sports editors) about the...
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S6. Ep2. The Scoop On Toope
Amber and Eliza chat to V-C Toope on everything from Safety Net provision to the new Foundation Year to hear how Cambridge is preparing for another online term. The brilliant music for this episode was generously provided by Colonel Spanky’s Love Ensemble and a new track from Katrina Rose brought...
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S6. Ep1. Disparity Strikes Despair
Happy New Year to all and welcome to the podcast version of the Cambridge Pret Queue! A new (albeit virtual) term means a new season of Switchboard with a brand new team, here to introduce themselves and share their first episode. Amber and Eliza (this term’s hosts) open by discussing Michaelmas…
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S5. Ep10. Creativity in Crisis
For Switchboard’s final episode of the season, hosts Isabel and Maddy explore the impact the coronavirus crisis has had on creative endeavours, asking those involved in Cambridge’s creative scene what it was like working in the arts during such challenging times. The hosts begin by speaking to…
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S5. Ep9. Behind the headlines - Sexual Assault Procedure at Cambridge
Content note: This episode contains mentions of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse. Nine months after the investigation into the mishandling of sexual assault complaints by senior members of college staff at Trinity Hall was published, the hosts ask, has anything changed? (0:38). Switchboard...
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S5. Ep8. Pushing for Divestment at Cambridge
In the wake of Cambridge University’s commitment to fully divest from fossil fuels by 2030 and the announcement earlier this week that Trinity Hall will divest from direct investments in fossil fuels within the next six months, Switchboard speaks to campaigners to investigate how they achieved…
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S5. Ep.7: Mental Health at Cambridge - What needs to change?
This week, hosts Issy Roberts and Maddy Fisher tackle student mental health at Cambridge, in a term where the start of the notoriously difficult week five coincides with the start of a month-long national lockdown. Switchboard talks to the BME campaign’s mental health and disabilities officer…
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S5. Ep6. Behind the Headlines - Homelessness in Cambridge
In a series of interviews by hosts Maddy and Isabel, Switchboard shines a spotlight on the homeless experience, investigating council policy and speaking to students involved in volunteer outreach programs. This week’s episode begins with Angel, a homeless man who has been living on the streets…
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S5. Ep5. Behind the Headlines - The Movement to Decolonise Cambridge
This week, Isabel and Maddy speak to students and staff at Cambridge involved in the campaign to decolonise the University, as well as talking to those pushing the government for national educational reform. The episode begins with Jazaal Babar, who is one of the Cambridge SU BME Campaign’s...
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S5. Ep4. A Very Different Freshers' Week
This week, Isabel and Maddy speak to Freshers’ reps about the difficulties of organising Fresher’s week during a pandemic, as well as speaking to some first years about the experience of starting at Cambridge amidst COVID-19. To start off the episode we hear from Suzi, who is the first-year...
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S5. Ep3. Behind the headlines - Cambridge and 'the refugee crisis'
In this week’s episode, hosts Isabel and Maddy take a closer look at ‘the refugee crisis’, hearing the real life stories behind the headlines, and speaking to the organisations Cambridge students have been involved with that are trying to aid the situation. The hosts talk to Cambridge Alumnus…
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S5. Ep2. What Lies Ahead For Cambridge Next Year?
Switchboard is back for episode two; this week, hosts Maddy and Isabel take a look at how the coronavirus pandemic will affect Cambridge student life in the coming year amid growing concerns about the opening of universities. Switchboard asks: What are the university’s guidelines? Are they...
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S5. Ep1. The A Level Results Fiasco
Varsity’s Switchboard is back, spotlighting the issues directly affecting Cambridge students and bringing their voices to the forefront. In this episode, hosts Isabel and Maddy discuss the controversy surrounding A Level results day 2020. Talking to prospective undergraduates who felt cheated out...
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S4. Ep4. Life and death in the NHS, CUSU Class Act, and reclaiming Lesbian Visibility Week
CNs: Mentions of coronavirus, death, intensive care units and marginalisation In CoronaBoard, this week we discuss the impact that changes to the lockdown measures will have on working-class people and hear from an Intensive Care Unit Researcher (00:50). PhD student Hafsah Siddiqui offers an...
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S4. Ep3. (Mis)calculated grades, the myth of “following the science”, and a quarantine haircut
CNs: Mentions of coronavirus, grades, quarantine, marginalisation. This week, we discuss what the prospect of calculated grades means for marginalised students (00:50). Marshall Scholar Jack Chellman shares an original piece reflecting on a quarantine haircut (09:00). During CoronaBoard, we speak...
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S4. Ep2. Cambridge colleges for COVID, compulsory clapping, and Virtual Ramadan
CNs: Mentions of coronavirus, rough sleeping, asylum seeking, and domestic violence. The Cambridge community is now spread across the UK and around the world, but Switchboard is here to keep you connected. Every episode connects you to an eclectic array of voices and sounds, from Cambridge and...
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S4. Ep1. Medics graduating early, a Labour Party scandal, and decolonising the English Tripos
CNs: Mentions of coronavirus, PTSD, racism, and disability. The Cambridge community is now spread across the UK and around the world, but Switchboard is back to keep you connected. Every episode connects you to an eclectic array of voices and sounds, from Cambridge and beyond... This week,...
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S3. Ep6. Veganuary
Switchboard speaks to Galia Shomron, the Vice President of the Cambridge University Vegan Society; Dr Shailaja Fennell, one of the members of the Cambridge Forum for Sustainability and the Environment; and Jess Molyneux, a participant in Veganuary 2020. We discuss the activities of the Cambridge...
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S3. Ep5. Climate Change and the NHS
Switchboard speaks to Julia Simons, the ‘angry medical student’ who gained national media attention last yer after confronting Boris Johnson outside Addenbrooke's Hospital. We discuss what it's been like to gain a huge Twitter following and the relationship between the climate crisis and the…
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S3. Ep4. May Ball Organisation
Switchboard speaks to Charlotte Milbank, one of the Presidents of the May Ball Presidents Committee. We discuss how May Balls can be more sustainable, how balls can be more accessible, what to look out for if you want to work at balls, and some of the behind the scenes organisation that makes…
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S3. Ep 3. Election Podcast
Switchboard speaks to the candidates from the Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives who are running to be the MP in the Cambridge constituency in the upcoming 2019 December election. In collaboration with the Selwyn Politics Society we talk to the candidates about key…
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S3. Ep2. Scoop
Switchboard speaks to George Jeffreys and Tigs Louis-Puttick, founders of Scoop. Scoop is an alternative zero-waste food shop founded and run by Cambridge undergrads, who encourage others to purchase their food without the layers of plastic we typically find in supermarkets. We discuss…
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S3. Ep1. The Rising Tide
Switchboard speaks to historians Dr Lucy Delap and Dr Ben Griffin, curators of an exhibition exploring the history of women at Cambridge University. We discuss what motivated the exhibition and take a look back at how women have navigated the often hostile environment here in Cambridge.
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S2. Ep5. Calling In
Switchboard speaks to the mental health service Nightline, which provides anonymous phone-in, text and online support to students in Cambridge and across the country. We discuss the mental health issues facing students as well as the role of volunteers who give their time all through the night to...
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S2. Ep4. Speaking Out
Switchboard speaks to spoken word artist Ms. Eva Johnson who is also studying for a Masters in Law at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. She discussed her inspirations, artistic approach and the impact that spoken word can have at home and further afield. All recordings of Ms. Eva Johnson's work…
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S2. Ep3. Merry Bridgemas
Switchboard brings you some festive cheer as we take a look at how Cambridge students are both celebrating and taking action during 'Bridgemas' - an early Christmas celebration in November at the end of Michaelmas term. Switchboard goes along to the Belgian Society's Wafflemas event, a Channukah...
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S2. Ep2. Changing Climate
Our climate is changing fast, and to understand some of the implications, Switchboard speaks with a glaciologist with 40 years experience at the North and South Poles, a researcher who lived with an Inuit tribe, and an economist who pioneered the appreciation of the environment in the discipline.
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S2 Ep1. Maturing with Age
An ex-heroin addict and prisoner, a private investigator, and a published author of alternative history share their experiences before arriving to study in Cambridge in our episode on mature students.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to Switchboard! We're back for Lent Term and we have a brand new season of Switchboard lined up for you, plus a whole new team. Over the course of the term, producers Liv and Izzy will bring you new voices and topics each week, covering everything from veganism to Pink Week. Plus, brand new this term - a segment in collaboration with Varsity's AskVulture series! If you have a story you want covered, an issue you want to raise or want to get involved yourself just message the Facebook page or email [email protected]! You can stream us wherever you get your daily podcast fix.
HOSTED BY
Varsity
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Switchboard have?
Switchboard currently has 58 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Switchboard about?
Welcome to Switchboard! We're back for Lent Term and we have a brand new season of Switchboard lined up for you, plus a whole new team. Over the course of the term, producers Liv and Izzy will bring you new voices and topics each week, covering everything from veganism to Pink Week. Plus, brand new...
How often does Switchboard release new episodes?
Switchboard has 58 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Switchboard?
You can listen to Switchboard on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Switchboard?
Switchboard is created and hosted by Varsity.
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