Research Records #35 Professor Marie Kinsey Interviews Professor Matthew Flinders

It could be said that if you’re not interested in politics you’re not interested in how the world works - from heavyweight geopolitical alliances to why there are so many potholes in your street and all points in between. Our guest today has spent his academic career inspiring students to understand British politics and public policy - why some things work, and other things fail - and particularly why politicians behave the way they do.  Over the last thirty years his research has looked at the mental health of politicians, European governance, transport policy, climate change, the politics of patronage, and meta-science - amongst many other topics.

Matt Flinders is Professor of Politics at the University of Sheffield and Vice President of the Political Studies Association. Senior national leadership roles include sitting on the Economic and Social Research Council, and being chair of the Universities Policy Engagement Network - he’s also served as a special adviser in both the House of Lords and House of Commons. A prolific author he has published over 200 peer-reviewed publications but he is also a frequent media commentator. Indeed, he has even written and presented a number of documentaries for BBC Radio 4 - Including ‘When Politics and Comedy Collide’ and ‘Universities Unchallenged’. He’s taken his research into the classroom through the development of the first ever module in the world to be formally co-taught and accredited by the Houses of Parliament (an innovation that has now been expanded to 25 universities in the UK). In all his work he says he aims to bridge the divide between the theory and practice of politics - he might therefore be seen as the modern boundary-spanning ‘pracademic’ but he admits that some of his teaching is well-known for featuring piano recitals,  bad  jokes  and  very bad magic tricks. But at least his lectures are memorable!