Gloves Off: Stories from Cultural Collections & Galleries at the University of Leeds

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Latest episodes

• Death of a Poet Episode IV: A Poet-Poacher

  September 23, 2026 · 38 min

  John Nicholson takes an epic trip through space and time in his first book of poetry, Airedale in Ancient Times. Amid riots and shootings in Bradford, The Bingley Byron also seems to have perfected the knack of writing for more than one…

• Death of a Poet Episode III: The Summer of his Life

  September 16, 2026 · 54 min

  The Bingley Byron is the toast of the Bradford arts scene, but trouble’s brewing as he sets out his stall as an establishment rhymer. And back in the present, a descendant of the poet meets his likeness at the University of Leeds.  Also…

• Death of a Poet Episode II: Life is Wasting, Death is Hasting

  September 9, 2026 · 38 min

  Grief pulls John Nicholson back to his family’s devout Methodism – for now – as The Bingley Byron turns the loss of his young bride into art that retains the power to console the bereaved.  Also known as The Orpheus of Bradford and The…

• Death of a Poet Episode I: Birth of a Poet

  September 2, 2026 · 48 min

  Also known as The Orpheus of Bradford and The Airedale Poet, John Nicholson was a Methodist preacher and a tormented drinker, a rambler on Rombald’s Moor and a champion of industry, a conservative and a radical, a woolsorter and…

• Contemporary Conversations: AI and the Creative Industries – Brace or Embrace?

  July 16, 2026 · 1 hr 3 min

  “I think there’s never been a more exciting time to be a human being…”   In this special instalment of Contemporary Conversations, produced in partnership with the Cultural Institute, we explore the rapid rise of artificial intelligence…

• Curating Class 5: Them & [uz]

  July 8, 2026 · 53 min

  How does the art world invite, or restrict, the expression of working-class identity? What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a “fugitive” from the mainstream? How might you make art outside “the system”? The final instalment…

• Curating Class 4: Samantha Manton on ‘Lives Less Ordinary: Working-class Britain Re-seen'

  May 28, 2026 · 28 min

  “This wasn’t an exhibition of ‘working-class art’, but an attempt to reframe working-class experience by utilising a gaze from within, bringing together a plurality of working-class voices”.  Samantha Manton, curator of ‘Lives Less…

• Curating Class 3: Beth Hughes on Class Biases in Curatorial Practices

  May 20, 2026 · 26 min

  “The role of an organisation is not to force the artwork to adapt to the conventions of the institution, but to adapt its methods to the needs of the artwork… “Curating can itself become a class-conscious methodology.”  How do curatorial…