Divergent Minds

In this episode, Hayleigh and Keren are joined by Byron Vincent, who is a working-class, neurodivergent writer, filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist who has made work for the BBC, RSC, BAC and other notable acronyms. He is currently developing Lashers, a feature film supported by the BFI, and The In Between, a feature documentary exploring neurodivergence supported by the British Council and Unlimited is currently touring festivals. Byron also directs Disco Neurotico, an award-winning accessible club night for neurodivergent audiences.

You can follow Disco Neurotico on Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/disconeurotico/

You can find project LIVEND on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/livend
Take part in our research study sharing your experiences of nightlife: https://redcap.link/plzfegst

Follow Divergent Minds on Instagram and send us your questions, comments, and requests for episodes: www.instagram.com/divergentminds.podcast

Please like, review, and subscribe!
Follow us on Instagram: [@divergentminds.podcast](https://www.instagram.com/divergentminds.podcast?igsh=YmhoczVwMDVxaGVm&utm_source=qr)
Divergent Minds is hosted and produced by [Dr Keren MacLennan](https://www.instagram.com/kerenmaclennan/)
Please like, subscribe, or leave us a review!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Hayleigh and Keren are joined by Welsh producer and multi-instrumentalist The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies). She has released two acclaimed studio albums which have amassed an army of celebrity fans including The Cure’s Robert Smith, Caitlin Moran, and Elton John, as well as selling over 20,000 physical units in an age of streaming. Her trademark literate baroque songwriting mixes epic melancholic guitar anthems alongside “swaggering synth-pop” (UNCUT) and “shining alt-pop from the artisan of darkness” (RECORD COLLECTOR). Her second album The Art of Losing successfully transformed wall-to-wall critical plaudits into a Top 40 position in the UK charts. It was also named an album of the year by The Sunday Times, The Line of Best Fit, Mail on Sunday, Prog, and The Sun. She has been twice nominated for the Welsh Music Prize and has repeatedly collaborated with Manic Street Preachers and released a duo album with Bernard Butler. Catherine was previously part of the line-up of Simple Minds, appearing on the albums Big Music (2015) and Walk Between Worlds (2018) before departing in 2019. Versions, her 2023 collection of imaginative re-workings of indie anthems was named an album of the year by the Mail on Sunday and heralded by The Sunday Times as “beguiling and insightful”. This covers collection of tracks by Radiohead, REM, Depeche Mode, Nirvana, the Cure was hailed as “spine tingling” by BBC 6Music’s Chris Hawkins and described as “a thrill for teenage goth girls everywhere” by MOJO.

You can order the Anchoress' new album here: found.ee/AsWeOnceWere
Visit her website: www.theanchoress.co.uk
Find her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theanchoressofficial/?hl=en

You can find project LIVEND on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/livend
Take part in our research study sharing your experiences of nightlife: https://redcap.link/plzfegst

Follow Divergent Minds on Instagram and send us your questions, comments, and requests for episodes: www.instagram.com/divergentminds.podcast

Please like, review, and subscribe!
Follow us on Instagram: [@divergentminds.podcast](https://www.instagram.com/divergentminds.podcast?igsh=YmhoczVwMDVxaGVm&utm_source=qr)
Divergent Minds is hosted and produced by [Dr Keren MacLennan](https://www.instagram.com/kerenmaclennan/)
Please like, subscribe, or leave us a review!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Hayleigh and Keren are joined by Ali Wagner (she/her), who is a nightlife researcher and cultural producer based in London. She is the founder of Dancefloor Intimacy, a consultancy focused on making nightclubs and music venues more accessible and inclusive for Disabled, Neurodivergent, Deaf, Blind, and chronically ill people. Her work is community-led, with focus groups at its core. Recent collaborators include fabric, Joy, in Birkenhead, Horst, and the Cause. She is also ⅓ of WORMHOLE, a DIY Sunday event in London, and ½ of Uhaul Dyke Rescue, London's hottest FLINTA club night and festival pop-up with recent takeovers at Field Manuevers, WHOLE, Glastonbury, +more. In this episode, we talk about Ali's work and how nightlife spaces can be made to be more inclusive with some excellent tips for venues, event organisers, and promoters for how to do this.

Links for Dancefloor Intimacy:
Website: https://dancefloorintimacy.org/
Instagram: @dancefloor.intimacy

You can find project LIVEND on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/livend
Take part in our research study sharing your experiences of nightlife: https://redcap.link/plzfegst

Follow Divergent Minds on Instagram and send us your questions, comments, and requests for episodes: www.instagram.com/divergentminds.podcast

Please like, review, and subscribe!
Follow us on Instagram: [@divergentminds.podcast](https://www.instagram.com/divergentminds.podcast?igsh=YmhoczVwMDVxaGVm&utm_source=qr)
Divergent Minds is hosted and produced by [Dr Keren MacLennan](https://www.instagram.com/kerenmaclennan/)
Please like, subscribe, or leave us a review!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are back with a new name, new branding and a new season! In season 2 we will be deep diving into neurodiversity in the music industry and we have some fantastic guests lined up! We will also be joined by a fabulous co-host for the season, Dr Hayleigh Bosher.

Hayleigh is not only my best friend but is also creative industries law and policy expert. She is a Reader in Intellectual Property Law at Brunel, University of London, consultant and board member in the creative industries. She is currently a research fellow at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, funded by the British Academy Researcher-led Innovation Fellowship. Hayleigh is the author of Copyright in the Music Industry (Edward Elgar, 2026), the host of the Whose Song is it Anyway? Podcast.

In this first episode of the season, Hayleigh and I chat about our project LIVEND and the research and work we have done to make live music venues and events more inclusive for Neurodivergent people. The episode also includes a recording of a panel discussion we hosted at our event as part of this project at the Royal Albert Hall in July 2024, alongside our reflections of this event. On the panel, we hear from Flo Schroeder, former Senior Engagement Manager at the Royal Albert Hall, Esta Rae, Senior Events Manager at AIM (Association of Independent music) and founder of Life with Dyslexia, and Georgia Harper, former policy manager at Autistica.

You can find project LIVEND on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/livend
The research paper on Autistic people's experiences of live music venues and events: https://doi.org/10.1177/25739581251375879

Hayleigh's links:
www.brunel.ac.uk/people/hayleigh-bosher
www.linkedin.com/in/hayleigh-bosher/
www.instagram.com/hayleigh.bosher/

Follow Divergent Minds on Instagram and send us your questions, comments, and requests for episodes: www.instagram.com/divergentminds.podcast
Please like and subscribe!

Follow us on Instagram: [@divergentminds.podcast](https://www.instagram.com/divergentminds.podcast?igsh=YmhoczVwMDVxaGVm&utm_source=qr)
Divergent Minds is hosted and produced by [Dr Keren MacLennan](https://www.instagram.com/kerenmaclennan/)
Please like, subscribe, or leave us a review!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I chat to Zoe-Jane Littlewood, who is a dynamic and inspiring mixed race dyslexic woman on a mission to revolutionise the way people view dyslexia. As an advocate and content creator, she utilises her personal experiences and expertise to raise awareness and create a more inclusive society for individuals with dyslexia. We chat all about the misconceptions of dyslexia and Zoe's experiences of education, employment, and her various incredible projects.

Make sure you follow Zoe on her socials:
Instagram: @the_dyslexic_movement
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-jane-littlewood/?originalSubdomain=uk

Follow us on Instagram: [@divergentminds.podcast](https://www.instagram.com/divergentminds.podcast?igsh=YmhoczVwMDVxaGVm&utm_source=qr)
Divergent Minds is hosted and produced by [Dr Keren MacLennan](https://www.instagram.com/kerenmaclennan/)
Please like, subscribe, or leave us a review!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.