Category: Interviews

  • 398: Srinivas Rao | Creativity, Systems, Workflow, And “The Artificially Intelligent Creative”

    Embrace the future of creativity with “The Artificially Intelligent Creative,” a groundbreaking guide that will redefine the way you approach your creative projects. This comprehensive book will introduce you to the incredible potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and reveal how you can harness its power to revolutionize your artistic endeavors. It was written by Srinivas Rao, who joins us on episode 398 of the show.

    Discover how AI can elevate your creative process by:

    • Automating tedious tasks, freeing up more time for imagination and exploration
    • Enhancing your writing, art, music, and entrepreneurial projects with AI-driven tools and techniques
    • Building an AI-powered “second brain” to help you synthesize knowledge and create at the speed of thought
    • Developing an AI-assisted team to streamline your workflow and increase productivity
    • Learning from real-world case studies that showcase the astonishing possibilities of AI in creative projects

    “The Artificially Intelligent Creative” is your essential guide to navigating the world of AI-driven creativity. Whether you’re an artist, writer, musician, or entrepreneur, this book will provide you with the knowledge and tools to harness the power of AI and take your creative pursuits to new heights.

    Don’t miss out on the opportunity to be at the forefront of the AI revolution in creativity. Embark on an extraordinary journey that will forever change the way you create.

  • 397: Faith LeMasters | Sustainable Fashion And The Creation Of L’Avenir De La Mode Magazine

    Welcome to episode 397 of the show with Faith LeMasters, representing for sustainable fashion, and who has recently released a first issue of L’Avenir De La Mode Magazine.

    From the magazine description:

    “After interviewing with multiple designers and creatives, I realized there was a great need for designers, artists, and industry professionals to have a platform where they could truly (and openly) share their perspectives, ideas, experiences, and hopes for the future. This is that platform.

    Focusing on emerging talents in the fashion, visual art, and interior design industries (with an emphasis on that which is luxurious), LADLM spotlights these talents and gives them a platform where they can work with the media to generate content that is meaningful (for them and us). We work with established creatives as well who have a strong vision and strive to be innovative in all that they do.

    “L’Avenir de la Mode” directly translates to “The Future of Fashion,” and while we are expanding our reach beyond the fashion industry, it will always be at the heart of our publication and is the foundation for the content we create. The name is taken from a past interview I conducted where the designer noted that, at Los Angeles Fashion Week, everyone in the room was the future of fashion. While this content will differ from other projects and publications I collaborate with and work on, at LADLM, we will still be choosing to work with those who maintain a strong code of ethics and values (sweatshop labor is deplorable and we refuse to showcase brands that exploit people for monetary gain or any other reason).

    It is my greatest hope that this publication will add value to your life, inspire you along your own journey (whatever that may look like), and give you the encouragement you need to embrace all the beautiful things that make you, you. Because after all, it is this uniqueness that creates a kaleidoscope of incredible culture, community, and individuality (however juxtaposed that may seem).”

    You can find the magazine featured here.

  • 396: John De Froscia | Relationships, Society, And Popular Discourse Topics

    Welcome to episode number 396 of the show, with the return of guest John De Froscia, originally of episode 6 early on in the program. In the past, we had spoken of history and travel, and while that comes into this episode, we discuss more about relationships, how society is at this time, and a variety of controversial topics make their way into the discussion.

    It is only through looking at relationship structures in the United States and other regions that we can better understand the social world we are in today. There is a lot of online discussion about relationships people are having, because as people, we are very much about our groups and connections.

  • 395: Leroy Hood & Nathan Price | Personalized Predictive Health In “The Age of Scientific Wellness”

    A world-renowned scientist and recipient of the National Medal of Science in 2011, Dr. Leroy Hood co-founded the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in 2000, served as its first President from 2000-2017 and is a Professor and Chief Strategy Officer. In 2016, ISB affiliated with Providence where Dr. Hood now serves as Emeritus Science Advisor.

    He received his MD from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and his PhD in biochemistry from Caltech. Dr. Hood was a faculty member at Caltech from 1967-1992, serving for 10 years as the Chair of Biology. During this period, he and his colleagues developed four sequencer and synthesizer instruments that paved the way for the Human Genome Project’s successful mapping and understanding of the human genome. He and his students also deciphered many of the complex mechanisms of antibody diversification. In 1992, Dr. Hood founded and chaired the Department of Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Washington, the first academic department devoted to cross-disciplinary biology.

    Dr. Hood is currently carrying out studies in Alzheimer’s Disease, cancer, and wellness. He is pioneering a 1 million patient genome/phenome project, and is bringing scientific (quantitative) wellness to the contemporary U.S. health care system.

    Dr. Hood has played a role in founding 15 biotechnology companies including Amgen, Applied Biosystems, Arivale, and Nanostring. He has co-authored textbooks in biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology, genetics, and systems biology.

    Dr. Nathan Price is CEO of Onegevity, a division of Thorne HealthTech. He is also a (on leave) Professor at the Institute for Systems Biology, where he and Lee Hood co-direct the Hood-Price Lab for Systems Biomedicine. Additionally, Dr. Price is an affiliate faculty at the University of Washington in the Departments of Bioengineering, Computer Science & Engineering, and Molecular & Cellular Biology. In 2019, he was selected by the National Academy of Medicine as one of their 10 Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine.

    Dr. Price co-founded Arivale, a scientific wellness company, that was named as Geekwire’s 2016 startup of the year. Dr. Price is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) and is on the Board of Advisors for the American Cancer Society (WA). He was also the chair of the NIH study section on Modeling and Analysis of Biological Systems (MABS).

    Dr. Price has also served on numerous scientific advisory boards, including for Roche (personalized healthcare division), Providence St. Joseph Health, Sera Prognostics, Trelys, Basepaws, the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Thought Leaders Council, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability. Dr. Price served on the National Academy of Medicine committee to set best practice guidelines for developing omics-based tests in clinical trials from 2010-2012. He has served on the editorial boards of several scientific journals, including Cell Systems, Science Translational Medicine, BMC Systems BiologyIndustrial BiotechnologyBiotechnology Journal, and was previously a Deputy Editor of PLOS Computational Biology. He is also a fellow of the European Society of Preventive Medicine. He has published over 180 scientific papers (H-index > 62) and given over 200 invited talks.

  • 394: Helen Nuttall | Speech, Hearing, Action, And Their Impacts From Aging

    How is speech and ability to perform action affected by aging? On episode 394, Dr. Helen Nuttall of Lancaster University joins us to discuss effects of aging on speech, how our minds work in different capacities, and some of her research in the field.

    Dr. Nuttall is a Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience and a BBSRC New Investigator in the Department of Psychology at Lancaster University UK, where she leads the Neuroscience of Speech and Action (NoSA) Laboratory. The NoSA Lab investigates research questions surrounding how speech, action, and cognitive function are represented in the brain; how these functions work in health and disease; and how they are affected by the ageing process.

    To answer these questions, they use a variety of methods, including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), electroencephalography (EEG), Magnetic Resonance Imagining (MRI), electromyography (EMG), and behavioural techniques.

    You can check out her research here, see her faculty page here, and follow her on Twitter @hel_nuttall.

  • 393: Gary Kazazian | Updates, Building And Connecting With Community, Goals, And Mindset

    On this episode of the show, we bring back past guest Gary Kazazian for an update on happenings in his content-creation world, as well as in the fishing community that he participates in with California Surf Fishing and twin Kaspar, who has also been on the show. We go over his efforts, mindset in the field, the value of connection in community, and more.

    Gary has written the book California Surf Fishing, and also takes people out on guided trips to hone their skills. Some good perspective is brought here on taking deliberate action in an area of your interest, such that what you build will be in the category that matters to you, so there is a sense of pride there.

  • 392: Remake Of The Livestream

    Hello and welcome to episode 392 of the show. In this one, I cover a variety of topics similar to what I covered on a livestream attempt a couple of days prior.

    This includes material on other podcasts, the personal development space, the space for relationships and dating, and some recent and upcoming episodes. Adding in these solo episodes is good to bring up some of the show’s framework.

    More livestreaming coming in the future.

  • 391: Nita Farahany | Defending The Right To Think Freely In “The Battle for Your Brain”

    Nita A. Farahany is a leading scholar on the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging technologies. She is the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy at Duke Law School, the Founding Director of Duke Science & Society, the Faculty Chair of the Duke MA in Bioethics & Science Policy, and principal investigator of SLAP Lab.

    On “The Battle for Your Brain”:

    “A new dawn of brain tracking and hacking is coming. Will you be prepared for what comes next?

    Imagine a world where your brain can be interrogated to learn your political beliefs, your thoughts can be used as evidence of a crime, and your own feelings can be held against you. A world where people who suffer from epilepsy receive alerts moments before a seizure, and the average person can peer into their own mind to eliminate painful memories or cure addictions.

    Neuroscience has already made all of this possible today, and neurotechnology will soon become the “universal controller” for all of our interactions with technology. This can benefit humanity immensely, but without safeguards, it can seriously threaten our fundamental human rights to privacy, freedom of thought, and self-determination.

    From one of the world’s foremost experts on the ethics of neuroscience, The Battle for Your Brain offers a path forward to navigate the complex legal and ethical dilemmas that will fundamentally impact our freedom to understand, shape, and define ourselves.”

    Farahany received her AB in Genetics, Cell, and Developmental Biology from Dartmouth College, an ALM in biology from Harvard University, and a JD and MA from Duke University, as well as a Ph.D. in philosophy. In 2004-2005, Farahany clerked for Judge Judith W. Rogers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, after which she joined the law faculty at Vanderbilt University. In 2011, Farahany was the Leah Kaplan Visiting Professor of Human Rights at Stanford Law School.

  • 390: Bronwyn Williams & Rebecca Faith Lawson | Narrative, Optimism, Investment In A Life, And More

    Welcome to a great multi-person discussion on episode 390 of the show, with two past guests returning to the program. In person with me during this recording in Florida is returning guest Rebecca Faith Lawson, while we have Bronwyn Williams of South Africa returning to the show remotely.

    We go over a few discussion topics that originated from current thoughts and happenings, as well as from Bronwyn’s recent short clips on her Substack. These include:

    • those who take advantage of others and those who are taken advantage of
    • the return on investment in a life
    • physical books versus Ebooks and how the tangible connects to reality
    • optimism rubbing some people the wrong way
    • who in society controls the narrative, and how it is felt

    It was great to take part in this discussion, and to have Rebecca and Bronwyn on the program. You can check out my past episode with Rebecca here and here, and my past episode with Bronwyn here.

  • 389: Sukun Chopra | What Is Involved In “Becoming An Epic Being”?

    Sukun Chopra joins us on episode 389 of The Armen Show Podcast. Sukun helps to create emotional awareness in the world, and is podcast host of Becoming an Epic Being. We spoke about a variety of topics in relation to self-awareness, well-being, conflict resolution, and more.

    From her description, “We’ve all grown up with ideas and beliefs that become our model for living life. What if these beliefs weren’t serving our best interests and were holding us back from living an empowered, authentic and connected life? Our mission is to arouse your curiosity, encourage you to question conventional ideas and give you tools to navigate through stuff we all struggle with.”

  • 388: Brian Lowery | How Our Self Is A Social Creation In “Selfless”

    Brian S. Lowery is an American social psychologist. Lowery obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1996, and subsequently began graduate study at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned a master’s degree in 1998 and a doctorate in 2002.

    Social psychologist and Stanford professor Brian Lowery presents a provocative, powerful theory of identity, arguing that there is no essential “self”—our selves are social creations of those with whom we interact —exploring what that means for who we can be and who we allow others to be.

    There’s nothing we spend more time with, but understand less, than ourselves. You’ve been with yourself every waking moment of your life. But who—or, rather, what—are you? In Selfless, Brian Lowery argues for the radical idea that the “self” as we know it—that “voice in your head”—is a social construct, created in our relationships and social interactions. We are unique because our individual pattern of relationships is unique. We change because our relationships change. Your self isn’t just you, it’s all around you.

    Lowery uses this research-driven perspective of selfhood to explore questions of inequity, race, gender, politics, and power structures, transforming our perceptions of how the world is and how it could be. His theory offers insight into how powerful people manage their environment in sophisticated, often unconscious, ways to maintain the status quo; explains our competing drives for deep social connection and personal freedom; and answers profound, personal questions such as: Why has my sense of self evolved over time? Why do I sometimes stop short of changes that I want to make in life?

    In Selfless, Lowery persuasively breaks down common assumptions and beliefs; his insights are humbling. Despite what many may think, we aren’t islands unto ourselves; we are the creation of the many hands that touch us. We don’t just exist in communities, we are created and shaped by them. Our highs and lows are not only our own but belong to others as well. By recognizing that we are products of relationships—from fleeting transactions to deep associations—we shatter the myth of individualism and free ourselves to make our lives and the world accordingly. 

  • 387: Food For Thought Friday With Rebecca | The Family Unit, Expression, Polarization

    On this Food For Thought Friday with Rebecca, we go into a few topics of importance in society, with Rebecca Faith Lawson coming to us from the University of South Florida for an impromptu discussion on many fronts. We discuss some statistics on the nuclear family, polarization of views, those who do expressing versus those who could bring a lot to expression, and more.

    What is the value of the nuclear family, and why has it become less common in recent decades?

    How has polarization affected the communication landscape, and is everyone being averaged into a person that doesn’t showcase any extremes?

    Do the people who have a voice belong having a voice, and do others who don’t bring out their voice have lots to contribute?

    I was glad to have Rebecca join on this Food For Thought Friday, and you can check out her past discussions on the show here (authenticity, belief, time horizons) and here (self-awareness, discernment, content creation).

  • 386: Sheena Iyengar | How To Come Up With And Build On Your Best Ideas In “Think Bigger”

    Sheena Iyengar is the S. T. Lee Professor of Business in the Management Department at Columbia Business School and the best-selling author of The Art of Choosing (2010). She is a leading expert on the study of innovation, choice, leadership, and creativity and regularly consults with a range of organizations on methods for innovation. She joins on episode 386, where we discuss her upcoming book Think Bigger, which comes out April 11.

    “In Think Bigger, Sheena Iyengar—an acclaimed author and expert in the science of choice—answers a timeless question with enormous implications for problems of all kinds across the world: “How can I get my best ideas?”

    Iyengar provides essential tools to spark creative thinking and help us make our most meaningful choices. She draws from recent advances in neuro- and cognitive sciences to give readers a set of practical steps for coming up with powerful new ideas. Think Bigger offers an innovative evidence-backed method for generating big ideas that Iyengar and her team of researchers developed and refined over the last decade.

    For anyone looking to innovate, the black box of creativity is a mystery no longer. Think Bigger upends the myth that big ideas are reserved for a select few. By using this method as a guide to creative thinking, anybody can produce revolutionary ideas.”

  • 385: Susan Finkbeiner | Butterfly Mimicry, Convergent Evolution, And More With The Scientific Model

    Dr. Susan Finkbeiner is a lecturer of Biology at California State University of Long Beach, as well as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Chicago. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Entomology from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, and joins me on episode 385 of the show, where we discuss much about butterflies, including types of mimicry, mating, dimorphism, scent, her Costa Rica study abroad efforts, convergent evolution, as well as some life messages, modeling, and Midwest qualities.

    Her research involves a comprehensive analysis of the evolutionary mechanisms underlying adaptive phenotypic variation across a rapidly diversifying lineage of butterflies, with the central goal of understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape temporal and spatial patterns of biodiversity.

    Her previous research at UC-Irvine focused on how natural and sexual selection work together to favor the evolution of specific animal phenotypes, how aposematic signaling may drive the evolution of social behavior in the context of visual ecology, and how specialized visual systems coevolve with specialized visual cues.

    Susan has worked with tropical Adelpha butterflies and temperate Limenitis butterflies. As well, her previous research has used neotropical Heliconius butterflies (known as the passion-vine butterflies) to examine how natural and sexual selection work together to favor the evolution of specific animal phenotypes, how warning signaling may drive the evolution of social behavior in the context of visual ecology, and how specialized visual systems co-evolve with specialized visual cues.

    Her research and work is viewable at:

    http://www.heliconius.org/author/susan-finkbeiner/ https://www.kronforstlab.org/index.html http://people.bu.edu/smullen/Mullen_Lab_at_Boston_University/Home.html http://visiongene.bio.uci.edu/Adriana_Briscoe/Briscoe_Lab.html
    http://reedlab.org/

  • 384: Gloria Mark | Restoring Balance, Happiness, And Productivity By Mastering Our “Attention Span”

    Professor Gloria Mark of UC Irvine joins on episode 384 of the show, where we go into detail on her latest book Attention Span.

    From Gloria’s bio, “My research area is human-computer interaction (HCI) studying the interplay of technology with individuals, groups, and society. I study how people interact with information technology in their everyday life: how it affects multitasking, attention, mood, and above all, stress. Rather than bring people into a laboratory to study them, I go to where people are–the real world becomes a living laboratory.  Using precise objective measures, I found that  people’s attention spans have been shrinking over the last 15 years.  I combine these measures with others to create a very detailed, comprehensive, and in-depth understanding of what people experience when they use computer technology.

    “We spend an average of just 47 seconds on any screen before shifting our attention. It takes 25 minutes to bring our attention back to a task after an interruption. And we interrupt ourselves more than we’re interrupted by others.

    In Attention Span, psychologist Gloria Mark reveals these and more surprising results from her decades of research into how technology affects our attention. She shows how much of what we think we know is wrong, including insights such as:

    • Why multitasking hurts rather than helps productivity
    • How social media and modern entertainment amplify our short attention spans
    • What drains our mental resources and how to refuel them
    • The four types of attention that we experience every day and how to recognize them

    While the concept of “flow” has previously been considered the ideal state of focus, Dr. Mark offers a new framework to help explain how our brains function in the digital world: kinetic attention. This book reveals how we can take control, not only to find more success in our careers, but also to find health and wellness in our everyday lives.”

  • 383: Mikko Hyppönen | Cybersecurity Expertise In “If It’s Smart, It’s Vulnerable”

    Mikko Hermanni Hyppönen is a Finnish computer security expert, speaker and author. He is known for the Hyppönen Law about IoT security, which states that whenever an appliance is described as being “smart”, it is vulnerable. He joins us on episode 383, where we discuss malware, viruses, cyber warfare, and more from If It’s Smart, It’s Vulnerable. It was great speaking with Mikko on these topics.

    “All our devices and gadgets―from our refrigerators to our home security systems, vacuum cleaners, and stereos―are going online, just like our computers did. But once we’ve successfully connected our devices to the internet, do we have any hope of keeping them, and ourselves, safe from the dangers that lurk beneath the digital waters?

    In If It’s Smart, It’s Vulnerable, veteran cybersecurity professional Mikko Hypponen delivers an eye-opening exploration of the best―and worst―things the internet has given us. From instant connectivity between any two points on the globe to organized ransomware gangs, the net truly has been a mixed blessing. In this book, the author explores the transformative potential of the future of the internet, as well as those things that threaten its continued existence: government surveillance, censorship, organized crime, and more.

    Readers will also find:

    • Insightful discussions of how law enforcement and intelligence agencies operate on the internet
    • Fulsome treatments of how money became data and the impact of the widespread use of mobile supercomputing technology
    • Explorations of how the internet has changed the world, for better and for worse
    • Engaging stories from Mikko’s 30-year career in infosec

    Perfect for anyone seeking a thought-provoking presentation of some of the most pressing issues in cybersecurity and technology, If It’s Smart, It’s Vulnerable will also earn a place in the libraries of anyone interested in the future of the internet.”

  • 382: Erik Angner | Stories And Examples Of “How Economics Can Save The World”

    Our guest on episode 382 of the show is Professor Erik Angner of Stockholm University, who joins me to discuss his book How Economics Can Save The World. “Economics has the power to make the world a better, happier and safer place: this book shows you how Our world is in a mess. The challenges of climate change, inequality, hunger and a global pandemic mean our way of life seems more imperilled and society more divided than ever; but economics can help! From parenting to organ donation, housing to anti-social behaviour, economics provides the tools we need to fix the biggest issues of today.

    Far from being a means to predict the stock market, enrich the elite or track money around the globe, economics provides a lens through which we can better understand how things work, design clever solutions and create the conditions in which we can all flourish. With a healthy dose of optimism, and packed with stories of economics in everyday situations, Erik Angner demonstrates the methods he and his fellow economists use to help improve our lives and the society in which we live. He shows us that economics can be a powerful force for good, awakening the possibility of a happier, more just and more sustainable world.”

    “Erik Angner is Professor of Practical Philosophy at Stockholm University, where he directs the PPE Program. As a result of serious mission creep, he holds two PhDs – one in Economics and one in History and Philosophy of Science – both from the University of Pittsburgh.

    He is the author of two other books, Hayek and Natural Law (2007) and A Course in Behavioral Economics (3rd Ed., 2020), as well as multiple journal articles and book chapters on behavioral and experimental economics; the science and philosophy of happiness; and the history, philosophy, and methodology of contemporary economics.”

  • 381: Ruben | Expression, Reducing Self-Censorship, And Being True To You On “Social Animal”

    Welcome to episode 381 of the show, with my guest and host of Social Animal, Ruben. Ruben helps people connect with the people around them, and, as we get into in the episode, helps individuals not censor themselves and the things that speak to them.

    On Social Animal, Ruben goes out with individuals for a day (or more) to guide them and give feedback on what they are doing, such that they can express themselves to others when they feel up to it. I like the detail he gives to people, and how he motivates or supports them to try again or figure something out.

    You can check out his material at Social Animal on YouTube.

  • 380: Chiara Russo Krauss | Relativistic Positivism, Eindeutigkeit, And More In “The Philosophy of Joseph Petzoldt”

    Professor Chiara Russo Krauss is a researcher at University of Naples Federico II, Department of Humanities, who serves as Associate Professor in History of Philosophy, and who is interested in introspection and introspectionism, history of psychology, 19th and 20th century philosophy. She joins on episode 380, where we discuss and preview some material from upcoming book The Philosophy of Joseph Petzoldt, out February 9th.

    “This volume is the first English resource to shed light on the philosophy of Joseph Petzoldt (1862-1929), the main pupil of Ernst Mach and founder of the Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Philosophie, later the association of Berlin logical positivists. A central figure in the early debate on the theory of relativity, his work was praised by Einstein himself.

    Tracing the development of Petzoldt’s ideas, starting from his early acceptance of materialism and Kantian agnosticism, Chiara Russo Krauss presents a comprehensive reconstruction of his philosophy in the context of the German milieu. She examines his attempt to develop a new philosophy following Gustav Fechner and the empiriocriticism of Richard Avenarius and Ernst Mach. In the final chapter, she sets out how Petzoldt proposed relativistic positivism as the official interpretation of Einstein’s relativity.

    By illuminating key elements of Petzoldt’s work, this is a valuable case study for students and scholars of philosophy of science and late 19th-century and early 20th-century philosophy. It reveals the complex interplay of two different tendencies of the time: neo-Kantianism and its struggle to overcome the notion of thing-in-itself, as well as the need for an epistemological foundation for the new advances of science.”

    You can find Professor Krauss on Twitter at @russokrauss, with her publications shown on ResearchGate, and The Philosophy of Joseph Petzoldt will be available by Bloomsbury publishing at https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/philosophy-of-joseph-petzoldt-9781350321458/

  • 379: Murray Pittock | Scotland And The World In “Scotland: The Global History”

    In this wide-ranging, deeply researched account, Murray Pittock examines the place of Scotland in the world. Pittock explores Scotland and Empire, the rise of nationalism, and the pressures on the country from an increasingly monolithic understanding of “Britishness.” From the Thirty Years’ War to Jacobite risings and today’s ongoing independence debates, Scotland and its diaspora have undergone profound changes. This ground-breaking account reveals the diversity of Scotland’s history and shows how, after the country disappeared from the map as an independent state, it continued to build a global brand.

    Professor Murray Pittock (MA D.Litt. Glasgow; D.Phil Oxford) is Bradley Professor and Pro Vice-Principal. He has worked at the universities of Manchester (where he was the first professor of Scottish literature at an English university), Edinburgh, Oxford, Aberdeen and Strathclyde, and has held visiting appointments at the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (2002), New York University (Visiting Professor of English, 2015); Charles University, Prague (Ministry of Education Visiting Professor in Languages, 2010), Trinity College, Dublin (Visiting Professor in English and History, 2008), Auburn (History and Equality and Diversity, 2006), Notre Dame (NEH seminar visiting scholar in Irish Studies, 2014), USC (Roy Lecturer in Scottish Studies, 2015) and Yale (Senior Warnock Fellow, 1998 and 2000-1).

    Murray is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the English Association, the Royal Historical Society, the Royal Society of Arts and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland among other bodies, and an honorary Fellow of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies. Murray’s books are set on courses in English, History, Irish Studies, theology and politics in around twenty-five countries, and he has been awarded or shortlisted/nominated for a number of literary and historical prizes and prize lectureships. He is one of the few UK academics to be a prize lecturer of both the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the British Academy, and has acted as an external assessor for chairs and grants from the Ivy League to the Middle East.

    Murray is Scottish History Adviser to the National Trust for Scotland, has acted as adviser to the National Galleries and has held grants in English, History, Museology, Tourism and the creative economy. In 2014, he became the founding convenor of the International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures, and remains chair of its Trustees.

    Murray has appeared in the UK and overseas media in over 50 countries on some 1500 occasions to comment on history, literature and current affairs, including scripting and presenting radio series ( The Roots of Scottish Nationalism -Radio 4, 6.25M aggregate audience, 81% UK wide approval rating) and has co-curated a number of exhibitions. He regularly acts as a consultant to national institutions. Murray supervises PhDs in the areas of Burns, Cultural History, Irish Studies, Jacobitism, Romanticism, Scott, Scottish Studies and other fields.