It’s our 75thepisode, and to celebrate we flip the tables and put long time host, and departing Editor-in-Chief, Dr Gaz ‘Gareth’ J Johnson (University of Warwick) into the guest role. In this extended conversation, led by Dr Fiona Fisher (Associate Director, Institute of Advanced Study, University of Warwick) we delve into the rich and storied history of Gareth’s time working on the journal. The conversation ranges from what attracted him to it in the first place, through the evolution of a unique and human-centric managerial style through to the broader aspects of the Chief Editor’s activities.

Along the way we learn some home truths about what really goes on in an everyday context for a chief editor, some of the challenges he’s experienced and reveal what he thought were the triumphs of his editorial reign. There’s also a chance to hear more about those ambitions which weren’t met, and what might have worked better with the benefit of hindsight. In keeping with tradition, we close with advice to editors generally, and specifically for his successor to the Chief Editor role.

As such, this episode is the perfect listen for anyone wanting to get more involved in editorship, wants to understand the life of a leading editor or simply who would love to discover more of the story behind the pages of Exchanges.

Or to find out more about publishing with the Exchanges research journal visit:http://exchanges.warwick.ac.uk/

Episode Index

00:00– Opening

00:30– Introductions

02:26– Initial appointment & early changes

08:00– Aligning with the IAS, open-access & embracing inclusivity

11:58– Engendering a positive publishing research culture

14:30– An editor’s life experiences

18:50– Exploring interdisciplinarity

22:08– Opening the publication ‘black box’

28:11– Title evolution & growth

33:10– Secret origins of special issues

40:26– Triumphs & highlights

43:52– The roads not taken

47:25– Embracing non-anglophone authors

51:38– Professionalisation & the Editorial Board

56:58– Advice for future editors

66:56– Impressions, feelings & the future

72:02– Closing thoughts & moments of amusement

74:20– Outro