I am regularly asked by national and international journalists to provide expert analysis and commentary on contemporary social trends. Some examples are given below.

People’s Names

In August 2022, I was interviewed by a journalist from the Irish Independent newspaper about trends in Irish baby names.

In August 2022, I was interviewed by a journalist from The Guardian for their series ‘Conversations with Experts’ resulting in a feature called ‘Why do baby names go in and out of fashion?

In March 2022, I spoke about marital & family surnaming on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. Listen from about 42.56 minutes in. I was also interviewed live on BBC Radio 4’s P.M. programme.

In March 2022, I was interviewed about trends in men’s surname choice for the i – Newspaper.

In October 2021, I was interviewed about baby names/names for The Independent newspaper.

In January 2020, I was interviewed about double-barrelled surnames for BBC News website.

In May 2019, I appeared on BBC One’s The One Show to talk about forenames, and amongst other media contributions arising from the naming of Prince Harry’s firstborn child, my expertise featured in the Sydney Morning Herald.

In April 2017, I appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour to talk about forenames, alongside the actor Jane Asher and the novelist Charlotte Mendelson. You can listen to me and the other guests talking about forenames and the joys (or otherwise) of being called Jane.

In December 2016, I was interviewed for a feature on unusual and unique baby names for BBC Future. You can read the feature here.

In September 2016, I appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Thinking Allowed programme to talk about personal names and identity.

In August 2015, I was quoted in The Telegraph in a news article on the trend in the UK for hyphenated first names for babies.                

Childhood

In 2016, I was interviewed for a feature on children and fashion which appeared in the February edition of the Belgian magazine Le Vif Weekend.

In 2014, I was filmed by ShortCuts TV, for a series of educational films focused on childhood and on families aimed at ‘A’ level students.

In January 2013, I was interviewed live for a BBC Radio Leicester segment, talking about a report by parenting website Netmums which found that the hardest part of parenting is when a child is aged 13.

In February 2013, my project Social Worlds in 100 Objects was launched by the University of Leicester. My own article used the object of the rocking horse to discuss childhood as a stage in the life course.

March 2013: You can listen to me talking about the politics of children’s clothing, including the debate about the sexualization of girls.

In October 2012, I contributed to the Leicester Exchanges with a piece entitled ‘ Girl Power (….and Responsibility, to coincide with the first ever United Nations International Day of the Girl.

In January 2011, I contributed to a BBC Radio 4 programme, Archive, on the topic of childhood and sex education in schools.

In September 2011, I appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour programme talking about childhood and fashion. You can listen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0150p5n.

Also in September 2011, I appeared on Newstalk FM, a national radio show in Ireland, talking about children and fashion..I was interviewed about children and fashion for a feature entitled ‘Child’s Play?’ which was published in the ‘Style’ section of The Sunday Times on 23 October 2011. I was also interviewed for an article entitled ‘Branded by bullies’ published in the ‘Society’ section of the Glasgow Herald on 29 November 2011.

Older People & Later Life

In March 2011, I contributed to the Leicester Exchanges, with a piece entitled ‘Older People: the big citizens and social superglue of British society?’. Read it at www.leicesterexchanges.com.

In December 2010, I spoke on BBC Radio Leicester about the ageing of the population as part of the pan-BBC focus on later life and living longer.

Other media contributions

In April 2013, following the death of Margaret Thatcher, Jane wrote a short article about the former Prime Minister’s status as a woman politician for Leicester Exchanges.

In February 2013, I made a podcast about ‘The Social World in 100 Objects’ project which provides a social science perspective to everyday objects.  Listen to it here.