In today's episode, Prof Anna Cox talks to Dave Cook, a digital anthropologist researching the practices of digital nomads. These are people who've taken remote working to the extreme by choosing to live in a different country from where they work. We talk about how he started out as a designer in the early days of the internet, set up one of the first gay online services, and went on to run the nascent BBC Online, at a time when media producers thought the internet was a flash in the pan. We discover what the fallout from the dotcom boom and bust taught him about the importance of focusing on user experience, how he discovered his true calling as a research geek, and his love of ethnographic approaches. He describes how he has applied those in his study of digital nomads, and the insights he has gained into the paradoxical experience of these extreme remote workers, who are discovering that the work-related disciplines they initially wanted to escape, are actually the ones that help them to create work life boundaries, and avoid burnout. We also explore how these practices might benefit us too, as many of us continue to work from home. Dave Cook is a PhD candidate at UCL. His work explores the lives of self-described ‘digital nomads’ who work out of co-working spaces in Southeast Asia. The research focuses on the work practices and routines that are required to sustain working on the road. Find out more about eWorkLife, including tips for managing your own wellbeing and work-life balance, on our website https://www.eworklife.co.uk/ Episode transcript and show-notes: https://www.eworklife.co.uk/podcast/ Follow us on twitter @_e_worklife and @annacox_

In this episode, UCL's Prof Anna Cox talks to Dr Kathy Stawarz, lecturer in the School of Computer Science and informatics at Cardiff University. With interests in technology for health, wellbeing and safety, they talk about the role of random events in directing the course of her career; her knack for spotting new opportunities, including her role in a start-up to create a sensor to stop fire-fighters over-heating.

Prof Anna Cox talks to Dr David Ellis, a psychologist with a keen interest in technology and the data it produces. We talk about how he owes his career to his mum who first suggested that he study psychology at university, how a curiosity to play around with technology lies behind much of his research and the methods that he uses, and the competing demands of academic life.

Anna Cox talks to Professor Ann Blandford, who is an expert in digital health technologies. We talk about the importance of progressive teachers who could see where technology was heading and how they helped shape her early choices.

Prof Anna Cox talks to Dr Conor Linehan, an expert in the design and evaluation of technology to support education and health behaviours.

Professor Anna Cox talks to Dr Joe Newbold, an expert in Sonic Interaction Design, about how he's managed to combine his passion for music with his curiosity about how we interact with technology.

Prof Anna Cox talks to Dr Paulina Bondaronek, an expert in behaviour change technology about her journey to studying psychology at university, how her father's disabilities sparked her interest in health psychology, and how she dealt with her own mental health struggles during her PhD.

eWorkLife podcast host Prof Anna Cox (Professor & Vice Dean (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion) UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences) talks about what she has in store for you in her brand new podcast about work, life and wellbeing.