Helen Pidd
speaker
269 appearances
2 recordings
1 series
first heard Jul 2026
last heard 12 Aug
Helen Pidd’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 2 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 1.
Appearances
When Cambridge University appoints a new professor, it doesn't usually make headlines around the world.
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was just 37 when he became Cambridge's youngest ever black professor in 2023.
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specializing in the sociology of race and education.
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The achievement seemed all the more remarkable because of his incredible backstory.
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Born to Ghanaian parents who moved to the UK in the early 1980s, R.
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Day was diagnosed with global development delay and autism spectrum disorder, aged just
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He said he hadn't learned to speak until he was eleven.
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And that he couldn't really read or write until he was eighteen.
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But he defied all expectations.
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And as his star rose, he received honors usually reserved for celebrities.
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If
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But with the publicity came scrutiny.
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And almost as soon as he began his professorship at Cambridge's Jesus College, the whispers began.
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Initially, the focus was all on his academic scholarship, with questions over the originality of his PhD and other papers.
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He was ultimately cleared of plagiarism by his university, with a Cambridge spokesperson last month saying Arde had been quote, the victim of a vile campaign to undermine his credibility.
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His critics were racist, said his defenders.
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smear
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But the allegations snowballed, and soon every aspect of his remarkable life story was put under the microscope.
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On Wednesday nights, it all became too much.
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A Day resigned hours after Cambridge said it was investigating his academic qualifications and honorary appointments.
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