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Academic revels in TV quiz show challenge
A television quiz show for contestants “who know everything about something and something about everything” was always going to attract the attention of University of the Sunshine Coast popular culture expert Dr Karen Brooks.
So much so, that the Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies last year jumped at the chance to join a panel of clever celebrities as the “Brains Trust” for the ABC’s The Einstein Factor which screens Sundays at 6.30pm.
Dr Brooks is keen to continue her involvement with the quiz show this year and her next television appearance will be on Sunday 25 March.
The Einstein Factor is hosted by comic Peter Berner and pits contestants from all walks of life who have specialised knowledge of one chosen subject and broad general knowledge skills against the panel of personalities and other contestants.
Dr Brooks, who has 18 years experience as a professional actor, said appearing on the show was valuable to her work as a USC lecturer and was great fun.
“To be part of that program is a fantastic personal experience as well as a professional experience,” she said. “It gives me insight into the very forms that I teach about.
“It puts me in contact with a different audience and it humanises me as an academic.”
Other “Brains Trust” panellists have included Gold Logie winning actor John Waters, Australia’s biggest game show winner Stephen Hall, former lawyer and politician Barry Jones, and guitarist and television villain Red Symons.
“It’s so good working with people like Barry Jones. He’s such an intellect but he’s also such a warm individual,” Dr Brooks said. “And Red Symons is as funny off-screen as he is on-screen . . . except he’s not as mean.”
Dr Brooks has been with USC since the University opened in 1996 and has established a national and international reputation for her work on popular culture. She is a columnist for the Courier Mail and a regular social commentator on television.
She recently claimed another feather in her cap when an edition of the family magazine, Sydney’s Child, won a prestigious gold award at the Parenting Publications of America Editorial and Design Awards in Los Angeles.
The magazine contained an article by Dr Brooks which explored the repercussions of labelling children as “gifted and talented”.
The article – which gained a notable mention at the awards – quoted USC Senior Lecturer in Education Dr Michael Nagel who advocated using a more encompassing term that acknowledged learning differences among children.