Professor James Arvanitakas is the Dean of the Graduate Research School at Western Sydney University, where he also lectures in Humanities and is a member of the University's Institute for Culture and Society. James is internationally recognised for his innovative teaching style and was the recipient of the Prime Minister's University Teacher of the Year Award in 2012. He is a regular media commentator appearing on ABC TV and recently launched Sociologic (the book) and the podcast with FBi Radio.

We spoke with James about his time working in Western Sydney and the important role Greater Sydney is starting to play in cultural production. We spoke about the relationship between education and culture, how our perception of cultural value has changed over time, how we might look at re-packaging events to meet new demands and why Heavy Metal fans are amongst the most loyal.