Radical Science
The science podcast that’s not about the science.
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What Tech Calls Thinking with Adrian Daub
02/25/2021
What Tech Calls Thinking with Adrian Daub
In this episode Gemma chats to Adrian Daub about his latest book What Tech Calls Thinking: An Inquiry into the Intellectual Bedrock of Silicon Valley. Adrian Daub is a professor of comparative literature and German studies at Stanford University, and the director of Stanford’s Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
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The Innovation Delusion with Lee Vinsel and Andrew Russell
01/21/2021
The Innovation Delusion with Lee Vinsel and Andrew Russell
In this episode we chat to Lee Vinsel and Andrew Russell authors of The Innovation Delusion (2020), where they take on 'innovation speak' and advocate for a greater focus on what keeps the world going - maintenance. Interview starts ~20min mark. Lee Vinsel is a Professor ub the Department of Science, Technology, and Society at Virginia Tech. Andrew Russell is a Professor of History and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at SUNY Polytechnic Institute. / / / /
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Scientists are workers too with Audra Wolfe
10/29/2020
Scientists are workers too with Audra Wolfe
In this episode we chat to writer and science historian Audra Wolfe about organised labour, constructing a union for scientists, and the myth of apolitical science.
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Calling Bullshit with Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West
10/16/2020
Calling Bullshit with Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West
In this episode we chat to Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West authors of Calling Bullshit: The Art of Scepticism in Data-Driven World.
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Burning the Books with Richard Ovenden
10/01/2020
Burning the Books with Richard Ovenden
In this episode we chat to the Richard Ovenden OBE, author of Burning the Books: A History of Knowledge Under Attack!
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Rebel Cell with Kat Arney
09/30/2020
Rebel Cell with Kat Arney
In this episode we chat to Kat Arney author of Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution and the Science of Life.
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Science Fictions with Stuart Ritchie
09/11/2020
Science Fictions with Stuart Ritchie
In this episode we chat to Stuart Ritchie author of Science Fictions: Exposing Fraud, Bias, Negligence and Hype in Science!
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United we are Unstoppable with Akshat Rathi
09/01/2020
United we are Unstoppable with Akshat Rathi
In this episode we chat to Akshat Rathi an energy and climate reporter at Bloomberg. He is also the editor of United we are Unstoppable, the topic of this episode, a collection of 60 inspiring stories from young climate activists across the globe.
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Bit Tyrants with Rob Larson
08/25/2020
Bit Tyrants with Rob Larson
We chat to author and economist Rob Larson about his book Bit Tyrants
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Infinite Detail with Tim Maughan
08/11/2020
Infinite Detail with Tim Maughan
In this episode Gemma chats to journalist and author Tim Maughan. Tim’s first novel Infinite Detail (2019) which tells a dystopic time-shifting tale of the pre and post-apocalypse following the global technological shutdown was selected by The Guardian as their Science Fiction and Fantasy book of the year.
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Unfit for Purpose with Adam Hart
07/24/2020
Unfit for Purpose with Adam Hart
We chat to Adam Hart Professor of Science Communication at the University of Gloucestershire and author of Unfit For Purpose: When Human Evolution Collides with the Modern World.
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The Alchemy of Us with Ainissa Ramirez
07/07/2020
The Alchemy of Us with Ainissa Ramirez
We spoke to materials scientist and author Ainissa Ramirez about her brilliant new book The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another, all about the 8 inventions that shaped our society and the materials behind them.
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Kindness as the Key to Our Future with Rutger Bregman
06/17/2020
Kindness as the Key to Our Future with Rutger Bregman
In this episode we chat to historian Rutger Bregman author of Humankind: A Hopeful History (2020) and the bestseller Utopia For Realists (2014).
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Finding Humanity in the Apocalypse with Mark O'Connell
06/10/2020
Finding Humanity in the Apocalypse with Mark O'Connell
We chat to Mark O'Connell author of To Be A Machine (2017) and Notes From An Apocalypse (2020).
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Getting Lost in Math with Sabine Hossenfelder
06/02/2020
Getting Lost in Math with Sabine Hossenfelder
In this episode we chat to Sabine Hossenfelder, a physicist and author of Lost in Math.
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What We Talk About When We Talk About Disrupting Science
05/26/2020
What We Talk About When We Talk About Disrupting Science
In this episode, we’re chatting about Science Disrupt 2.0 - what we mean when we talk about ‘disruption’, what deeper conversations we now need to have about science, and how and why our own ideas have evolved over the last 4 years. We talk about what’s changed in science since 2016, including the more open nature of critical conversation in academia; how the cult of personality (of consultants, startups and VCs) can make a mockery of science and tech, and what deeper questions aren’t being asked while many still problematic practices continue in research and tech transfer.
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Abolishing Silicon Valley With Wendy Liu
05/19/2020
Abolishing Silicon Valley With Wendy Liu
In this episode we chat to author of the brilliant book, ! We talk about the myth of the meritocracy, reclaiming entrepreneurship, and what innovation looks like beyond capitalism. Relevant Links Our quick review From inspiring early experiences in open-source software development, to crushing disappointment in the search for startup funding, Wendy Liu writes a refreshingly candid account of how she fell in, and then out, of love with the tech industry. Liu shows how the inhabitants of Silicon Valley - from the funders, to the founders - have abdicated their responsibility to society; that beneath the veneer of global connectivity and community-building, they have driven immense socio-economic inequality. But all is not lost as Liu argues: inequities borne from tech can be resolved if we're willing to hold up a mirror and address their causes, regardless of how close to home these may be.
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Science communication in the age of Coronavirus
05/12/2020
Science communication in the age of Coronavirus
In this one we talk about people talking about science, and scicomm, and journalism, and open science.
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The Return ft. Gemma's Book
04/26/2020
The Return ft. Gemma's Book
Gemma's book Smoke and Mirrors launched last week and we talk about it.
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Solving Space Junk with Harriet Brettle
09/16/2019
Solving Space Junk with Harriet Brettle
After a long summer we're back, and we're here to talk spaaaace! Specifically the issue of satellite sustainability and the startup leading the charge. In this episode of the Science: Disrupt podcast we chat to Harriet Brettle, Business Analyst at the startup and co-founder of the London Space Network. Astroscale is a space startup that is developing a solution to the environmental concerns over space debris and all of the challenges that that can bring. We also discuss Harriet's path to Astroscale and her drive to establish the London Space Network and the benefits of community organisation.
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How to Write our Future with Anne Charnock
05/25/2019
How to Write our Future with Anne Charnock
In this episode we chat to science fiction author, Anne Charnock. For Anne's latest novel "" received the Arthur C Clarke award in 2018, and explores the future of fertility, and pre-natal genetic screening. Anne was also a Phillip K Dick Award nominee for here 2013 novel "A Calculated Life". It's becoming more and more clear that sci-fi and futurism can have great influence in our culture. In our chat with Anne we dive into the role of sci-fi as a launchpad for scientific exploration, the ethical obligations of the writer, the power of daydreaming, and how writers balance literary freedom with the maintenance of good grounded science. Relevant links: Anne's & Anne's chat with Elsa Sotiriadis at Hello Tomorrow (
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Biology's Big Data Problem with Charles Fracchia
04/10/2019
Biology's Big Data Problem with Charles Fracchia
In this episode we chat to , CEO and Co-Founder of a bioscience data company driven to make labs faster and smarter. Showing that building out a smart lab isn't the preserve of the roboticists, Biobright hoovers up every drop of experimental data with a view to make science more reproducible. Their product 'DarwinSync' can hook up to you electronic lab notebooks, be searched through voice, and can even help with the analysis and visualisation of lab data. Charles' CV reads like a who's who of science innovation, from his IBM PhD Fellowship in the , to working in George Church's lab at the . He was also an early intern at Ginkgo Bioworks. He's even been named one of 35 Innovators Under 35 by the MIT Technology Review. Relevant articles:
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The Science of Storytelling with Kat Arney
02/23/2019
The Science of Storytelling with Kat Arney
In this episode we chat to science writer, podcaster, speaker, author, and now communications consultant Dr Kat Arney on all things science communication! We dive into the current state of the science communication industry, from the tools of the trade, things that 'scicommers' can improve, and the work Kat does training researchers in the art of storytelling. Relevant links: Kat's Kat's book - Gemma's Article on ''
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Viral Misinformation with Richard Clarke
02/10/2019
Viral Misinformation with Richard Clarke
In today's episode we are joined by Richard Clarke, a PhD researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine! Richard is a member of the the Vaccine Confidence Project, an initiative that monitors public confidence in immunisation for the purpose of detecting public concerns around vaccines. These concerns can have massive implications for the effectiveness of vaccine programmes and as such researchers must address them as early as possible. In this episode we explore what researchers can do to effectively communicate science on-and-off-line (it turns out caps lock, insults, and twitter mobs aren't very convincing...), and the results of his research that suggests that on the whole people are less vulnerable to online pseudoscience than we might think. We also chat about his involvement in the Skeptic community, and the role that public trust in authority plays in vaccine hesitancy. Richard's PhD focusses on the information seeking behaviours of mothers as they make a vaccine decision during pregnancy. In his studies Richard applies research from the psychology of decision making, trust and the field of information science to quantitatively investigate how mothers engage in information gathering to aid decision making with respect to the pertussis vaccine currently offered during pregnancy.
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Feeding the World with Hila Cohen
02/05/2019
Feeding the World with Hila Cohen
In today's episode Gemma speaks to Hila Cohen the International Business Development Lead of the . We dive into the invaluable work done by the WFP, the benefits of considerate locally focussed innovations in food tech, and whether there should be concerns given the aging farming community. The WFP Innovation Accelerator identifies and nurtures solutions to hunger globally. They also provide financial support to WFP innovators and external start-ups, and access to a network of experts. The WFP believes that the way forward in the fight against hunger is not necessarily in building grand plans, but identifying and testing solutions in an agile way. Article: "" If you enjoyed this episode, why not give it a rating or review :)
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The Science Set - From Ghana and Beyond
01/06/2019
The Science Set - From Ghana and Beyond
Today's guest is Antipem Ofori Charles, a Ghanaian inventor and entrepreneur who is intent on transforming science education within Ghana and beyond. Antipem is the founder of the DEXT Technology, an accessible science set designed to engage students in underserved communities with the wonder of science. One of Antipem's inspirations for developing DEXT was through his own pathway into science. His father, a local high school teacher, framed what it meant to be a scientist for him by designing rain collection experiments with the simplest of equipment...a bottle and a funnel. This spirit of democratisation of science through ease of access has been woven into development of the Science Set. Affordable, but with a diverse array of resources, it sets up students with the tools they need to develop their drive to tinker and experiment.
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Find a Way Make a Way with Harry Destecroix
11/24/2018
Find a Way Make a Way with Harry Destecroix
In this episode we are joined by our pal, the inimitable Harry Destecroix. Harry is CEO of Unit DX and Carbometrics, and is former CEO of Ziylo. We chat about why (and how) he managed to have such a mental job title, how Bristol is fast becoming a spinout factory, and how entrepreneurship can be fostered in the sciences with just a little bit more education, and a bit more ecosystem support. If you want to find out more about the story of Ziylo and Carbometrics, to Novo Nordisk in Forbes earlier this year.
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DIY Bio in the Bay with Mary Ward
08/04/2018
DIY Bio in the Bay with Mary Ward
In this episode we chat to Mary Ward, the co-founder of , an Oakland based community space that draws a diverse crowd to scientific exploration.
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Losing the Nobel Prize with Brian Keating
06/14/2018
Losing the Nobel Prize with Brian Keating
In this episode we chat to UC San Diego Physicist on his new book ''. Brian Keating was in the running for a Nobel with the gravitational waves discovery, but his Nobel hopes evaporated when what they had really detected was the cosmologists nemesis ... interstellar dust. Brian talks us through the history of the Nobel, scientific incentives, and the perception of the Nobel through time. We also delve into some key things that the Nobel should change - such as, nominating organisations or lab groups rather than an arbitrarily selected three, having research categories that reflect science as it is today, and of course address the tremendous gender disparity in the nominations.
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The Road to Open Science Hardware
03/29/2018
The Road to Open Science Hardware
In this episode we spoke to Dr Jenny Molloy, a Cambridge Synthetic Biologist who, among many things, is the Director of the Cambridge , and is on the organising committee for the . We spoke about her work in developing the GOSH manifesto, and the recently released which advocates for open science hardware as a ubiquitous component of everyday lab life. We also dove into the space that hardware fits into, in the ever active Open Science community. How do the open hardware advocates differ from those keen to shake up academic publishing. We were also keen to find out more on how open science hardware projects are disseminated, not just to the fellow academics but to the wider public at large. And how this area of 'science disruption' could have a massive impact on the reproducibility of research.
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