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. What Tech Calls Thin…

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…

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. Audra's writing has appeared in the Washington Post and The Atlantic. She is the author of Freedom's Laboratory: The Cold War Struggle for the Soul of Science and the award winning Comp…

In this episode we chat to Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West authors of Calling Bullshit: The Art of Scepticism in Data-Driven World. Carl Bergstrom is a theoretical and evolutionary biologist and Professor of Biology at the University of Washington. Jevin West is an Associate Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington, he also…

In this episode we chat to Richard Ovenden OBE, author of Burning the Books: A History of Knowledge Under Attack! Richard is the Bodley's Librarian at the University of Oxford, and is the the 25th person to hold this post since its creation in 1600. Burning the Books (2020) Richard's Twitter Richard's article in The Economist on preserving digital …

In this episode we chat to Kat Arney author of Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution and the Science of Life. *episode starts around the 12 minute mark. Rebel Cell Kat's Twitter Gemma's Moonshot article

In this episode we chat to Stuart Ritchie author of Science Fictions: Exposing Fraud, Bias, Negligence and Hype in Science! We return to the roots of our podcast and explore the flaws in science and what actions can be taken to make it better. Stuart is a lecturer at King's College London within the Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre…

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. Twitter United we are Unstoppable Akshat's Bloomberg writing…

In this episode we talk to economist Rob Larson about the immense power of the big 5 tech companies (even if in the intro I say big 4...sorry Microsoft), the economics of how they got to be so big, the tyrannical rulers at the helm, and the perverse business practices that insure them against competition. Rob is a Professor of Economics at Tacoma C…

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. (The episode starts at 13.45) Infinite Det…

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.

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. Relevant links: The Alchemy of Us @ainissaramirez

In this episode we chat to historian Rutger Bregman author of Humankind: A Hopeful History (2020) and the bestseller Utopia For Realists (2014). We talk about the shaky social studies and historical perspectives that have driven a wedge between communities, kindness as a fundamental trait of humanity, and the people who are baking cooperation and d…

We chat to Mark O'Connell author of To Be A Machine (2017) and Notes From An Apocalypse (2020). We talk about finding lessons about humanity in the strangest of places, being an awarded science writer while not considering himself a science writer, and privilege, decency and purpose. Relevant Links Notes From An Apocalypse (2020) To Be a Machine (2…

In this episode we chat to Sabine Hossenfelder, a physicist and author of Lost in Math. In the book Sabine makes the case that physicists have committed themselves to ideas of beauty rooted in maths that are unsupported by the data. She calls for a radical re-evaluation of how physics is done. Relevant Links Lost in Math (2018) Sabine's Twitter…

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 academ…

In this episode we chat to Wendy Liu author of the brilliant book, Abolish Silicon Valley! We talk about the myth of the meritocracy, reclaiming entrepreneurship, and what innovation looks like beyond capitalism. Relevant Links Abolish Silicon Valley (2020) Wendy's Twitter Our quick review From inspiring early experiences in open-source software de…

In this one we talk about people talking about science, and scicomm, and journalism, and open science. Some things we mentioned in the episode: Why the coronavirus is so confusing - Ed Yong Covid projections dashboard - David Yu Covering science at dangerous speeds - Ivan Oransky How to boost the spread of coronavirus science on social media - Sama…

Gemma's book Smoke and Mirrors launched last week and we talk about it. You can pick up a copy here.

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 Astroscale and co-founder of the London Space Network. Astroscale is a space startup that …

In this episode we chat to science fiction author, Anne Charnock. For Anne's latest novel "Dreams Before the Start of Time" 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 mo…

In this episode we chat to Charles Fracchia, CEO and Co-Founder of BioBright 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…

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 s…

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 implication…

In today's episode Gemma speaks to Hila Cohen the International Business Development Lead of the World Food Programme's Innovation Accelerator. 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 Innov…

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…

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 …

In this episode we chat to Mary Ward, the co-founder of Counter Culture Labs, an Oakland based community space that draws a diverse crowd to scientific exploration.

In this episode we chat to UC San Diego Physicist Brian Keating on his new book 'Losing the Nobel Prize'. 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…

In this episode we spoke to Dr Jenny Molloy, a Cambridge Synthetic Biologist who, among many things, is the Director of the Cambridge Biomakespace, and is on the organising committee for the Gathering for Open Science Hardware. We spoke about her work in developing the GOSH manifesto, and the recently released Open Science Hardware Roadmap which ad…

*Bonus Episode* Gemma moderated a panel at SXSW on building an ecosystem for science startups with Ana Florescu of Science Practice, Harry Destecroix of UnitDx, and Dominic Falcao of Deep Science Ventures.

This episode we spoke to Elsa Sotiriadis, the Chief Futurist and Program Director of Rebel Bio. Rebel Bio is the world's first life science accelerator, based initially out of Cork, they have worked with startups tackling synthetic meat, algae derived materials, and drug repurposing using AI. They have recently brought in their first cohort to thei…

We spoke to Hemai Parthasarathy, the Scientific Director of Breakout Labs, a fund for early stage deep tech startups to get their research out of the lab. Hemai started out as a neuroscientist at MIT, and moved from academia to the field of publishing as the North American Editor of Nature and went on to be one of the founding editors of PLOS, buil…

This episode we speak to Philip Hemme, the founder and CEO of Labiotech, the leading media organisation covering European biotech. We talk about their rapid growth as a startup, the current state of biotech media, their internationally diverse team, and the benefits of 'open science' to biotech startups.…

This episode we chatted to Erin Kim the Communications Director at New Harvest, a non-profit research institute focussed on making cellular agriculture a reality. We talk about the the current state of lab grown meat, the importance of effective science communication in a field prone to hype or hysteria, and the community New Harvest are building t…

This episode features Julian Huppert, former Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge, and now Director of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College Cambridge. We chat about Julian's journey from academia to the House of Commons where he was recognised as the only scientist, a moniker that Julian was keen to not let define and confine his policy goals. We w…

This episode we chatted to Bethan Wolfenden, the co-founder of Bento Bioworks, a biotech startup that has created a 'laptop size laboratory'. This kit allows the user to perform simple DNA analysis and dramatically reduces the cost of the components you'd need to analyse samples, thus lowering the barrier to entry for molecular biology. This episod…

In this episode we chatted to Christine Gould, founder and CEO of the Thought for Food Foundation. Their annual conference, startup challenge and active community centres around the science and tech working to ensure we have enough food to feed the world. With Christine, we talked about how to bring together diverse groups of people - startups, sci…

In this episode we chatted to Kristin Ellis, the Scientific Development Lead at OpenTrons, about all things science. OpenTrons is a company that builds affordable open-source lab robots, that remove the need to perform tedious manual pipetting tasks, to free up valuable time for researchers. We touched on the importance of good science communicatio…

This episode Tim O'Reilly, Founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media joins us in a far reaching conversation spanning the whole science ecosystem. From the communication of science, to liberating knowledge generated by research from the confines of the static PDF, to the mutual learning experience of colliding technologists and academics, Tim has been rega…

We speak to Chad Rigetti, CEO of quantum computing startup Rigetti Computing. We dive deep into the challenges that face deep tech startups, the core debates within quantum computing, and what it's like to compete with the likes of Google in this brave new world of the future computer. We wanted to get an insight into what's actually going on behin…

This episode was recorded in the bowels of Sussex University when we met up with Tom Baden a Neuroscientist interested in how the visual system processes information. Our motivation for chatting to Tom was a brilliant project called the FlyPi that he developed, along with Andre Chagas another Neuroscientist who joined us via the magic of Skype. Fly…

This episode we speak to Zach Mueller, an Amazon Data Scientist and co-Founder of Sound.Bio, Seattle's first DIY Biohackspace. We wanted to hear about how they aim to build a community around biology, the challenges of setting up the lab, and the efforts they go to to educate Seattleites in modern biotech. Zach comes to biology with little experien…

In this episode we spoke to Jackie Hunter, CEO of Benevolent Bio, a company that utilises machine learning and AI to find previously overlooked drug candidates within the research literature. Jackie was previously Chief Executive of the BBSRC and comes into the AI space with a wealth of experience in industrial drug discovery.…

In this episode we spoke to Emily Leproust, CEO of Twist Bioscience. Twist has revolutionised the process of synthesising DNA which is used in applications spanning drug discovery to optimising crop production and beyond.

Our latest episode is with Tom Zeller Jr the Editor in Chief of Undark (formerly at the New York Times). Undark was set up as way of applying hard hitting investigative journalism to the intersection of science and society. Supported by the Knight Foundation, Undark is unbeholden to advertisers which allows them to tackle the cases they want to. We…

This episode we chatted to Hugh Forrest, the newly minted Chief Programming Officer of South by South West (SXSW). This role puts Hugh in charge of one of the most dynamic and diverse conferences around, covering around 1300 panels & talks, approximately 2000 bands, and roughly 300 films (many making their premieres at SXSW). Hugh's been at SXSW si…

This week we chatted to Chris Hartgerink a PhD metascientist (the science of science) and open access advocate, whose core focus is on data fraud. Chris was recently featured in this Guardian piece - he ruffled plenty of feathers when he modified and implemented Statcheck, a tool developed by fellow metascientist Michèle Nuijten that scans tens of …

This episode we chatted to Michael Eisen (@mbeisen), a Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Michael is a core advocate of the Open Science movement Co-Founding the Public Library of Science (PLOS). He is also, as of this April, an aspiring Senator (you can follow his alter-ego at @SenatorPhD). We sp…

We were joined by Alok Tayi, CEO and Co-Founder of TetraScience, a Y Combinator alumni company that utilises IoT to transform how research is done. We talk about the current state of 'disconnected' research, being open to innovation within science, and how tech can give researchers their weekend back.…