Shows
The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of ScienceS4 Ep 9 - Holden Thorp on 'Teach History and Philosophy of Science'“This is Holden Thorp. I'm the Editor in Chief of Science and thanks to Sam and Carmelina for all they're doing to get the word out about the history and philosophy of science”Today's guest is Holden Thorp, professor of chemistry at George Washington University and Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals.In April of this year, Holden published an editorial in Science with the tantalising title ‘Teach Philosophy of Science’. Holden called for more substantial teaching of history and philosophy of science across undergraduate and graduate science curricula. He argued that learning about the hist...2024-11-1330 min
The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of ScienceS4 Ep 8 - Nicole C. Nelson on 'Ethnographies of Science'Today, Carmelina is joined by Dr. Nicole C. Nelson, Associate Professor in the Department of Medical History and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nicole is an ethnographer of science and a familiar face to many within both Science and Technology Studies, and Metascience. Today, Nicole explains how ethnographic studies can help us to make sense of the world, and how she uses ethnography to construct the story of science in a way that the published record of scientific articles can't. By immersing herself within the spaces where science takes place, Nicole's research produces a deeper and r...2024-11-0627 min
The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of ScienceS4 Ep 7 - Naomi Oreskes on 'Writing on Ignorance'"In response to that article, I was getting hate mail. I was getting attacked. I thought, these people have a script. This is a story that people need to understand. This isn't just something of academic interest. This is something that has real political and cultural consequences."Today's very special guest is acclaimed historian of science, Professor Naomi Oreskes, author of Merchants of Doubt, Science on a Mission and her most recent book with long time collaborator Erik Conway – The Big Myth – all about understanding the rise of free-market fundamentalism.Naomi discusses what lead her shif...2024-10-3035 min
The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of ScienceS4 Ep 6 - Jen Martin on 'Communicating Science'"Doing the thing is not the whole thing, it's also the sharing it with the audiences who either need it or are simply interested in it...science isn't finished until it's communicated"Our guest today is Associate Professor Jen Martin. Jen leads the University of Melbourne’s acclaimed Science Communication Teaching program and is passionate about helping scientists develop the skills they need to be visible, to make connections and to have impact.As well as teaching, Jen is a prolific communicator of science. Over the last 18 years her voice has become a familiar companion to...2024-10-2328 min
The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of ScienceS4 Ep 5 - Edouard Machery on 'Experimental Philosophy'Today our guest presenter Thomas Spiteri is joined by Professor Edouard Machery, Distinguished Professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s HPS department and director of the Center for Philosophy of Science.Edouard, a leading figure in experimental philosophy (X-Phi), shares insights into the X-Phi movement, which integrates empirical methods into philosophical inquiry. He discusses the limitations of traditional philosophical methods, particularly the use of intuitions, and explains how X-Phi broadens the tools available to philosophers.Reflecting on the evolution of X-Phi, Edouard talks about its future direction and the need to balance empirical research with ph...2024-10-1628 min
The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of ScienceS4 Ep 4 - Darrin Durant on 'Expertise'Today Carmelina is joined by Dr Darrin Durant a Senior Lecturer in HPS at the University of Melbourne specialising in Science and Technology studies. Darrin's research covers two seemingly distinct areas: nuclear energy and expertise. Yet nuclear energy and other contested public policy issues are informed by experts on both sides of the debate. As Darrin explains in today’s episode, there are different types of expertise and we must learn to better judge who is, and who isn’t an expert. Using real-world case studies, Darrin discusses the problems around creating public policy where conflicting scientific eviden...2024-10-0928 min
The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of ScienceS4 Ep 3 - Simon Schaffer on 'Leviathan and the Air-Pump: 40 years later' (Part 2)This episode forms Part 2 of our extended interview with the celebrated historian of science, and master communicator, Professor Simon Schaffer.Today, we continue to focus our discussion on the book Simon co-wrote with Steven Shapin in the early 1980s, Leviathan and the Air-Pump. Simon reveals fascinating insights into the production of the book, including his many deep dives into rare books collections, as well as the back and forth of typewritten pages between Simon in London and Steven in Edinburgh. Simon also talks about the rise to prominence of the publication, highlighting the crucial role...2024-10-0226 min
The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of ScienceS4 Ep 2 - Simon Schaffer on 'Leviathan and the Air-Pump: 40 years later' (Part 1)This episode is the first of two in which the celebrated Professor of History of Science, Simon Schaffer, discusses the famous HPS publication, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life, which Simon co-wrote with another esteemed HPS scholar, Steven Shapin, in the early 1980s. The book went on to become one of the most well-known across both HPS and STS, with next year marking 40 years since its first release.In todays episode, Simon discusses his own academic story, introduces us to the books main themes and aims, and muses on why it w...2024-09-2526 min
The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of ScienceS3 - Samara & Carmelina on 'Seeing Science Differently'Welcome to Season 3 of the HPS podcast!It's so great to be back.Kicking off our third season, we have a new addition to the team, Carmelina Contarino.Carmelina is an Honours student in HPS at the University of Melbourne and will be joining Samara in producing the podcast, as well as hosting several of the episodes.In today's episode, Samara and Carmelina dive into what has become a bit of a theme of the podcast, 'Seeing Science Differently'. Science isn't always as neat or as sterile as we have been lead t...2024-03-0619 min