Shows
Lockdown ScienceFootball Lads of the SeaIn the last episode of this series, we’re taking tips on Instagram fame from the bird world, finding out about the history of Antarctica from a small green rock, getting sticky with some bacterial nets, traumatising bilbies for the sake of conservation, splashing down with a historic space mission, and deciding whether dolphins deserve their good reputation.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com and follow us on @LockdownScience on Twitter and @Lo...2021-05-0756 minLockdown ScienceParachuting BeaversThis week we’re finding out whether our morning espresso is safe from climate change, getting acquainted with a droopy creature that enjoys a cold bath, being dazzled by some high-tech paint, hearing about Geronimo the hero beaver, asking what monkeys can tell us about making friends after the pandemic, and trying not to yawn along with a pride of lions.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com and follow us on @LockdownScience on...2021-04-2253 minLockdown ScienceThe One That Causes FearThis week we’re asking whether octopuses dream of punching fish, finding out how the Amazon rainforest was born, wondering whether we’re heading for a fiery asteroid-generated doom, learning about how major corporations are turning their backs on deep-sea mining, slipping between the pages of an ancient book to find a butterfly, working out what an April fool can tell us about ecological modelling, and getting acquainted with a fearsome new dinosaur.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touc...2021-04-0851 min
Us and STEMMDr Kirsty MacLeod: Lizard mothers, nomadic academics, and The WEE PodcastThis week I talk to Dr Kirsty MacLeod about lizard mothers, the importance of fika, the highs and lows of moving for academia, deciding how honest to be on social media, and all about the wonderful WEE Podcast (theweepodcast.org).
Dr Kirsty MacLeod is a behavioural and evolutionary ecologist, with broad interests in maternal investment, reproductive systems, stress physiology, and sociality – basically loads of important areas which apply to so much of the animal kingdom! Alongside her research she is an accomplished and enthusiastic science communicator, and if you’re into your science podcasts (which I hope you...2021-04-0250 minLockdown ScienceStinkin' JimThis week we’re finding out how the moon is powering cars in the Shetlands, asking if cats value kindness, investigating whether a sperm-filled solar-powered lunar ark is viable, wondering whether sleepiness is to blame for a walrus on the Welsh coast, and learning some social skills from a very sneaky beetle.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com and follow us on @LockdownScience on Twitter and @LockdownSciencePodcast on Instagram.2021-03-2554 minUs and STEMMDr Adam Rutherford: Combatting race pseudoscience, glamorous lab work, and The OdysseyThis week I'm joined by geneticist, broadcaster and writer, Dr Adam Rutherford to hear about how he went from a PhD to the BBC, the broadcasting process in lockdown, whether we can combat racism with good science, whether social media is a force for good or evil, and why he teaches celebs to pipette. In a twist we even end up nerding out about Classics.
Dr Adam Rutherford is a broadcaster, writer and scientist. You’ll probably know Adam as the host of BBC Radio 4’s flagship science show, Inside Science, as well as the co-host, alongside Dr H...2021-03-1947 minLockdown ScienceThe Most Extreme DetoxThis week we’re finding out whether the magnetic poles flipping killed the Neanderthals, asking how a bird species could hide for 170 years, marvelling at a swarm of tiny robot bees, wondering how two species of sea slugs manage to lose their heads but keep their cool, having a disco party with some glowing sharks, and wishing a very Happy Mother’s Day to the world’s oldest bird mum.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at loc...2021-03-1158 minUs and STEMMDr Helen Scales: The Brilliant Abyss, freediving, and bone-eating wormsThis week I talk to the incredible Dr Helen Scales, about her new books, The Brilliant Abyss and The Great Barrier Reef, her favourite deep sea creatures, the joy of freediving, and her tips for getting into science communication and broadcasting. PLUS get 20% off The Brilliant Abyss by using the discount code in the episode!
Dr Helen Scales is a marine biologist, broadcaster and writer. She is the author of many award-winning books, including “Spirals in Time” and “Eye of the Shoal”. She has just published her first children’s book “The Great Barrier Reef” and her newest release...2021-03-0550 minLockdown ScienceA Proper Funnel-headThis week we’re asking what a sarcastic fringehead is, nerding out about Perseverance’s flashy gadgets, finding out how much tyrannical power a naked mole-rat queen has, cooing over an adorable clone, checking if thylacines are back from the dead, and marvelling at Europe’s most active volcano blowing its load.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com and follow us on @LockdownScience on Twitter and @LockdownSciencePodcast on Instagram.2021-02-2555 minUs and STEMMJack Ashby: Platypuses, museum careers, and decolonising natural history exhibitsThis week I talk to the awesome Jack Ashby about why Australian mammals are the best animals, what it takes to get a job in the museum sector, what biases are hidden in plain sight in museum displays, and how we can decolonise natural history exhibits.
Jack Ashby is the Assistant Director of the Museum of Zoology at the University of Cambridge and an Australian mammal ecologist. He is also the author of the widely-acclaimed book, “Animal Kingdom: A Natural History in 100 Objects”, and a soon-to-be-released book about Australian mammals and why they matter. He has spoken and w...2021-02-1944 minLockdown ScienceOne Heck of a Spicy BathThis week we’re asking whether science can solve one of the world’s greatest conspiracy theories, checking if groundhogs can live forever, delving into Greek myths to find out more about butterflies, being dazzled by a new shade of blue, electrifying ourselves with some genuinely stunning eel research, and finding out what the world’s tiniest chameleon’s rather large secret is.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com and follow us on @Lock...2021-02-1158 minUs and STEMMSophie Pavelle: Beaver reintroductions, professional sci-comm, and 300-mile walksThis week I talk to the amazing Sophie Pavelle about UK beaver reintroductions, her soon-to-be-published book, getting a foot in the door in professional science communication, learning to face the audience on social media, and why she keeps going on 300-mile-long walks.
Sophie Pavelle is a zoologist and science communicator, and Campaign and Communications Coordinator for The Beaver Trust. She has also starred in nature documentaries including Beavers Without Borders and a range of films with the Back from the Brink conservation campaign. She is also a talented nature writer, with work featured in The Metro and...2021-02-0535 minLockdown ScienceMonkey EconomicsThis week we’re finding out how to make your Burns Night stellar, deciding whether we have what it takes to control a herd of bison, discovering what’s causing sci-fi blue jets visible from the ISS, asking whether Suki can recognise us from voice alone, and working out how much we now need to fear the criminal potential of macaques.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com!Brumm et al...2021-01-2852 minUs and STEMMProfessor Chris Jackson: Sustainable geoscience, advocacy for equity, and the RI Christmas LecturesIn the first episode of Series 4, I talk to the inspirational Prof. Chris Jackson about the myriad meanings of sustainable geoscience, his dangerous and exciting expeditions, the failings of universities to provide equitable environments for students and staff, and what it’s really like behind the scenes of the RI Christmas Lectures.
At the time of recording, Professor Chris Jackson is Equinor Professor of Basin Analysis at Imperial College London, but in February 2021 he will be moving to the University of Manchester to take up the position of Chair in Sustainable Geoscience. Even if you aren’t a ge...2021-01-2255 minLockdown ScienceA Disgusting Staring ContestThis week we’re finding out just how identical identical twins really are, asking whether the didgeridoo can help us get better sleep, reacquainting ourselves with the mother of palaeontology, listening out for some eery “singing”, investigating what really drives feelings of disgust, and checking out what Sir David Attenborough has been up to lately. If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com!Jonsson et al. (2021): https://doi.or...2021-01-1450 minUs and STEMMCharles Emogor: Pangolins, poachers, and equality in academiaIn the last Us and STEMM of the series, I’m chatting to Charles Emogor about the elusive and adorable pangolin, how he manages to have respectful conversations with poachers, what he believes should be done to dismantle systemic racism in academia, and his outreach work to spread knowledge and appreciation of pangolins as widely as possible.
Charles Emogor is a PhD Student in the Conservation Science Group in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge. Charles’ research seeks to understand the distribution and ecology of the white-bellied pangolin in Nigeria, and address fundamental questions abou...2021-01-0442 minUs and STEMMH S Sathya Chandra Sagar: Problems of the pet trade, the value of mentorship, and a life-long love affair with natureThis week I’m chatting to H S Sathya Chandra Sagar (Sagara) about the effects of the pet trade on wild bird populations, the importance of mentorship in his career, and his life-long love of nature.
H S Sathya Chandra Sagar is a PhD Researcher in the Sound Forest Lab at the University of Wisconsin. At the time of recording this podcast he was working as a Research Assistant at the Indian Institute of Science and as a Conservation Scientist at WildCAT-C.
Funky Chunk by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3789-funky-chunk2021-01-0436 minUs and STEMMMairenn Collins Attwood: Angry birds, Miombo woodland, and aardvark holesThis week I’m chatting to Mairenn Collins Attwood about why drongos are so aggressive, why avian victims of African cuckoos are so gullible, how an aardvark hole led to a dramatic fieldwork fail, and what a childhood experiment with Haribo taught her about science.
Mairenn Collins Attwood recently finished her MPhil and is about to start her PhD, both in the Spottiswoode Group in the Zoology Department at the University of Cambridge. Mairenn’s MPhil research looked at the relationship between African cuckoos and their hosts, the fork-tailed drongo, in Zambia.
Funky Chunk by Kevi...2021-01-0422 minUs and STEMMMichael Pashkevich: Spiders, palm oil, and research in lockdownThis week I'm talking to Michael Pashkevich about why we should love spiders, whether we should boycott palm oil, how to engage underrepresented groups in STEMM and how lockdown has affected his PhD.
Michael Pashkevich is a PhD student in the Insect Ecology Group in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge. His research interests focus on spider ecology and sustainable agricultural management. For his PhD he is studying the biodiversity and functional ecology of spiders in Sumatran oil palm plantations.
Funky Chunk by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3789...2021-01-0428 minUs and STEMMProfessor Nick Davies FRS: Cuckoos, Darwin, and tips for young scientistsThis week I spoke to Professor Nick Davies FRS to find out how sneaky cuckoos trick their unwitting hosts, how the field of Behavioural Ecology has evolved in the last 50 years, and how young scientists can keep a sense of balance and perspective.
Professor Nick Davies FRS is Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge. His 50 year career has had enormous influence on the field of Behavioural Ecology and it really was an honour to chat to him. For natural science students his...2021-01-0428 minUs and STEMMDr Rahia Mashoodh: Genes, kick-ass women, and pizza doughThis week I'm joined by Dr Rahia Mashoodh to talk about how life experiences can turn genes on and off, whether a healthy work/life balance is possible in academia, the British obsession with academic tea-time, and how becoming a pizza dough aficionado can help weather life's storms.
Dr Rahia Mashoodh is a BBSRC Future Leaders Fellow in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge. Her research themes span developmental biology, brain and behaviour, and genomics.
Intro and outdo music: Funky Chunk by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3789-funky-chunk2021-01-0429 minLockdown SciencePunching NemoIt’s the last show of 2020, a year when finding non-COVID science news was like searching for a needle in a viral haystack. This week we’ve got a bumper edition of our Science of Week quiz, covering news from the whole year, and we’re introducing a brand new feature - Animal Etymologies! We’re investigating the liquid properties of cats, finding out how fast space junk flies around the Earth, looking at what lasers can tell us about ancient archaeological remains, asking whether we’ve just made contact with aliens in the next solar system over, stre...2020-12-3159 minLockdown ScienceThe Platonic Form of DognessIn a pretty un-Christmassy Christmas special, this week we're chatting about what effects crocodiles have on gambling habits, pondering whether dogs can tell that other dogs are indeed dogs, finding out if the Spice Girls predicted upcoming astronomical events, contemplating whether we should follow Vietnamese honeybees and smear poop around our houses, and discovering why Ellie has finally decided that climbing Everest will probably be a bit too much for her.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with...2020-12-1747 minLockdown ScienceNature's Secret UV PartyThis week we're chatting about glowing platypuses, finding out why China is going to the Moon, pondering what "beaver butt juice" tastes like, asking why you'd give an alligator helium to find out about sexual attractiveness, discussing the living legend of physics that is Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, and delving into what an understanding of evolution on Earth can tell us about aliens.For more information on the Museum of Zoology's 12 Days of Christmas, go to museumofzoologyblog.comTo grab a copy of Dr Arik Kershenbaum's book "The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy"...2020-12-0350 min
The Women in Ecology and Evolution PodcastW.E.E. Get By With A Little Help From Our FriendsIn this episode, Hannah Mumby joins me to talk about her research on elephants and wild boar, as well as her experiences of being #DisabledInSTEM, and her new book: "The Secret Lives of Elephants"! This episode's Paper in Focus is from Andrea Quattrini: dive into the wonderful world of anthozoa, and learn what the paleoclimate can tell us about changes in coral diversity through deep time (paper link below). Lastly, Hannah and I are joined by Eleanor (Ellie) Bladon and Jade Bleau to talk about friendship - how friendships have been important in our lives and careers, how we...2020-12-0256 minLockdown ScienceThe Orange Face You Can TrustLockdown is back and so is Lockdown Science! For our glorious return we're finding out how to tickle a wombat, talking about spying on exoplanets, working out why two extra legs makes all the difference, getting to grips with travelling through a vacuum tube at 1000km/h, and asking whether all icebergs should be measured in units of "Norfolk".Music credit: Blippy Trance Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.2020-11-1851 minLockdown ScienceThe internal friction of cylindrical penguin in a vacuumIn this week’s episode we’re “revisiting” the fluid dynamics of penguin poo, checking out some eco-friendly(ish) whiskey, asking what sight has got birdwatchers all a flutter, and finding out how to age your doggo.First broadcast on 18th July.Music credit: Blippy Trance Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.2020-09-3000 minLockdown ScienceSee you later, alligator (or maybe not)In this week’s episode we’re chatting about the first astronauts to launch from American soil since 2011, asking whether you should really shoot most of your study animals to monitor their population, celebrating #BlackBirdersWeek, looking back on the life of a very old alligator, and finding out how urban foxes are becoming more like dogs.First broadcast on 6th June 2020.Music credit: Blippy Trance Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ See acast.com/privacy for priv...2020-09-3000 minLockdown ScienceWhy should pigeons not go to the hairdresser?In this week's episode we're asking whether we should really be trusting Dr Google, marvelling at how bees trick plants into giving them what they want, finding out what's about to swarm in America for the first time in 17 years, getting an update on some very important eggs, checking out the VR tour of the Smithsonian, and more! We'll also finally get some answers to the question that everybody (apparently) has been asking Andrew - "why does that pigeon have so few toes?!".Music credit: Blippy Trance Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative...2020-07-1600 minLockdown ScienceR-eel-y good FaceTime chatsIn this episode we're celebrating a big birthday for the Hubble Space Telescope, finding out how you can keep up with some lonely garden eels, discovering a prehistoric "Crazy Beast", getting the low-down on how memes can help conservation, and letting Andrew gush about his love of Christmas tree worms.Music credit: Blippy Trance Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.2020-07-1600 minLockdown ScienceWhat's the deal with birds?In this episode we're bringing you asteroids, melting ice caps, disintegrating lego pieces, hydrogen-powered cars and an excuse for your sugar cravings. We also celebrate Rosie the Humboldt penguin's big 3-0, and delve into one of the defining pieces of literature of our age: Baldassarre (2020) "What's the Deal with Birds?". See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.2020-06-0600 minLockdown ScienceOvercoming gravitational challengeIn this episode we're chatting about the 50th anniversary of Apollo 13, a rediscovered beetle, a tiny dinosaur, some mad Neanderthal skills, and how nightingales will cope with climate change. But most of all, we're asking the important question of "is there really any evidence that parachutes save lives?".Music credit: Blippy Trance Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.2020-06-0600 minLockdown ScienceWhere have all the bloody teaspoons gone?Welcome to our brand new series, Lockdown Science! What happens when two biologists isolate together? As a break from meticulously studying the behaviour of our cat and dealing with the fact that we can't be in the lab or doing fieldwork, we (Ellie and Andrew) will be bringing you a lighthearted round-up of the best science we've found this week - from the groundbreaking and life-changing to the downright weird and wonderful.In this episode we're finding out why a herd of mountain goats took over a sleepy seaside town, what it takes to become a...2020-04-1800 min