Podcasts


Can I trust science?

Thursday 30 March 2023

Timandra Harkness, Professor Sabina Leonelli, Dr Travis Coan, Professor Carole Goble CBE FREng FBCS, James Coomarasamy


From anti-vaxxers to climate deniers, not everyone trusts science. This podcast features a panel of international experts looking at why there is mistrust and positive antidotes to deal with it. We explore the Open Science movement, which is sweeping the globe promoting practices to make science more transparent and less biased. One method is sharing […]

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How to fix the internet

Wednesday 15 February 2023

Exeter Phoenix

Professor Helen Margetts OBE, Dr Silvia Milano, Dr Chico Camargo, Ritula Shah (chair), Dr Mohsen Mosleh


Rarely a week goes by without a negative headline about the internet – from teenagers’ mental health and racist algorithms to online conspiracy theories and the power of big tech. In this lively discussion with some of the world’s leading thinkers, we reassess our relationship with the internet and set out a positive vision of […]

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Why the Stegosaurus has plates

Thursday 26 January 2023

Exeter Phoenix, Gandy Street, Exeter.

Dr Susannah Maidment


Stegosaurs are a group of dinosaurs characterized by the possession of two rows of plates and spines that extend from the neck to the end of the tail. Join us for a live event with acclaimed scientist Dr Susannah Maidment from the Natural History Museum. Discover the function of the plates of stegosaurs. Were they […]

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THE PSYCHEDELIC RENAISSANCE

Thursday 20 October 2022

Dartington Great Hall, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 6EL.

Professor David Nutt, Professor Christine Hauskeller, Ritula Shah (chair), Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes


Psychedelic drugs are gaining attention in the pharmaceutical industry because of increasing scientific evidence of their potential benefits for people suffering with psychiatric disorders.  Hear from scientists leading ground-breaking work at Imperial College which suggests that psilocybin in Magic Mushrooms may ‘reset’ brain activity in people with depression.  Is there real scientific evidence of the […]

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Beavers and rewilding

Thursday 28 July 2022

Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter EX4 3LS

Derek Gow


Hear an inspirational and often riotously funny first-hand account of the movement to rewild the British landscape with beavers – and how it became the most subversive nature conservation act of the modern era. Since the early 1990s – in the face of opposition from government, landowners, and even some conservation professionals – Derek Gow […]

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A musical tour of Field Neuroscience

Thursday 26 May 2022

Exeter Phoenix Gandy St, Exeter EX4 3LS

Dr. Danbee Kim


How do we relate neuroscience research in laboratories to our experience of living? The goal of Field Neuroscience is to build a bridge between the two – it’s the non-invasive study of nervous systems “in the wild”. Neuroscientists study something that everyone uses every day to navigate the complexities of human society – their nervous […]

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The Future of AI

Thursday 31 March 2022

Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter. EX4 3LS

Sholthana Begum, Professor Peter Challenor, Professor Tim Dodwell, Noor Shaker, Ritula Shah (chair)


AI is at a crucial point: in this event discover its radiant possibilities as well as the possible changes to all our lives. A world leading panel of experts from business, finance, media and academia discuss the eye-opening scenarios of our future. There is a particular focus on how AI is used to make models […]

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10 ways to help your child do well

Thursday 27 January 2022

Exeter Phoenix

Professor Lee Elliot Major


How can you help your children do well at school and beyond? Hear the top tips – and the evidence for them – in this special live event with Lee Elliot Major, the first professor of Social Mobility. He’ll reveal what really matters in education, debunking myths and misconceptions that can harm children’s learning. Professor […]

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Viruses that improve our health

Thursday 25 November 2021

Professor Martha Clokie


  We think about viruses as harmful to us, but research by our speaker Martha Clokie shows that some can improve our health. These tiny viruses known as ‘phages’ do this by invading bacteria, multiplying, and bursting out, eventually destroying their host. When these are bacteria that attack our bodies, this could be beneficial—our enemy’s […]

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Protecting Nature – Improving our Health

Wednesday 13 October 2021

Online

Luke Pollard MP, Dr Ben Wheeler, Anu Anand, Dr. Jonathan Reeves, Emily Stephenson, Beth Collier


For centuries, people have found solace and respite through nature. Now, increasing evidence is showing that the benefits of spending time in nature extend beyond ‘feeling good’ to longer term improvements in our physical and mental health and wellbeing. We see the influence of this evidence beginning to shape policy and practice, such as the […]

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Tech vs Trust

Thursday 1 July 2021

Glen Weyl, Reema Patel, Henry Farrell, Niccolò Tempini, Ritula Shah (chair)


In this lively online discussion, our speakers will take a deep dive in to the relationship between online technology and our data. We give away our data in exchange for so-called ‘free’ services, giving firms valuable information that underpins their business models. The data drives revenue, often used to help targetted adverts function or provide […]

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Why is Climate Change so hard?

Friday 27 November 2020

Ritula Shah (chair), Professor Richard Betts MBE, Grace Blakeley, Professor Robert Pollin, Dr Kris de Meyer, Dr Catherine Butler


This lively online discussion looked at communicating science, the psychology behind our actions, and the politics of Climate Change. “The danger of global warming is as yet unseen, but real enough for us to make changes and sacrifices” Margaret Thatcher told the UN in 1989. Yet, in 2020 the predictions are unfolding with devastating wildfires, […]

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