WeAreSTS UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS)

Hollywood chooses to portray experts in particular – sometimes peculiar – ways. Those choices have profound impacts on how audiences think about subjects as diverse as dinosaurs, robots, and climate catastrophes. But do those portrayals also change the way we think about the experts themselves and the process of expertise? Does Hollywood play some kind of under-the-table role in teaching us which experts to trust? That’s the theme for today’s podcast.
Today, we listen in on a conversation between three experts here in STS who study science policy making as a process. They talk about a couple of films in which experts play starring roles. To get things going, they concentrate on two films: “Films like Don’t Look Up,” the star-studded 2021 Netflix film directed by Adam McKay. And, “2012,” the 2009 Sony Pictures apocalypse film directed by Roland Emmerich.
In some ways, these films are very different. But in key ways, they’re remarkably similar.
The conversation you’ll hear was organised and led by Haes Seung Chung, one of the students in this year’s STSNewsRoom. She keeps things moving, and she keeps our panellists on their toes. In fact, she’s ready to go. So, I’m just hand the microphone over to her, and I’ll see you on the other side.
 
Featuring
 
Interviewer and researcher
Haes Seung Chung, STS 2023 student in our integrated BSc programme  
Interviewees
Professor Jack Stilgoe, UCL Professor of Science and Technology Policy Dr Saheli Datta Burton, UCL Lecturer (Teaching) in Science Policy (Responsible Research and Innovation) Dr Stephen Hughes, UCL Lecturer in Science, Technology and Society  
Host
Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain  
Music credits
 
Intro and Exit music
“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod
https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
 
Music within the episode
Endless Dessert- Steven Beddall: Endless Desert by Steven Bedlam | Artlist.io
 
Podcast information
 
WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

Ever heard of climate change comedy? Here’s the idea. The climate crisis dominates our news. But more and more, messages about action are ignored. Fatalism is growing. People seem frozen with the scale of the problem. It’s clear we need new ways to tackle these tough conversations.
In this episode, STS’s very own Grace Tyrrell explores the growing niche of climate change comedy. With her guest Dr Matt Winning, an environmental researcher and comedian, Grace shows us how climate change comedy works and she explores the question of how these two ideas can fit together. Grace is finishing her master’s degree in science communication with us.
After interviewing Matt Winning about the theory, Grace asks a set of fellow students about the practice. Does climate change comedy work? Do it inform the head? Does it engage the heart? Does it lead keep up momentum in climate action?
Thanks to her guest, Dr Matt Winning and to fellow STS students Joe Woof, Steph Hawes, Megan Thomas, Gusti Ayu Ismayanti, Annabel Bourne for their time.
Grace completed this podcast episode as part of the Podcast Sprint 2023, run by Professor Joe Cain for STS students.
 
Further information on climate change comedy
Is climate change a laughing matter? (Carroll-Monteil 2021) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13504622.2022.2113764
Climate Strange - Dr Matt Winning, TEDx Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPCEqPdEY1A&t=281s
 
Featuring
Interviewer and researcher
Grace Tyrrell, UCL Science Communication MSc Class of 2023
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracetyrrell/
@gracescicomm
 
Interviewees
Dr Matt Winning, Senior Research Fellow at UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/sustainable/people/mr-matthew-winning
https://mattwinning.com/about/
 
Science Communication MSc Class of 2023
Joe Woof, Steph Hawes, Megan Thomas, Gusti Ayu Ismayanti, Annabel Bourne
 
Host
Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain
 
Music credits (show)
“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod
https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5
 
Music credits (within the episode)
“Accralate,” by Kevin MacLeod
https://filmmusic.io/song/3336-accralate
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
 
Podcast information
WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast
Editing by Grace Tyrrell
Post production by Professor Joe Cain
 
Listen to Science Refresh
Science Refresh is a bi-weekly podcast bringing you a fresh take on the latest in science and technology. Join hosts Grace, Meg and Dom as they take you through the stories that you won’t have seen in the headlines.
https://open.spotify.com/show/0aS44BehxWXfFLpm5FgrcM?si=fe84b76444ce45d2&nd=1

Mandy dives optimistically into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on education as we know it. Think ChatGPT and all those related tools called generative AI. Along the way, we touch on some fundamental and relevant concepts from science and technology studies - including the Turing Test and technological determinism - that can help us gain a more nuanced understanding of emerging technology and big tech. With insights from UCL experts and others in Silicon Valley, we explore the incredible potential of AI to enhance university education, plus we dip into some of the challenges AI ultimately poses to human value.
This is an episode from the STSNewsRoom 2023.
 
Featuring
Interviewer and researcher
Mandy Huynh
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandyhuy/
 
Interviewee
Dr Rich Osborne
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/mathematical-physical-sciences/education/meet-team/richard-osborne
 
Host
Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain
 
Resources
Designing assessment for an AI-enabled world (latest assessment modification suggestions from UCL)
What if… we really wanted to prepare young people for the age of artificial intelligence?(Rose Luckin, UCL IOE, speaks on a panel)
AI in the Classroom | Greylock (Reid Hoffman’s interview with ChatGPT)
Inside OpenAI, the Architect of ChatGPT | The Circuit (Emily Chang interview with Reid Hoffman)
How AI Could Save (Not Destroy) Education | Sal Khan | TED
Is AI Our Future Teacher? | AI IRL
 
Music credits (episode)
Chasing by NEFFEX
Lawrence by TrackTribe
From the YouTube Music Library
 
Music credits (show)
Music credits
“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod
https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5
 
Podcast information
WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast
 
Correction
Mandy said she took Professor Agar’s module in 2023. In fact, she took it in 2022.
 

The assignments students do in STS modules today are nothing like what they used to be. These days, they build portfolios with all sorts of things: short writing, long writing, posters, blogs, in-class presentations. Add to these, projects like podcasts, film clips, campaign strategies, briefing papers, debates, and full-on project proposals. Research of different kinds. They all require hard work, creativity, and rising to the challenge.
We diversify our curriculum because we know the future holds work as varied as we do ourselves each day. We want our students skilled up, practiced, and ready to go.
Today’s episode samples from this year’s student-made podcasts. You’ll hear projects from our undergraduate science journalism module, run by Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon. The assignment is straightforward: create a three-minute news feature about a recent piece of research at UCL. The piece must be suitable for use on as a news segment for radio or podcast. Students start with a recent press release, and they go from there. The piece must include a short interview segment with a researcher. They have a tight deadline, and they have to work pretty much with the tools they have through a laptop and their phone. This is real world work and pace as a freelance journalist.
For you, I’ve brought together eight of the ones I like a lot. They’re varied, and they deliver the assignment is different ways. We’ll take a quick break in the middle, but I want to leave the students to deliver their work as they presented it. Links to all the detail are in the show notes.
The whole syllabus for HPSC0107 Science Journalism:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/sites/sts/files/hpsc0107-science_journalism-syllabus_2022-23.pdf
Tracks
TRACK 1. People Over 50 Often Sleep Better | Lydia Yallop
TRACK 2. Natural Language Modelled and Printed in 3D | Daphne Sarkany
TRACK 3. Link Between Daily Active Movement and Better Cognition in Mid-life | Emile Stuglyte
TRACK 4. We’re Ignoring Impact of Long Covid | Mandy Huynh
TRACK 5. Importance of Breastmilk Bacteria for Healthy Gut in Babies | Omar Al Hashimi
TRACK 6. Time in Nature Can Improve Wellbeing | Isobel Hutt
TRACK 7. Fast-lived Invasive Species Pose Greatest Challenge | Federico Citterich
TRACK 8. Doctors of the Earth: Seismologists Sense the Earth’s Pulse | Andrea Lekare
Details about each track are available on the episode page:
https://profjoecain.net/27-top-stories-in-science-journalism-from-sts-students-wearests
Host
Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain/
Music credits
Intro and Exit music
“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod
https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5
“Silly Intro,” by Alexander Nakarada
https://filmmusic.io/song/4786-silly-intro
Both are available on the website: filmmusic.IO
Music in intervals is a loop created in GarageBand.
Podcast information
WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

Women in the History of Science brings together primary sources that highlight women’s involvement in scientific knowledge production around the world. Drawing on texts, images and objects, each primary source is accompanied by an explanatory text, questions to prompt discussion, and a bibliography to aid further research. Arranged by time period, covering 1200 BCE to the twenty-first century, and across 12 inclusive and far-reaching themes, this book is an invaluable companion to students and lecturers alike in exploring women’s history in the fields of science, technology, mathematics, and medicine.
While women are too often excluded from traditional narratives of the history of science, this book centres on the voices and experiences of women across a range of domains of knowledge. By questioning our understanding of what science is, where it happens, and who produces scientific knowledge, this reader is an aid to liberating the curriculum within schools and universities.
In this episode, Professor Joe Cain talks with the sourcebook’s FIVE co-editors. Each recently completed a PhD in UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies. We talk about the book, how readers might use it in teaching, what their favourite chapters are, and how they’re using their own skills to improve the subject of history for everyone.
 
Book information
Women in the History of Science: A sourcebook
Edited by Hannah Wills, Sadie Harrison, Erika Jones, Rebecca Martin, and Farrah Lawrence-Mackey
2023 UCL Press
ISBN 9781800084155
Open Access PDF Free Download; Print also available
https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/211143
 
Featuring
Interviewees
Hannah Wills is R&D Producer at Royal Holloway, University of London.
https://royalholloway.academia.edu/HannahWills
 
Sadie Harrison is Honorary Research Associate at the Department of Science and Technology Studies, UCL and works in the environment sector.
 
Erika Lynn Jones is Curator of Navigation and Oceanography at Royal Museums, Greenwich. 
https://erika-jones.org
 
Farrah Lawrence-Mackey is re-training to practice law.
 
Rebecca Martin has been Research Fellow in the Centre for History in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Caird Research Fellow at National Maritime Museum, Royal Museums Greenwich.
https://dr-rebecca-martin.com
 
Each also is an Honorary Research Associate in UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS).
 
Host
Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain
 
Music credits
Music credits
“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod
https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5
“Silly Intro,” by Alexander Nakarada
https://filmmusic.io/song/4786-silly-intro
 
Podcast information
WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast
 

Chances are you’ve had something to do with “mindfulness” recently. Maybe you’ve been sent to “mindfulness” training. Or, perhaps you’ve been listening to a mindfulness podcast. Or, perhaps you’re using a “mindfulness” app, such as HeadSpace.
In this episode, Franziska Link investigates the growing use of mindfulness therapies at universities, such as UCL, in their provision for student support and welfare. What good are they? What do they involve? What are the pros – and the cons – of this approach. Franziska interviews four people with quite different relationships to mindfulness therapies. She works to separate the hype from the research.
This episode is part of the STSNewsRoom 2021. Franziska also contributed to STSAlchemy2021.
Additional Sources on Mindfulness
UCL Student Support and Wellbeing UCL self-guided materials on mindfulness Ronan Mccoy (2022). Mindfulness. UCL School of Management Mindful Society, Student’s Union UCL UCL Hospital NHS has mindfulness advice
For UCL staff:
UCL HR has mindfulness advice and training Featuring
Interviewer and researcher
Franziska Link, UCL Class of 2023
https://www.linkedin.com/in/franziska-link-0701b1171 Interviewees
Bodhilila Young, Chair of the West London Buddist Centre
https://westlondonbuddhistcentre.com/teachers/bodhilila/ Professor Andrew Steptoe, Professor of Psychology and Head of the Research Department of Behavioural Science and Health
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/obesity-policy-research-unit/andrew-steptoe Professor Miguel Farias, Associate Professor Experimental Psychology, Coventry University
https://pureportal.coventry.ac.uk/en/persons/miguel-farias
https://miguelfarias.co.uk David “Davy” Tennison, doctoral student, UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/avy-tennison Host
Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain Music Credits
“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin McLeod
https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5
“Ecossaise in E-flat,” by Kevin MacLeod
https://filmmusic.io/song/3700-ecossaise-in-e-flat-woo-86-
Podcast Information
WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast
This site also includes information for how STS students and staff can get involved with our programme.
WeAreSTS producer is Professor Joe Cain.
Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS