Under Review

Andy Tattersall
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  • EDUCATION

Academia has a 'wicked problem' - actually, it has several. Welcome to Under Review, the podcast where I give guests an opportunity to stop tweaking the edges and start reimagining a future where things might work better. What would stay, what would we build from scratch, and what needs throwing into the Under Review rubbish bin? It’s time to put the system ‘under review'. I’m Andy Tattersall and I’m a research communications consultant and in this podcast I will speak to some of the sector’s boldest thinkers to bring us their most radical, left-field and blue sky ideas for change.

Episodes

  1. MAR 2 · BONUS

    Under Review Rapid Response - Ivory Towers and Burning Bridges: The Ethical Cost of Staying on X

    The balance has finally tipped. As of early 2026, UK universities on X are now in the minority. In this Rapid Response episode, I dive into a dataset of nearly 500 academic organizations to track the mass tactical retreat from Elon Musk’s platform. While universities were the most reluctant to leave the party, the data shows the glow has finally faded. With 76 institutions now inactive and engagement cratering, staying on X is starting to look less like holding the fort and more like getting trapped in a digital basement with some very dodgy people. I discuss the ethical and practical nails in the coffin, from Grok’s AI deepfakes to the platform's active de-prioritization of research. 57% of the sector has effectively ghosted the platform, but why are others reluctant to leave? The CILIP Contradiction: why is the UK’s professional body for librarians and information professionals still in the Ministry of Disinformation? The strategic difference between a broken platform and a difficult media outlet. How to execute a professional strategic relocation rather than a frantic midnight flit. Will your institution be the last one talking to itself at the party? It’s time to look at the data.

    14 min

  2. FEB 23

    Under Review with Dr Elisabeth Bik - Research fraud detection, papermills and that rat

    My guest is Elisabeth Bik who is a microbiologist and scientific integrity consultant. Her work involves detecting and outing photo manipulation in scientific publications. This problem has become a rather big one in the world of research, not least since the introduction of generative AI into the world of academic publishing. Elisabeth’s journey into the murky world of academic malpractice started over a decade ago when she was a victim of plagiarism. Her work has resulted in 1600 retractions, expressions of concern, and 1200 corrections as we speak. She is a leader in the area of scientific integrity and has received the 2021 Maddox Prize and the 2024 Einstein Foundation Award. We discussed the increasing scope and financial cost of academic misconduct, driven by the "publish or perish" culture, which leads to the rise of paper mills and the gaming of metrics. We agreed that current unpaid peer review is insufficient to detect fraud and requires professionalised, paid reviewers and secondary systems for scanning complex issues, while Bik strongly advocated for national or international committees to investigate misconduct cases due to conflicts of interest when universities review their own staff. Bik also suggested restructuring the scientific system by eliminating postdoctoral positions in favour of stable staff roles, shifting to 'micro publications' with public peer review, and prioritising funding for proven principal investigators to reduce the pressure to publish and address toxic work cultures. Academia has a 'wicked problem' - actually, it has several. Welcome to Under Review, the podcast where I give guests an opportunity to stop tweaking the edges and start reimagining a future where things might work better. What would stay, what would we build from scratch, and what needs throwing into the Under Review rubbish bin? It’s time to put the system itself... under review." I’m Andy Tattersall and I’m a research communications consultant who previously worked 25 years at a Russell Group university in the UK and over the course of this podcast I will speak to some of the sector’s boldest and brightest thinkers to explore a topic and bring us their most radical, left-field and blue sky ideas for reform. They will get to say what stays and what gets binned. Hosted and produced by Andy Tattersall Elisabeth Bik Elisabeth Bik on Bluesky Science Integrity Digest

    57 min

  3. TRAILER

    Under Review episode 2 trailer: The AI rat and fabricated research detection. Elisabeth Bik

    Trailer for the forthcoming second edition of Under Review where renowned microbiologist and academic fraud investigator, Elisabeth Bik talks about how easy it has become to get fabricated images within academic papers through peer review and into journals. Using the example of the rat with the big testicles and penis, that was published in a Frontiers journal, highlighting the extent of the problem. Hosted and produced by Andy Tattersall Elisabeth Bik Elisabeth Bik on Bluesky Science Integrity Digest

    1 min

  4. FEB 2

    Under Review with Professor Dorothy Bishop - Elon Musk and the Royal Society, academic fraud and the publishing model

    Academia has a 'wicked problem' - actually, it has several. Welcome to Under Review, the podcast where I give guests an opportunity to stop tweaking the edges and start reimagining a future where things might work better. What would stay, what would we build from scratch, and what needs throwing into the Under Review rubbish bin? It’s time to put the system itself... ‘under review. What happens when one of the world’s most prestigious scientific institutions chooses to ignore a widespread call to remove Elon Musk from its fellowship at the expense of its own integrity? For the first episode of Under Review, we aren't pulling any punches. My guest is the esteemed academic and science communicator, Professor Dorothy Bishop. She is a leader in developmental neuropsychology, and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford, and a tireless champion for open science. In 2024, Professor Bishop did something that sent shockwaves through the academic world by resigning from the Royal Society over Elon Musk’s continued inclusion as a fellow (Spoiler alert! Musk goes in the Under Review Bin). We explore academic reputation as a whole, making the right decisions and what the Royal Society should do to prevent future problems. We also discuss academic publishing, fraudulent practices, bad actors and the issue of peer review. Dorothy gets to be in charge for the day, picks where we should start again and what gets tossed into the Under Review Bin. Bishop Blog: https://deevybee.blogspot.com/ Dorothy Bishop Oxford University page https://www.psy.ox.ac.uk/people/dorothy-bishop Dorothy Bishop on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_V._M._Bishop Relevant blog posts from Dorothy’s BishopBlog https://deevybee.blogspot.com/2024/11/why-i-have-resigned-from-royal-society.html   https://deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/02/seven-reasons-for-keeping-elon-musk-as.html   https://deevybee.blogspot.com/2018/05/how-to-survive-on-twitter-simple-rule.html   https://deevybee.blogspot.com/2020/01/research-funders-need-to-embrace-slow.html   https://deevybee.blogspot.com/2024/07/whistleblowing-research-misconduct-and.html   https://deevybee.blogspot.com/2026/01/an-open-letter-to-bmj-editorial-board.html   Books featured in the conversation  Elliott, C. (2024). The occasional human sacrifice. Norton.   Bazerman, M. (2025). Inside an academic scandal. MIT press. Hosted and Produced by Andy Tattersall I’m Andy Tattersall and I’m a research communications consultant with 25 years previously working at a Russell Group university and over the course of this podcast I will speak to some of the sector’s boldest thinkers to bring us their most radical, left-field and blue sky ideas for reform.  Music courtesy  PineAppleMusic  https://pixabay.com/music/beats-sky-up-hip-hop-166453/

    1h 26m

  5. TRAILER

    Under Review Trailer

    I made a break for the outdoors and between the continual winter rain and gloom to head out into the fields near home. It was a good opportunity to talk about a new podcast series I am hosting called Under Review, where I invite esteemed guests from across academia to talk about how they would envisage the higher education world free of all the wicked problems that currently blight it. From publish or perish to predatory journals, from academic esteem to the REF. Expect bold ideas and reinvention and what doesn't work, gets thrown into the Under Review waste paper bin, never to be seen again. To find out what my guests suggest to save or bin, follow and subscribe to this podcast, here or on my YouTube channel.

    3 min

Trailers

About

Academia has a 'wicked problem' - actually, it has several. Welcome to Under Review, the podcast where I give guests an opportunity to stop tweaking the edges and start reimagining a future where things might work better. What would stay, what would we build from scratch, and what needs throwing into the Under Review rubbish bin? It’s time to put the system ‘under review'. I’m Andy Tattersall and I’m a research communications consultant and in this podcast I will speak to some of the sector’s boldest thinkers to bring us their most radical, left-field and blue sky ideas for change.

Information

  • Creator
    Andy Tattersall
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Andy Tattersall
  • Show Website
    Under Review

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