This episode we chatted to Michael Eisen (@mbeisen), a Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Michael is a core advocate of the Open Science movement Co-Founding the Public Library of Science (PLOS). He is also, as of this April, an aspiring Senator (you can follow his alter-ego at @SenatorPhD). We spoke about bringing science down from its ivory tower, the merits of being a politically engaged scientist, and how the issue of diversity in science (..and politics) is far from solved.