Live from The Space Shed

For this episode we’re in the Faraway Forest at Latitude Festival with particle physicist Professor Jon Butterworth. Jon works on the Large Hadron Collider’s ATLAS experiment at CERN. Not sure what any of those things are? No problem! Jon describes them and his work brilliantly.

In this episode Jon (Butterworth) and UNSA’s Director of Human Spaceflight (other) Jon Spooner talk about

• what particle physics even is
• why it is worth dedicating your life to physics
• Jon B’s 5 billion year old wedding ring
• what CERN, the Large Hadron Collider and the ATLAS experiment are
• what the Higgs Boson is
• what the most exciting words in science are
• what the High Luminosity Upgrade is
• what is dark energy and dark matter
• if you’re 10 now (or looking for a career change) how do you go about being part of finding out what dark matter is?

… and Jon answers questions on:

• what his favourite particle is
• are there any other universes?
• how do you know you’re looking at the right things with the LHC?
• do you ever work with artists to come up with your weird ideas?

Enjoy!

LINKS

Jon on Twitter @jonmbutterworth

Jon’s blog lifeandphysics.com

BUY HIS BOOK Smashing Physics

CREDITS

Presenters: Jon Spooner & Mini Jon

Sound Engineer & Editor: Andy Wood

Additional sound design: Elena Pena

Music: Public Service Broadcasting

Producers: Jon Spooner, Alice Massey, Sarah Webb for Unlimited

Consultancy: Storythings

Graphic Design: Lee Goater

The Unlimited Space Agency and The Space Shed are projects of Unlimited Theatre

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode we’re back in the Faraway Forest at Latitude Festival with astrophysicist and science communicator Jen Gupta. Based in the super cooly named Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth where she is the SEPnet/Ogden Physics Outreach and Public Engagement Manager, Jen is also one of the hosts of the BBC Tomorrow’s World Live series, one of the creators and hosts of the Seldom Sirius astronomy podcast and has also been known to perform comedy sets where she uses astronomy to make people laugh. For unknown technical reasons we didn’t record the very end of this conversation so it ends quite abruptly. Sorry, Jen!

In this episode Jen and UNSA’s Director of Human Spaceflight Jon Spooner talk about

• how she became an astrophysicist
• the weirdest thing in the Universe
• smashing the patriarchy
• Jen's Tactile Universe project that allows you to 3D print your own galaxy (!)

and Jen answers questions including

• what do galaxies look like?
• how many atoms there are in the Universe?
• the science of the movie Interstellar
• is time travel possible?

Also they and the audience argue about what the best sci-fi movie is and Jen twists small peoples’ melons by answering questions about what is beyond space and leads everyone in a thought experiment where we imagine ourselves as ants on a piece of string. On the last day of a music festival.

Enjoy!

LINKS

Jen on Twitter @jen_gupta

Jen’s website jengupta.com

Tactile Universe

CREDITS

Presenters: Jon Spooner & Mini Jon

Sound Engineer & Editor: Andy Wood

Additional sound design: Elena Pena

Music: Public Service Broadcasting

Producers: Jon Spooner, Alice Massey, Sarah Webb for Unlimited

Consultancy: Storythings

Graphic Design: Lee Goater

The Unlimited Space Agency and The Space Shed are projects of Unlimited Theatre

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This was our first event in the Faraway Forest at Latitude Festival 2018 with medical and space doctor Kevin Fong. As well as holding a day job as a flying A&E doctor, Kevin also works regularly with NASA, makes documentaries and podcasts about space for the BBC and in 2009 nearly (actually) became an astronaut.

Kevin and UNSA’s Director of Human Spaceflight Jon Spooner talk about:

• How Kevin became a Space Doctor
• Flying in microgravity on The Vomit Comet
• How Kevin nearly (actually) became an astronaut
• How to survive if you’re thrown into cold water
• Kevin’s latest work with NASA on risk management
• That time he was working as Medical Crew on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral

and we answer questions from our Latitude audience including:

• will there be a second series of Train Like An Astronaut?
• how can we “Queer” space?
• is God an astronaut?

Enjoy!

LINKS

Kevin on Twitter @Kevin_Fong

Kevin’s most recent BBC project on the Apollo Missions 13 Minutes to the Moon

CREDITS

Presenters: Jon Spooner & Mini Jon

Sound Engineer & Editor: Andy Wood

Additional sound design: Elena Pena

Music: Public Service Broadcasting

Producers: Jon Spooner, Alice Massey, Sarah Webb for Unlimited

Consultancy: Storythings

Graphic Design: Lee Goater

The Unlimited Space Agency and The Space Shed are projects of Unlimited Theatre

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.