The Scientistt Podcast

"PhD in climate physics by day, YouTuber by night."

Simon Clark started documenting his PhD journey on Youtube in 2013. He's sinced ammased more than 320,000 followers, and has a unique ability to tackle subjects ranging from astrophysics to the theoretical possibility of Warhammer planets existing. 

On this pod, we cover a lot of ground. We talk about the surprising pitfalls and benefits of YouTube, the (non-linear) relationship between understanding something and finding meaning in it, and we compare the psychological appeal of science with other types of frameworks. 

Find Simon on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRRr_xrOm66qaigIbwFLvbQ

We hear a lot about the 'mindset' of successful people ... but what do the experts actually think? It's time to find out!

As well as being an expert in all things brains, Brianna is a lecturer and social psychology researcher at the University of Southern Australia. As well as her academic work, she created a creative outlet called "DrOfWhat", while she was completing her PhD journey. She soon realised the potential this blog had to provide support to students and has since been creating a variety of content for students Now in an early academic career, she also shares content to reflect on her own journey and to share her learnings.

Follow Brianna here: https://twitter.com/BriannaLeBusque  

What's it like to be one of the most influential women in UK tech?

On this episode, we speak to Dr Jess Wade - a physicist, science communicator and champion for gender quality in science. Outside of her research in to polymer-based OLED's, Jess is involved with several outreach initiatives committed to improving diversity in science, both online and offline. Since the start of 2018, she has written the Wikipedia biographies of underrepresented scientists every single day. In this conversation we delve a little deeper in to the "why?" behind Jess' activism, and find out exactly what needs to be done to tackle systemic bias in science.

Find Jess here: https://twitter.com/jesswade  

We've produced over 30 episodes now! During that time, the scope of our podcast has changed as we have progressed and grown. To mark the higher quality, bigger reach and better organisation of our show ... we've made a new intro! Enjoy. 

This is the story of how science can get you on set at one of your favourite TV shows!

Sophia is on a mission to captivate the world with physics, one particle at a time. Working on a PhD at UC Irvine with a focus on cosmology and astroparticle theory, her field is "using the very big and the very small to solve some of the Universe’s greatest mysteries". The work of this researcher goes far beyond the lab however. As a science advisor and popular influencer, Sophia has amassed over 55,000 followers on Twitter and had her work featured on popular sci-fi TV shows, such as 12 Monkeys.

In this conversation we let Sophia take us on a journey through space, breaking down her complex work in to a chat that anyone can understand. 

Sophia's website can be found here and you can follow her on Twitter here. 

 They say your life can flash before your eyes when you are in a life-or-death situation.

Well, that's not what happened to today's guest, marine biologist, Melissa Marquez. Why?, because she was fully submerged in treacherous dark waters, as she was dragged away by a three metre American crocodile whilst filming for Discovery Channel's Shark Week.

Now known as the "Mother of Sharks", Melissa presents and writes about science on the biggest of stages, such as the New York Times and The Washington Post. All of this has culminated in her addition to the Forbes 30 Under 30 and BBC's 100 Women lists, 

Here we talk everything from survival and sharks, to feminism in science. Let us know how you found the conversation! 

 "Nutrition is an area where there’s a lot of misinformation, and a lot of twisting of information, and a lot of money to be made. The whole ‘dieting’ industry is a huge industry where a lot of money is made.” 

Today's guest, Dr. Emma Beckett, is working hard to bust the myths surrounding food nutrition. Hailing from Australia, Emma has a PhD in Food and Nutrition, as well as previous collaborations with global food companies such as Kellogs and Mars. If this wasn't enough, she has a growing online audience, engaging with around 20,000 Twitter followers. In this episode, we delve a little deeper in to Emma's career, message and story. 

Find Emma here: https://twitter.com/synapse101

 What a year ... where do we start! 

As 2020 draws to a close, we're ending the year by celebrating the festive season with a very special episode. We've had some amazingly talented, high-profile and prestigious guests over the last six months, helping the growth of a supportive, kind and outgoing online community. So, in celebration of this - today's episode features not one, but two, members of the Scientistt community. Here we talk all things 2020, and answer some of the questions that you submitted on social media! 

Find Henry at: https://twitter.com/hpowelldavies

Find Vee at: https://twitter.com/Vee_0111

From everyone at Scientistt, have a very Merry Christmas & Thank You for a great year! 

A scientist and thinker, in 2009 Nicholas Christakis was named in Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. 

Using data from a study that tracked about 5,000 people over 20 years, he suggests that happiness, like the flu, can spread from person to person. He found that smoking and obesity can be socially infectious too.

In a viral video taken from Yale University, Nicholas is captured defending the most fundamental principle of higher education: that the university should serve as a place of free inquiry where individuals can respectfully engage with one another in the pursuit of knowledge. This event gained so much notoriety in both academic and non-academic circles, that even The Simpsons found fun in the event in one of their later episodes. 

The title of this episode was inspired by Nicholas' book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apollos-Arrow-Profound-Enduring-Coronavirus/dp/0316628212 

"Last but by no means least, I am happy that I have managed to work since that dreadful day in September 1978 when I was diagnosed with MS."

Life hasn't been easy. Born in 1943 in wartime Aberdeen, Dr Kosterlitz's parents had fled Hitler’s Germany in 1934 because his father, a non-practicing Jew, came from a Jewish family and was forbidden to marry a non-Jewish woman. From these roots, few were to expect that he would go on to be awarded the most prestigious award in the world of Physics - a Nobel Prize.  So how did he do it?

A graduate of both of the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, and former professor at Birmingham University and Brown University, we delve deeper in to Dr Kosterlitz's career journey, personal struggle and his award-winning research. 

See more from The Scientistt Podcast here: https://scientistt.net/pages/podcast