WeAreSTS

Well, the wait is over. The time has come. Season 2 of WeAreSTS is on its way.

This season we’ll feature some cracking projects from STS students. And we’ll have conversations with all sorts of folks here in the department. I’m gonna sneak in a few bonuses too, just to add that tiny bit of sparkle.

WeAreSTS is your window into science and technology studies. You know that science and technology don’t live inside isolated bubbles. You know they’re shaped by all sorts of forces and constraints. STS explores that interplay between science and context. For some, it’s money and politics. For others, it’s geography and imagination. For others still maybe it’s social and cultural biases; the role of age, class and gender; or the way ideas give us certain world views that can be hard to shake. It’s a complex subject “science in context”. That gives us huge amounts to explore.

WeAreSTS is designed to help you join us in what we do. Maybe that’s science policy, innovation studies, or communication. Maybe it’s the hunt for social justice. Maybe you’re fascinated with history, or philosophy, or sociology and you’re looking for big themes to give it all some focus. For me, what works is “Darwin and Dinosaurs” but my-oh-my the big themes are changing fast, and let me tell you, some of those new ideas are mind-blowing.

Season 2 of WeAreSTS begins soon. Listen out for the first episode in early September. Now’s the time to charge your batteries. To tap that subscribe button. And to tell your friends. Hey, even tell your mum: WeAreSTS Season 2 is on its way.

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

1. Bodhilila Young, Chair of the West London Buddist Centre
   https://westlondonbuddhistcentre.com/teachers/bodhilila/
2. 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
3. Professor Miguel Farias, Associate Professor Experimental Psychology, Coventry University
   https://pureportal.coventry.ac.uk/en/persons/miguel-farias
   https://miguelfarias.co.uk
4. 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

Alex Hancock explores how research about museum collections is helping to connect British museums with more of the publics they claim to support. His emphasis is on decolonisation, engagement, and white European power. Ultimately, how do structural inequalities manifest in our museums, and how do we move to a new set of relationships?

Alex undertook this project for the STSNewsRoom in summer 2021. His reporting focused on two specific events.

First, Alex discusses with Tannis Davidson the “Displays of Power” exhibition at UCL Grant Museum of Zoology, which explores legacy of empire through objects in the museum and other natural history collections. Objects in these collections have complex histories of collection and ownership. We need to move past merely celebrating the collector and collecting, the exhibition argues, and instead highlight issues of power and control, removal and appropriation, privilege and the ability to ignore.

Second, Alex discusses critiques of representation and engagement in museums with Professor Emily Dawson in light of Black Lives Matter campaigning. Professor Dawson has a long history working with groups from many communities to explore what museums mean to them and how museums serve different groups. For some people, museums just aren’t welcoming places, Professor Dawson explains.

Alex asks the straightforward question: where are these movements leading the future of museums? Is change likely in the near future?

Featuring

Presenter and researcher

Alex Hancock, UCL Class 0f 2021

Alex also contributed to STS Alchemy 2021

Interviewees

Tannis Davidson, Curator of UCL Grant Museum of Zoology

Professor Emily Dawson, UCL Professor of Education, Science and Society

In the break, you heard Jasmine Charkravarty, also part of the STSNewsRoom2021.

Additional materials

Professor Dawson’s papers regarding the social exclusion of groups in museum spaces include:

1. Dawson, E. (2014). “Not Designed for Us”: How Science Museums and Science Centers Socially Exclude Low-Income, Minority Ethnic Groups. Science Education, 98(6), 981-1008.
2. Dawson, E. (2018). Reimagining publics and (non)participation: Exploring exclusion from science communication through the experiences of low-income, minority ethnic groups. Public Understanding of Science, 27(7), 772-786.
   
   

The study mentioned by Dr. Dawson regarding Indigenous curatorial practices and how their artefacts and artwork are cared for in museums:

Nagam, J., Lane, C., and Tamati-Quennell, M. (Eds.). (2020). Becoming our future: global indigenous curatorial practice (Winnipeg, Canada: ARP Books)

Host: Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor in History and Philosophy of Biology

Music credits

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5

“Ecossaise in E-flat,” by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3700-ecossaise-in-e-flat-woo-86-

In the episode, Alex also uses this music:

Young Logos, “Papov”, YouTube Audio Library

Bad Snacks, “Wallflowers”, YouTube Audio Library

Podcast information

“WeAreSTS” is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, and to leave feedback about the show, visit us online:

https://ucl.ac.u

We sampled undergraduate projects in a previous episode. Now, it time for the Master’s students. Today’s episode offers a sampler of student-made podcasts. These were created by Master’s students in our science journalism module, run by Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon.

The assignment was straightforward: imagine you’re working for a news magazine. Create a three-minute feature about a recent piece of research at UCL. The piece must include a short interview segment, and it must make sense within the context of the show. They have a tight deadline, and they have to work pretty much with the tools they have through a laptop and phone. The goal is to mimic real-world work as a freelance journalist.

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 proposals. Research of different kinds. Creativity. And Challenge. We diversify our curriculum because we’re training for a flexible future: a world of work that is as varied as we can imagine.

For today, I’ve brought together eight of the student projects that appeal to me. They’re varied, and they deliver the assignment is different ways. Think of this as a sampler. Details about each track are in the show notes.

The whole syllabus for HPSC0122 Science Journalism:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/testing/postgraduate-modules-draft/science-journalism-hpsc0122

Tracks

Track 1. Tackling Far-Right Extremism Online, Thorin Bristow
For this newscast I interviewed CianO’Donovan on his recent research published in the Journal of Peer Production titled “Collective Capabilities For Resisting Far-Right Extremism Online And In The Real World”. We discuss the problem of far-right extremism in the digital sphere, and Cian’s associated work with the Far Right Observatory in Ireland. The intersections of digital technologies, tech firms, and society are explored, following Cian’s harms-first approach to research.

Track 2. Planetary bodies observed for the first time in habitable zone of a dead star, Bharadwaj Vangipuram
The podcast gives the audience a brief introduction of what white dwarf stars is and how relevant their study is to our solar system and the universe. With the stage set with what white dwarfs are and the research mentioned, the podcast dives into the procedure of the discovery which included: Identifying recurring patterns, Habitable zone, Inference from debris to planets. The podcast also gives the audience an insight into what are the difficulties faced by the team during the discovery which included constrained resources (Telescope time) and the luck involved in it.

Track 3. Is it healthy for children to follow plant based diets?, Sophie Reich-Michalik
This podcast is framed as a weekly occurring feature about sustainable living, targeted primarily at families. This week's episode is about the health effects of plant based diets for children. Professor Jonathan Wells is interviewed about his recent study “Growth, body composition, and cardiovascular and nutritional risk of 5- to 10-y-old children consuming vegetarian, vegan, or omnivore diets.” In the episode, he explains how his study was conducted, his findings and his suggestions for parents with children interested in following a plant based diet.

Track 4. New research in UCL on sex differences reveals the urgency of mental health gendered medicine, Eve Barro
The newscast highlights the implications of a new paper Freya Pentice published a few months ago about sex differences in cardiac interception, the ability to feel internal cardiac signals. We explore together what impact such research can have on personalised mental health intervention and the importance of conducting and communi

It’s one of those fundamental tenets taught to every student: science is international; it’s the same everywhere, it respects no borders; the work is the same no matter where or when you are. Assessing this idea is a core task in STS. Our philosophers, historians, and sociologists work overtime on case studies to explore internationality. Our policy and communication experts grapple with variations and work to understand where there is consensus and where there’s consensus.

In this episode, Beatrice Han (BSc Sociology and Politics of Science student) investigates science and internationality. As an international student, Beatrice is very familiar with borders and different systems in different places. She brings together three others in STS with similar experiences to talk about internationality and science: Dr Tiago Mata (Associate Professor in Science and Technology Studies), Isabel Lim (UCL Class of 2022), and Andrea Lekare (UCL Class of 2023, and another member of the STSNewsRoom2022). They each bring an international background when they talk about their experiences of scientific policies and knowledge in different countries. The conversation considers possible explanations for these differences. They also discuss whether its better to keep or eliminate outside factors. Is there value in preserving variety?

This is another contribution from the STSNewsRoom2022. Here in STS we want to give students work experience in science communication, so each summer we set up as many paid internships as we can, and we work with students to create content for publications, like our annual magazine, STS Alchemy. We also ask them to create a podcast episode. On any subject they choose. We want about 30 minutes. We want interviews. We want something STS. But most of all, we want ideas and creativity.

Featuring

Reporter and original research

• Beatrice Han

Interviewees

1. Dr Tiago Mata, Associate Professor in Science and Technology Studies
2. Isabel Lim, UCL Class of 2022
3. Andrea Lekare, UCL Class of 2023

Host

• Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology

Music credits

Intro and Exit music

• “Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod
  https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5

Interval music

• Midnite Dialog Short

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://www.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