WeAreSTS

Dr Michel Wahome presents a wide-ranging critique of the “research for development” (R4D) model in science and technology policy, with special emphasis on its assumptions about innovation and progress. The deepest concerns we should have with this widely used model, she argues, is its deep faith the ability of science alone to solve social problems. The over-emphasis on science and technology alone is misguided. Alternatives - grounded in meaningful engagement, transdisciplinarity and decolonial practice - are available that deliver positive results.

Michel researches technoscientific knowledge and research production in Global South contexts, and the interaction with prevailing ideas about development and technoscientific progress.

This episode is the audio from a talk in the STS Research Seminar series from December 2021. It was recorded via Zoom, and this recording features only the speaker’s presentation. Powerpoint slides are available for download separately.

Featuring

Speaker: Dr Michel Wahome, Lecturer in Science, Technology, and Society

https://iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=MWAHO83

Host: Professor Jack Stilgoe, Professor in Science Policy

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/stilgoe

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

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain

Music credits

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

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

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Ecossaise in E-flat (WoO 86) by Kevin MacLeod

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

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Production information

Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain.

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.uk/sts/podcast

STS Students and staff also can find on the website information about how to get involved with our programme.

“WeAreSTS” producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

STSNewsRoom #3. Chelsea Tripp reports. The lack of representation on screen is a political issue on everybody’s lips. I investigate how popular streaming platforms, Netflix and Disney+, portray scientists in terms of gender, race, sexuality, neurodivergency, and socio-economic background. Is representation of the scientist moving away from being presented as white, straight, and male? If not, why do big corporations like Netflix and Disney+ continue to present this image of scientists, and what can we do to improve representation as individuals?

The research mentioned in the episode is available as a supplement to the podcast. Depending on your listening platform, you can download the pdf directly or from our website:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/file/13005

Featuring

Presenter: Chelsea K. Tripp

She is profiled in “UCL Scholarship Stories”

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/advancement/case-studies/2021/oct/scholarship-stories-how-deepmind-helped-chelsea-tripp-realise-her-potential

She’s also featured in our annual magazine, STS Alchemy 2021

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/alchemy

Interviewees:

1. Dr Stephen Hughes, Lecturer (Teaching) in Public Engagement

https://iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=SCLEM77

2. Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon, Associate Professor in Science Communication

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/gouyon

3. Gemma Milne, science broadcaster, writer, and journalist

https://www.gemmamilne.co.uk

4. Jasmine Chakravarty featured in the break.

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

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain

Music credits

Music in the show’s introduction and conclusion:

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

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

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In the break we heard:

Silly Intro by Alexander Nakarada

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4786-silly-intro

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Inside the episode, Chelsea uses this music:

-Introductory and end music- “A happy smile on your face” by Music L Files

-Suspense sound effect- “Under investigation” by Iconics Music Production and Composition

-Clock sound effect- “Grandfather clock ticks” by Videvo

-Applause- “Number 1 sound effect” by Soundjay.com

Production information

Editing and post-production of the episode by Chelsea Tripp.

Show editing and production by Professor Joe Cain.

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.uk/sts/podcast

STS Students and staff also can find on the website information about how to get involved with our programme.

“WeAreSTS” producer is Professor Joe Cain

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

STSNewsRoom 2. Odile Lehnen reports. “What is STS?” This is a question all STS students are asked on a regular basis – when travelling, joining a new sports club, at parties or family reunions, and when being interviewed for jobs. I find the question isn’t as straightforward as most people want.

In this episode, I explore what Science and Technology Studies (STS) is really all about. (I study Science and Society at University College London.) To do this, I interview three of my tutors about three ordinary things: the fruit fly Drosophila, the car and the idea of standard time. Each of these examples tells fascinating stories about science, technology, and society. Each displays the value of STS as a research skill or technique for investigation.

When we ask the right questions, we can get underneath the subjects we study and engage fundamental questions. For example, how is science made? Why did a particular scientific development happen at the precise place and time that it did? How do technologies become established in our societies and how do they have the power to change our lives? Who benefits and who loses with innovation and discovery? How do the ways we imagine emerging technologies shape our future?

Further material

For more about the example Dr Martin discussed (fruit fly):

Robert E. Kohler, “Moral economy, material culture, and community in Drosophila Genetics” in Mario Biagioli, ed., The Science Studies Reader (NY: Routledge, 1999), pp. 243-257.

For more about the example Professor Agar discussed (standard time):

Peter Galison. 2000. “Einstein’s Clocks: The Place of Time,” Critical Inquiry 26: 355-389.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1344127

For more about the example Professor Stilgoe discussed (the car):

Jack Stilgoe. 2020. Who’s Driving Innovation?: New Technologies and the Collaborative State (Palgrave). ISBN: ISBN: 978-3-030-32320-2

https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030323196 

Featuring

Presenter: Ms Odile Lehnen

https://www.linkedin.com/in/odile-lehnen-326130188/

Interviewees:

Dr Rebecca Martin, Research Fellow at LSHTM and Research Associate at Inter-change Research Ltd

https://ucl.academia.edu/RebeccaMartin

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rebeccamartin386

Professor Jon Agar, Professor of Science and Technology Studies

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/agar

Professor Jack Stilgoe, Professor in Science Policy

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/stilgoe

Show host

Professor Joe Cain, Professor in History and Philosophy of Biology

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain

Music credits

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

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

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Inside the episode, Odile uses this music:

“Particles” by Rafael Krux

https://filmmusic.io/song/5696-particles-

“Sugar Fairies” by Rafael Krux

https://filmmusic.io/song/5429-sugar-fairies-

“Sneaky Snitch” by Kevin Macleod

https://filmmusic.io/song/4384-sneaky-snitch

“Garden Music” by Kevin Macleod

https://filmmusic.io/song/3796-garden-music

All music is available on https://filmmusic.io

Production information

Edi

Dr Carina Fearnley, Associate Professor of Science Communication, talks about warning research and disaster preparedness. Carina is an expert in disaster warning and public engagement. Her research focuses on ways to improve the effectiveness of warning systems. She’s contributed a lot to communication around risk and warning in the pandemic. Her long-term research focuses on volcano and tsunami warning systems around the world. Her projects involve cases in Iceland, South America, the Middle East, and across Europe. This is real world, life-saving public engagement.

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/fearnley

Carina has been the leader in organising UCL’s Warning Research Centre, which is now running strong. The Centre brings academic and industry people together to focus on specific cases and on fundamentals. This is a relatively new part of STS and it’s making quite an impression.

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/warning-research-centre

I spoke with Carina earlier this year, just after she gave testimony to the UK House of Lords on how the country might prepare for extreme risks in the future. The Select Committee’s report has just been published, so it’s a good time to hear Carina talk about her work, the new Centre, and her experience at the House of Lords.

“Select Committee on Risk Assessment and Risk Planning: Preparing for Extreme Risks: Building a Resilient Society”

Final report

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5802/ldselect/ldrisk/110/110.pdf

Watch select committee hearing:

https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/da07ba0d-2ee1-4d93-b645-23c9dadfd07d

Read select committee hearing:

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5802/ldselect/ldrisk/110/11002.htm

Featuring

Interviewee: Dr Carina Fearnley, Associate Professor of Science Communication

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/fearnley

Interviewer: Professor Joe Cain, Professor in History and Philosophy of Biology

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain

Music credits

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

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

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Sweeter Vermouth," by Kevin MacLeod

https://filmmusic.io/song/4450-sweeter-vermouth

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Production information

Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain.

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.uk/sts/podcast

STS Students and staff also can find on the website information about how to get involved with our programme.

“WeAreSTS” producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

We’re talking CAREERS. Here in STS, careers thinking is at the core of our degree programmes. Every tutor has something important to say about careers, we have our “flexible futures” agenda underpinning the degrees, and we make big use of the resources offered by services across all of UCL. In short, we work hard at career development and we work with the pros. Students are keen to connect their studies with possible jobs, and they’re keen to build up portfolios that help them stand out in a crowd when it comes to job hunting.

To help us all learn more about the resources available, I’ve asked Catherine Casale onto the show. Catherine is a Careers Counsellor with UCL Careers Service.

Catherine has massive experience listening to students talk about how they see the future. She knows how to help people see the possibilities ahead, then start deciding on what needs to be done to reach those goals. She’s been doing this for many years, both at UCL and elsewhere. And in lots of different types of environments.

Catherine has professional degrees from several parts of the University of London. She also has been a professional coach who helps people write, present, and communicate more effectively.

And here’s a top networking tip! When you meet Catherine, ask her about “Toastmasters”. What is it, and how might it help you build key skills for the future.

This episode is part 1 of our conversation. When we start talking careers, there’s always a lot to say. You’ll see. We’ll have part 2 of our conversation in a few weeks.

For more about UCL Careers Service:

https://ucl.ac.uk/careers

And check out their YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVFCAOjbf4P1b06HAcYssBg

For more about careers information related to STS:

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/careers

In the interview, we discussed other resources offered by UCL, for example:

Volunteering Service through Students’ Union UCL:

https://studentsunionucl.org/volunteering

We also discussed the following books:

The Culture Map: Decoding How People Think, Lead, and Get Things Done Across Cultures by Erin Meyer

The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently by Richard E. Nisbett

Featuring

Interviewee:

Catherine Casale, UCL Careers Service

Interviewer:

Professor Joe Cain, Professor in History and Philosophy of Biology <https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain>

Music credits

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

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

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Production information

Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain.

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://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

STS Students and staff also can find on the website information about how to get involved with our programme.

“WeAreSTS” producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

ProfJoeCain talks with Dr. Melanie Smallman and Dr. Jean-Baptiste Gouyon about UCL’s new Master’s in Science Communication (MSc). They discuss the philosophy behind the degree, some of its key modules, and how it is designed to balance practical skill development with foundational theory in communications. There also is discussion about how they plan to give this degree global relevance, careers thinking, and how activities in the degree will tie into other activities around UCL and around London.

Our discussion also identifies some key information for prospective applicants. If you think you might want to join us, this episode will give a smooth introduction to the new degree.

More information is available on the STS website:

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/msc

For questions about admissions, email:

[email protected]

In the interview, we discussed several examples of excellent science communication. These examples were:

• Falling Walls Engage for the project “Aquí Nos Cuidamos”.
• The ePOP Concept for the project “The ePOPers Network”

Featuring

Interviewees:

Dr Melanie Smallman, Associate Professor in Science and Technology Studies . Melanie also appears on WeAreSTS episode #6.

Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon, Associate Professor in Science Communication . Jean-Baptiste also appears on WeAreSTS episode #2.

Interviewer:

Professor Joe Cain, Professor in History and Philosophy of Biology <https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain>

Music credits

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

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

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Sweeter Vermouth," by Kevin MacLeod

https://filmmusic.io/song/4450-sweeter-vermouth

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Production information

Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain.

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://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

STS Students and staff also can find on the website information about how to get involved with our programme.

“WeAreSTS” producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

As of November 2021, more than 46.4 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as part of the biggest mass-immunization programme the country has ever run. Most of us rushed to book our appointments as soon as we received a message, keen to protect ourselves from the virus. However, not everyone has been quite so confident in the vaccine.

In this episode, Jasmine Chakravarty speaks to four UCL academics to learn more about vaccine hesitancy and the evolution of public messaging. She wants to know:

1. what it is,
2. which groups are hesitant and why,
3. and how this hesitancy can best be approached

Listen to leading researchers from the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and other UCL departments who talk about hesitancy as a process and who try to better understand how engagement around this topic should work.

Jasmine would like to thank her fantastic guests Professor Helen Bedford @HelenEBedford, Dr Stephen Hughes @stephenhues, Dr Katherine Woolf, and Professor Sarah Edwards.

For more information on vaccine hesitancy visit:

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/immunisation-vaccines/vaccine-hesitancy

For more advice on how to talk to those who are hesitant, see:

https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/16/1032001/how-to-talk-to-unvaccinated-people

To read Dr Katherine Woolf’s research paper ‘Dispel myths and build trust to combat vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minority health workers’, follow the link:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666776221001575?via%3Dihub

Find out more about vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minority groups in the UK:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-vaccines-f-%20idUSKBN2A925Q

https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n513

To learn more about the ‘COVID-19 Wellbeing Study’ with which Professor Sarah Edwards is involved, follow:

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/1/e043418.long

For more information about UCL’s Master’s in Science Communication (MSc)

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/msc

We also mentioned our annual newsletter, STS Alchemy. For your free copy, visit: 

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/alchemy

Featuring

Interviewer and episode creator: Jasmine Chakravarty (UCL 2021)

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

Music credits

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

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

“Sweeter Vermouth,” by Kevin MacLeod

https://filmmusic.io/song/4450-sweeter-vermouth

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Production information

Jasmine edited and produced the main segments of this episode.

The balance of editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain.

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://www.ucl.a

Will robots steal my job? Will gene editing cure my cancer? HYPE is a fundamental part of science communication, the development of new technologies, and the crucially important interface between business, investment, and new technology. How does HYPE work? Can it be used for good?

In this interview, Gemma Milne discusses her book, SMOKE AND MIRRORS, and her interest in HYPE as an ever-present phenomenon in our society. Gemma also discusses how she became interested in studying sociology of technology and innovation research, beginning with her first degree in mathematics, and her later journey through the finance and tech start-up industries, then science journalism.

Gemma’s book:

Milne, Gemma. 2020. Smoke and Mirrors. How Hype Obscures the Future and How to See Past It (London: Robinson). ISBN: 978-1-4721-4366-2.

SMOKE AND MIRRORS has been selected as the STS1Book for 2021-22. Each year, the Department asks all staff and students to read one book in common during the summer, then arrive for the new session ready to discuss both its substance and its broader value. Incoming students should read this prescribed book. It will be the subject of activities during induction week and will be used in Year 1 courses. Titles are selected for inclusion by the STS Undergraduate Programme Tutor from suggested offered by students and staff. For more information:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/about-sts/sts1book-programme

Gemma Milne also is co-host of the “Radical Science” podcast.

https://radicalsciencepodcast.com

And she is a PhD researcher in UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS).

She creates a newsletter, “Brain Reel” https://brainreel.substack.com

Website: gemmamilne.co.uk
https://gemmamilne.co.uk

Twitter: @gemmamilne

Featuring

Interviewee: Gemma Milne, Science and Technology Writer; also PhD student in UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies

https://gemmamilne.co.uk

Interviewer: Professor Joe Cain, Professor in History and Philosophy of Biology

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain

Music credits

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

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

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Sweeter Vermouth," by Kevin MacLeod

https://filmmusic.io/song/4450-sweeter-vermouth

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Production information

Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain.

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://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

STS Students and staff also can find on the website information about how to get involved with our programme.

“WeAreSTS” producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

We’re back about a summer break.

When we say “break,” we mean we’ve been working hard for most of the summer to create new episodes. WeAreSTS is a podcast dedicated to showcasing research, teaching, and success in UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS).

Our core audience is teachers and those considering a degree in our programme. We answer the question, “What is STS?” through dozens of examples.

WeAreSTS creates three types of episodes: (1) regular episodes feature staff and students in the department discussing their research, (2) careers episodes feature interviews with alumni about paths taken after graduation, and (3) bonus episodes feature surprises we develop for our listeners.

Featuring

Professor Joe Cain, Professor in History and Philosophy of Biology

Music credits

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

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

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Production information

Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain.

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://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

STS Students and staff also can find on the website information about how to get involved with our programme.

“WeAreSTS” producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

Professor Simon Werrett (UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Science) talks about his award-winning book, THRIFTY SCIENCE.

In Britain of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the practices of reuse, re-purpose, and recycle were core to the work of what became science. More important, if you follow the trails left by these activities, you’ll find ideas that reorganise how we should think about the way science was done, where it was done, and who did the work. Professor Werrett also resurrects the old word “oeconomy,” putting it to work to help us understand why reuse was understood to be virtuous. And he explains how industrialisation in the nineteenth century substituted ideas related to consumption and specialisation.

In this interview, Professor Werrett discusses the main ideas of his book, plus how he hopes to extend his analysis to histories of thrifty science in Russia and elsewhere. He also talks about other projects he has underway and some of the joys that come from a focus on material culture in the history of science and technology. In our age of recycling, is thrifty science making a comeback? Professor Werrett argues it never went away. It simply is something we tend to let drift out of focus.

Simon’s book:

Simon Werrett. 2019. Making the Most of Materials in the History of Experiment (University of Chicago Press), ISBN 978-0-226-61025-2.

It was awarded the 2020 Paul Bunge Prize from the German Chemical Society and the German Society for Physical Chemistry.

Simon talks about some of the main ideas from his book in a series of short films produced by STS:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqDGBZHFcMlnaTbR1vS266tWaCnnCaCjK

The project described by Simon at The Institute of Making was the 2014 “Emotions, Transformations, and Restorations”:

https://emotionstransformationsrestorations.wordpress.com

Featuring

Interviewee: Professor Simon Werrett, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science

Interviewer: Professor Joe Cain, Professor in History and Philosophy of Biology

Music credits

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

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

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Production information

Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain.

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://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

STS Students and staff also can find on the website information about how to get involved with our programme.

“WeAreSTS” producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS