The podcast is presented by Gareth Mitchell, a lecturer on Imperial's MSc Science Communication course. He’s also a longstanding BBC presenter and reporter. Gareth is joined each month by our roving reporters in the Communications Division.
If you have feedback that you'd like to share or ideas for future editions, we'd love to hear from you; please contact Gareth Mitchell.
You can also find the podcasts on most major platforms, including YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.
Check out other podcasts produced across the College in our podcast directory.
2009 Podcasts
- December edition
- November edition
- October edition
- September edition
- August edition
- July edition
- June edition
- May edition
- April edition
- March edition
- February edition
- January edition
In the December edition: Imperial experts discuss climate change ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen and using drama to explore the morality of being vaccinated
Listen to Podcast - December 2009 (27mb)
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- 01.09 Part one of our climate change discussion with Sir Brian Hoskins, Joanna Haigh, Martin Blunt and Simon Buckle
- 07.56 Headlines from around the College
- 10.52 Dr Tom Churcher on a new play that demonstrates why we all have a responsibility to be vaccinated
- 19.57 Climate change discussion part two
In the November edition: phoning in your findings and chasing birds on the Silwood Park campus
Listen to Podcast - November 2009 (28mb)
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- 01.28 Professor Steve Smith talks about the Academic Health Science Centre as it celebrates its second birthday
- 10.45 Headlines from around the College
- 13.12 Dr Alex Lord explains how blue tits are helping researchers understand the effects of climate change
- 21.41 David Aanensen reveals how a new application is making smartphones an essential part of scientists’ field kit
In the October edition: superfast computers, in praise of lichens and engineering for cricket success
Listen to Podcast - October 2009 (29mb)
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- 01.50 Stefan Maier on his plans to use photons to make computers work faster
- 09.42 News from around the College
- 12.44 Emma Green on what lichens can tell us about the state of our air
- 20.40 Anthony Bull on bioengineering, cricket and the stresses and strains of sport
In September’s edition: Robot wars and solving crimes at an Imperial Summer School, diagnosing the causes of doctors’ misdiagnoses and part two of our interview with Sir Gordon Conway
Listen to Podcast - September 2009 (47mb)
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Read a transcript of September's edition
- 1.50 – Graham Neale on understanding why doctors can misdiagnose their patients’ conditions – and trying to prevent this
- 09.54 – Headlines from around the College
- 12.14 – School pupils from around the world talk about their hands-on experiences at one of this year’s many Summer Schools at Imperial
- 22.12 – Sir Gordon Conway on working for the Department for International Development, development in China and tackling poverty at home and overseas
In August’s edition: what can be done to help 950 million people living in hunger, why you should feel in safe hands when you step onto an aeroplane and why dark energy may be key for the fate of the universe
Listen to Podcast - August 2009 (47mb)
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Read a transcript of August's edition
- 01.49 Sir Gordon Conway on efforts to tackle chronic hunger across the world
- 13.07 Headlines from around the College
- 15.47 It could control 70% of the universe, but does it exist? Andrew Jaffe and colleagues debate dark energy
- 24.21 Arnab Majumdar and Mary Dominique Dupuiy on aviation safety
In July’s edition: a day in the life of the world’s largest fusion facility, entrepreneurial pizzas at midnight and a natural fix for climate change
Listen to Podcast - July 2009 (39mb)
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- 01.33 Brian MacGowan on proving the feasibility of fusion at the National Ignition Facility, California
- 11.12 Headlines from around the College
- 13.52 Entrepreneurial academics give advice on making a crust with your own business
- 19.50 Pete Manning on optimising the ability of ecosystems to soak up and store CO2
In June’s edition: plant scientists reach for the sky, medics show their creat ive side and smoothing out the science of rubbing
Listen to Podcast - June 2009 (41mb)
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Read a transcript of June's edition
- 01.20 Colin Turnbull on the ‘Grodome’ - an innovative new rooftop growing space for plant scientists
- 10.01 Headlines from around the College
- 12.41 Students make an art of medical science
- 20.19 Hugh Spikes on the sexy science of lubrication a nd friction
In the light of the tragic circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the French airliner over the Atlantic Ocean on 1 June, the College decided to withdraw the original version of the June podcast, which included an interview with Dr Arnab Majumdar on aviation safety. The Imperial podcast will cover this important topic in a future edition. The podcast above is the new version .
In May’s edition: sustainable students study climate change in Antarctica, help power firms make money from energy efficiency and zoom around the world in zero emissions cars
Listen to Podcast - May 2009 (40mb)
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Read a transcript of May's edition
- 01.46 Journey to the bottom of the Earth – students reflect on Antarctic trip to see the effects of climate change
- 07.58 Headlines from around the College
- 10.22 Energy Challenge winners on how they are making energy efficiency an attractive option for power companies and their customers
- 19.47 Student Racing Green team on the challenge of building and driving fuel cell powered racing cars
In April’s edition: Turning buses into portable air pollution detectors, making nuclear fission more efficient and quick genetic testing for drug suitability
Listen to Podcast - April 2009 (38mb)
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Read a transcript of April's edition
- 01.34 Professor Robin Grimes on how to get more energy out of nuclear fuel and the pros and cons of the nuclear option
- 08.31 Headlines from around the College
- 10.40 Professor Chris Toumazou and Leila Shepherd on a device to test for the genetic variations that make us r espond differently to drugs
- 21.16 Dr Robin North on a mobile environmental sensing project aimed at using cars and buses to understand air pollution patterns
In March's edition: Calculating the secret of happiness, exploring what makes us human with the help of friendly robots, and understanding synaesthesia, the condition that makes some people see sounds as colours
Listen to Podcast - March 2009 (42mb)
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Read a transcript of March's edition
- 01.42 Professor Paul Dolan on why happiness is a serious subject
- 09.51 Headlines from around the College
- 12.11 Professor Murray Shanahan on cognitive robotics
- 20.21 Dr Julian Asher on synaesthesia and the genetics of obesity
In February's edition: uncovering the hormonal basis of hunger, boosting the healing power of stem cells and making computer software work across languages and cultures
Listen to Podcast - February 2009 (41mb)
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Read a transcript of February's edition
- 01.24 Professor Steve Bloom discusses the quest for safe, effective anti-obesity drugs
- 11.02 Headlines from around the College
- 13.10 Daniela For d and Mark Shuttleworth on translating for computers
- 21.32 Dr Sara Rankin on speeding up healing and repair by boosting the body's stem cell levels
In January's edition: 'Snowball Earth' provokes heated debate, postgraduate opportunities at Imperial and what physics can tell us about our climate
Listen to Podcast - January 2009 (40mb)
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Read a transcript of January's edition
- 01.36 Professor Philip Allen on why 'Snowball Earth' theory should be thrown out
- 12.12 Headlines from around the College
- 14.36 Snapshot from Imperial's postgraduate open day
- 20.55 New head of physics Professor Joanna Haigh on the physics of Earth's climate