Category Archives: Episodes
Episode 121 – 3rd February 2012
This week we catch up with a conference on blasphemy, find out the problems with the welfare reforms, and the LADS have loads of BANTER about that awful “UniLad” article.
[Direct MP3 Link] [Podcast Feed] [Add to iTunes]
CFI Blasphemy Conference (2:04) by James O’Malley & Liz Lutgendorff
(ft Andrew Copson, Austin Dacey and Maryam Namazie)
Welfare Reform (15:17) by Steven Sumpter
UniLad (25:44) by Dean Burnett
Deaths in Custody (34:52) by Georgia Gale Grant
Nuclear Theatre (41:27) by Liz Lutgendorff (ft Nicholas Kent)
The sketch at the end is by David Lovesy & Brian Two
- The Future of Blasphemy by Austin Dacey
- Rally to defend free expression
- Listen to podcasts from the CFI Blasphemy Conference here
- Deaths in custody stats
- The Tricycle goes nuclear
- Liz’s full interview with Nicholas Kent:
Episode 120 – 27th January 2012
[Direct MP3 Link] [Podcast Feed] [Add to iTunes]
New Douglas Adams Audio (1:51) by Jon Treadway (ft Stephen Fry, Mark Carwardine and Douglas Adams)
Julian Huppert on LibDem Science Policy (11:56) by James O’Malley & Liz Lutgendorff
Jesus & Mo at the LSE (23:45) by James O’Malley (ft Chris Moos)
Adam Rutherford Interview (31:26) by Liz Lutgendorff
Technological Progress (40:58) by Drew Rae
My Little Brony (50:00) by Salim Fadhley (ft Coder Brony)
The sketch at the end is by David Lovesy and Brian Two
Follow-Up Links
Douglas Adams Links:
- Douglas Adams: The Party at Hammersmith Apollo
- Save The Rhino
- Douglas Adams Animation Competition
- Listen to our Douglas Adams tribute documentary here
Other Links:
- Preparing the Ground: The new LibDem digital policy
- To contribute to Julian Huppert’s LibDem science policy, e-mail: libdemsciencepolicy@gmail.com
- BHA Darwin Day lecture with Adam Rutherford
- Brony Herd Census
Episode 119 – 20th January 2012
This week we look into the SOPA blackout and more importantly, finally DISCOVER THE TRUTH about the Teletubbie Tinky Winky – plus much more!
[Direct MP3 Link] [Podcast Feed] [Add to iTunes]
SOPA Blackout (2:05) by Georgia Gale Grant
Behind the scenes at the Wikipedia blackout (9:33) by Tom Morris
Figshare (17:58) by Jon Treadway (ft Mark Hahnel)
Teletubbies Scandal (27:36) by Salim Fadhley (ft Dave Thompson)
The Sex Party (39:33) by Chris Huang-Lever
Scotland and Tory England (45:17) by Keir Liddle
A Bugs’ Life (50:16) by Adam Jacobs (ft Matt Shardlow)
Videogames and Morality (60:16) by Trent Burton
The sketch at the end is by David Lovesy and Brian Two
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Follow-Up Links:
- Figshare
- The Sex Life of a Comedian by Dave Thompson
- Dave Thompson’s website
- Chris’s full interview with Fiona Patten:
Georgia’s SOPA Links:
- Pirates at Sony and Fox
- Khan Academy Explains SOPA
- Reddit’s technical examination of SOPA
- CDT on SOPA
- A day without PZ Myers
- xkcd on SOPA
Adam’s neonicotinoids links:
- Adam’s Interview in full:
- The PLoS One paper on neonicotinoids
- The review of neonicotinoids by Kindemba, commissioned by Buglife in 2009
- Cresswell 2010
- Interaction between Nosema infection and neonicotinoids in bees
- Bug Life
Episode 118 – 13th January 2012
This week we talk to the man behind Jesus & Mo, read the Spartacus Report and get word from the key players in the so-called “Obscenity Trial”.
[Direct MP3 Link] [Podcast Feed] [Add to iTunes]
Jesus, Mo and UCL (2:13) by James O’Malley (ft Dave, the guy behind Jesus & Mo!)
Spartacus Report (9:36) by Steven Sumpter
Obscenity Trial (21:10) by David Allen Green (ft Myles Jackman and Michael Peacock)
Wind Farms (24:22) by Pete Hague
The LHC is valuable (33:40) by Kash Farooq, Peter Silk & George Hrab
Death Penalty & Assisted Dying (40:44) by Sean Ellis
Christian Nightmares (47:16) by Salim Fadhley (ft Christian Nightmares guy)
Follow-Up Links:
- Jesus and Mo
- Jesus and Mo books
- The Spartacus Report
- Civitas Windfarms Report
- Pete’s Civitas Blog
- Merrill Womach
- “20 minutes to go”
Episode 117 – 6th January 2012
Is legalising assisted dying a good idea? Should we use primaries to pick our political candidates? And since when was the Daily Mail judge, jury and executioner?
[Direct MP3 Link] [Podcast Feed] [Add to iTunes]
Daily Mail Justice (1:58) by Martin Robbins
Hungary for Constitutional Change (7:45) by Dave Landon Cole
Open Primaries (14:08) by Cory Hazlehurst
Pro-Assisted Dying (22:16) by Jennie Kermode (performed by Melinda Burton)
Anti-Assisted Dying (33:21) by William Lee
The Cost of Physics (40:38) by Adam Jacobs
Apocalypse Soon? (50:06) by Leila Johnston
Just World (60:29) by Dean Burnett
Blogger of the Year (67:02) by David Allen Green
Follow-Up Links:
- William Lee’s Assisted Dying Survey of Doctors
- Review of similar surveys
- Survey of medical students
- Falconer Report
- 2005 House of Lords Report
Congratulations to Tim Ireland as Bloggerheads is our blog of the year 2011!
Hitchmas Special – 26th December 2011
Rather than celebrate Christmas, we thought we should probably celebrate the life and work of Christopher Hitchens, who died on the 15th December. So please join us for this very Pod Delusion-type look at his life.
[Direct MP3 Link] [Podcast Feed] [Add to iTunes]
Obit (0:49) by Dave Cole
Hitch and religion (8:40) by Cory Hazlehurst
Hitch the Historian (15:46) by Rich Godbehere 6:36
Post-9/11 Hitch (23:42) by Mohammed Fahad (read by Alex Foster) 5:36
Regime change? (30:03) by David Eastman 4:14
Twitter Censorship? (35:40) by Dave Cross 6:12
Tweet inserts are by Sean Ellis
Music by Milton Mermikidies
Episode 115 – 16th December 2011
This week we tackle the biggest story out of the LHC Higgs announcement earlier in the week: Why did they use Comic Sans?! We speak to the font’s creator. We also speak to the man behind the BBC Micro, and science writer Marcus Chown about his new book which is based on an iPad app… and much more!
[Direct MP3 Link] [Podcast Feed] [Add to iTunes]
Higgs Update (2:26) by Kash Farooq (ft Jon Butterworth)
Comic Sans (11:50) by James O’Malley (ft Vincent Connare)
BBC Micro (19:05) by Salim Fadhley (ft Steve Furber)
Anti-Vax Folk Fest (26:54) by Andrew Gould
Solar System: From iPad to book (33:40) by Liz Lutgendorff (ft Marcus Chown)
Sesame Street Socialists (42:47) by Tom Hodden
Festival of the Spoken Nerd (47:48) by Liz Lutgendorff (ft Matt Parker, Helen Arney & Steve Mould)
Science Cabaret (55:38) by Dean Burnett
The sketch at the end is by David Lovesy & Brian Two
Help deputy-editor Liz!
- Liz’s CV and contact details – can you help?
- James’s blog thanking you for supporting Liz
- Make a donation to the Pod Delusion
- Subscribe £5/month to help the Pod Delusion (or subscribe £10/month here)
Follow-Up Links:
- Salim’s interview with Steve Furber in full:
- Liz’s interview with Marcus Chown in full:
- Buy Marcus Chown’s new book here
- Dean’s full Science Cabaret report:
Festival of the Spoken Nerd Tickets
You can buy FOTSN tickets online here.
To get tickets for £10 instead of £12, you’ll have to call the Bloomsbury box office on 020 7388 8822 (or visit in person) and quote “GEEK PARTY” to get the discount. This has to be before December 31st.
Episode 114 – 9th December 2011
This week we find out whether the claims about “Earth 2.0″ are too good to be true, catch up with the Voyager probes, and back on earth we discuss whether sharing NHS data is wise and discover the truth about H&M’s computer generated clothes models.
[Direct MP3 Link] [Podcast Feed] [Add to iTunes]
Kepler-22b (2:55) by Kash Farooq (ft Robert Simpson)
NHS Data Sharing (13:22) by David Eastman
Virtual Models at H&M (17:41) by Steven Sumpter
Voyager’s Final Frontier (22:30) by Liz Lutgendorff (ft Ed Stone)
Corporate Responsibility (33:06) by Adam Jacobs
Declining Education Standards (39:10) by Peter Rowlett
Tribal Scientist (45:11) by Kylie Sturgess (ft Michael McRae)
Humans Are Amazing (54:44) by Drew Rae
The sketch is by David Lovesy & Brian Two
The Godel Song is by Ben Jones
Help deputy-editor Liz!
- Liz’s CV and contact details – can you help?
- James’s blog thanking you for supporting Liz
- Make a donation to the Pod Delusion
- Subscribe £5/month to help the Pod Delusion (or subscribe £10/month here)
Follow-Up Links
- Full interview with Ed Stone from NASA on Voyager:
- Historical Maths Quotes
- Mathematics at the Transition to University: A Multi-Stage Problem?
- The Tribal Scientist
Episode 113 – 2nd December 2011
This week we discover the plight of the Canadian Air & Space Museum, find out why the Venus Transit is significant and hear how a time traveler decided to come back in time… and then spend his time sat on internet messageboards.
[Direct MP3 Link] [Podcast Feed] [Add to iTunes]
URGENT: Our deputy editor, Liz Lutgendorff has lost her job. We live together in London and are at risk of losing our home if she is out of work. Can you help? Find details of her skills and qualifications here. Please spread the word.
Canadian Air & Space Museum (1:39) by Liz Lutgendorff (ft Rob Godwin)
Economic Woe (10:59) by Pete Hague
Venus Transit Expedition (19:25) by Kash Farooq (ft Huw James)
Confidence & Class (28:59) by Dean Burnett
Timetravellers (39:22) by Leila Johnston
Christmas Traditions (45:16) by Tom Hodden
The sketch at the end was by David Lovesy, Brian Two and Steve Clark
Follow-Up Links:
- Canadian Air & Space Museum
- Full Interview with Huw James:
(Coming soon) - Venus Transit Expedition
Pod Delusion Extra:
- Ada Lovelace Day Live
- Graeme Archer at Westminster Skeptics
- A Walk On Part – Politics and the Arts Debate
- CineSci6: The Science Behind Moon
Various Plugs:
Episode 112 – 25th November 2011
This week we take a journey across time and space as we look forward to the Mars Science Lab mission, and talk about a new play that takes a look back into recent history through the medium of former Labour MP Chris Mullin’s diaries. We also speak to Marcus Chown about his new book and are scared by news of what the SOPA act could mean for the internet.
[Direct MP3 Link] [Podcast Feed] [Add to iTunes]
Mars Science Lab (1:40) by Kash Farooq (ft Claire Cousins)
SOPA (9:42) by James Firth (ft Cathy Gellis)
Darknet (19:07) by Salim Fadhley (ft Hose Manuel)
Curing Cancer (26:54) by Matt Kaiser
The BBC & Open Access (33:34) by Pete Hague
Tweeting the Universe (38:32) by Liz Lutgendorff (ft Marcus Chown)
A Walk On Part (47:11) by James O’Malley & Liz Lutgendorff (ft Steve Marmion, John Hodgkinson, Michael Crick, Diane Abbott and Don Foster)
Solipsism (54:57) by Sean Ellis
The sketch at the end is by David Lovesy & Brian Two
Thanks to Hayley Stevens and Dave for supplying the dogs (!)
Follow-Up Links:
- Claire Cousins
- Full interview with Marcus Chown:
- Buy Tweeting The Universe by Marcus Chown and Govert Schilling
- Solar System for iPad, by Marcus Chown
- A Walk-On Part at Soho Theatre
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