Pod of Science

At the start of planning for this year’s festival, I was asked how many episodes do you think you can deliver? Umm... depends on how many speakers want to be on a podcast… one or two I’d guess…

Turns out there were a few more than that. Each of the 12 scientists we approached (thinking we might get 5 or 6) all said yes! And one even roped in a colleague… We had our work cut out for us.

The team contacted and prepped most of our guests, letting them know what to expect and booking in a time to record.

Dinushi helped with prepping Adam Batten and Lisa Craw for our podcasts.

Dinushi Munasingha Mudiyanselage

"Volunteering in PoS is one of the biggest experiences in my research life. It is really amazing to get to know many people and work with them. Through my time with the team, I was able to learn many things like how to work on a proper timeline. I was able to talk to different scientists and get to know their amazing research areas. Thanks Pint of Science for this amazing experience and looking forward to working with Pint next year as well. "

Claryn took the plunge and recorded three of the interviews, Jim Sauer, MIchelle Moss and Fonti Kar. 

"I came into the team not knowing what to expect, but I am so glad that I joined! In one and a half months we went through more than a hundred EOIs – we had a hard time picking the most interesting ones, trust me- reached out, scheduled times and recorded in the mornings, during lunch breaks and woosh, made 12 episodes! I have not produced podcasts before, so I was grateful to see the process behind it (I have learnt that good quality audio is hard to come by). Working on the Pod of Science this year gave me the chance to try my hand as an interviewer. For me, recording the episodes were always eye-openers: I always learn something new during the recording, even if we’ve already talked about the topic beforehand. Best part of that, it gave me first-hand experience of the researcher’s enthusiasm for their field. Truth to be told, I was nervous to be the interviewer.  Also, very grateful to the pint team for sharing tips and tricks for better quality audio and video recordings.  I am pleased with the episodes that were produced this year, I hope you’ll enjoy them!"

So many times, while the interview and recording is happening you forget that you’re even doing a podcast and it just feels like a chat with some of the most interesting and passionate people who all love their science. The questions are similar for all but the answers are as varied as their science.

They see obstacles as the bits they need to work out, they find the greatest challenge for science is being heard and trusted, they want their work to be the foundations for so much more blue sky research. They’ve followed their passions, they’ve changed career paths and research paths, they’ve picked up new skills and collaborators.

It’s felt like I’ve gone to 12 Pint of Science events and found out so much more than I expected. 

Camille

Pod of Science Lead, 2021