Brains Matter

I talk to Dr Seth Shostak, from the SETI Institute, on the topic of science and the movies. We cover: – The portrayal and accuracy of science in entertainment – Seth’s role as science adviser in the movie remake of “The Day the Earth Stood Still” – What does a science adviser in a movie […]

Chemistry, biology, physics, climate change – the list of science topics are too numerous for me to mention them all here. And each subject has someone singing about it in some fashion. That’s right – the episode that a lot of you have been waiting for – the show on science songs. Marc West, from […]

In this episode, I continue my discussion with science journalist Marc West. We talk about the psychology and science of sport – and the case study we use is cricket. The topics we talk about can apply to practically any team sport, but being the cricket fans we are, we relate it to the gentleman’s […]

I talk to science communicator and cricket tragic, Marc West, on the topic of cricket – and the science and psychology of the sport. Marc has published several articles on the science and mathematics of the game, and in this episode, discusses the following with me: – How fit are cricketers? – How far do […]

Hi all, In the future, Marc West and I are planning on doing another crossover podcast – the topic of the next crossover podcast is going to be science songs. What scientific based songs can you think of? There are classics such as “She blinded me with science” by Thomas Dolby “Weird Science” by Oingo […]

I talk to Marco Tippmer, an expert from the UK (via Germany) on Virtual Worlds. What are Virtual Worlds, and what can they be used for? Are they just useful for games, such as World of Warcraft and Second Life? Did you know that businesses are already using them, and they are becoming extremely important […]

On today’s shortened episode, I talk pose the conundrum – by what measure do you consider someone as a great – or the greatest – Olympian? Plus some listener feedback. Download MP3 of Ep 69 Please vote for this podcast this month at You can donate by clicking on the button above, and subscribe by […]

Time for a slightly different episode. We all have our favourite movies, books, and tv shows that have scientific characters. From the Professor in Gilligans Island to Q in James Bond to Dr Watson in Sherlock Holmes. Join Marc West (from the Mr Science Show) and I as we talk about our favourite fictional scientists, […]

Hi all, An upcoming episode of Brains Matter and the Mr Science Show will discuss fictional scientists. What we want from you is your suggestion (s) on who you think are worthy candidates for the list. From Dr Strangelove to the Professor from Gilligans Island – who do you think deserves a bit of recognition? […]

Dr Pilar Gil Pons is a postdoctoral researcher in the area of super asymptotic giant branch stars who has just received a grant by the Spanish government to work on SAGB stars at Monash University in Australia. She also happens to be an expert on binary stars, which is what I talked to her about […]