image: Dr Ross Jenkinson and Dr Sam Patrick recording an episode of Science from the Source.
Credit: Dr Ross Jenkinson and Dr Sam Patrick
Summary:
- Science from the Source is a new science podcast launching on 12 November.
- From AI and quantum computing to cancer, meteorites and alien life, Dr Ross Jenkinson and Dr Sam Patrick meet the researchers tackling some of science’s most significant questions.
- Released fortnightly, each episode gets behind the headlines to explore not just what scientists are discovering, but how discovery actually happens.
What really happens at the forefront of scientific discovery, and who are the researchers doing the work?
Science from the Source is a new podcast that goes behind the headlines to meet the Manchester researchers at the heart of advances in science and engineering.
Hosted by theoretical physicists Dr Ross Jenkinson and Dr Sam Patrick, the eight-part series ventures beyond their own field to explore everything from artificial intelligence and meteorites, to alien life and cancer.
Launching on 12 November, with episodes released fortnightly, the series sees the pair follow their curiosity and discover answers alongside the listener.
Sam explains: “We’re talking to people doing things completely different from us, which means we’re discovering things alongside the listener. We can ask the questions that genuinely occur to us, including the ones you might not expect a scientist to ask.”
Ross Jenkinson adds: “What constantly surprises me is where the conversations go. You start with one question and suddenly find yourself looking at the subject in a completely different way. Those are the moments we wanted the podcast to capture.”
These conversations take them from the smallest scales imaginable to objects hurtling towards Earth. For example:
- What can we achieve when we enter a world so small it is impossible to see with the human eye? With Maddison Coke, who works at the atomic scale, manipulating the building blocks of materials with extraordinary precision, they uncover how the “science of the small” could help overcome the barriers to building powerful, scalable quantum computers.
- When a fireball streaks across the sky, how do you work out where impact may hit? With planetary scientist Chloe Kadir they ask how do scientists track meteors as they hurtle towards Earth, what is the role of real-life meteorite hunters and what do those pieces of space rock can reveal about where they came from.
- Could AI turn us back into children, and would that necessarily be a bad thing? With Thomas Quilter, who has worked in machine learning for more than a decade, they take the conversation beyond whether AI is simply ‘good’ or ‘bad’ to ask a more provocative question: is AI advancing faster than our understanding of its consequences, and should we consider slowing progress while we catch up?
The series puts a spotlight on researchers whose role at the forefront of scientific discovery can often be less visible to the public.
Ross explains: “People generally understand what students do and they know what lecturers and professors do, but postdoctoral researchers are much less visible.
“Yet in many research groups, they’re right at the heart of the work, conducting the research and helping to drive discoveries forward. We wanted to put them centre stage and hear about the science directly from the people doing it.”
Across the series, Ross and Sam invite listeners to share in their curiosity to get closer to the questions shaping our future, meet the people driving the science, and experience the unexpected turns that are part of discovery itself.
Watch the series trailer: https://www.youtube.com/@ScienceFromTheSource
- Episode one: What is quantum mechanics, and how do you create a black hole in your kitchen?
- Featuring: Dr Ross Jenkinson and Dr Sam Patrick
- Released: 12 November
- Available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast and Pocket Casts.