The Conversationalist

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The Constructing Scientific Communities Project explores citizen science in the 19th and 21st centuries. It brings together historical and literary research in the nineteenth century with contemporary scientific practice, looking at the ways in which patt

A podcast on the history of science from the University of Oxford.


    • Apr 3, 2018 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 29m AVG DURATION
    • 6 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Conversationalist

    The Conversationalist - 06 - 'The C19th Origins of the Anti-Vaccination Movement'

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2018 36:31


    You're invited to join our science-themed cocktail party, where experts on the history of science tell us stories, fun facts, and random anecdotes about the development of scientific knowledge from the 19th century to today. In this episode, we talk to Dr Sally Frampton and Dr Oskar Cox Jensen about 19th century anxieties related to vaccination and how they coalesced into a vociferous anti-vax movement. We explore the scientific and cultural dimensions of Victorian anti-vax sentiment, including satirical cartoons and songs. (Warning - these tunes get stuck in your head!) And we ask what the historical incarnation of the anti-vax movement can teach us about the anti-vaxxers of today. Interviews with: Dr Sally Frampton (University of Oxford), Dr Oskar Cox Jensen (Queen Mary University of London), Cory Mason (The Oxford Artisan Distillery), Tom Nicolson (The Oxford Artisan Distillery) Produced by: Dr Kira Allmann (University of Oxford) Music by: Rosemary Allmann This podcast is brought to you by the Constructing Scientific Communities Project, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

    The Conversationalist - 05 - 'The Wisdom of the Crowd' (Marcus du Sautoy)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2018 23:05


    You're invited to join our science-themed cocktail party, where experts on the history of science tell us stories, fun facts, and random anecdotes about the development of scientific knowledge from the 19th century to today. In this episode, we talk to Professor Marcus du Sautoy about the wisdom of the crowd. Does crowdsourcing help us make better decisions? Or does it expose us to the perils of groupthink? Are there some questions - scientific, mathematical, or social - that are best answered with many people participating? What is the value of expertise? Hear Marcus discuss these topics and more in this episode of The Conversationalist. And watch his full talk on 'The Wisdom of the Crowd' at the Royal Society here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tngG2kAik Interviews with: Prof Marcus du Sautoy (University of Oxford) Produced by: Dr Kira Allmann (University of Oxford) Music by: Rosemary Allmann This podcast is brought to you by the Constructing Scientific Communities Project, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

    The Conversationalist - 04 - 'Domestic Science in the 19th Century'

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2017 36:41


    You're invited to join our science-themed cocktail party, where experts on the history of science tell us stories, fun facts, and random anecdotes about the development of scientific knowledge from the 19th century to today. In this episode, we talk to Dr Berris Charnley (University of Oxford) and Dr Donald Opitz (DePaul University) about domestic science in the 19th century - scientific endeavours that took place in the home. We also hear from Cory Mason and Tom Nicholson (The Oxford Artisan Distillery) about some favourite 19th century cocktails that have - thankfully - fallen out of favour today! Interviews with: Dr Berris Charnley (University of Oxford), Dr Donald Opitz (DePaul University), Cory Mason (The Oxford Artisan Distillery), and Tom Nicholson (The Oxford Artisan Distillery) Produced by: Dr Kira Allmann Music by: Rosemary Allmann This podcast is brought to you by the Constructing Scientific Communities Project, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

    The Conversationalist - 03 - 'Volcanoes and Citizen Science at the Royal Society'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2017 29:25


    You're invited to join our science-themed cocktail party, where experts on the history of science tell us stories, fun facts, and random anecdotes about the development of scientific knowledge from the 19th century to today! In this episode, we talk to Royal Society Librarian, Keith Moore, about how the Royal Society crowdsourced information about a 19th century volcanic eruption. Keith takes us on a tour of the Royal Society archive, and at the end of the episode, Chris Thorogood, Head of Science & Public Engagement at the Oxford Botanic Garden, tells us about botanicals and booze. Interviews with: Keith Moore (Royal Society), Dr Chris Thorogood (Oxford Botanic Garden) Produced by: Dr Kira Allmann Music by: Rosemary Allmann This podcast is brought to you by the Constructing Scientific Communities Project, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

    The Conversationalist - 02 - 'Crowdsourcing Historical Research'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2017 29:16


    You're invited to join our science-themed cocktail party, where experts on the history of science tell us stories, fun facts, and random anecdotes about the development of scientific knowledge from the 19th century to today! In this episode, we talk about how historians can use crowdsourcing technology to support their research by looking at the ScienceGossip.org, a research project hosted on the Zooniverse platform that uses citizen science to understand the history of citizen science. Interviews with: Dr Geoffrey Belknap (University of Leicester), Tom Nicholson (Oxford Artisan Distillery), Cory Mason (Oxford Artisan Distillery) Produced by: Dr Kira Allmann Music by: Rosemary Allmann This podcast is brought to you by the Constructing Scientific Communities Project, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

    The Conversationalist - 01 - 'Conversazione'

    Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2017 23:42


    You're invited to join our science-themed cocktail party, where experts on the history of science tell us stories, fun facts, and random anecdotes about the development of scientific knowledge from the 19th century to today! In this episode, we learn about the inspiration for this podcast series - 'conversazione' - public events in the Victorian period that brought together scientific professionals and the general public for a bit of food, drink, conversation, and science. Produced by: Dr Kira Allmann Interviews with: Professor Sally Shuttleworth, Professor Gowan Dawson, Cory Mason, Tom Nicolson Music by: Rosemary Allmann This podcast is brought to you by the Constructing Scientific Communities Project, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

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