With the recent media discussion on autonomous vehicles, it’s no surprise that
Jack Stilgoe’s expertise was frequently sought out. The death of a pedestrian in an accident with an AV led to appearances on BBC, ITV and Sky News, as well as writing articles for the
Literary Review,
Gizmodo,
Tech Review and more. Jack also contributed to Prof. Jonathan Ball’s documentary series ‘
Biohacking’ on Radio 4, discussing the legalities behind technologies such as CRISPR Gene editing, and was the subject of a piece for CBS News in the US - their feature on the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein led to a film crew appearing in his class, to give viewers a taste of what it’s like to study at STS.
Elsewhere on the BBC,
Simon Werrett was the main academic expert consulted on Lucy Worsley’s ’
Fireworks for a Tudor Queen’ on BBC 4, helping Lucy and her viewers understand the meaning and creation of fireworks during the 16th Century. The Sunda Strait tsunami in Indonesia was news throughout the world, which led to media appearances for STS’s resident disasters expert
Carina Fearnley, as she appeared on BBC News, Saturday PM and Istanbul’s TRT World.
Also appearing on the BBC was Bill Maclehose, as Radio 4’s series ‘When Greeks Flew Kites’ looked at sleep as a source of preoccupation and worry. Bill provided a historical slant on sleep-based anxieties and mysteries. Finally, Jon Agar ended the year with a brace of appearances. Firstly, The Guardian asked for his opinion on the recent disappearance of archive files relating to Britain’s nuclear weapons and atomic energy programmes. Secondly, he appeared on Radio 4’s PM to discuss recent moral panics over the mobile phone.
However, our academics were not the only STS people to appear in the media. A group of STS MSc students have been working with the BBC to create videos for
BBC Future, including short pieces on the health benefits of coffee and cold water swimming and the search for safe nuclear storage. Our PhD students have also made themselves visible. Ellie Armstrong featured in a Sunday Times piece on the “
Queering The Museum” tours that she runs, while Sadie Harrison has been a regular guest on the BBC’s ‘
Evil Genius’ podcast with Russell Kane. We look forward to seeing more in 2019!
For more examples of our department’s work, visit our Alchemy page.
