In this interview, Dr Melanie Smallman talks about her meta-study of attitudes across 10 emerging technologies by public, government, and politicians. Her conclusion: we talk quite differently about innovation. Smallman argues those differences matter for how we respond to the changes taking place around us. Science communication and public engagement needs to be smarter about the public it serves.
In this interview, Melanie talks about the research behind her popular paper:
Smallman, Melanie. 2018. “Science to the rescue or contingent progress? Comparing 10 years of public, expert, and policy discourses on new and emerging science and technology in the United Kingdom,” Public Understanding of Science, volume 27, issue 6, pp. 655-673. DOI 10.1177/0963662517706452.
We also talk about the module Melanie teaches at UCL, “Science in Government”.
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Featuring
Interviewee:
- Dr Melanie Smallman
UCL Associate Professor in Science and Technology Studies
Interviewer:
- Professor Joe Cain
UCL Professor in History and Philosophy of Biology
Music credits
- “Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod
https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Podcast information
“WeAreSTS” is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, and to leave feedback about the show, visit us online:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast
Students and staff in STS also can find on the website information about how to get involved with our programme.
Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain.
Tw: @stsucl #WeAreSTS
“WeAreSTS” producer is Professor Joe Cain.