2022 | Professor Joe Cain

WeAreSTS - A Podcast from UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS), hosted by Professor Joe Cain.

#22 Thinking About Internationality: Is Science the Same Everywhere? | WeAreSTS

It’s one of those fundamental tenets taught to every student: science is international; it’s the same everywhere, it respects no borders; the work is the same no matter where or when you are. Assessing this […]

#21 Responsible Media Coverage: Hype in Stories About Chatbots | WeAreSTS

Is AI sentient? Do machines have souls? I’ve got an even better question: are these questions the most important ones we should be asking? Headlines claiming machines could be alive are definitely eye-catching. But hype […]

#20 Becoming Britain’s Chief Scientific Advisor: Solly Zuckerman | WeAreSTS

Did you know that in March 1967, the British government bombed an oil tanker stranded on rocks off Cornwall? Dan Sharpe certainly didn’t when he began to dig into the life and career of the […]

#19 Decolonise and Decenter STS: Reflections and Expectations | WeAreSTS

Scientific knowledge has evolved over the past few centuries in various political and socio-cultural contexts. There is seen to be a substantially disproportionate legacy of European thought in scientific education. How the fingerprints of colonialism […]

#18 Peer Review, Reviewed: A Closer Look at Scientific Publishing | WeAreSTS

Most of us have heard of peer review, but how does it actually work? After more than a century, is it still fit for purpose? This episode explores the state of peer review in academic […]

#17 Journalism from STS Science Communication Students 2022 | WeAreSTS

The assignments students do in STS modules today are nothing like what they used to be. These days, they build portfolios with all sorts of things: short writing, long writing, posters, blogs, in-class presentations. Add […]

#16 Gorgias: Plato Asks ‘Is It Better To Be Honest or Persuasive?’ STS1Book | WeAreSTS

You’ve heard of Plato. He’s one of those philosophers from Ancient Greece. Think in the time range 400-350 BCE and you’re in the right range. Plato wrote core works in the Western canon: The Republic, […]

John Maynard Smith. 1937. Some economic consequences of a declining population, published in Eugenics Review 29(1): 13-17.

John Maynard Keynes in the History of Eugenics

What was the research and advocacy that took place by personnel associated with UCL and sister institutions? Seth Jamieson investigates John Maynard Smith. 1937. Some economic consequences of a declining population, published in Eugenics Review 29(1): 13-17. […]

J.W. Brown, Major Greenwood, and Frances Wood (1920) The Fertility of the English Middle Classes. A Statistical Study. Eugenics Review 12(3): 158-211.

Major Greenwood in the History of Eugenics

What was the research and advocacy that took place by personnel associated with UCL and its sister institutions? Zydon Patel investigates J.W. Brown, Major Greenwood, and Frances Wood (1920) The Fertility of the English Middle […]

Leonard Darwin in the History of Eugenics

What was the research and advocacy that took place by personnel associated with UCL and other London-based institutions? Su Cheng investigates Leonard Darwin’s (1928) What is Eugenics? Part A: Investigating the Author Two of the most […]

Professor Joe Cain

UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology

Year: 2022