TrueSciPhi

Podcast Profile: Science(ish)

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102 episodes
2015 to 2020
Median: 38 minutes
Collection: Science

Description (podcaster-provided):

Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):

This podcast uses films, TV, books, and other touchstones from popular culture as a launching point for science-led conversations. Hosted by comedian Rick Edwards and scientist Dr. Michael Brooks, it takes familiar stories—from sci‑fi and horror to animation, blockbusters, and political satire—and asks what current research says about the plausibility, limits, and real-world implications of the ideas they contain.

Across the episodes, recurring themes include how emerging technologies could reshape human capabilities and society, such as invisibility and metamaterials, cybernetic augmentation, virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, cryptography and hacking, geoengineering, and the possibility of mind uploading or an “awakening” internet. The show also explores biology and medicine, including regeneration, ageing, vision restoration, pain, sleep disorders, dementia, and the boundaries between consciousness, coma, and death.

Environmental and planetary questions appear frequently, from persistent industrial chemicals and waste to climate intervention, supervolcanoes, ice ages, extinction, and the evolution of predators. Broader scientific and philosophical topics are also covered, including mathematics and probability, forecasting and uncertainty, the ethics of robotics and synthetic biology, and the societal dimensions of issues like doping, empathy, and human hierarchy.

Episodes typically feature interviews with specialist researchers and authors, pairing playful speculation with discussion of evidence, mechanisms, and ethical trade-offs behind the science that popular culture dramatizes.

Episodes:

8: Episode 100: The Invisible Man 2020-Mar-06 43 minutes

7: Dark Waters 2020-Feb-28 44 minutes

6: Robocop 2020-Feb-21 43 minutes

5: Silence of The Lambs 2020-Feb-14 39 minutes

4: Star Wars 2019-Dec-20 41 minutes

3: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 2019-Dec-13 40 minutes

2: Game Of Thrones (Live) 2019-Dec-06 49 minutes

1: Jaws 2019-Nov-29 40 minutes

12: History of the World: Part 1 2019-Mar-21 40 minutes

11: Deadpool 2019-Mar-14 40 minutes

10: Inside Out 2019-Mar-08 39 minutes

9: Antz 2019-Feb-28 36 minutes

8: WALL-E 2019-Feb-22 40 minutes

7: Geostorm 2019-Feb-14 40 minutes

6: Icarus 2019-Feb-07 34 minutes

5: Dante's Peak 2019-Jan-31 36 minutes

4: Westworld 2018-Dec-20 35 minutes

3: Blindness 2018-Dec-14 37 minutes

2: Moonraker 2018-Dec-06 35 minutes

1: Fight Club 2018-Nov-29 35 minutes

33: Is LIGO right? 2018-Nov-02 37 minutes

32: First Man 2018-Oct-19 39 minutes

31: Pi 2018-Sep-13 39 minutes

30: Doctor Strange 2018-Sep-07 36 minutes

29: Frankenstein 2018-Aug-30 43 minutes

28: Rounders 2018-Aug-23 40 minutes

27: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 2018-Aug-16 39 minutes

26: The Dead Zone 2018-Aug-09 41 minutes

25: Nightmare on Elm Street 2018-Aug-02 42 minutes

24: Knight Rider 2018-Jul-26 39 minutes

23: Get Out 2018-Jul-19 37 minutes

22: Enigma 2018-Jul-12 38 minutes

21: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 2018-Jul-05 42 minutes

20: Still Alice 2018-Jun-29 35 minutes

19: Ice Age 2018-Jun-21 28 minutes

18: Good Will Hunting 2018-Jun-14 36 minutes

17: Chain Reaction 2018-Jun-07 34 minutes

16: Demolition man 2018-May-31 32 minutes

15: Rick and Morty 2018-May-24 48 minutes

14: Seven Pounds 2018-May-17 35 minutes

13: Contagion 2018-May-10 36 minutes

12: Altered Carbon 2018-May-03 35 minutes

11: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2018-Apr-26 36 minutes

10: The Machine Stops 2018-Apr-19 36 minutes

9: Dr Strangelove 2018-Apr-12 38 minutes

8: The Cell 2018-Apr-05 29 minutes

7: The Day of the Triffids 2018-Mar-29 31 minutes

6: Hackers 2018-Mar-22 35 minutes

5: Limitless 2018-Mar-15 31 minutes

4: Flatliners 2018-Mar-08 28 minutes

3: Children of Men 2018-Mar-01 31 minutes

2: Never Let Me Go 2018-Feb-22 38 minutes

1: Arrival 2018-Feb-15 34 minutes

Science(ish) Season Three Trailer 2018-Feb-01 5 minutes

Science(ish) Christmas Special, Series 2 Episode 8 2017-Dec-21 38 minutes

Gattaca – Live from The Wigtown Book Festival, Series 2 Episode 7 2017-Oct-06 60 minutes

Armageddon, Series 2 Episode 6 2017-Jul-26 53 minutes

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Series 2 Episode 5 2017-Jul-14 53 minutes

The Fly, Series 2 Episode 4 2017-May-17 55 minutes

Perfume, Series 2 Episode 3 2017-Apr-24 53 minutes

Special(ish) 023 – Big Data Brother 2017-Apr-21 7 minutes

1984, Series 2 Episode 2 2017-Mar-17 59 minutes

The Matrix, Series 2 Episode 1 2017-Feb-14 67 minutes

Scienceish Season Two Trailer 2017-Feb-07 5 minutes

Special(ish) 022 – The Red Planet 2016-Nov-30 19 minutes

Special(ish) 021 – Mauna Loa 2016-Nov-22 17 minutes

017 – The Martian 2016-Nov-15 61 minutes

016 – Her 2016-Oct-25 75 minutes

Special(ish) 019 – Flight to Mars 2016-Oct-18 14 minutes

Special(ish) 018 – Harmon-E 2016-Oct-05 10 minutes

Special(ish) 017 – The Uncanny 2016-Sep-21 8 minutes

015 – Big Data 2016-Sep-13 49 minutes

Special(ish) 016 – Finding Your Voice 2016-Sep-08 7 minutes

Special(ish) 015 – Back to Reality 2016-Aug-31 8 minutes

014 – Lord Of The Flies 2016-Aug-24 46 minutes

Special(ish) 014 – Piggy in the Middle 2016-Aug-21 10 minutes

Special(ish) 013 – King of the Swingers 2016-Aug-03 8 minutes

013 – The Abyss 2016-Jul-27 45 minutes

Special(ish) 012 – Stuck in the Mud 2016-Jul-20 6 minutes

Special(ish) 011 – The Deep 2016-Jul-13 12 minutes

012 – Alien 2016-Jul-06 50 minutes

Special(ish) 010 – The Great Escape 2016-Jul-03 7 minutes

Special(ish) 009 – Here Be Dragons 2016-Jun-22 7 minutes

Special(ish) 008 – Dark Night 2016-Jun-15 8 minutes

Special(ish) 007 – Area 51 2016-Jun-08 12 minutes

011 – Minority Report 2016-Jun-02 50 minutes

Special(ish) 006 – A Criminal Mind 2016-May-25 9 minutes

Special(ish) 005 – Pale Blue Dot 2016-May-18 10 minutes

010 – Interstellar 2016-May-13 51 minutes

Special(ish) 004 – Life on Mars 2016-May-04 12 minutes

Special(ish) 003 – A Head Above 2016-Apr-26 13 minutes

009 – Planet of the Apes 2016-Apr-19 45 minutes

Special(ish) 002 – Rise of the Machines 2016-Apr-13 9 minutes

Special(ish) 001 – Sticks & Stones 2016-Apr-06 12 minutes

008 – The Circle 2016-Mar-15 51 minutes

007 – Ex Machina 2016-Feb-16 55 minutes

006 – The Time Machine 2016-Feb-08 49 minutes

005 – Comics 2016-Jan-29 47 minutes

004 – The Day After Tomorrow 2015-Dec-30 44 minutes

003 – Jurassic Park 2015-Dec-03 46 minutes

002 – Brave New World 2015-Dec-03 50 minutes

001 – Inception 2015-Dec-03 45 minutes