The Global Lab is a science communication podcast focussing on cities, complexity and spatial technology, produced by the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) and driven by the dedication and imagination of the fantastic Martin Zaltz Austwick. You can subscribe to The Global Lab on iTunes or download episodes from the Soundcloud page.
I have served as an interviewer for the podcast on a number of occasions, and also been interviewed myself. The episodes that I have been involved with are collected below.
Episode 51: Seeing Cities
In this episode, Duncan Hay interviews two art historians, Hannah Williams and Emilie Oléron Evans, on the loose theme of Seeing Cities. The discussion covers the website Artists in Paris and the architectural perspective of Nikolaus Pevsner. Sarah Wise presents; I did the editing.
Episode 49: The Gernsback Continuum
A roundtable discussion about the relationship between science fiction of the past and the urban realities of the present and future, using William Gibson’s short story, The Gernsback Continuum, as a jumping off point. With Duncan Hay, Sarah Wise and Boyana Buyuklieva.
Episode 46: Pinning It Down
The second episode that I produced and presented, this time on the broad theme of labelling, defining and classifying. I like to think it’s more fun than that makes it sound, though.
Click here for more information on this episode.
Episode 43: The Global Stage
I produced and presented this episode on the connections between The Global Lab’s usual themes of cities, space and globalisation and the world of the theatre.
Click here for more information on this episode, including an extra bonus clip.
Episode 40: The Death of Distance – Volume II
In this episode, I interview planetary scientist Dr. Nick Attree about studying the rings of Saturn using photos from NASA’s Cassini orbiter. Our conversation also touches on the lovely new photos of Pluto from the New Horizons spacecraft. The other interviewees in this episode are museum curator Jen Kavanagh on engaging visitors at the Science Museum and anthropologist Xinyuan Wang on Chinese social media use.
Episode 38: Counting Heads
In this democracy-themed episode, I interview Carl Cullinane on the subject of the superb electoral info site Democratic Dashboard and the disparity of voting power caused by our first-past-the-post parliamentary electoral system. The episode also features Duncan Smith on geographic voting patterns and the Northern Powerhouse, and Cecilia Lantana Briones on the cost of living in Argentina in the 1920s.
Episode 36: In the Field
In this episode, I interview Matt Pennells about his work with MapAction, a UK based charity that sends volunteers to disaster-hit regions around the world, providing maps for the international agencies that respond to humanitarian catastrophes. The episode also features guerrilla-geographer Daniel Raven-Ellison talking to Martin Zaltz Austwick about GreaterLondonNationalPark.org.uk, and materials scientist Anna Ploszajski talking to Rob Levy about hydrogen fuel cells.
Episode 32: City of Terror
In this episode, I interview my colleague Peter Baudains on the maths of terrorist attacks, civil violence and counter-insurgency. The episode also features Martin Zaltz Austwick’s interviews with neuroresearcher Panos Mavros, who scans people’s brains as they navigate urban environments, and geographer James Kneale, who discusses author H. P. Lovecraft’s fear of cities.
Episode 30: Paul Wordsworth – Archaeology and Technology
I interview archaeologist Paul Wordsworth of the University of Oxford, on how he has used spatial technology on his expeditions in Central Asia.
Episode 28: Ed Manley – Urban Navigation
I interview my CASA colleague Ed Manley about his work studying the way that people choose their routes for moving from place to place in a city.
Episode 26: Thomas Oléron Evans – Spatial Games and Agent Based Models
In this episode, recorded back when I was a doctoral student, I am interviewed about my own research by Hrishi Ballal, another CASA researcher.