Category: Science

Fry your brain

December 18, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Great Leap Years review

Rating –

Great leap years logo

As someone who has literally grown up as a Stephen Fry fan, from A Bit Of Fry And Laurie, to Jeeves And Wooster, to QI. This review may seem somewhat biased. If Mr Fry puts his name to something then you can rest assured it will be quality. Having said that, I don’t think he did a podcast before this one. So is this another notch on his tally of greatness, or is it an uncharacteristic fail? Read on and see.

So what’s it about?

This series covers the history of human invention. That may sound like a lot, and indeed it is, but thankfully Stephen skips through the first 10,000 years or so rather quickly so we can get down to more “recent” technological achievement, starting in the middle ages.

Each episode follows along in a somewhat chronological order. Starting in earnest with the invention of the Gutenberg Press, and ending with the invention of computers, maybe even glimpses of the real bleeding edge of advancement.

I guarantee you there will be lots of facts here that you will have never heard before, even if you know about the actual inventions. The way that the most revolutionary things get invented, either by accident or as a “plan b” is truly mind-blowing, and goes to show that these guys are (usually) just ordinary people.

I think my favourite episode here was the reason I found this podcast (after hearing Penn Jillette mention it on his Sunday School podcast) about Fritz Haber, who was responsible for saving more people than anyone else in history, then killing more people than anyone else, and then saving people again. That one is as heartbreaking as it is fascinating, and goes to show the duality of technological advancement, especially during war time.

Is it any good?

If you like learning new things in a fun and interesting way then you’ll love this series. If that previous sentence doesn’t apply to you, I suggest you go back to Joe Rogan. Seeing as an awful lot of people know Stephen Fry from QI, then a series about obscure fact on well known subjects won’t be anything new.

Stephen Fry has a real talent for making things interesting. I suspect this is because he is genuinely interested in the subject matter too. I think this is why there are so many bad teachers in the world. They just aren’t really interested in their own subject matter, but I digress.

Final thoughts

Imagine, if you will, the chapters on recent earth history in The Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy, and you’ll be somewhat close to this show. Yes, I know that Mr. Fry narrated that particular work of genius for the audiobook. That’s why I said it. He has now become as inexoravbly linked to that, as he has to the works of P.G. Wodehouse. Which is no bad thing.

The only thing that stops this being the best podcast I’ve ever heard is the fact that there is so much information that my brain does start to fry after a few episodes. If you’re not as greedy as I am, and you listen to one or two episodes a day then I’m sure you’ll agree that this is practically perfect in every way.

You can get Stephen Fry’s Great Leap Years here:

http://www.stephenfry.com/greatleapyears/

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

I am become Seth…

September 18, 2022 / / 1 Comment

Big Picture Science review

Rating –

big picture science logo

A month or so ago, if you’d have asked me who Seth Shostak is, I would have spent about an hour wracking my brain whilst cursing you. I’ve known the name for years, and I would have guessed that it was something to do with UFOs. I wouldn’t be too far from the mark I guess, because he is the senior astronomer for SETI. Despite hearing this podcast advertised on nearly every episode of Penn’s Sunday School, I never put the two things together (my ears tend to switch themselves off when adverts start so I skip forward a minute or two). After hearing him interviewed on Monster Talk, I subscribed and with some trepidation, pressed play.

So what’s it about?

I say trepidation, because whilst I love highbrow “brainy” (or “geek bullshit” if you ask my partner) podcasts, I don’t really listen to many pure science shows.

Big Picture Science is a weekly podcast that examines different subjects and interviews scientists in the relevant fields. Seth Shostak and his co-host Molly Bentley are excellent presenters. My indecision was unfounded and I’ve quickly fallen in love with this brilliant series.

The show cover a diverse range of topics including global warming, conspiracy theories, robots and exactly what it’s like inside a black hole. Of course, being based at SETI, there are plenty of discussions on the search for earthlike planets and astronomy.

Is it any good?

This is one of those highbrow podcasts that covers intellectual subjects in a very easy to understand manner. The sometimes complex subject matter is always put forward in a relatively jargon free and entertaining manner. Seth and Molly’s sense of humour shines through, yet is never inane, and they are both as eager to find out about new things as the guests are to tell them (and us) about it.

Being that the early episodes are 12 years old (on my podcatcher anyway), some of the news stories they cover have actually finished. The fact that I know how the stoires play out doesnt detract from them at all. There is always some little detail that I had missed, or that they explain in a better way. This is why its so good.

Final thoughts

If you’re looking for something different to your main diet of fiction or true crime, then you really should check this out. It’s very similar in style to podcasts like Monster Talk or The Tetrapod Zoology Podcast, and is one that with its hundreds of episodes, will keep me amused for a very long time.

I appreciate that this is on the shorter end of reviews I’ve written, especially when I devoted about 800 words to a three brain show a few weeks back. I could have really just said “This is a brilliant podcast, subscribe immediately”. That isn’t really a review though is it? You should though. Subscribe immediately I mean.

You can get Big Picture Science here:

https://radio.seti.org/

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

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