A cocktail of antibiotics has made my brain fuzzy which isn’t the best thing when you’re trying to research a blog post. After a few days of half-read and scrunched-up ideas, I decided to adopt a different approach. I tuned into science radio. This enabled my tired brain to relax and listen to some fascinating content. After listening to a few podcasts, another brain-wave came over my fuzzy neurons… I haven’t shared the most amazing science podcast, Radiolab, with you yet! So here goes…

I first discovered Radiolab at a Science Gallery workshop given by Gareth Mitchell from Click (BBC Digital Technology Show) back in June. He played some pieces of science radio to give us an idea of the different styles. Radiolab really blew me away as they demonstrated science and experimented with sound. It’s a brilliant way to learn about science and the podcasts are usually in themes e.g. there is an excellent one on Falling which includes falling cats (as discussed by David McKeown at Ignite #8 in the Science Gallery). I’d also recommend one of the more recent podcasts, Mutant Rights, where they discuss a ten-year long case United States v Marvel.

I can’t write about podcasts without mentioning some Irish science podcasts that I listen to. Futureproof is on Newstalk each Saturday at 6pm and hosted by Jonathon McCrea. You can also listen back if you’re like me and can’t keep track of time. Scibernia is a science podcast which is also broadcast on NearFM. They’re actually looking for some new volunteers to join their crew at the moment if you’re interested in science radio. I contributed to a few episodes last year and I’d recommend it. As well as meeting fellow science enthusiasts, you get studio experience. Science Chat by Sean Marshall is another podcast. Sean’s invited me on this in the coming weeks to speak about Science Calling’s 2012 plans so keep an eye out for that.

So that’s my short and sweet post for today. Hopefully my brain will be back in working order for next Friday. At least this week re-kindled my love of science radio!