Empty Space Inbetween Podcast

Dr Tom Crawford is a mathematician at the University of Oxford AND the University of Cambridge, and also a massive self-confessed Pokemon fan! Listen in to our chat with Tom at the New Scientist Live event where we talked about how his love for maths came to be, what its like being a content creator within academia and, most importantly, what is his favourite Pokemon!

Prof David Stainforth is a climate scientist at the London School of Economics. Initially training as a physicist by trade, David spent many years researching at Oxford University and was one of the founders of climateprediction.net, a groundbreaking volunteer-based computing climate modelling project at the University of Oxford. David recently published the book "Predicting Our Climate Futur...

Dr Ivan Gee is a researcher in public health at Liverpool John Moores University. Ivan's work focused on tobacco and nicotine addiction and the use of vaping in younger generations in 2023. The lads discuss if vapes are safe, if they are beneficial in some scenarios and what the science tells us about the long-term health impacts. Ivan also discusses his role in the 2007 smoke-free legislation...

Dr Áine MacDermott is BACK!. Áine is an expert in Cyber Security and the IoT at Liverpool John Moores University. Áine teaches on both the Computer Forensics and Computer Security programmes in the School of Computer Science and Mathematics. Áine's past research has delved into areas such as online disappearing messages on applications such as WhatsApp, online security surrounding the Internet...

Chris is a professor of sea-level science at the University of Liverpool. He is an Adjunct Fellow at the National Oceanography Centre where Chris works closely with the Sea Level Group, the Marine Physics and Ocean Climate Group and the Marine Systems Modelling groups. Chris's research focuses on the relationship between ocean dynamics, sea level, ocean bottom pressure, and geodesy. 

Steven is a Professor of Astrophysics at the Astrophysics Research Institute (ARI) and head of the ARI’s Astro-Ecology group. Stevens's work includes how the Universe evolves over cosmic time to produce the spectacular variety of stars, planets and life we see today. His work has established an understanding of how clouds of gas in space collapse to form star systems and how changes in these g...

Dr Ivan Olier-Caparroso is a reader in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. Ivan's work included the development of algorithms for intelligent systems with a focus on casual AI, Digital twins and the complex modelling of large-scale, highly structured databases. Ivan's work has numerous applications within cardiovascular science, drug development, astrophysics and healthcare. Ivan and...

Emily Wharton, PhD Researcher at Liverpool John Moores University and co-host of the Stupid Genius podcast, joins us for the latest instalment of Research News. Everything from how to Lucid Dream and what Lucid dreams tell us about reality to how humans can learn from woodpecker brain physiology, to upping your chances on the Lottery, it's all discussed here. We dive into the Empty Space Inbetween...

In this week's episode, Ryan and Sam reflect on the podcast up to now and re-live their favourite guest highlights over the first 26 episodes. The lads also delve into what they've been up to since their last sat down without a guest, like Ryan's attempt to be Lewis Hamilton and Sam's love for hippies. If you are up for an hour of less research talk and more rambling then this epis...

Dr Chris Cavanagh is an archaeologist and historian in Classics, Ancient Religion and Sexuality. The lads delve into the ancient Romans' reign of Europe, how transphobic and homophobic ideology may have originated from Roman culture, the religious history of Ireland, how the pyramids were built and much more. As per usual, the lads delve into the empty space inbetween talking about Chris's...

James Williams is an academic in rehabilitating foreign and British national prisoners. His work involves arming inmates with the skills and tools to adapt to prison life and reintegrate into society once released. James has also worked with Refugees and Asylum Seekers, teaching English through the ESOL National Curriculum to various nationalities, including North East Africa, the Middle East, Asi...

Professor Andy Biggin is an expert in palaeomagnetism and leads the Geomagnetism Laboratory and DEEP research group at the University of Liverpool. Prof Biggins work includes explaining and investigating the past behaviours of the Earth's magnetic field on time scales from centuries to billions of years. Get involved and find out more about the Geomagnetism Labs work here: https://www.geomagne...

Dr James Baker is a mathematician and researcher who has worked at Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Manchester, and the University of Sydney. He received his Master's in Mathematics from Oxford University. Dr Baker's research to date has been centred around "granular materials," which include sand, snow, soil, and many others (not necessarily beginning with &#3...

BIG THINK is back. A mini-series where Ryan and Sam give their thoughts on how science is intertwined with some of the world's most significant cultural, social and environmental problems and how it's affecting these issues in positive and negative ways. This week the lads discuss...has the use of machine learning destroyed the album? Has recommender systems and playlist culture consequent...

Dr Ivo Siekmann is an ecologist, applied mathematician and statistician, specialising in using systems of stochastic partial differential equations (SPDE) and applying Bayesian MCMC approaches to tackle real-world ecological and biological problems. His work includes the population dynamics of plankton under the influence of marine viruses, modelling invasive species around the UK and beyond and c...

ACADEMIC AGONY AUNTTTT! Ryan and Sam are here to answer the prayers and wishes of the people. They have arrived to provide the solutions and queries that everyone wants and needs in the world of science and research. The lads give advice on what makes the ultimate personal statement, what bad qualities make a researcher unbearable to work with, the best places to get access to data to train machin...

Research news is back my dudes! Ryan and Sam dive into what's making headlines in the world of science and research. Shopping trolleys that detect arterial fibrillation, dolphins using altered tones of voice and pitches to communicate with their young, musical ability and hows it's affected by native language, and new applications that can predict your favourite alcoholic beverage, it'...

Alec Brits is a producer, songwriter and content creator who owns the Cabin Recording Studio in Liverpool. Alec has worked with numerous artists around the city and beyond, such as Clean Cut Kid, The Hummingbirds, Mic Lowery, St Catherines Child, I See Rivers, Honey Motel, HOLLOWBODY and more. Alec shares some childhood stories of growing up in South Africa and his journey to Scouseland at the ten...

The lads are back with part three of academic agony aunts answering the burning research questions that people must have answers to! Ryan and Sam dive into the dangers of sentient AI, how to keep your motivation going on bad days, the problems with research jobs at prominent academic institutions, and the biggest shock in the first year of a PhD. As per usual, the lads enter the Empty Space Inbetw...

In this week's episode, Ryan and Sam give insight into their backstory. They spill the beans on what they were like at school, how they flopped when it came to A-levels and how they managed to secure PhD scholarships achieving miserable exam results. The lads discover things they never knew about each other like Sam taking Mathematics on a whim because his mate was and how Ryans's academic...

Back again with round 2 of Academic Agony Aunts! The series where Ryan and Sam sell themselves as the Gurus of academic philosophy and provide wisdom like no other to those seeking new avenues of knowledge in their research lives. And yes, before you complain. Ryan and Sam are 100% qualified to answer these queries...The lads delve into the current system of publication culture between academics,...

Ryan and Sam give their takes on what's making headlines and creating conversation in the world of newly published science and research. They wade through the platter of breaking stories from AI that can identify cheating students and plagiarism, rats that are now dancing to music, a diabetes medication that is getting adopted in the world of celebrities for weight loss, AI that can tell if so...

Taking a side step from episode 7 on electric cars, Ryan and Sam turn their attention to the newly emerging world of self-driving cars! The guys delve into the six levels of self-driving vehicles, the spurious advertisement of these features, subscription-based models currently offered by big car conglomerates and the major ethical issues surrounding AI-powered cars, such as "who is to blame...

Electric Cars! 2030 and all must go is what the UK government is saying, but what do Ryan and Sam think of the practicality of this in the real world? The lads delve into the UK and European cut-off date for the production of petrol cars, the feasibility of electric cars for low-income individuals and families, the practicality of charging these vehicles if the whole UK had one, the ethical implic...

Welcome to the first mini-series episode called "Academic Agony Aunts'. Ryan and Sam answer the questions, comments and queries of distressed researchers, academics, students and members of the public who need answers to their deep, thought-provoking problems. The fountain of knowledge acquired by Ryan and Sam over the years 100% qualifies them to deliver this advice... This series will r...