In the last few decades a revolution has been brewing in zoology and evolutionary biology. Lucy Cooke introduces us to a riotous cast of animals, and the scientists studying them, that are redefining the female of the species.

The bitches in her book titled "Bitch" overturn outdated binary expectations of bodies, brains, biology and behaviour. Lucy Cooke's brilliant new book will change how you think - about sex, sexual identity and sexuality in animals and also the very forces that shape evolution.

Producer: Ross Ziegelmeier
Interviewer: Ayesha Meredith-Lewis
Speaker: Lucy Cooke

Linnean Podcast #57: A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal

On this episode of The Side Comment, Athene Donald talks to us about her upcoming book, "Not Just for the Boys: Why We Need More Women in Science," and why so few girls take up scientific endeavors. She looks at how women fit into the scientific world historically and if there are cultural aspects to the absence of female scientists today. 

Please check out Oxford Academic on SoundCloud and Youtube each Wednesday in March, as Athene Donald will return for a 4-part limited series for Women's History Month. "Not Just For the Boys" will feature Donald in conversation with fellow female scientists and allies about the issues women face in the scientific world.
 
Athene Donald is Professor Emerita in Experimental Physics and Master of Churchill College, University of Cambridge. Other than four years postdoctoral research in the USA, she has spent her career in Cambridge, specializing in soft matter physics and physics at the interface with biology. She was the University of Cambridge's first Gender Equality Champion, and has been involved in numerous initiatives concerning women in science. She was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1999 and appointed DBE for services to Physics in 2010.

Learn more about "Not Just for the Boys: Why We Need More Women in Science" here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/not-just-for-the-boys-9780192893406

Listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Q6MvGaP30

The Side Comment Crew:
Executive Producer: Steven Filippi
Associate Producer: Amy Guest
Host: Sarah Butcher

Music: Filaments by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Inspiring/Filaments

© Oxford University Press

Athene Donald on Women in Science - Episode 34 - The Side Comment

For the first episode of Not Just For the Boys, Athene Donald is joined by Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright OBE, VP for Education at the Institute of Physics, to discuss the issues facing girls in physics at school and the work of the IOP.

Episodes of Not Just For the Boys will premiere each Wednesday this month for Women's History Month.

Athene Donald's episode of The Side Comment, which served as an introduction to this limited podcast series, can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/oupacademic/tsc-ep-34-athene-donald
More information on Athene Donald's book, "Not Just For the Boys: Why We Need More Women in Science" can be found here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/not-just-for-the-boys-9780192893406

Athene Donald is Professor Emerita in Experimental Physics and Master of Churchill College, University of Cambridge. Other than four years postdoctoral research in the USA, she has spent her career in Cambridge, specializing in soft matter physics and physics at the interface with biology. She was the University of Cambridge's first Gender Equality Champion, and has been involved in numerous initiatives concerning women in science. She was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1999 and appointed DBE for services to Physics in 2010.

Athene Donald in conversation with Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright - Not Just For the Boys - Episode 1

For the second episode of Not Just For the Boys, Athene Donald is joined by Dr Hannah Devlin, Science Correspondent at the Guardian, to discuss representation of female scientists in the media.

Episodes of Not Just For the Boys will premiere each Wednesday this month for Women's History Month.

Previous episodes of the Not Just For the Boys limited series can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/oupacademic/sets/not-just-for-the-boys-why-we-need-more-women-in-science

More information on Athene Donald's book, "Not Just For the Boys: Why We Need More Women in Science" can be found here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/not-just-for-the-boys-9780192893406

Athene Donald is Professor Emerita in Experimental Physics and Master of Churchill College, University of Cambridge. Other than four years postdoctoral research in the USA, she has spent her career in Cambridge, specializing in soft matter physics and physics at the interface with biology. She was the University of Cambridge's first Gender Equality Champion, and has been involved in numerous initiatives concerning women in science. She was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1999 and appointed DBE for services to Physics in 2010.

Athene Donald in conversation with Dr Hannah Devlin - Not Just For The Boys - Episode 2

For the third episode of Not Just For the Boys, Athene Donald is joined by Professor Paul Walton, Department of Chemistry, University of York and winner of various awards for his work in diversity, to discuss his actions to improve the working environment in his department and the idea of men as allies.

Episodes of Not Just For the Boys will premiere each Wednesday this month for Women's History Month.

Previous episodes of the Not Just For the Boys limited series can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/oupacademic/sets/not-just-for-the-boys-why-we-need-more-women-in-science

More information on Athene Donald's book, "Not Just For the Boys: Why We Need More Women in Science" can be found here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/not-just-for-the-boys-9780192893406

Athene Donald is Professor Emerita in Experimental Physics and Master of Churchill College, University of Cambridge. Other than four years postdoctoral research in the USA, she has spent her career in Cambridge, specializing in soft matter physics and physics at the interface with biology. She was the University of Cambridge's first Gender Equality Champion, and has been involved in numerous initiatives concerning women in science. She was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1999 and appointed DBE for services to Physics in 2010.

Athene Donald in conversation with Professor Paul Walton - Not Just For The Boys - Episode 3

For the final episode of Not Just For the Boys, Athene Donald is joined by Professor Diane Coyle, Bennett Institute for Public Policy University of Cambridge, to discuss the parallels between Economics and Physics when it comes to the proportion of women in the subjects, and what needs to be done.

Previous episodes of the Not Just For the Boys limited series can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/oupacademic/sets/not-just-for-the-boys-why-we-need-more-women-in-science

More information on Athene Donald's book, "Not Just For the Boys: Why We Need More Women in Science" can be found here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/not-just-for-the-boys-9780192893406

Athene Donald is Professor Emerita in Experimental Physics and Master of Churchill College, University of Cambridge. Other than four years postdoctoral research in the USA, she has spent her career in Cambridge, specializing in soft matter physics and physics at the interface with biology. She was the University of Cambridge's first Gender Equality Champion, and has been involved in numerous initiatives concerning women in science. She was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1999 and appointed DBE for services to Physics in 2010.

Athene Donald in conversation with Professor Diane Coyle - Not Just For The Boys - Episode 4

What do you think of when you hear about Antarctica? Maybe it’s the vast snow planes or the cute pinguins and seals. But one of the most important things about Antarctica, are the ocean currents around it. They transport everything from heat, to debris, to live organisms and affect our whole planet!

In this episode Griff and Inna interview Hannah Dawson, who studies this fascinating topic.

A Freezing Dive: Hannah and the Antarctic Ocean Currents

What if detecting lung diseases such as cancer would be as easy as taking a breath? Although this sounds like science fiction, a diseases breathalyser is already under development!
Join Griff and Inna as they chat to Merryn Baker who develops methods of detecting diseases with just one breath.

Follow Merryn on Twitter: @merryn_baker

Detecting lung diseases with breath analysis

A risk-taking pilot sounds like the last thing anyone would want on their flight. However, if we ever want the plane to take off, some risk taking is necessary and even crucial.
In this episode of Boiling Point, Griff and Inna chat to Yassmin Ebrahim. Yassmin studies the risk behavior of pilots and how it can affect their decisions during emergency events.

Head in the skies: exploring the psychology of pilots

Plants are signaling and communicating with their environment in unique and remarkable ways, we just don’t always know how to interpret their signals. But observing flowers and pollination is the easiest way to tap into their secret language.

In this episode Inna and Hannah chat to Ruby E. Stephens about the weird and wonderful world of pollination.

Understanding the secret language of plants

Linnean Podcast #63: A Revolutionary Guide To Sex, Evolution And The Female Animal

In aid of The International Day of Women and Girls in Science Clare spoke to Professor Iruka Okeke and Professor Judith Armitage to discuss women in science. In this episode they discuss the importance of mentors, promotions in academia and the inequalities of maternity leave and Clare gains valuable insights from Judy and Iruka's impressive careers.

To keep up with Judy and Iruka, you can find them on X. @Armitage_Judy and @iruka_okeke. 

Follow this link to read Judy's Microbial Primer https://microb.io/3unNBOP

Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay

Navigating Academia: a conversation with Professor Iruka Okeke and Professor Judith Armitage

The RIA Library held a lunchtime lecture to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of Cynthia Longfield's adventure on the St George Expedition. Cynthia set out on the St George Expedition travelling across the Atlantic and around the South Sea Islands. To talk about this voyage of discovery, Dr Angela Byrne gave a lunchtime lecture, on Tuesday 9 April 2024, entitled 'Cynthia Longfield and the St George expedition of 1924: the making of an entomologist'.

Image: Cynthia Longfield sitting in a palm-leaf shelter, Panama. June 1924 (RIA LRC/27/17)

Cynthia Longfield and the St George expedition of 1924: the making of an entomologist

Last month was Women’s History Month, taking place annually throughout the month of March. It aims to highlight and reflect on the many, but often over-looked, achievements made by women throughout history – which have paved the way for the women of today. In this episode, to mark the month, we caught up with Society Champion and microbiologist, Dr Linda Oyama. Linda discusses her insights as a woman in science, by diving into some of her experiences, as well as her passion for outreach with young girls.

To keep up with Linda, you can find her on X. @LindaOyama

Women’s History Month: a conversation with Dr Linda Oyama

The Microbiology Society is a membership organisation for scientists who work in all areas of microbiology.

The Royal Irish Academy/Acadamh Ríoga na hEireann is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is the principal learned society in Ireland and has over 420 members who are elected in recognition of their academic achievements.

The Royal Irish Academy, the academy for the sciences and humanities for the whole of Ireland will vigorously promote excellence in scholarship, recognise achievements in learning, direct research programmes and undertake its own research projects, particularly in areas relating to Ireland and its heritage.

Our Podcasts are an exciting way for anyone and everyone to gain insight into the wonderful, and often weird, worlds of researchers, professionals and well known "curious minds".

Oxford University Press’s academic insights for the thinking world combine authority, innovation, and excellence.  We share audio resources for students, scholars, and researchers.

New tracks tagged #Women In Science