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TV appearances / showreels
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I have worked on a number of different science films, including TV documentaries, news shows, and a full-dome planetarium show 'We Are Astronomers'. My work on the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, broadcast on national UK TV at the end of 2008, resulted in an entry on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) here.
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News
I've appeared on TV news a number of times, discussing aspects of space exploration and astrobiology.
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BBC Stargazing LIVE
A 3min film as part of the 'Jobs with the Stars' for Stargazing LIVE: "Each week more planets are being discovered orbiting distant stars and some of them could be capable of supporting life. If they do, what would it be like? That’s what Lewis hopes to discover." (January 2012)
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Europa
This is a film I did for the Open University 'Moons of the Solar System' iPhone app, about Jupiter's icy moon Europa and the possibility of life in its dark alien ocean. Watch free through iPlayer by clicking the image on the right.
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BBC Wonders of the Universe
I was filmed for the International broadcast of the BBC's Wonders of the Universe, explaining how stars and planets form out of vast clouds of gas and dust in space, and how meteorites have been found to be stuffed full of organic molecules
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Monsters (2010, dir. Gareth Edwards)
Monsters is an incredibly captivating and atmospheric new sci-fi film, written and directed by Gareth Edwards (In the Shadow of the Moon, 2007). The story starts six years after Earth was contaminated with life brought back by a sample return mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa. A cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.
I did some work for a short featurette and DVD extra, explaining the science behind the film and what alien life really might be discovered in the cold dark ocean of Europa. Click on the image to the left to view this on the IMDB website, or here to watch it on The Telegraph culture website.
PS: I'm not a Professor. Yet...
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The Sky at Night
The Sky at Night annual special show in 2010 was on the search for life beyond the Earth, and I was invited to head the programme to talk about my research and introduce all the diverse topics within astrobiology. I chatted with Sir Patrick Moore about everything from the origins of life on our world, to the possibility of aliens swarming deep beneath the rusty surface of Mars or high in the cloud decks of Venus, to humaity's chances of ever meeting intelligent life in our galaxy. Watch the Sky at Night clip, originally televised in March 2010, here [6 mins]
I was invited back on to Sky at Night when Patrick was celebrating his milestone episode '700 Not Out', along with special guests Brian Cox and Jon Culshaw. Watch a short clip on YouTube
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Dangoor Scholarships
The Eliahou Dangoor Scholarships have been created to provide talented British students with the opportunity to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects at leading research universities around the UK. I wrote and presented the following information film about the scholarships.
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We Are Astronomers
We Are Astronomers is a new full-dome planetarium show, narrated by David Tennant, and currently being shown around the world. We Are Astronomers was produced by the design team at the National Space Centre, Leicester, and I was interviewed for this show about my experiences as an astrobiologist and the ways in which modern technology is revolutionising how we do science.
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Radio interviews / podcasts (select only)
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I am regularly interviewed on live radio shows and podcasts about the search for life beyond Earth or other aspects of space exploration. Below is a list of a few of these radio appearances. Click on the speaker symbols on the right to listen to either the full or edited version of the programme, or right-click to download and save to your portable MP3 player.
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Science in Action, BBC World Service
Nov 2011
An interview with Science in Action's Jon Stewart about the stricken Russian probe Phobos-Grunt, and the future of Mars exploration with NASA's Curiosity rover [7:30 mins]
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Pod Delusion
Nov 2011
Interview with Kash Farooq about the Russian mission to the moon of Mars, Phobos-Grunt, and what it hopes to achieve
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Pod Delusion
Nov 2011
Recording of my event with Nick Lane at the London Science Festival, 'Life: Origins on Earth and searching the Universe'
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Space Boffins
Oct 2011
Interview with Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson for the Space Boffins podcast about the search for life beyond Earth, including Venus, Mars, Enceladus and Titan, and why it matters [10 mins].
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theXchange
Sept 2011
Recording of my event at the Xchange, the evening show rounding-up 'the best of the fest' at the British Science Festival, Bradford, after my astrobiology talk earlier in the day [13 mins].
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Guardian Science Weekly PodCast: The sounds of space
August 2011.
Guest appearance on the Guardian podcast with Alok Jhar, talking about how you can explore the cosmos using your ears as well as your eyes. Many objects in space emit radio waves that can be heard through a set of speakers, and our Sun sings with genuine sound waves. [5 mins]
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I, Science
July 2011
Chatting with Andrew Bailey for the Imperial College podcast I, Science on the recent announcement of cells possibly using arsenic in place of phosphorus, the potential implications for the search for life beyond Earth, and the interaction between science, society and the press that this research highlighted. [6 mins]
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Pythagoras' Trousers
Sept 2010
Conversation with Chris North about Mars and the probes exploring its dusy surface for Pythagoras' Trousers, a science and technology radio show from Radio Cardiff and the Institution of Engineering & Technology [7 mins]
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BBC Radio 6 Music
August 2010
Every now and again on her radio show, Lauren Laverne interviews someone with an odd job. Here's me chatting with her about my work into alien life, and the most embarrasing moment in my research career so far... [6 mins]
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Packed Lunch
June 2010
The podcast of a live interview at the Wellcome Collection as part of their 'Packed Lunch' series of events showcasing local scientists and their work. An informal chat about my research, and what would happen to an astronaut hit by the pulse of space radiation from a solar flare..
[26 mins]
The Wellcome Collection also posted a blog about the event here
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Shift Run Stop
April 2010
Free-flowing chat about origins of life on Earth and where else we may find it, with Leila Johnston and Roo Reynolds for the comedy podcast Shift Run Stop.
[20 mins]
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BBC Radio 5 Live. Dr Karl and the Naked Scientist
December 2009.
Interview with Colin Stuart about where we are in the hunt for life beyond the Earth.
[6 mins]
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Sky at Night Magazine podcast
December 2009.
Interview with Will Gater about the real science behind the lifeforms depicted in the film Avatar.
[6 mins]
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BBC Radio York. Drivetime show
December 2009.
Interview about the biggest snowballs in the solar system and how they might host life, as well as UFOs and government incompetence, and the FameLab competition.
[8 mins]
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Australian Broadcasting Corpotation. The Science Show
October 2009.
Interview with Robyn Williams about the search for life on Mars, and what might be the significance of the recent detection of methane in the martian atmosphere.
[7 mins]
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RadioNZ. Nights with Bryan Crump
September 2009.
Long interview live on-air about the nasty effects of space travel and cosmic radiation, and what to do about them - how realistic is creating artificial gravity? [38 mins]
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Guardian Science Weekly PodCast: What would an alien look like?
August 2009.
Guest appearance on the Guardian podcast with Alok Jhar. Wide-ranging conversation on where we are looking for extraterrestrial life and how to spot it. What might alien life really look like, and why we shouldn't be surprised if it's actually pretty familiar. Listen out for the blooper cruelly edited back in at the very end... [17 mins]
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Norwegian Broadcasting Company. Bare Are show.
June 2009.
Converation about life beyond Earth and how likely we are in the future to meet alien travellers in space. What might ET actually look like? And could we eat an alien cow...? [12 mins]
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talkSPORT. The Sports Bar with Andy Goldstein and Don Hutchison
June 2009.
The possibility of life beyond Earth. How to find life on Mars, or elsewhere in our galaxy, and why should be bother? [16 mins]
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BBC Radio Wales. Science Cafe with Adam Walton
June 2009
Interview on why future human explorers might be short, fat and ugly! Why this is an important consideration for astronaut haelth and what can be done to avoid it. [6 mins]
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Newstalk Dublin. Sean Moncrieff show
June 2009
The reality of long-term space travel and the effects on the human body. Life on other worlds might be pretty exotic, and even creatures like Sky Whales could be possible. [11 mins]
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Sheffield Live 93.2 FM. The Sound of Science.
May 2009.
Conversation with Prof. Noel Sharkey about astrobiology and the search for life beyond Earth. Bugs in martian meteorites, the risk of contaminating Earth, and life around distant stars. [14 mins]
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BBC Five Alive. Up All Night with Rhod Sharp
January 2007
Interview about my research on how deep martian microbes would need to be to survive the cosmic radiation, and the possibility of finding life preserved in the Elysium sea on Mars. [7 mins]
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