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Physical Attraction

New? Head to the episode guide or drop us a line with the contact form.

We are a physics podcast. But not just that - interviews with scientists, scholars, authors and reflections on the history and future of science and technology are all in the wheelhouse. Over the years, for over 200 episodes, we've had shows on the astrophysics of stars, a comprehensive history of nuclear fusion, thermodynamics, particle physics, climate change, economics, philosophy, the psychology of conspiracy theories, and even the lives of Louisiana Senator Huey Long, or scientists under Stalin in the Soviet Union. 

We are an independent show: everything you hear is created by one person out of passion and love. My aim in producing this show is never to talk down to people, but instead to discuss fascinating and vital subjects with scientific rigour, compassion, and an eye for narrative: to educate, inform, and entertain. I hope that you, the listener, will find something you like here. 

You can read about us here, which includes a comprehensive episode guide for new listeners covering all of the shows that we've done, as well as links to transcripts of many of the episodes.  

You can contact us here - everything goes through to my email and I try to answer each one. Your comments and questions help me to improve the show and also motivate me to carry on, so I highly appreciate reading anything you feel like sending. 

If you like what we do and want to help us keep doing it, you can donate here. I am extremely grateful for those of you who have done so. 

You can also subscribe to the Physical Attraction: Extra! Feed over at Patreon: www.patreon.com/PhysicalAttraction - where for a small fee per bonus episode, you can help to support the show, and get some juicy bonus content too. The Patreon includes unique bonus episodes that stand alone, or alongside our existing series. But you will also get episodes as soon as I finish producing them, which is often months in advance: so, if you can't wait for your fix, that's where to go. 

We had a sister podcast, Autocracy Now, which deals with the lives of famous historical dictators. You can find some of their episodes on our feed, or the show itself at www.autocracynow.libsyn.com 

Mar 31, 2020

N/B: This series of episodes was written before the coronavirus pandemic. I've decided the best thing to do is to present them as was and maybe have another episode reflecting on what the pandemic means for their conclusions later on.

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Walter Schiedel's book The...


Mar 25, 2020

In this new episode, we do a deep dive into the Imperial College London paper that models the coronavirus epidemic in the UK and the effectiveness of mitigation and suppression measures, and we speculate wildly and prematurely on what the next 18 months might look like as we do battle with coronavirus globally. Also an...


Mar 25, 2020

A quick update on some news surrounding the coronavirus, including why some of the headlines you may have read recently are unlikely to be true, some public service announcements about what you can do to help, and a general urge to read scientific literature and pre-prints with a skeptical eye - especially when they've...


Mar 17, 2020

For weeks I've been debating in my mind whether or not to do an episode on the coronavirus pandemic, since it's essentially been all I have been able to think about for the last few weeks as my friends and relatives, long-suffering as they are, will attest. For someone who spent so long thinking about existential risks...