Hana Ayoob discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Hana Ayoob is a science communicator and illustrator using art and events to explore the world around us. She speaks at a range of events from science festivals to comedy nights, produces illustrations for books and other projects, and provides training and consulting for universities and other organisations.
He graduated from Oxford University with a First Class degree in Biological Sciences and completed his PhD at University College London in 2007. He now holds the Professorship in Science Communication at the University of Westminster. His research is in the field of astrobiology and the search for microbial life on Mars. He has also held a STFC Science in Society Fellowship and is very active in delivering live events at schools and science festivals, working as a scientific consultant for the media, and have appeared in numerous TV documentaries and radio shows. He has won several awards for his science writing and outreach work and regularly freelances for newspapers and magazine articles. He has also published five books: The Knowledge was the Sunday Times ‘New Thinking’ Book of the Year and international bestseller, and Origins: How the Earth Made Us is a Sunday Times top History book of 2019. Being Human: How our Biology shaped World History is now out.
Rachel Nuwer discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Rachel Nuwer is an award-winning freelance science journalist and author who regularly contributes to the New York Times, Scientific American and National Geographic. Her first book, Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking, took her to a dozen countries to investigate the multi-billion dollar illegal wildlife trade. Her new book, I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World, delves into the history, science, politics and culture of MDMA. She lives in Brooklyn.
Jack Ashby discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Jack Ashby is the Assistant Director of the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge. His zoological focus is on the mammals of Australia, but his work more broadly centres on engaging people with the natural world, chiefly through museums, and exploring the colonial biases that museums often exhibit. His books, Platypus Matters: The Extraordinary Story of Australian Mammals and Animal Kingdom: A Natural History in 100 Objects combine these scientific and social stories.
From 2022-23 he was an Art Fund Headley Fellow. He is a trustee of the Natural Sciences Collections Association, an Honorary Research Fellow in UCL Science and Technology Studies, and formerly sat on the Council of the Society for the History of Natural History.
Christian Donlan discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Chris Donlan is a writer and journalist. He was born in Los Angeles and now lives in Brighton with his family. His first book, The Unmapped Mind, was shortlisted for the PEN Ackerley prize.
Kate Harford discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Rev. Kate Harford serves as University Chaplain at Oxford Brookes University, and the European vocations adviser for the Metropolitan Community Churches as well as a recovering bookseller and keen amateur flautist. She’s currently studying for a master’s degree at the Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education and has a particular interest in queer and disabled theologies with an emphasis on mental health and neurodiversity. You can hear Kate on The Guilty Feminist podcast on episodes 64, 65 and 110.
Born in London in 1965, he grew up in London and Surrey, and after a law degree, at University College, London, and an M Phil in renaissance history, at the Warburg Institute, he worked for the Victorian Society as an architectural adviser, before moving to the National Trust, in East Anglia, as a junior curator. From 1995, he worked for Country Life magazine, as architectural writer and then architectural editor.
Since 2007, he has been an independent author, expert and consultant, advising on the care of numerous historic buildings, including St Paul’s Cathedral, Bevis Marks Synagogue, Red House, Chartwell – Churchill’s country home – and Oxburgh Hall and Hardwick Hall, as well as advising on a number of new architectural projects in sensitive contexts. An occasional television presenter on architectural subjects, he was the presenter and co-writer of the two BBC2 series ofTheCurious House Guest.
A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, he also teaches for the University of Cambridge, the University of Buckingham and New York University (London programmes). He sits on the FAC for Ely Cathedral, is a trustee of the Historic Houses Foundation, and is chair of the Hall Bequest Trust. He is also a former Trustee of the Stowe House Preservation Trust and the Pevsner Book Trust. He is married with two grown up daughters, has lived in Cambridge since 1993, and is an active member of the Champion of the Thames Rowing Club in Cambridge.
Fiona Bae discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Fiona Bae is the author of a book Make Break Remix: The Rise of K-style by Thames & Hudson, which was featured in the Financial Times, Guardian, Monocle Radio, Wallpaper magazine, British Vogue, and Le Figaro among others. Fiona was born and raised in Korea and is proud of her heritage and passionate about promoting her country and culture. Following graduation from Seoul’s Yonsei University, she has lived around the world, including stints at the UN in New York and four years in Hong Kong, and now resides in London. Fiona has her own consultancy that looks to bridge Korean culture and the rest of the world by supporting multinational companies and brands to enter Korea and promoting Korean artists, designers and architects internationally. She handles communications for Frieze Seoul, represented the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and worked with museum M+ in Hong Kong. She is now also helping Thames & Hudson to discover more book ideas related to Korea. When not evangelising about Korea, she spends her time with her husband George, a twelfth-generation gin distiller, and her son Jun. Fiona and George are developing a Korean gin together.
Better Known 