Podcast: Celebrity visitor special

In this edition: We revisit interviews with some celebrity guests: singer Ana Matronic, Queen’s Brian May, and astrophysicist and author Katie Mack.

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Ana Matronic meets the robots – Scissor Sisters singer Ana Matronic visited Imperial in 2015 to meet robotics researcher Dr Aldo Faisal. She spoke about her book, her passion for robots and her devotion to the international, intellectual movement called transhumanism.

Brian May submits his PhD – In 2007, a rather extraordinary PhD student submitted his thesis – Queen guitarist Brian May. He returned to Imperial to complete the PhD he started before the band took off, and we caught up with him to talk space dust, how Imperial has changed since the 1970s, and whether his thesis or Bohemian Rhapsody is his biggest achievement.

Dr Katie Mack contemplates the end – Astrophysicist and author Dr Katie Mack gave a guest lecture at Imperial in 2019 for a ‘Science for Fiction’ event. We asked her about her favourite way the universe might die, whether she ever gets melancholy about the ultimate end, and how science fiction helps her unwind.

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The podcast is presented by Gareth Mitchell, a lecturer on Imperial's MSc Science Communication course. He’s also a longstanding BBC presenter and reporter. Gareth is joined each month by our roving reporters in the Communications Division.