Sunday Lecture – A Scientific Odyssey across America

In May 2012 Neil Denny embarked upon a month long 6614 mile road trip across America.; The journey was to produce a series of interviews which present a wide-ranging overview of science and skepticism from an American perspective. While Many in Europe consider America to be the home of conspiracy theories creationism and climate scepticism the USA is also a scientific powerhouse. However many of those involved in science in the US are also fighting encroaching irrationality.; To be an atheist in America is still considered to be a brave and transgressive act. Creationists continue to push for the teaching of “intelligent design” alongside evolution in science classes. Campaigners are fighting to protect the right to legal and safe abortion for the use of stem cells in medical research and are fighting against the growing anti-vaccination movement.; Driving from San Francisco to Boston and calling in at Phoenix Santa Fe Chicago Philadelphia and New York along the way. Neil recorded 39 interviews with scientists and science writers including Ann Druyan Leonard Susskind Kip Thorne Priya Natarajan Paul Davies George Church Neil deGrasse Tyson Mary Roach Edward Stone and Sara Seager.; He recorded interviews at some major sites of scientific interest including NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Los Alamos National Laboratory and The American Museum of Natural History. He also spent a less scientific day visiting Kentucky’s Creation Museum.; Neil Denny is the presenter and producer of the Little Atoms Radio Show on Resonance FM which was shortlisted for a Physics.org Best Podcast Award in 2010 and has interviewed over 200 guests from the worlds of science journalism politics religion academia human rights and the arts. He is a 2012 Travelling Fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.; Open to all. No need to book in advance.