Journalism professor discusses identifying misinformation in Hong Kong, how deep-fakes are complicating fact-checking and transitioning from practice to research
A winner of this year’s Ig Nobels describes how he debunked claims about extreme ageing, his alternative career path as a surfer, and why the thermal tolerance of plants keeps him up at night
Expert in early years development at the University of East London discusses working with children, translating his work for a TV audience and why more scholars should consider leaving the research intensives
The Newsnight producer who persuaded Prince Andrew to give that interview reflects on why her law degree helped to impress in the media, the Netflix film about her ‘journalistic underdog’ story and teaching at LSE
Great British Bake Off finalist and researcher at the University of Leicester discusses the importance of community outreach, and what academia can learn from baking
Ghana’s first female economics professor discusses why it has taken so long for an appointment like hers, and how she splits her time between academia and the priesthood
Leaving Boston University to start a new school of public health at Washington University in St Louis, the Malta native eyes the critical importance of shaping public attitudes
Founder of Black Female Academics’ Network discusses working in industry and academia, being a workaholic undergraduate and why Caribbean and Yorkshire values are strikingly similar
The higher education researcher reflects on transitioning between Australian and Chinese institutions and how universities are searching for ‘new deals’
The astronomer discusses her calling for the stars, the importance of getting more women into senior positions in her field, and the perils of early morning Zoom calls
The University of Miami dean of medicine describes tough but valuable school years in Brooklyn after his family escaped Haiti, and their role in committing him to a diverse model of excellence
The senior lecturer in financial risk management discusses his academic career around the world, his admiration for Galileo and how a traditional game inspired his love of mathematics
The biographer of the first black American woman to study at Oxford discusses life in segregated schools in the South, why affirmative action still matters and ‘election-style’ efforts to unseat Harvard president Claudine Gay
Wellesley environmental historian on drawing inspiration from students for his Cundill History Prize-nominated book on batteries, and why the West risks growing China dependency in clean energy era
The Georgetown professor of Middle East and Islamic politics talks of hating his parents’ return to Iran after the 1979 revolution – and crediting it with his life’s mission of advancing democracy and human rights
Economic psychology professor discusses his first book, A Theory of Everyone, lessons learnt from aperipatetic childhood and how a need to ‘manage risks’ as an undergraduate inspired his multidisciplinary approach
The lecturer in Islamic art discusses how her son set her on the way to contributing to one the world’s biggest-selling video game franchises and why she resists the idea of impact
The political philosopher and anthropologist talks about the city that made her, what she learned as a squatter and the importance of dance for revolutions
The astronomer discusses the discovery of stars that explode as supernovae, having his work replicated in Minecraft and the importance of public understanding to astrophysics
Critical care medicine professor explains why she was compelled to write the remarkable tale of how students, scientists and doctors united to fight polio 70 years ago
The research director of Harvard’s Shorenstein Centre on Media, Politics and Public Policy talks about growing up in an environment of aggressive scepticism, and then battling an academic culture that can’t handle it
Orwell Prize nominated writer on decolonising medicine, being inspired by her father and her experiences working as a sexual and reproductive health registrar in the NHS
The historian talks about growing up in the ‘open-air museum’ of Berlin and his popular books on some of the 20th century’s most terrible events and individuals
New chancellor of Oxford Brookes University on overcoming racism at school, ‘tedious’ drama school politics and ‘nonsense’ claims of ‘wokery’ over decolonisation of curricula
Industrial relations professor discusses how his field has become dominated by HR, the role of public intellectuals and his book on rail union leader Mick Lynch
Magical literature professor reflects on the influence of witch trials on contemporary US politics, the Harry Potter novels and dealing with requests for exorcisms
The expert in outbreak medicine discusses overcoming early academic challenges, the UK government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and how a chance meeting over bagpipes changed his life
Expert in online education long before it became fashionable discusses what can be learned from the gaming industry, common mistakes innovators make and why her own undergraduate experience was an unhappy one
Drug discoverer talks about her caravan childhood, her frustration with process inefficiencies and why researchers need to understand the business side
The mathematician and author talks about how her experience of racism and ‘not fitting in’ prepared her for being a woman in maths, and how abstract maths can stimulate empathy
International relations expert discusses Western dominance of the field, what can be gained from amplifying new voices and balancing her academic work with being mayor of a small town in Warwickshire
