Brian Clegg

Sarah Bearchell - Five Way Interview Sarah Bearchell is a science writer and educator who has created educational activities for charities, learned societies and science centres...

Interview: Science writer and educator Sarah Bearchell tells us about the hard work involved in writing a book, how the UK could be more self-sufficient in food and a renewed interest in engineering. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/10/sara... #foodsecurity #sciencecommunication

A brief encounter with Ani Having read a considerable amount about the kind of AI chatbot that is genuinely a way to have a chat with an animated character, rather tha...

I have a brief encounter with Grok's Ani chatbot and get a better idea why the appeal is more than appearances might suggest: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-br... #chatbots #conversations

Positive Tipping Points - Tim Lenton *** In his subtitle, Tim Lenton makes a daring claim: this book is going to tell us how to fix the climate crisis. This is surely very timely wh...

Review: Positive Tipping Points: Tim Lenton *** - An attempt to go beyond climate crisis rhetoric to offer solutions. Unfortunately, it's hard to imagine the required tipping point, driven by the likes of Extinction Rebellion, coming. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/10/posi... #bookreview #climate

French lessons Having recently driven around 2,000 miles in France it was informative to experience a pricing structure that surely we should be following ...

After a lengthy trip to France involving a considerable amount of use of public EV chargers, I think we have some significant lessons to learn from our European neighbour: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2025/10/fren... #greenheretic #electricvehicles #carchargers

The Shape of Wonder - Alan Lightman and Martin Rees **** I found this book hard to rate as it's a really good idea, but one where I'm not sure who the natural audience is. The authors (an astrophys...

Review: The Shape of Wonder: Alan Lightman and Martin Rees **** - A genuinely interesting reflection on what it is to be a scientist and why their work is important, but it's not clear who forms the target audience. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-... #scientists #philosophyofscience

Sönke Johnsen - Five Way Interview Originally trained in maths and art, Sönke Johnsen has studied optics in biology for the last 35 years, the last 24 of which have been at Du...

Interview: Marine biologist Sönke Johnsen tells us what got him interested in the ocean, why the subsurface ocean is the least-known habitat and why, despite being an author, he likes the motto 'Study nature, not books.' popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/10/sonk... #interviews #marinebiology

Entropy - James Binney **** Most people are familiar with energy, both in its everyday sense as a resource used for things like heating and powering electrical equipmen...

Review by
@DrAndrewMay
- Entropy: a very short introduction: James Binney **** - Some fascinating insights, but primarily an effective crash course in entropy for serious readers, not a popular science exploration. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/09/entr... #bookreview #popularscience #physics

Death in Holy Orders - P. D. James **** For me, P. D. James’s Dalgleish mysteries are always slightly compromised by the original TV series. With its hauntingly beautiful theme mus...

Review (murder mystery): Death in Holy Orders - P. D. James **** This relatively late (2001) addition to the Dalgliesh mysteries was one of her best. Great sense of place if a little over-long. brianclegg.blogspot.com/2025/09/deat...

Updated as I've realised I've always corrected it to 'Lessons in Physics' - apologies if you've liked/commented on the original post.

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (Anniversary Edition) - Carol Rovelli *** Ten years after it first appeared, we have an anniversary hardback edition of Carlo Rovelli's bestseller. It's probably the best-known popul...

Review: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (Anniversary Edition): Carlo Rovelli *** - I can’t agree with the Guardian that this is one of the best books of the 21st century, but a useful tasting menu of a book for pop sci beginners popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/09/seve... #bookreview #popularscience

What are the chances of that revisited REVISIT SERIES -  An updated post from September 2015 In the book I was writing when this post was written ( Dice World ) I considered the r...

In a updated post from 2015 I look at the relationship between the important thermodynamics concept of entropy and the chance of a monkey with a typewriter producing my book: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2025/09/what... #entropy #writingbooks

The fact she has many followers does not make the action right. Scientists need to be capable of taking criticism, however bluntly worded. I know it’s hard to receive negative remarks (see some of the reviews of my books) but this wasn’t a suitable response.

Fiends in High Places - D. C. Farmer *** As a big fan of UK-based urban fantasy, I'm always on the lookout for something new:  Fiends in High Places promised to deliver that diffic...

Review (fantasy) - Fiends in High Places: D. C. Farmer *** - some engaging points in a plot featuring a kind of fae immigration control, but the attempt to combine fantasy and humour is heavy-handed brianclegg.blogspot.com/2025/09/fien... #bookreview #UrbanFantasy

The BBC: after the licence fee *** It is somehow appropriate that I read this as as result of listening to a podcast where two of the contributors debated whether the BBC was...

Review: The BBC: After the licence fee? *** - though some are corporate speak, the collection of essays on the Beeb’s future and how to fund it is interesting brianclegg.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-... #bookreview #UKbroadcasting

Can scientists speak freely in public? Sabine Hossenfelder is a theoretical physicist who has primarily moved into science communication. I've personally found her helpful (if som...

Recently, physicist and science communicator Sabine Hossenfelder @hossenfelder.bsky.social
has been removed from her post for criticising theories online. Even if you don't like her style, this is not the right thing to do brianclegg.blogspot.com/2025/09/can-... #freespeech #sciencecommunication

What does making coffee have in common (physics wise) with volcanic lightning? This is where you'll find out:

A rarity: a genuinely different take on Albie E:

Liz Kalaugher - Five Way Interview Liz Kalaugher is a science journalist and campaigner, based in Bristol, who has written for the New Scientist, BBC Wildlife, the Guardian, B...

Interview: Journalist @lizkalaugher.bsky.social tells us of a light switch analogy for the scientific method, why a book about zebras became about zoonotic diseases and the best way to reduce the risk of more of these. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/09/liz-... #interview #environment #health

Tales of Militant Chemistry - Alice Lovejoy *** I felt a touch misled by the subtitle of this book - it refers to 'the film factory'. While technically accurate, I think most people think ...

Review: Tales of Militant Chemistry: Alice Lovejoy *** - Not as the subtitle suggest about Hollywood, but Kodak and Agfa's chemistry, primarily war work. More of a magazine story: making it a book meant too detailed. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/09/tale... #bookreview #popularscience #chemistry

Where the Axe is Buried (SF) - Ray Nayler *** This book was described to me as a 'gripping technological thriller'. It's not that at all - it's a book driven by ideas and politics which ...

Review - Where the Axe is Buried (SF): Ray Nayler *** 15 September 2025 - Sold as a sci-fi thriller, some interesting ideas about the future of politics, but is quite heavy going and rarely thrilling. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/09/wher... #bookreview #sciencefiction #futurepolitics

The Killer Question - Janice Hallett ***** It's very rare I pause the book I'm reading because another one has come out - but when it's a new Janice Hallett I really have no choice. A...

Review (murder mystery): The Killer Question - Janice Hallett ***** - Once more we get a story told in messages that manages to both engage and enthrall - I am, as always, in awe of Hallett's cleverness. Excellent twists too. brianclegg.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-... #bookreview #murdermystery

Interview: Journalist Michael Grunwald tells us why getting agriculture right is essential for the climate, the dangers of biofuel and the importance of growing more food using less land. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/09/mich...

Physics Around the Clock - Michael Banks ***** One of the easiest ways to make science accessible is to tie it to everyday life - and this is something Michael Banks does well in his expl...

Review: Physics Around the Clock: Michael Banks ***** 11 September 2025 - Makes scientific concepts approachable by tying into aspects of everyday life. While some is predictable, many surprising delights included. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/09/phys... #bookreview #popularscience

Free Creations of the Human Mind - Diana Kormos Buchwald and Michael Gordin ***** It's hard to believe that there could be anything more that could usefully be written about Einstein - and then this impressive little book ...

Review: Free Creations of the Human Mind - Diana Kormos Buchwald and Michael Gordin ***** - A very different approach to a scientific biography taking deep dives into six aspects of Einstein's mind - refreshing and interesting. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/09/free... #bookreview #popularscience

Luigi Vacca - Five Way Interview Luigi Vacca holds a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering from MIT and has spent decades working at the intersections of science, finance, and AI...

Interview: Machine learning expert Luigi Vacca tells us why science is a synthesis of rationalism and empiricism, why we should consider other life in the universe and exciting JWST discoveries. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/09/luig... #interviews #alienlife #JWST

Revisiting a Bacon hunt REVISIT SERIES -  An updated post from September 2015 Roger Bacon is a misty figure in the history of science. Over the years, this thirteen...

A look back at a trip around Oxford, looking for reminders of that remarkable thirteenth century figure in the history of science, Roger Bacon: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2025/09/revi...

The Future of Agriculture - Sarah Bearchell **** Popular science topics are fairly evenly divided between those that are of pure intellectual interest, such as astronomy or relativity, and ...

Review: The Future of Agriculture: Sarah Bearchall **** - Interesting if sometimes idealist exploration of future changes in agriculture for a population growth, climate change world. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-... #bookreview #popularscience #farming

Intraterrestrials - Karen Lloyd **** Apparently the biogeochemist (who even knew there was such a thing) Karsten Pedersen 'coined the term "intraterrestrials" to describe the ab...

Review: Intraterrestrials: Karen Lloyd **** - Introduces microorganisms living inside the Earth in extreme conditions & interesting on the thermodynamic view of life - a bit too memoir oriented for me, but good if you like this popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2025/08/intr... #bookreview #popularscience

Graphics are great - but don't let them obscure the message As a writer I have (unsurprisingly) something of a bias towards the written word. I hate getting information from videos because they are so...

Don't throw your plastic down the toilet, throw it in the sea instead! At least, that's what this graphic seems to imply: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2025/08/grap... #graphicdesign #formoverfunction #wordsmatter

There's still time to sign up for my free weekly email at authory.com/BrianClegg/s... to get a review of a classic book, a fascinating interview and posts on AI mind reading and appealing to authority #newsletter #freeemail #subscribe