The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science
Leading scholars in History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science (HPS) introduce contemporary topics for a general audience. Developed by graduate students from the HPS program at the University of Melbourne.
Hosted by Thomas Spiteri (2025) and Samara Greenwood (2023-2024).
Season Five LAUNCHING SOON - episodes are currently being recorded.
More information on the podcast can be found at hpsunimelb.org
Episodes
64 episodes
Audience Faves: Daston & Harrison on 'Scientists and History'
In the lead up to the launch of Season 5, we at The HPS Podcast are re-releasing some favourite episodes from our collection.In this episode Professors Lorraine Daston and Peter Harrison talk to Samara Greenwood on the often complex, som...
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Season 4
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Episode 16
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30:57
Audience Faves: Hasok Chang on 'Epistemic Iteration'
In the lead up to the launch of Season 5, we at The HPS Podcast are re-releasing some favourite episodes from our collection.In this episode, Professor Hasok Chang talks with Samara Greenwood about his concept of 'Epistemic Iteration', t...
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Season 4
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Episode 15
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35:05
Audience Faves: Rachael Brown on 'Values in Science'
In the lead up to the launch of Season 5, we at The HPS Podcast are re-releasing some favourite episodes from our collection.In this episode we have Dr Rachael Brown talking to Samara Greenwood on challenge the common idea that Science i...
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Season 4
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Episode 14
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25:25
Audience Faves: Kristian Camilleri on 'The Disunity of Science'
In the lead up to the launch of Season 5, we at The HPS Podcast are re-releasing some favourite episodes from our collection.First, we have Dr Kristian Camilleri talking with Samara Greenwood about the relatively recent realisation that ...
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Season 4
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Episode 13
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24:30
S4 Ep 12 - Joshua Eisenthal et al. on 'Philosophy of Science in Practice'
Today we have not one, not two, but five fabulous guests who all presented at this year’s conference for the Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice, or SPSP24 for short. Many philosophers of science we have featured on the po...
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Season 4
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Episode 12
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28:42
S4 Ep 11 - Redux: Fiona Fidler on 'Collective Objectivity'
"It wouldn’t make sense to leave the entire burden of upholding objectivity in science on the shoulders of fallible individuals, right?" Prof. Fiona Fidler Today, we return to one of our favourite episodes, with the person w...
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Season 4
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Episode 11
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20:41
S4 Ep 10 - Erika Milam on 'Colloquial Science'
"These conversations are the focus of fierce debate, not because scientists lack authority, but because these are the intellectual battles worth fighting. These are the stakes on which modern society depends"Our guest today is ...
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Season 4
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Episode 10
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30:02
S4 Ep 9 - Holden Thorp on 'Teach History and Philosophy of Science'
“This is Holden Thorp. I'm the Editor in Chief of Science and thanks to Sam and Carmelina for all they're doing to get the word out about the history and philosophy of science”Today's guest is Holden Thorp, professor of chemistr...
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Season 4
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Episode 9
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30:35
S4 Ep 8 - Nicole C. Nelson on 'Ethnographies of Science'
Today, Carmelina is joined by Dr. Nicole C. Nelson, Associate Professor in the Department of Medical History and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nicole is an ethnographer of science and a familiar face to many with...
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Season 4
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Episode 8
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27:28
S4 Ep 7 - Naomi Oreskes on 'Writing on Ignorance'
"In response to that article, I was getting hate mail. I was getting attacked. I thought, these people have a script. This is a story that people need to understand. This isn't just something of academic interest. This is something that has...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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35:41
S4 Ep 6 - Jen Martin on 'Communicating Science'
"Doing the thing is not the whole thing, it's also the sharing it with the audiences who either need it or are simply interested in it...science isn't finished until it's communicated"Our guest today is Associate Professor Jen Martin. J...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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28:30
S4 Ep 5 - Edouard Machery on 'Experimental Philosophy'
Today our guest presenter Thomas Spiteri is joined by Professor Edouard Machery, Distinguished Professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s HPS department and director of the Center for Philosophy of Science.Edouard, a leading figure in e...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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28:14
S4 Ep 4 - Darrin Durant on 'Expertise'
Today Carmelina is joined by Dr Darrin Durant a Senior Lecturer in HPS at the University of Melbourne specialising in Science and Technology studies. Darrin's research covers two seemingly distinct areas: nuclear energy and expertise. Yet nucle...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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28:18
S4 Ep 3 - Simon Schaffer on 'Leviathan and the Air-Pump: 40 years later' (Part 2)
This episode forms Part 2 of our extended interview with the celebrated historian of science, and master communicator, Professor Simon Schaffer.Today, we continue to focus our discussion on the book Simon co-wrote with Steven Shapin in t...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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26:27
S4 Ep 2 - Simon Schaffer on 'Leviathan and the Air-Pump: 40 years later' (Part 1)
This episode is the first of two in which the celebrated Professor of History of Science, Simon Schaffer, discusses the famous HPS publication, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life, which Simon co-wrote w...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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26:39
S4 Ep 1 - Sam and Carmelina on 'Studying Humanities and Science'
Welcome back to The HPS Podcast for Season 4.In today's episode, Carmelina and Samara touch on a variety of topics, but a core theme is 'how we study science through the lens of the humanities'. Both Sam and Carmelina believe the skills ...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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20:52
Working Fathers Mini-series. Ep 5 - What's Next?
We are pleased to bring you a special five episode podcast series Working Fathers created by Professor in HPS Cordelia Fine
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Season 3
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Episode 18
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37:15
Working Fathers Mini-series. Ep 4 - Give Dads a Break
We are pleased to bring you a special five episode podcast series Working Fathers created by Professor in HPS Cordelia Fine
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Season 3
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Episode 17
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39:40
Working Fathers Mini-series. Ep 3 - Are Fathers Free?
We are pleased to bring you a special five episode podcast series Working Fathers created by Professor in HPS Cordelia Fine
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Season 3
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Episode 16
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46:24
Working Fathers Mini-series. Ep 2 - What Gave Rise to the Breadwinner?
We are pleased to bring you a special five episode podcast series Working Fathers created by Professor in HPS Cordelia Fine
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Season 3
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Episode 15
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36:48
Working Fathers Mini-series. Ep 1 - Where's Dad?
We are pleased to bring you a special five episode podcast series created by Professor in HPS Cordelia Fine, political philosopher
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Season 3
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Episode 14
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27:43
Working Fathers Mini-Series. Introduction.
In a break from our usual format, we are pleased to bring you a special five episode podcast series created by Professor in HPS Cordelia Fine...
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Season 3
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Episode 13
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4:28
S3 Ep 12 - Sabina Leonelli on 'The Philosophy of Open Science'
Our guest today is Professor of Philosophy and History of Science at the University of Exeter, Sabina Leonelli. Sabina recently released a book in the Cambridge Elements Philosophy of Science series on The Philosophy of Open Science. In her boo...
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Season 3
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Episode 12
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39:34
S3 Ep 11 - Uljana Feest on 'What is Missing in Replication Debates'
Today Carmelina is joined by Professor Uljana Feest, Philosopher of Psychology and Chair for Philosophy of Social Science and Social Philosophy at the Leibniz University of Hannover. In this episode, Uljana discusses her work on th...
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Season 3
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Episode 11
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28:11
S3 Ep 10 - Aja Watkins & Miguel Ohnesorge on 'Philosophy of the Geosciences'
Today we are joined by Miguel Ohnesorge and Aja Watkins to talk about a new subfield of HPS - The Philosophy of the Geosciences. Miguel and Aja recently co-authored an article titled 'What is the Philosophy of the Geosciences?'&nb...
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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26:22
