Time to Question the Science? A Conversation with Subhadra Das

One of the things that I enjoy doing on the podcast is
problematising various ’school subjects’. In previous episodes,
with various guests we’ve questioned maths, languages, economics,
history, physical education. But we haven’t yet taken a critical
look at science itself, which is not only a set of disciplines,
but also an approach and methodology that underpins a lot of the
logic of how many like to imagine that we direct education,
through evidence-based practice and the sciences of learning.
Apparently it tells us ‘what works’ in inverted commas… doesn’t
it?


This week, it’s a massive pleasure to be chatting with the
delightful and funny Subhadra Das a historian, writer,
broadcaster, comedian, curator, researcher and storyteller who
looks at the relationship between science and society. She
specialises in the history and philosophy of science,
particularly the history of scientific racism and eugenics, and
for nine years, was Curator of the Science Collections at
University College London. She was also Researcher in Critical
Eugenics at the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of
Racism and Racialisation. Subhadra has also appeared on radio and
TV as a stand-up comedian. In this conversation we talk about her
fantastic   recent book, Uncivilised: Ten Lies that Made the
West.


Subhadra Das (https://www.subhadradas.com/) is a historian,
writer, broadcaster, comedian, curator, researcher and
storyteller who looks at the relationship between science and
society. 


She specialises in the history and philosophy of science,
particularly the history of scientific racism and eugenics, and
what those histories mean for our lives today. For nine years,
Subhadra was Curator of the Science Collections at University
College London, where she was also Researcher in Critical
Eugenics at the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of
Racism and Racialisation. 


She’s also a prolific writer, broadcaster on radio and TV and
stand-up comedian. In this conversation we talk about her recent
book, Uncivilised: Ten Lies that Made the West In which she
brings the lens of the history of science to bear on Western
tropes such as ‘knowledge is power’, ‘time is money’ and ’justice
is blind’.