The Men in the White Coats

Prof Andrea Sella on the shifting image of the scientist in
popular culture, from Victor Frankenstein to Iron Man via
victorious post-war boffinry and megalomanical Bond villainry.


The monster unleashed by Mary Shelley in her 1818 tale of
gruesome gothic horror was in many senses not the creature
itself, but the image of its careless creator. The recklessness
of the lone scientist whose blind ambition fails to foresee the
societal and practical consequences of his discovery or
invention.


Throughout the last 150 years, the scientists in our science
fictions have embodied the contemporary societal attitudes to
science itself, sometimes in celebration, but often as a cartoon
of our fears. At the same time professional scientists and
science communicators have tried to share their work with wider
audiences in an effort to democratize and enliven the endeavour.


These two approaches haven't always been in synchrony.


Presented by Prof Andrea Sella


Produced by Alex Mansfield


First broadcast on Saturday 9 October 2021.