91热爆

From Victor Frankenstein to Iron Man via victorious post-war boffinry and megalomanical Bond villainry.

Professor Andrea Sella examines the shifting image of the scientist in popular culture.

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 democratise and enliven the endeavour.

However, these two approaches haven't always been in synchrony.

Producer: Alex Mansfield

First broadcast on 91热爆 Radio 4 in October 2021.