The Tartan Tardigrade - Astrobiology Chats

The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 21 Paul Rimmer

This episode, University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Paul Rimmer from the University of Cambridge. We talk about what "Experimental Astrophysics" is, what happened after the discovery of phosphene on Venus, and where we might find alien life first (Venus? In our solar system? On exoplanets?).

The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 20 Frances Westall

This episode, University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Frances Westall, leader of the Exobiology Group of the CNRS in Orléans (France). We talk about Frances's diverse and inspiring path, the dramatic and divisive period after a Martian meteorite found (ALH84001) in Antarctica in 1984, and the politic motivations behind false pretences of the discovery of extraterrestrial life.

The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 19 Nick Lane

This episode, University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Nick Lane, Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry at the University College London. We talk about Nick's motivation to dethrone the primordial soup theory, what is directed panspermia, and the connection between the origin of life and consciousness.

The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 18 Christopher Cowie

This episode, University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Christopher Cowie, philosopher and associate professor at the University of Durham. We talk about Chris's interesting work in the intersection between philosophy and astrobiology, what's behind some claims of alien spacecraft in recent news, and how astrobiologists should adopt a different framework for the search for life.

The Tartan Tardigrade - SPECIAL Episode 17: Astrobio & Planetary Sci MSc

In this special Tartan Tardigrade episode, Mia Belle Parkinson, PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh, interviews 5 MSc students currently in the Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences MSc at Edinburgh. We will learn about their individual interest in astrobiology, what astrobiology question they are working on, and how the programme has benefitted their long term career goals.