Literature Festivals and Other Events
My thanks to the wonderful audiences at literary festivals, for example at Hay (950 people, two years running!), 5 x 15, Edinburgh, Canberra, Melbourne, Christchurch NZ, Sydney Opera House, New York Botanical Garden, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United States Botanic Garden, Washington DC, St. Louis County Library, Missouri, as well as Mumbai International Literary Festival. The event at The Royal Geographical Society, London, in conversation with the lovely James Aldred, who wrote The Man Who Climbs Trees, was huge fun.
Available to watch or listen now:
TED Talks
What We Think We Know
About misconceptions in science. (For 15 years, I had a Visiting Professor role in this area at the University of Bristol.)
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Every Pollen Grain has a Story
Pollen is such odd stuff – plant sex and forensic science.
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Why we’re Storing Billions of Seeds
The Millennium Seed Bank run by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is the centre of a world network of seed collection, storage and regeneration… and the science is fascinating.
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The Beautiful Tricks of Flowers
An exploration of the sex-life of plants and how flowers encourage (or fool), go-betweens to do their bidding. After doing this talk, I was recognised in the street in Calgary and Dublin as ‘seed guy’. Two of my most life-affirming moments for which I will be ever-grateful.
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Other Talks and Interviews
Twelve Short Pieces
Each piece about an individual tree, produced by Mike Greenwood (8m and 1m podcasts)
A Botanical Adventure
The Ecosia Podcast (34m podcast)
Around the World in Eighty Trees
Tree Lady Talks, podcast with Sharon Durdant-Hollamby (45m podcast)
It’s a Long Story
An in-depth and rather personal interview by Edwina Throsby at Sydney Opera House (36m podcast)
Reading & Writing
RedCircle podcast (18m podcast)
5 x 15
(17m audio)
The Higher Biology Podcast, Summer Holiday Special
With world-record-holding cyclist Mark Beaumont, interviewed by Mr. Downie for Hyndland School, Glasgow, Scotland (60m podcast)
The Road to Subtle Tyranny
For TEDxHousesofParliament, UK, containing some personal reflections about the balance between privacy, security and freedom of speech (18m video)
23 Ways to Screw up a Business Relationship
From a previous life, for the Thinking Digital conference, Newcastle, UK (26m video)