The Tartan Tardigrade - Astrobiology Chats

The Tartan Tardigrade is a podcast where scientists from the UK Centre for Astrobiology talk to guests from around the world about their research in astrobiology, their careers, and the prospects for life in the universe.

  • 44 minutes 23 seconds
    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?).
    15 December 2025, 11:50 am
  • 25 minutes 7 seconds
    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.
    18 November 2025, 3:15 pm
  • 45 minutes 12 seconds
    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.
    3 November 2025, 4:05 pm
  • 27 minutes 43 seconds
    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.
    18 October 2025, 6:42 pm
  • 53 minutes 5 seconds
    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.
    23 July 2025, 4:36 pm
  • 35 minutes 53 seconds
    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 16 Graeme Ackland
    This episode, University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Graeme Ackland, professor of computer science at the University of Edinburgh. We talk about Dr Ackland's unusual path to astrobiology in regards to hypermolecules, how it feels to see your experiment produce something cooler than you expected, and his work in various fields and projects (including COVID-19) and what it taught him.
    8 July 2025, 10:48 am
  • 22 minutes 19 seconds
    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 15: Katherine Baxter
    This episode, The University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Katherine Baxter from the University of Glasgow. We talk Dr Baxter's innovation in bio-imaging, the impact of microgravity on skin microorganisms, and what the biggest challenges we might face in maintaining astronaut health in future missions.
    5 March 2025, 7:14 pm
  • 24 minutes 34 seconds
    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 14: Andrew Bissette
    This episode, The University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Andrew Bissette, the Editor in Chief of Cell Reports Physical Science. We talk about what a "recovering chemist" means, what to expect when submitting a paper and publishing in a journal, and how Dr Bissette sees the discoveries in astrobiology impact the work in chemistry.
    7 February 2025, 4:17 pm
  • 25 minutes 3 seconds
    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 13: Ralph Lorenz
    This episode, The University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Ralph Lorenz from the University of Arizona and Johns Hopkins University. We talk about the Dragonfly mission, Dr Lorenz’s role as mission architect, why Titan is so fascinating, and an out-of-this-world keyring souvenir!
    14 November 2024, 12:55 pm
  • 43 minutes 6 seconds
    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 12: David Deamer
    This episode, University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Professor David Deamer from the University of California Santa Cruz. We talk about Deamer’s exciting career path, what to consider when becoming a scientist, and future missions in the search for life!
    24 October 2024, 7:57 pm
  • 29 minutes 38 seconds
    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 11: Caprice Phillips
    This episode University of Edinburgh MScR student Mia Frothingham speaks to PhD candidate Caprice Phillips from The Ohio State University. We talk about her exciting research on gas dwarf planets and the fact that scientists are people, too!
    5 September 2023, 2:01 pm
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