About PubSci

PubSci (or Science in the Pub if you want the full name) is an informal science-related event held on the third Wednesday of the month at the Old King’s Head pub in Borough, close to London Bridge station.

PubSci was established in April 2011 by James Robson and Paolo Viscardi. The event has an evolving format around the idea of informal science communication that we would want to go to ourselves. Things have changed over the years, with James leaving London in 2013 and Paolo moving to Ireland at the end of 2016.

PubSci is produced by and for SciComm enthusiasts and is programmed and hosted by science communicator Richard Marshall. It is an unaffiliated, independent initiative which makes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) accessible to the wider public by bringing top class speakers out of the lecture hall and into an informal environment.

We’ve used several venues over the years: the Brixton Ritzy, Hackney Picturehouse and Clapham Picture house, Prince William Henry and the Albert Arms, but our longest standing home has been the upstairs room at the Old King’s Head, a historic pub in Borough, right next to London Bridge tube exit.

Live events were halted at short notice in the spring of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. After going briefly online in June 2020, we returned the following year with a great programme of talks, hosted via Zoom. You can watch some of these on our YouTube page.

I’m delighted to say we returned to our old home near London Bridge on Weds 19th April 2023. It’s a great location offering excellent food and drink at affordable prices. Our only regret is that the meeting room isn’t accessible for those with mobility issues due to the historic nature of the building.

If you have ideas for speakers or events please get in touch using the email address below, likewise if you have time or skills you’d like to contribute to help keep PubSci running.

It would also be great to hear feedback from events we have already organised. We welcome the opportunity to improve, to tighten the format, and to be more inclusive and diverse. Science is not afraid of change, and nor is PubSci!

PubSci receives no external funding. Richard puts in several days a month to plan, programme and promote events, and everybody who contributes does so for the love of bringing science communication to a wider public. If your organisation would like to support PubSci, please get in touch via email.

The only way we can cover our speakers’ travel costs, buy them pub grub and offer them a couple of drinks, and maintain PubSci’s equipment, is with contributions from the PubSci audience. We don’t even charge an entry fee – there’s no obligation to pay to attend a talk – we just trust our audience to put a few quid in the kitty each month so we can keep doing this for the love of science.

PubSci: Sipping, Supping, Science

You can contact us via LondonPubSci@gmail.com or on Twitter using @PubSci