In a joint event between PubSci, APECS and UK Polar Network, two speakers share insights into Antarctic research, from volcanoes to climate change, and the Polar Beers team hosts a pub quiz with prizes to be won!
PubSci is a ‘pay-what-you-can’ event, your contributions are what keep it going. Please consider contributing via Eventbrite when booking. We’ll also be taking a cash collection on the night for St. Mungo’s homelessness charity.
PubSci is delighted to kick off our 2026 programme with an exciting collaboration event on Wednesday 21st January together with UK Polar Network and APECS (Association for Polar Early Career Scientists). Booking for this extended event is live now and filling fast, so head straight to Eventbrite and reserve your place or read on to learn more about the event and our contributors.
You might have noticed it’s a bit cold out but our winter is Antarctic summer, so for our first event of the year, we’ll be celebrating Antarctic research with two great speakers followed by a pub quiz with prizes!
Antartica 2.0: The Heat is On sees our very own Mike Lucibella return to the front. He’ll be talking about Deception Island, an active volcano off the Antarctic Peninsula that housed three research stations before violent eruptions in the ’60s forced its evacuation. Surprisingly, the Island remains a centre of vital Antarctic research and Mike will share insights from his recent Masters in History and Philosophy of Science focused on polar regions and the story of Deception Island in particular.
We all know that Antarctica is warming, and one of the first visible signs is changing sea ice, but the bigger story is what’s happening in the ocean itself. Our second speaker for Antartica 2.0: The Heat is On is Dr Lavenia Ratnarajah who’ll explore how ocean warming reshapes the whole Antarctic food web – from plankton and krill right up to penguins and whales – and how such shifts affect how carbon moves from the surface ocean into the deep sea, impacting how much carbon the ocean can store.
Both our talks in this Antarctica Special have implications that stretch well beyond the polar regions because – unlike Vegas – what goes on in Antarctica doesn’t stay in Antarctica.
If that weren’t enough to get you out of the house and into the cosy Old King’s Head on a wintery January day, the evening concludes with a fabulous, fun Polar Pub Quiz run by Megan and Isabelle from the British Antarctic Survey who jointly organise Polar Beers, a kind of PubSci for polar peeps supported by the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists as part of the UK Polar Network.
This fun quiz is suitable for anybody – no specialist knowledge is required, though it may help to listen during the talks. There are prizes to be won!
The evening’s timings are a little different from usual. Please try to stay for the whole event or you’ll miss the marvellous polar pub quiz prizes. We’ll be finished by 9.30 so you can get home safely. Note that the Northern Line through London Bridge stops at 10pm until late Spring 2026.
As usual, you are invited to make a contribution to PubSci’s costs when booking through Eventbrite (we have no other source of funding). For January, all cash contributions on the night will be donated to St. Mungo’s homeless charity whose vital work is at a premium in the winter months. Please bring cash and give generously.
Don’t forget the Old King’s Head has a happy hour before the talk starts at 7pm (we open upstairs at 6.30) and the pub kitchen will be serving its recently upgraded menu of excellent, warming pub grub.
PubSci events book up fast and always sell out. Reserve you place on Eventbrite ASAP.
Scroll down for ticketing options and to read about this month’s contributors.
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How to Book Tickets
PubSci talks are pay-what-you-can: You can make a contribution when booking on Eventbrite. We have no other source of funding. There are two ticket options:
Book for one + Support PubSci (max 1 ticket) if you prefer to contribute when booking – this option also reserves you one spot at the event. You may need to scroll down to see this option on Eventbrite.
Book without donating (max 4 tickets) if you prefer to put cash in the pot on the night. Note that for January only, we’ll be giving any cash contributions to St. Mungo’s homelessness charity instead.
Doors open at 6.30 for a 7pm start. Talks generally run for ~45 minutes and are followed by a Q&A session. The Old King’s Head has a happy hour before 7pm, and the kitchen serves excellent pub grub.
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About our speakers
Mike Lucibella is an all-around science communicator. Many of you will know his as PubSci’s friendly co-host.
For six years, Mike was the editor of The Antarctic Sun, the official newspaper of the U.S. Antarctic Program. He’s travelled as far south as the South Pole to report on the science and research carried out across the frozen continent.
Since moving to the UK, he’s continued to deepen his knowledge of the Antarctic, having just finished a master’s degree in the History and Philosophy of Science, focusing on the polar regions.
Dr Lavenia Ratnarajah is a marine biogeochemist at UCL who studies nutrient and carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean.
Lavy lectures in Climate Science at the Department of Earth Sciences, University College London and has a strong commitment to public engagement and outreach activities.
She has been speaking at schools and public events for over 10 years, and in 2023 she launched an educational outreach program called Project E.V.E. targeted towards school children of all ages.
Megan Malpas and Isabelle Sangha work at the British Antarctic Survey. Izzy and Megan organise and host Polar Beers, an initiative of the UK Polar Network, that brings polar science to the public in the warm and friendly environment of a pub for a night of talks, quizzes, prizes, and beer.
PubSci + Polar Beers is a match made in polar heaven!
UKPN makes polar education accessible, engaging, diverse, and inclusive through education and outreach projects as well as linking polar researchers worldwide.
UKPN is part of APECS which links early career polar researchers around the world, supporting them through training and networking.
PubSci is delighted to welcome Mike, Lavy, Isabelle and Megan, as speakers and quizmasters for our first ever polar collaboration and the first event in our 2026 programme.
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To make sure you don’t miss out on future events, subscribe to our Google Calendar to be the first to know when new talks are scheduled, and follow PubSci’s events on Eventbrite to be notified when tickets are available. You can also sign up to our own mailing list on any page on this site.
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PubSci is entirely funded by audience contributions and has no other income.
As a Pay-What-You-Can event, we don’t charge a fixed price for our talks, so anybody who wants to come can come. Think of it as “Free, with a donation”, which can be made when registering on Eventbrite or by putting a few pounds in the beer mug which is passed round on the night. You can also contribute digitally through our TipJar. Please help PubSci continue putting on events.
We aim to keep PubSci accessible for all, although it is unsuitable for under 18s as we meet in the function room of a pub. Regrettably, there is no wheelchair access.
Check out the Future Events page where you can also subscribe to our Google Calendar so PubSci events automatically appear in your own Calendar. You can find all our links on our LinkTree.
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PubSci is organised and hosted by science communicator, Richard Marshall, assisted by Mike Lucibella. It usually takes place on the third Wednesday of the month, upstairs at the Old King’s Head near London Bridge Underground (Borough High Street east side exit). Join us every month except December for your regular helping of Sipping, Supping & Science.
Address:
The Old King’s Head (upstairs room)
King’s Head Yard
45-49 Borough High Street
London SE1 1NA
PubSci 