Count Orlok in F.W. Murnau’s 1922 “Nosferatu”
Greetings from windy South London.
First of all, many thanks to Steph Holt for August’s PubSci talk on Gilbert White. A special shout-out to the Goth WI posse who took advantage of their month off to come to the Old King’s Head. Sorry you can’t make the next one because it’s right up your street.
You see, we’re beating the October rush by getting our spook on early this year with a September Halloween Special looking at the natural history of vampires. If you think that doesn’t sound like it would contain much science, you’ve obviously never met September’s speaker, Deborah Hyde.
Full details of the event will be published in this blog once it’s been created on Eventbrite, but you can see a preview on our regular Next Event page (or click the image above). Read on for more ways to stay informed of forthcoming PubSci events. In the meantime, put 18th September in your diary.
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Good news!
PubSci’s Summer and Autumn programme is now available to download or print. If you didn’t realise we even had a programme, follow that link for a preview of scheduled events to the end of the year.
Of course, you may just want PubSci events to appear in your calendar app automatically, rather than looking at a flyer pinned to your fridge. Fear not! You can view or subscribe to our Google calendar feed here. Or just click this link to subscribe in one step by downloading the .ics file.
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Get with the programme!
Since we’ve got an events programme, why not share it with friends and colleagues? It takes me a while to plan and produce every quarter and I’d hate it to go unused! How about printing off a copy and pinning it on your staff noticeboard? Everybody is welcome at PubSci.
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Follow PubSci wherever you are…
Did you know PubSci is on Facebook and Bluesky (and Twitter though I’m trying to move off that). We even have a LinkedIn group, which I’d really love you to join.
And if you want to find all the links in just one place, then you need to head to our Linktree. What’s linktree, you ask? It’s a kind of mini website that’s optimised for mobile viewing and hosts links to all your stuff. Basically it’s like an index to everything you want to put online – and it’s free. Nope, we don’t have a “partner link” or get a kickback for recommendations, I just really like it.
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And finally
Roughly half of all humans experience menopause but it’s rarely talked about in public, and both policy and education are shamefully inadequate despite the efforts of a few notable voices. Research by the Fawcett Society found 80% of menopausal women feel unsupported in the workplace. Our friends at the Vagina Museum want to help set this right with an exhibition called Menopause: What’s Changed?
It’s due to open on 18th October 2024 – World Menopause Day – but over a dozen arts and heritage funders have declined to support it, so they’re running a fundraiser instead. If you want to support it, or know an organisation who would, just follow this GoFundMe link.
…aaand October’s PubSci falls just two days earlier, so we’re hosting a special talk for everybody called Menopause Demystified. Yup, that includes the blokes too.
See you in the pub!
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There is no charge for attending PubSci talks, but we have a traditional whip-round to cover expenses – consider it a “Pay What You Can” event. Very few of us carry cash these days, so you can contribute digitally through our TipJar [awaiting link update] or make a donation when registering for ticketed events with Eventbrite. Please help PubSci continue putting on events. PubSci has no other source of funding.
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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We used to meet on the first Wednesday of the month but PubSci is now on the third Wednesday. Join us upstairs at the Old King’s Head near London Bridge Underground (Borough High Street east side exit) every month apart from December for a regular dose of Sipping, Supping & Science.
Address:
The Old King’s Head (upstairs room)
King’s Head Yard
45-49 Borough High Street
London SE1 1NA
I hope you reserved your place early, because the event is fully booked and there’s a long waiting list. For those lucky enough to be attending, Chris will have copies of his new book for sale: The Science of Weird Shit – Why Our Minds Conjure the Paranormal.
Chris French is Emeritus Professor and Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths,University of London. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a Patron of UK Humanists.
PubSci takes place upstairs at the Old King’s Head near London Bridge tube. Doors open 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Talks 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. 
He received his PhD in psychology from Florida Atlantic University and has a degree in Applied Science from Wolverhampton University,
Welcome to PubSci’s year-end blog post.
We kick off the new year with somebody who will be familiar to attendees: our very own Mike Lucibella. Mike spent five seasons in Antarctica as editor and photographer of The Antarctic Sun, official paper of the US Antarctic Program.
PubSci 