This month, our guest is Dr Sam Gregson, better known as YouTube’s Bad Boy of Science. Formerly a Cavendish particle physicist working on the LHCb experiment at CERN, Sam found that he enjoyed finding ways to engage non-specialist audiences with fundamental physics more than submitting himself to peer-review and moved into science communication.

The founder of LHComedy, CERN’s first ever comedy show, he now runs science education shows that have played in venues as diverse as the Royal Institution and The Green Man Festival. His Hunting the Higgs talk was recently performed for hundreds of school students here at the Cavendish, and has been seen by tens of thousands around the world.

Alongside this, he blogs, podcasts, and regularly posts videos to YouTube covering current scientific stories and in-depth breakdowns of complex particle physics. Today, we’ll talk about what drove him to look for the most fundamental building blocks of the universe, why he now subjects himself to audiences of teenagers, and how he feels particle physics research can make a better case for itself… Stay with us!

Useful links

• Check Sam's website The Bad Boy of Science and his YouTube channel: Welcome to the Bad Boy of Science YT channel!
• To learn more about the LHCb experiment, check the CERN website: LHCb |CERN
• LHComedy, CERN's 1st ever comedy show founded by Sam in 2013 , is still available online: LHComedy

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Episode credits

• Hosts: Vanessa Bismuth and Jacob Butler
• Recording and Editing: Chris Brock