In the latest episode of the Nostalgia podcast series, Dr Chris Deacy, Reader in Theology and Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, speaks to Darren Griffin, Professor of Genetics and Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Reproduction at the University of Kent.

Darren is a world leader in the study of chromosomes, human sperm, IVF and the human genome as well as, more recently, the genomic structure of dinosaurs. Chris and Darren talk about Darren’s extensive media work, growing up in the same village as Alan Bennett, glam rock, his penchant for song lyrics, God, plagiarism, PhDs, his obsession with dinosaurs, what inspired him to enter academia, the need for research to have social relevance, transferring his IVF work to pig embryos, and how the results can feed back into the human IVF world, why the best science can sometimes be undertaken in the bar at conferences, fulfilling the dreams he had from high school, and whether Darren would consider himself to be a looking back or a looking forward type of person.

Chris Deacy also co-hosts a film podcast, the most recent episode of which (an Oscar special) can be found here.