Episode 55: Government science funding

Episode 55: Government science funding

Author: Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie November 5, 2024 Duration: 52:06

In a desperate attempt to be relevant given the US Election, Tom and Stuart dedicate this episode of The Studies Show to talking about government investment in science. How bad is it if politicians cut the science budget? Exactly how much do you get back for every pound or dollar spent on science—and how is that even calculated in the first place?

The Studies Show is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine—a journal of science, history, and technology that discusses the secrets behind human progress. You can read their published essays at worksinprogress.co, or their shorter pieces on their Substack at worksinprogress.news.

Show notes

* Nature’s editorial: “The world needs a President who respects evidence

* Trump’s science budget cuts: NIH/EPA, CDC

* Nature’s editorial on the “surge in far-right parties” in Europe cutting the science budget

* Tom’s 2015 BuzzFeed News article on science budget cuts in the UK

* Article on Argentinian science budget cuts under Javier Milei

* Andre Geim and Nancy Rothwell’s 2024 Guardian article on how £1 of science funding gets you £12 back

* Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake’s book, Capitalism Without Capital

* Haskel’s 2014 paper finding a £4 return on investment for every £1 spent on science

* 2024 UK National Centre for Universities and Business report finding that £1 of science investment leads to £3-4 of private investment

Credits

The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. We’re grateful to Jonathan Haskel for talking to us for this episode; as always, any mistakes are our own.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe

Every week, Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie pull apart the biggest arguments and most confusing claims making headlines. Science Fictions isn't just about celebrating breakthroughs; it's a necessary dive into the messy, contested, and often surprising realities of how science actually works. You'll hear them unpack heated debates, examine questionable studies, and explore why even solid research can sometimes lead to public confusion. This podcast serves as a guide through the noise, separating compelling evidence from overblown narratives. Each episode feels like a conversation with two deeply informed friends who aren't afraid to ask tough questions, offering clarity on topics that matter. For anyone curious about the stories behind the science headlines, this is an essential listen. Tune in for thoughtful analysis that goes beyond the press release, grounded in a genuine fascination with how we know what we know.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Science Fictions
Podcast Episodes
Episode 93: Many analysts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:44
Here’s a cheery one for our first episode of the year. Guess what happens when you give several sets of scientists the same dataset and ask them to answer the same question? Well, they all find the same results, right? R…
A Christmas 2025 compendium [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:24
We’ve covered a lot of bad science stories over the year. Here are a few more. But in the optimistic spirit of the “holiday season”, the last one has a happy ending. Thanks for listening—especially if you’re a subscriber…
Episode 92: Oliver Sacks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:06
STOP PRESS: a beloved 20th Century populariser of psychology who wrote massively successful books has been shown to be full of crap. Actually… don’t stop press. Just put it on the pile with all the others.This time it’s…
Paid-only episode 25: The menopause and hormone replacement therapy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:26
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.comDoes the evidence support the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT)? Depends on when you asked the question. At one point th…
Unpaywalled: Jonathan Haidt vs. social media [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:00
Hello everyone! We weren’t able to record a podcast this week, because 1) Stuart was busy and 2) it’s Tom’s birthday. So by way of apology we’re re-releasing this one about some drama last year between Jon Haidt, sworn e…
Episode 91: Entangled Life and the wood wide web [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:28
Everyone has read Entangled Life, the wonderfully-written book about fungi that took the world by storm about 5 years ago. Among many other things, it popularised the “wood wide web”—the idea that trees can communicate w…
Episode 90: Cognitive dissonance [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:04
It has happened again. A new paper, based on a tranche of unsealed historical documents, casts serious doubt on a piece of social psychology research from the mid-20th Century. Shocker!This time it’s about some of the fu…
Paid-only episode 24: Creatine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:03
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.comCreatine is the supplement of the moment, but both of us had vaguely heard that this one might actually not be total garbage.On…
Episode 89: Halloween special on reincarnation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:37
Around these parts, we have a tradition to do a paranormal episode at Halloween. We’ve done psychic powers, ghosts, and now… reincarnation. What are we to make of the stories—sometimes told in NYT-bestselling books—of ch…
Episode 88: Wellbeing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:39
Maybe it’s the most important thing any scientist can study: what makes people happy? The trouble is, despite the importance, a lot of the science on “wellbeing” tends to be very rickety.But did you know that even one of…