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A new neuroscience series of The Science or Fiction Podcast is out now

Chloe Carrick, Anushka De, Dr Kathryn Bates

PhD Student, Youth Advisor, Research Fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

01 September 2025

What is a brain-computer interface, and can it read our minds? What is the science behind a good night’s sleep? We will explore these questions and more in our brand-new series: The Science or Fiction Podcast: Neuroscience Edition.

Produced and hosted by Chloe Carrick, PhD student in adolescent brain development, Youth Advisor, Anushka De, and Research Fellow, Dr Kathryn Bates, this series is created with and for young people.

The series will involve interviews with experts to separate the science from the fiction in media coverage of neuroscience research. You may see a headline such as, “Mind-reading brain implant converts thoughts to speech almost instantly: 'breakthrough'”, but is this claim exaggerated? Do they really read minds? How can we, as an audience, tell the difference between sensationalised findings and exciting scientific developments?

Over three episodes, we’ll delve into areas of neuroscience featured in the media, from brain implants, such as Elon Musk’s Neuralink device, to the science behind a good night’s sleep.

Our series is created with young people to demystify viral and relevant topics that they may encounter in their daily lives. By providing young people with tools to understand and critically evaluate the media coverage, we hope to help them interpret future media coverage of neuroscience with confidence.

Our first episode is out today! We interviewed Dr Hunter Schone from the University of Pittsburgh to find out what a brain-computer interface is and whether it can read your mind. This is really one to watch: Dr Schone showed us a 3D printed model of a patient’s brain with implants inserted and explained how these devices work, what they are capable of (and what they are not) and what the future holds for this technology. Take a look at the preview below:

New episodes for this series will be released on the first Monday of the month. You can watch or listen for free on the website or listen wherever you get your podcasts (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube). Sign up to our newsletter to receive the latest episode straight to your inbox and follow us on Instagram (@scienceorfictionpodcast) and LinkedIn (The Science or Fiction Podcast) for updates, clips and infographics.

Please rate and subscribe in your favourite podcast platform – it really helps us reach more people. If you’d like to suggest a future topic, email us at info@scienceorfiction.co.uk or DM us on social media – we’d love to hear from you!

The Science or Fiction Podcast: Neuroscience Edition was funded by King’s College London Public Engagement Small Grant funding scheme.

In this story

Chloe Carrick

Chloe Carrick

PhD Student

Kathryn Bates

Kathryn Bates

Research Fellow

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