Question: If you got to make your podcast, what would you like to talk about first?

David McGonigle answered on 8 Mar 2021:

Hi Courtney! Sorry to be a bit slow answering, my internet has been terrible! To be brutally honest, I’m really not sure…I expect that will depend upon the format that I decide on, whether or not I can do ‘live’ interviews or chats, and the availability of the guests that I would like to invite. I don’t want it to be just me talking: trust me, on-one would listen to that (including me!). I also want it to be a little different, as there’s lots of great science podcasts out there starring superstar scientists: that’s also, definitely, not me! What I would like, though, even if i’m not certain of the exact topic in neuroscience that i’d start with, is to make it a lot more of a conversation, rather than a lecture – and also a podcast where we (well, mosty me, probably!) arent afraid to admit that we don’t know or don’t have enough information to understand certain points, theories, or opinions. Lots of podcasts, like ‘the infinite monkey brain’ tend use a setup that always has the ‘genius scientist’ explaining things to the ‘clueless member of the public’ – not my thing at all, as often scientists can be pretty clueless as well. If I get it right, it will try to capture all the creativity and wonder that we often feel when we’re researching or thinking or talking about certain ideas in science: to steal a title from another quite laidback show…’McGonigle and Guests Gone Sciencing’!