Naked Scientists nominated for two awards

The unique broadcast which strips down scientific topics (hence the naked) in order to engage the general public is up for Best Produced and Best Science/Technology Show.

If you are a listener of Naked Scientist and would like to show your support, voting to determine the winner for all categories is currently on-going (closing 15 August) at http://www.podcastawards.com. The votes are cumulative and each person is allowed to vote in every category once per day.

The programme, which receives 50,000 downloads per week, was launched by Dr Chris Smith, a medical doctor and lecturer from the University of Cambridge, in 1999. Each hour-long edition of the programme sees the presenters encouraging the audience to experiment in their kitchens alongside the radio show and then call in with their results.

So far the series has seen listeners build home-made submarines, recreate the sound of Big Ben inside their heads, and simulate an explosion in a custard factory. The programme also provides highlights from the preceding week's top science news stories and interviews with guest scientists who answer questions posed by the listening public.

Initially known as ‘ScienceWorld', in just 7 years it has grown from a weekly local radio show to become a national and international presence with inputs to network radio across Australia (ABC Radio National) and the UK (BBC Radio Five Live). On the Internet, its companion website www.thenakedscientists.com receives over one and a half million hits per week. The Naked Scientists receives funding from EPSRC and the Wellcome Trust.

“In the way that Tomorrow's World made science popular starting in the 1960s, The Naked Scientists has used a new format of reaching people to make science accessible to every generation,” says Graham Hughes of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.