About

Join me each week as I explore the exciting world of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous machines. Each episode, I chat with roboticists from around the world to find out how their cutting-edge work is influencing every aspect of science, technology, and engineering, from the everyday to the extraordinary.

History

With the goal of making robotics more accessible to a broad audience, Robot Talk was launched in September 2020 by the EPSRC UK-RAS Network. For the first two seasons, the podcast was released on a monthly schedule, with each episode focussing on a particular topic and featuring two or three guests. Due to the podcast’s popularity, Robot Talk switched to a weekly format for Season 3, with each episode featuring a single guest.

In September 2023, Robot Talk returned for Season 4 with support from the Hamlyn Centre, Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI), Imperial College London. Since August 2024, Robot Talk has also been funded by supporters on Patreon. In October 2025, I launched the Robot Talk shop, and sales from that also support the ongoing production of the podcast.

Host

Hi, I’m Dr Claire Asher, a science communicator who is fascinated by science, technology and robotics!

After completing my PhD in biology in 2014, I decided to follow my passion for science communication. Since then, I’ve written for a variety of publications including New Scientist, BBC Science Focus and Mongabay.

In 2021, I co-authored, ‘Brave Green World: How Science Can Save Our Planet‘, published by MIT Press. My first kid’s book, ‘Marvolution‘ was published by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2026.

I’ve also appeared as a panelist on BBC Radio 4’s Nature table, and have performed stand-up comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Green Man Festival, Wilderness Festival and the Bloomsbury Theatre. You can find out more about my work here.

As host of Robot Talk, I’ve been lucky enough to host live events at The Great Exhibition Road Festival and the Festival of tomorrow, as well as travelling to The Netherlands and Norway to record content for the podcast.

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