Audio/Video Clips & Talks

‘Who Was William Astbury?’ – a short film by Oxford University Press

Hear William Astbury explain why his unusual overcoat, woven from peanuts, was a technological landmark…

…And why, thanks to the process of molecular origami that he helped develop, we might one day be able to make clothing not just from peanuts, but from something far more unlikely…

‘The Dawn Fisherman – Friedrich Miescher & the Discovery of DNA’ – a talk given to the Royal Society of Chemistry Historical Group – 18th Nov 2025

‘100 Years of Insulin’ – and why, despite his talents on the football pitch, Man Utd legend George Best did not play a part in this medical milestone, as is claimed in one undergrad biochemistry textbook! A talk to the Leeds Philosophical & Literary Society, 14th June 2022

‘Georg Zuelzer & Acomatol – the Story of German Insulin and a Greek Tragedy’ -talk given at ‘Banting, Bliss, and Beyond: Insulin 100, a Century of Science and Care’ meeting held by the Toronto Medical History Club, 3rd May 2022

‘From Dark Satanic Mills to DNA’ – a public lecture given at the University of Leeds in the popular ‘History and Philosophy of Science in 20 Objects’ series (2018)

‘Did William Astbury Take ‘Photo 51′ Before Rosalind Franklin?’ – a short film by Oxford University Press