In many ways, science has never had it so good. Research budgets are as high as they’ve ever been and are still rising. And science and innovation are core themes of Labour’s third term agenda. But the relationship between science and wider society still needs work. Fewer people are becoming scientists, university departments are closing and there is lingering public unease about the way that science is governed. In this, the 5th Demos podcast, renowned broadcaster, physicist and Science communicator Prof Kathy Sykes talks to Jack Stilgoe about the legitimacy of scientists to act in the public interest, and the role of the public in scientists professional life.