Hello and welcome to Backchat. If the Nature podcast is an evidence-based white paper,

Backchat is a live blog with a shouty comment section. This month, Brexit, Trump and a dramatic

and possibly dangerous Antarctic rescue. I'm Kerry Smith and my Backchat crew for June contains

Richard Van Norton. Hi, I edit Nature's Online News from London. David Adam. Hello, I edit Nature's

editorials pages. And on the line from Boulder, Colorado, we have Alex Wittsey. Hi, I'm a correspondent

I cover Earth and Planetary Sciences, among other things. Great. Coming up then, this month,

the UK and the US are both soon to make big political decisions.

On June the 23rd, this very week, the UK will decide whether to leave or remain in the EU.

And later this year, the US will elect a new president.

You may have heard about that.

Of course, there will be effects on science and scientists.

And we take a look at what those impacts might be, how much

science gets a look in at election time at referendum time, and how much to believe the polls.

Finally, we'll be leaving politics behind as we discuss the planned rescue of a six

scientists from Antarctica in the middle of their winter. So first up to Brexit then, Richard Van Norton, it's pretty clear, isn't it,

that scientists around Europe would rather like the UK to stay? Nature ran a survey in March

and an overwhelming majority of UK researchers are in favour of Britain remaining, the UK remaining

in the EU, and also the overwhelming

majority of EU researchers that we asked, and I think we got more than 2000 overall.

And from the point of view of research and science, it probably makes sense for the UK to stay.

It is a big winner from the EU's research budget, but also it benefits from the mobility

and freedom of movement and collaboration that the EU has fostered. So researchers are overwhelmingly

...