Alok Jha is science correspondent at The Economist. After studying physics and science communication at university, he spent 11 years at the Guardian where he launched their award-winning Science Weekly podcast. He presented over 300 episodes before leaving for ITV News, where he led their science and environment coverage. He is also an honorary lecturer at UCL, and best-selling author. In this in-depth interview, Alok describes the challenges of communicating complex scientific ideas to a mainstream audience, recalls the “incredibly frustrating” transition from print to broadcast, and discusses how “a stray thought” inspired him to write a book about water – the most unique (and important) liquid in the whole universe.