We asked Jon Stokes, scientist and founder of Stoked Bio, to help us write a musical of his story fighting AMR.

Jon uses AI to find potential antibiotics, cutting down on the time and money it takes to develop new, live-saving drugs. In this episode he talks to me about funk music, the importance of unglamorous work and his complicated relationship with devastating pathogens.

Transcript incoming!

--

Lifeline is on in London in spring 2026! Buy your tickets at https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/

The Lifeline Project is a podcast exploring the science and stories behind the musical, Lifeline, a show about antibiotics, Alexander Fleming, and the biggest current global health crisis you might never have heard of, antimicrobial resistance or AMR.

The podcast is produced, written and hosted by Graham Richardson https://www.gnrichardson.co.uk/ @wildgreyme

Original music is by Robin Hiley, the composer and lyricist for Lifeline https://www.robinhiley.co.uk/ @robin.hiley

Our book writer, Becky Hope-Palmer, is back to give us updates on the show and what she learnt from her time taking a musical onto an off-Broadway stage.

We talk about how feedback and changes have affected her writing, and how she stays true to a complicated scientific and social message when crafting an entertaining narrative.

Full transcript coming soon!

--

Lifeline is on in London in spring 2026! Buy your tickets at https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/

The Lifeline Project is a podcast exploring the science and stories behind the musical, Lifeline, a show about antibiotics, Alexander Fleming, and the biggest current global health crisis you might never have heard of, antimicrobial resistance or AMR.

The podcast is produced, written and hosted by Graham Richardson https://www.gnrichardson.co.uk/ @wildgreyme

Original music is by Robin Hiley, the composer and lyricist for Lifeline https://www.robinhiley.co.uk/ @robin.hiley

Transcript available at: https://bit.ly/3Lcb4e2

We asked journalist Misbah Khan to help us writer a musical about her work on AMR...

Misbah is from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and a member of our advisory board. Her work has included reporting on sick patients from across the world all the way from the boroughs of New York to a conflict zone in Ethiopia. And yet her story all starts in her school with a cow in a textbook.

--

Lifeline is on in London in spring 2026! Buy your tickets at https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/

The Lifeline Project is a podcast exploring the science and stories behind the musical, Lifeline, a show about antibiotics, Alexander Fleming, and the biggest current global health crisis you might never have heard of, antimicrobial resistance or AMR.

The podcast is produced, written and hosted by Graham Richardson https://www.gnrichardson.co.uk/ @wildgreyme

Original music is by Robin Hiley, the composer and lyricist for Lifeline https://www.robinhiley.co.uk/ @robin.hiley

Transcript Here: http://bit.ly/3JDAFvH

The Lifeline Project is back with an update on what's been happening in the last year and big news about 2026!

The Lifeline Project is a podcast exploring the science and stories behind the musical, Lifeline, a show about antibiotics, Alexander Fleming, and the biggest current global health crisis you might never have heard of, antimicrobial resistance or AMR.

The podcast is produced, written and hosted by Graham Richardson https://www.gnrichardson.co.uk/ @wildgreyme

Original music is provided by Robin Hiley, the composer and lyricist for Lifeline

Transcript available here: https://bit.ly/3J2Swvp

In this episode we talk to the chorus of healthcare professionals who take to the stage with the principal cast every night to tell the story of Jess and Alexander Fleming.

This is the last episode in the series of ten which should give you a good introduction to how to talk about AMR from a scientific and social perspective, and give you an insight into how a highly collaborative musical about a tricky scientific topic was made.

Lifeline is on in New York in until 28th September 2024! Buy your tickets at www.lifelinemusical.com

The Lifeline Project is a podcast exploring the science and stories behind the musical, Lifeline, a show about antibiotics, Alexander Fleming, and the biggest current global health crisis you might never have heard of, antimicrobial resistance or AMR.

The podcast is produced, written and hosted by Graham Richardson https://www.gnrichardson.co.uk/ @wildgreyme

Original music is provided by Robin Hiley, the composer and lyricist for Lifeline

Transcript available at: https://bit.ly/4m1Nmyc

Lifeline has been in production for nearly a decade. In that time, much has changed but the core scientific and social message has always stayed the same.

In this episode we talk to Robin Hiley, composer, Becky Hope-Palmer, book writer, and Dr Meghan Perry, scientific advisor who have been three of the people closest to the action making Lifeline what it is today. If you're interested in finding out what it takes to make a musical with an important scientific and social message, this is the place to find the answer.

Lifeline is on in New York in Aug/Sep 2024! Buy your tickets at www.lifelinemusical.com

The Lifeline Project is a podcast exploring the science and stories behind the musical, Lifeline, a show about antibiotics, Alexander Fleming, and the biggest current global health crisis you might never have heard of, antimicrobial resistance or AMR.

The podcast is produced, written and hosted by Graham Richardson https://www.gnrichardson.co.uk/ @wildgreyme

Original music is provided by Robin Hiley, the composer and lyricist for Lifeline

Transcript available at: https://bit.ly/45m0Xtl

How do you fit the nearly hundred year history of antimicrobials in agriculture and the environment into one song? Buckle up.

Talking about the antibiotic emergency under the banner of One Health means not only taking in the history of drugs in medicine but also the wild ways they have been used in animals and their effect on the environment. Helping us navigate this huge topic are 'bugs and drugs' historian Dr Claas Kirchhelle and AMR expert and vital friend to the show, Dr CarriAyne Jones Parr.

Lifeline is on in New York in Aug/Sep 2024! Buy your tickets at www.lifelinemusical.com

The Lifeline Project is a podcast exploring the science and stories behind the musical, Lifeline, a show about antibiotics, Alexander Fleming, and the biggest current global health crisis you might never have heard of, antimicrobial resistance or AMR.

The podcast is produced, written and hosted by Graham Richardson https://www.gnrichardson.co.uk/ @wildgreyme

Original music is provided by Robin Hiley, the composer and lyricist for Lifeline

Transcript available at: https://bit.ly/4frwzSS

Kevin Brown wrote the book on Alexander Fleming. Rob Hiley wrote the musical. Who better to ask about the man behind the mould?

The Lifeline Project is a podcast exploring the science and stories behind the musical, Lifeline, a show about antibiotics, Alexander Fleming, and the biggest current global health crisis you might never have heard of, antimicrobial resistance or AMR.

The podcast is produced, written and hosted by Graham Richardson https://www.gnrichardson.co.uk/ @wildgreyme

Original music is provided by Robin Hiley, the composer and lyricist for Lifeline