Eduard Punset, A Charismatic Scientific Counselor

Eduard Punset is controversial, charismatic and innovative. He is a writer, economist, politician and makes science accessible to everyone. His program  Redes was broadcast for almost twenty years. Thanks to this program, millions of Spaniards became interested in science.

He made it possible for science to reach Spanish households. After all, a large part of the population considers science a strange, incomprehensible and boring subject to study. Thanks to him, however, it got slow but certainly entertaining and enjoyable.

Punset takes advantage of the public’s curiosity. He simplifies what seems difficult and transforms it into something attractive. It may seem like everyone liked that. However, he has received a lot of criticism for it. In addition, many people often believe that Eduard Punset is a scientist even though he is not.

The Life of Eduard Punset

Eduard Punset was born in Barcelona in 1936. He was the son of a rural doctor in Tarragona. From a very young age he showed a great interest in studying and learning about different things. He was very eager to learn about the world in general and to make discoveries.

In the 1960s, Eduard Punset traveled to Los Angeles. He was enrolled in North Hollywood High School where he taught English. When he returned to Spain, he obtained a law degree from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid.

He then became involved in the Communist Party. At that time, Spain was still ruled by a dictatorial regime. During this period he also met Jorge Semprún, someone he got along well with. However, the dictatorship in Spain caused many problems.

As a result, Punset decided to go into exile and continue his studies abroad. His bilingualism enabled him to continue his postgraduate education in economics in London. He also traveled to France where he graduated from the Ecole pratique des hautes études.

Eduard Punset and Politics

Shortly after finishing his studies, Eduard Punset started working as an economic writer for the BBC. He was the economics director of the Latin American edition of  The Economist. 

Punset also worked as an economist for the International Monetary Fund in the United States and in Haiti. After Franco’s death, Eduard Punset returned to Spain. He committed himself 100% to politics.

He was appointed Minister of Finance by the government of Catalonia. In the 1980s he worked as a minister in relations with the European Communities. He opened Spain to the world, which was a huge achievement. He also took part in the Alliance of Rapprochement and Connection but dropped out after a few months.

During his time as a member of the European Parliament, he contributed to the process of economic change in Eastern European countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall. After several more attempts in politics, he finally decided to retire in 1995.

His work as a scientific advisor

During the next phase of his life, Punset devoted himself to working on high impact topics and new technologies. He was an advisory professor in international marketing at ESADE.

He was also president of the Instituto Tecnológico Bull and professor of Innovation and Technology at the IE Business School. He also worked as a consultant in important sectors and companies. He also wrote several books on economics and social analysis.

The creation of  Redes , a television science series, was an important milestone in his already brilliant professional career. The series aired for 18 years.

During that period, Eduard Punset interviewed great personalities from the scientific and technological world. A total of 600 episodes were broadcast. The program covered various topics. Some even consider certain aired episodes to be masterpieces.

This has to do with the information they provide about neuroscience, positive psychology, new educational technologies, the psychology of emotions, and many other fascinating topics. This was a very positive phase in Punset’s life. In fact, he wrote most of his books during this period.

Eduard Punset is one of the most respected and at the same time most criticized figures in Spain. There is no doubt that during his television career he sparked a curiosity for science in many people.

He is a brave man who bet on everything new. Above all, he has succeeded in converting the most complex scientific concepts into a language that the public can easily understand.