Whether you’re curious about getting healthy, the Big Bang or the science of cooking, find out everything you need to know with Instant Genius. The team behind BBC Science Focus Magazine talk to world-leading experts to bring you a bite-sized masterclass on a new subject each week.
New episodes are released every Monday and Friday and you can subscribe to Instant Genius on Apple Podcasts to access all new episodes ad-free and all old episodes of Instant Genius Extra.
Watch full episodes of Instant Genius on BBC Science Focus Magazine’s YouTube channel.
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Like it or not, Earth won’t be our home forever. Whether it’s climate collapse, nuclear war, or the slow death of the Sun, life on this planet is on borrowed time. So, what happens next? If we’re serious about avoiding extinction, we’ll need to look not just beyond Earth – but far beyond our Solar System.
Our guest today believes we not only can do that, but that we must. Christopher Mason is a Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine and author of The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds. In the book, he argues that as the only species aware of life’s inevitable end, we have a moral duty to preserve it – not just our own, but all life on Earth. To do that, we’ll need to radically rethink what it means to be human. Because as things stand, our bodies are far too fragile to survive the journey.
Chris lays out an ambitious 500-year plan to reengineer human biology, making us more resilient to space travel and alien environments — and he maps out how we might go about seeding life across the stars.
So, is humanity ready to become an interstellar species? And where on Earth – or off it – do we begin?
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Millions of people around the globe pop a daily pill or live with pieces of metal or plastic inside their bodies, all to avoid getting pregnant. But while we know our contraception works, many of us don’t know much else about it.
In this episode, we speak to Kate Muir, a woman’s health expert, documentary maker, journalist and author, whose book about hormonal contraception – Everything You Need to Know About the Pill (but were too afraid to ask) – inspired this conversation.
She tells us about what the different forms of contraception contain, how they work, how they might be affecting our minds and bodies – and what the future of baby-prevention might look like, for everyone involved.
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Every day we’re presented with hundreds if not thousands of decisions: What do we want for breakfast? Should we call our mothers or spend time with our friends? Should we go out for a workout or watch TV and eat snacks?
Of course, some of the choices we make are more significant than others and can have huge impacts on our lives. But what do these decisions say about us and how can we try to make better choices?
In this episode, we catch up with neuroscientist and professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania Emily Falk to talk about her latest book What We Value: The Neuroscience of Choice and Change.
She tells us how certain regions of our brains are involved in the many decisions we make, how we weigh up short and long-term rewards, and how we can all make more thoughtful choices that align with our goals if we just make a few tweaks to our behaviour.
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These days many of us have a bucket list, a set of experiences we’d like to have at least once in our lives. Seeing the Northern Lights with our own eyes is likely top of many of these. But what is the best way to ensure that when we do take a trip to see this mysterious, ghostly phenomenon we have a genuinely once-in-a-lifetime experience?
In this episode we speak to Tom Kerss an aurora chaser, astronomer and author of the book Northern Lights: The definitive guide to auroras about the best way to see the breathtaking phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis.
He tells us when and where to go to have the best chances of seeing the Northern Lights, what we should take and wear to have the best experience, and why often it’s a better idea to put down your camera and simply enjoy the spectacle.
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The ocean covers more than 70 per cent of our planet’s surface. Thanks to its ability to absorb the excess carbon and heat generated by climate change, its potential to generate clean energy and the bountiful source of food it provides to both humans and animals, there’s little doubt the ocean is vital for the continued survival of the human race and of the planet itself. But all is not well. Ocean temperatures are climbing, coastal water levels are rising, and extreme weather events are becoming more and more common.
In this episode we speak to special advisor on ocean issues to the United Nations Sturla Henriksen about his latest book The Ocean: How It Has Formed Our World – And Will Shape Our Destiny.
He tells us about the many challenges we are facing to keep the ocean healthy and why we need to take a more holistic approach to combat them.
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Humans have been fermenting foods for millennia, due to the process’s ability to enhance the flavours of what we eat and preserve it for when times are lean. Now, new science is uncovering how eating fermented food is beneficial for both our physical and mental health and how it may possibly play a key role in the food of the future by creating a source of alternative protein.
In this episode we speak to Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, Director of the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein and the Microbial Food Hub at Imperial College London.
He tells us how we all eat more fermented food than we may think, why it’s so good for our guts and how cutting-edge science can help us to create tasty fermented food that is also kind to the environment.
This episode is brought to you in association with EIT Food https://www.eitfood.eu/
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The Northern Lights are surely one of the most awe-inspiring phenomena anyone can be lucky enough to witness occurring on planet Earth. But how exactly do solar winds breezing out of the Sun and hitting our planet’s atmosphere create the enchanting phosphorescent display that dances across the night sky?
In this episode we speak to Tom Kerss an aurora chaser, astronomer and author of the book Northern Lights: The definitive guide to auroras about the science behind the breathtaking phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis.
He tells us how the colours of the Northern Lights are created by particles ejected from the Sun hitting the Earth’s magnetic field, how auroras also exist on other planets within the Solar System and talks us through the many things we can learn from studying this fascinating cosmic phenomenon.
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Baking can be hard. Measurements need to be exact and techniques perfected. But with the right tricks and by understanding the science of baking, you can become the envy of your friends with the perfect loafs and cakes. Part of our Food Science series, we spoke to Cristiana Solinas. She is the head of the National Bakery School at London South Bank University. She talks us through the science of how to make good sourdough, why your loaves are coming out too dry and busts the biggest science myths in daily baking.
This episode is brought to you in association with EIT Food https://www.eitfood.eu/
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This year quantum physics celebrates its 100th anniversary. And while we’ve made great progress in understanding its many intricacies and quirks, it’s likely that quantum behaviour will continue to fascinate and beguile scientists around the world for years to come.
In this episode we speak to Prof Jim Al-Khalili, a theoretical physicist based at the University of Surrey, author of several best-selling books and the long-time presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Life Scientific.
He tells us about the many disagreements that have surrounded quantum theory over the past century, how the theory raises deep scientific and philosophical questions about the nature of reality itself, and why we still have so much to learn.
Watch the episode here.
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Whether it’s the crowning glory on the top of a pizza Margherita, layered between two pieces of bread in a sandwich laced with pickle, or simply enjoyed by itself at the end of a meal, many of us adore cheese. But how exactly is it made, what gives it its distinct flavour and how can we make so many different varieties?
In this episode, we speak to Bronwen Percival, a cheese buyer for Neal's Yard Dairy in London, co-founder of the website MicrobialFoods.org and author of the book Reinventing the Wheel.
She tells us about the process that leads to milk becoming cheese, why we shouldn’t be afraid of mould and why some cheeses melt so beautifully to give what pizza fans call ‘the pull’.
This episode is brought to you in association with EIT Food https://www.eitfood.eu/
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Be it the extravagant displays of peacocks fanning their tails, the beautiful, complex song of nightingales or the meticulous art installation-like structures built by bouwerbirds, the animal kingdom filled with a huge variety of fascinating mating rituals.
But more than being mere quirks of evolution, these behaviours play a significant role in driving the process itself.
In this episode, we catch up with science writer and best-selling author Matt Ridley to talk about his latest book, Birds, Sex and Beauty: The Extraordinary Implications of Darwin’s Strangest Idea.
He tells us about the runaway processes that have led to the development of these flamboyant displays and behaviours, why choosing a mate may well be a popularity contest, and why it’s so important to give birth to sexy sons.
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Chocolate has a reputation. It is sugary and bad for you. But in its purest form, it can be beneficial to your health. As part of our Food Science series, we spoke to Megan Povey, a physicist at the University of Leeds who specialises in food processing. They explain how chocolate is made, the benefits it can have on your health and what separates good and bad chocolate.
This episode is brought to you in association with EIT Food https://www.eitfood.eu/
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We all experience distressing or intrusive thoughts at some point in our lives but for around two to three per cent of us these can be incredibly difficult to ignore and can begin to have a significant debilitating effect on our lives. Clinically this is known as obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD – a condition that many of us will have heard of but few understand.
In this episode, we speak to Dr Marjan Biria, a psychologist and neuroscientist based at University College London.
She tells us about some common obsessions and compulsions experienced by those with OCD, why thoughts are not actions and why people who say they are ‘a little bit OCD’ because they like cleanliness or order are significantly misunderstanding the condition.
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Despite decades of international climate summits, the ongoing work of various campaign groups and open letters signed by some of the world’s most prominent scientists highlighting the crucial need for action, carbon emissions, biodiversity loss and sea level rises are still going up across the globe. So, what are we getting wrong?
In this episode, we speak to leading researcher and author Mike Berners-Lee about his latest book A Climate of Truth, Why We Need it and How to Get It.
He argues that truth and honesty are key if we are to avert what he refers to as the climate polycrisis. Facts and data need to be reported frankly and clearly, policymakers and business leaders need to be held to higher standards of honesty and when it comes down to it, we can all make a difference by educating ourselves, questioning the information we’re presented with and, ultimately, voting with our wallets.
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These days we’re bombarded with information and claims that purport to explain almost every conceivable aspect of our lives, be it down to the bold assertions made by policymakers, the confidence of anonymity afforded by social media or just our natural human inclination to be fooled by a well-spoken know-it-all. But exactly who are the people making these claims, how do they reach their conclusions, and really, can anyone ever actually be certain about anything?
In this episode, we catch up with the statistician, epidemiologist and author Adam Kucharski to take about his latest book Proof, The Uncertain Science of Uncertainty.
He tells us how Abraham Lincoln’s background as lawyer led him to study the nature of proof beyond reasonable doubt and how it helped him to win his presidency, how picking holes in previous logical thinking enabled Albert Einstein to discover some of his greatest theories, and what the COVID pandemic taught us all about the value of scientific rigour and evidence-based conclusions.
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The human brain is surely one of the most complex and fascinating creations in all of nature. It’s through them that we experience the world around us, develop knowledge and skills, and carry within us memories of events and experiences that occurred decades in the past, which we can later draw on to face new challenges.
But when it comes to understanding exactly what is going on between our ears, we’re only just starting to scratch the surface. Could artificial intelligence technology help us in this quest?
In this episode, we’re joined by Prof Andrew Saxe, a computational neuroscientist based at University College London.
He tells us about the work his lab is carrying out on modelling the function of our brains using artificial intelligence, what this research has already uncovered about how our brains learn and what we can look forward to discovering in the coming decade or so.
Andrew is a finalist for the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists.
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From the dramatic caves that bring to mind the pirates and smugglers of yore to the rolling sand dunes many of us likely played in as children, our coastlines are home to all manner of fascinating features, forged over centuries by crashing waves and harsh, unforgiving weather. But far from simply being picturesque, these landmarks can teach us about our planet’s past and ultimately, its future.
In this episode, we speak to writer and author Matthew Yeomans about his latest book Seascape: Notes from a Changing Coastline.
He speaks to us about the observations he made of the many and varied effects of climate change while walking along the Welsh coastline, how the threat of coastal flooding is very real and how nature-based solutions may well be the most effective way of protecting our precious coastlines.
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Whether it’s from our friends, workmates or via various media platforms, both social and traditional, these days we’re all faced with a never-ending bombardment of information expressed through numbers, percentages and statistics. But how exactly should we go about interpreting them?
In this episode we catch up with Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, a statistician and science communicator based at the University of Cambridge.
He shares some simple advice to help us understand how the risks and benefits of various lifestyle factors such as exercise and diet are presented to us, explains how framing can be used to make any number look big or small, and tells us what everyone, including scientists, could be doing better when we speak about numbers.
Watch the episode here.
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The prostate is often misunderstood. And yet, this small part of the body is crucial. However, it is also one of the most common forms of cancer, affecting many men around the world. We spoke to Matthew Hobbs, director of research at Prostate Cancer UK who breaks down the big questions. What is a prostate, what treatments are available for prostate cancer and what does the future of diagnosis look like?
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Have you ever been frustrated when your carefully baked loaves come out of the oven looking more like pancakes? Or wondered why cheese tastes so good even though it’s riddled with mould? Maybe you want to learn more about how fermented foods such as kimchi and kefir are made, and why they’re so good for your gut health.
If so, don’t miss the Instant Genius Food Science miniseries, brought to you by the team behind BBC Science Focus. It’s still the same show with the same great guests, we’ll just be going deeper into the science of how the food we eat is produced and what exactly makes it taste so good.
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Meteorites are one of the best indicators that we can get of what is out there in Space. Helen Gordon, author of the new book The Meteorites: Encounters with Outer Space and Deep Time, talks us through these mysterious rocks landing on Earth. She touches on their cultural importance, what they tell us about our early Universe and their potential for risk.
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It can be hard to know what is true and false in a world of disinformation. But there are some tricks that people use to frame what they say and learning how to spot these can help you avoid them. We spoke to Mikael Klintman, author of the new book Framing: The Social Art of Influence to better understand how people frame situations and topics and how to not fall for it.
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Whether it’s accepting a work assignment we know we don’t have time for, attending a social occasion even though we’d much rather hunker down at home with a cup of tea, or something more serious such as not speaking up when we witness an act of discrimination, many of us find it difficult to say ‘no’. But why is this?
In this episode, we speak to psychologist Dr Sunita Sah about her latest book Defy, The Power of No in a World that Demands Yes.
She tells us how we are wired to comply, even if doing so comprises our true values, the far-reaching effect this has on our lives and the structure of society, and how by following her advice we can all unlock the power of a ‘True No’.
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Dame Judi Dench has recently been in the news speaking about the long-term issue she’s been having with sight loss. The veteran actor has a condition known as age-related macular degeneration that currently affects around 700,000 people in the UK.
In this episode, we catch up with Prof Richard Gale, an ophthalmologist based at Hull York Medical School.
He tells us the early warning signs to look out for if you are starting to develop the condition, why it’s essential to regularly get your eyesight tested by an optician and why he’s optimistic that the development of cutting-edge treatments can help stop the condition in its tracks.
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Over the last century or so neuroscientists around the world have been uncovering more and more about how our very identities are formed by the different cognitive functions carried out by our brains. And we now know that our identities can even be transformed by brain disorders such as stroke, dementia of head injuries.
In this episode, we catch up with neurologist Masud Husain to talk about his latest book – Our Brains, Our Selves, What a Neurologist’s Patients Taught Him about the Brain.
He takes us through some of the discoveries he has made while treating patients during his long career. We learn how a stroke led to a previously successful, motivated man to suddenly lose interest in all areas of this life, how a previously demure, shy woman began dressing flamboyantly and insulting people in the street thanks to the effects of dementia and a woman suffering from Alzheimer’s began to think that there were multiple copies of her husband.
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Be it a Marvel superhero, a fashion model or a professional athlete, we likely all have an image in our minds of what we wish our bodies looked like. But for some, the pressure of meeting these expectations can lead to the use of anabolic steroids in an attempt to get that Hollywood or magazine cover look.
In this episode, we speak to Dr Orlanda Harvey, a senior lecturer in social work based at Bournemouth University.
She tells us what steroids do to our bodies, the various motivations recreational users have for using them and the health issues, both for body and mind, that can arise from doing so.
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Whether it’s due to deadlines at work, an upcoming exam or a rocky personal relationship, we’ve no doubt all felt stress at some point in our lives. And while a certain amount of stress can help to motivate us and make us more productive, if things get too much, stress can have a significant effect on both our mental and physical health.
In this episode, we speak to Despina Djama, a psychologist and stress researcher based at the University of Plymouth.
She tells us what happens in our brains and bodies when we experience stress, explains how the reaction stems from our evolutionary fight or flight response and shares some tips and techniques we can all use to help us get through stressful times.
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Many of us listen to music every day, perhaps to help us relax in the evening after a hard day’s work, get us through a tough workout or maybe even to allow us to feel closer to absent loved ones. There can be no doubt that music plays a huge part in what it means to be human.
In this episode, we catch up with neuroscientist and musician Daniel Levitin to talk about his latest book Music as Medicine: How We Can Harness Its Therapeutic Power.
He tells us what happens in our bodies and brains when we listen to music or play an instrument, explains the unique relationship between music and memory, and details how music can be used as a powerful therapeutic tool to help patients struggling from everything from Alzheimer’s disease to post traumatic stress disorder.
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Whether it’s a sport, painting or spending hours buried in puzzles, there is a clear link between our experience of hobbies and our mental health. Part of our Healthy Start series, we spoke to Karen Mak, a senior research fellow at UCL about how hobbies can bolster our mental health.
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Most of us like to think we live in an equal society that offers the same opportunities to all. But unfortunately, hundreds of scientific studies say otherwise. Racial bias is essentially everywhere, often hiding in plain sight.
For example, did you know that black people are as much as 50 per cent less likely to be called in for a job interview than a similarly qualified white person? Or that children of colour are more likely to be viewed as troublemakers at school?
In this episode, we speak to Prof Keon West about his latest book The Science of Racism – Everything You Need to Know but Probably Don’t – Yet.
He tells us how racism is so deeply baked into many of our societal systems, explains the issues surrounding the concept of ‘colour blindness’ and how we can all benefit from simply interacting with more people from different ethnicities and backgrounds.
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With a smartphone in our pockets at all times, social media is only ever a few clicks away. With this, problematic social media use is easy to fall into. As part of our Healthy Start series, we spoke to Niklas Ihssen, an associate professor at Durham University about what this means and how to avoid it.
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It’s commonly thought that when compared to other members of the animal kingdom we humans have a particularly poor sense of smell. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Modern research has proven that human beings are surprisingly sophisticated sniffers, at least on par with the vast majority of other animals.
In this episode, we catch up with Prof Jonas Olofsson, a psychologist based at Stockholm University, to talk about his latest book The Forgotten Sense – The New Science of Smell.
He explains what happens when odour molecules enter our nasal passages and are processed by our brains, tells us how our sense of smell is intimately linked to our memories and emotions and answers the question that has been debated across countless dinner tables all over the world: can some people really identify wines just by smelling them?
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This time of the year lots of us will be setting new goals for the future. Be it getting fitter, reading more or even writing that novel we always suspected we had in us. But why do so many of us fail to see these plans through?
In this episode, we catch up Dr Ian Taylor a reader in motivational science based at Loughborough University.
He tells us why we are prone to setting goals that are too ambitious and why starting small is usually the best approach, why we shouldn’t worry if our routine drops off now and again, and why simply having willpower isn’t the be all and end all of reaching your targets, whatever they are.
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Be it the recent outbreak of wars around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic or the unfortunate personal events that will undoubtedly befall us at some points in our lives, it can sometimes be difficult to look on the bright side. But is doing so even helpful?
Science writer Sumit Paul-Choudhury certainly thinks so. In this episode, we catch up with him to talk about his latest book The Bright Side: Why Optimists Have the Power to Change the World.
He tells us how the term was coined based on the theory that we live in the best of all possible worlds, or the optimal world if you like, why far from being unique to humans, many animals such as chickens and bumblebees also show signs of optimism, and how optimistic thinking will play a crucial role in helping us overcome the problems of the 21st Century.
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Would you like to learn how to set goals and stick to them? How about cutting down the time you spend on social media? Or how about learning to cope better with stress?
Why not tune in to the Instant Genius Healthy Start miniseries, brought to you from the team behind BBC Science Focus.
It's still the same show, with the same great guests. We’ll just be spending a little extra time to go deeper into the science of getting the new year off to the best possible start.
Starting on Monday 6th January, this four-part special series will feature interviews with leading researchers, to give you everything you need to boost your health and wellbeing.
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What’s your favourite food? A hamburger, a slice of cake, a pizza? Eating is something we all do every day but most of us rarely think about what actually happens in our bodies after we put food into our mouths.
In this episode, we catch up with Dr Chris Van Tulleken to speak about his forthcoming Royal Institution Christmas Lecture series telling us everything we need to know about what’s happening in our bodies when we eat.
He tells us what actually happens when we put food into our mouths, what’s going on in our bodies once food is in there, and why farting is just part of the process.
BBC Four and iPlayer, 9pm, on 29, 30 and 31 December.
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Anyone who has switched on the news even briefly this year will no doubt have seen scenes of extreme flooding occurring in all corners of the globe. But are these events getting more frequent and more severe or are we just becoming more aware of them?
In this episode, we catch up with Prof Trevor Hoey, a hydrologist based at Brunel University, London.
He tells us about the various climate mechanisms driving these extreme weather events, how counterintuitively severe droughts are being caused by the same processes and he also details some of the measures we can take to minimise the damage these events cause.
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Be it down to our professions, taste in music or favourite sports teams we all belong to several different tribes. But what drives this instinct and what purpose does it serve?
In this episode, we speak to cultural psychologist Prof Michael Morris about his latest book: Tribal – How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together.
He breaks down the influence our peers have on us, explains why we look up to hero figures and why tradition has such a huge impact on our beliefs, lifestyles and identities.
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Why do we humans seem to be so easily influenced or even fooled? On one hand this can be done for entertainment, in a Las Vegas stage magic show for example, but on another it can be used for more nefarious purposes such as con artists tricking people into sharing their bank account details.
In this episode, we speak to science writer and BBC Science Focus contributor Brian Clegg to talk about his latest book: Brainjacking – The Science of Influence and Manipulation.
He tells us how our emotions can make us susceptible to being tricked, the role advances in technology such as AI are increasingly playing in our ability to manipulate others and how the whole phenomenon stems from our love of a good story.
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Through emojis, memes, acronyms and inside jokes, the internet has forever changed how we communicate. But what is the result of that and what does it mean for how we’ll speak in the future? We spoke to linguist and author of the book Because Internet, Gretchen McCulloch, to find out.
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The Earth’s population currently stands at more than 8 billion and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. There’s little doubt that these staggering numbers are placing a huge strain on global food supplies, so what can be done for the human race to thrive and survive long into the future?
In this episode, we catch up with multidisciplinary researcher and author Prof Vaclav Smil to talk about his latest book – How to Feed the World.
He tells us how evolution has determined the staple foods we now rely on for nourishment, how this influences our chances of continued survival and why technology is yet to find a viable solution to the urgent issue of feeding the world.
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Living through a mass extinction means the end of a species’ existence inevitably collides with significant events in our personal lives. But what does that mean for the people working to protect them? And why are these extinctions actually bringing them hope? We spoke to science writer Tom Lathan, author of the new book ‘Lost Wonders’, who explains.
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From the distinctive caw of a crow to the musky scent of a beaver, the world around us is filled with the telltale signs of animals going about their daily business. But how can we teach ourselves to pick up on them more effectively and what can we learn from doing so?
In this episode, we catch up with ecologist and author George Bumann to talk about his latest book, Eavesdropping on Animals: What We Can Learn from Wildlife Conversations.
He tells us how by simply opening our eyes, ears and noses when we’re out we can begin to tune into to our environment more closely and in turn learn more about the lives and behaviours of the animals we share it with.
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It’s likely that even the most virtuous amongst us has experienced feelings of anger at some point in our lives. But is this simply a failing in our personal moral fabric or does it have more universal biological origins?
In this episode, we catch up with Guy Leschziner, a professor of neurology and sleep medicine at King’s College Hospital in London to talk about his latest book Seven Deadly Sins: The Biology of Being Human.
He tells us how activity in the emotional regions of our brains affects our behaviour, talks about the influence of testosterone on our aggressive tendencies and tells us how mutations in specific genes can predispose us to commit violent acts.
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As the nights draw in and the temperature drops, many of us find ourselves feeling a little less jolly and a bit more sluggish than usual. But for some of us these feelings can become so severe that they are classed as a form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder. This can have a significant impact on our daily habits, relationships and ability to perform at our best.
In this episode, we catch up with the founder of The Sleep Scientist Dr Sophie Bostock.
She tells us how exposure to daylight affects our mood, why it’s natural to want to hunker down during the colder, darker months and how going on a daily morning walk can help us all to lift our spirits.
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While being cynical can feel safe, and prepared for the worst outcome, it could actually be harming your health. We spoke to Jamil Zaki, author of the new book Hope for Cynics to better understand the dangers of cynicism and how to break out of it.
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Lots of us will have at some points in our lives woken up feeling groggy after getting a poor night’s sleep. But what causes us to have trouble sleeping, what effect does it have on our health and what can we do about it?
In this episode, we catch up Prof Matt Jones, a neuroscientist based at the University of Bristol.
He tells us how our sleep needs vary across our lifetimes, how not getting enough sleep can affect our ability to think straight and form memories, and why a lack of sleep can leave so many of us feeling cranky and impulsive.
This episode is presented in partnership with Lumie. https://www.lumie.com/
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Understanding who we are and where we came from is one of the most fascinating questions in science. But it’s also one of the most difficult to answer. Putting all of the pieces together requires research across several different disciplines such as genetics, anthropology and medicine.
In this episode, we catch up with Professor of Human Genetics and Evolution at College de France in Paris Lluis Quintana-Murci to talk about his latest book Human Peoples: On the Genetic Traces of Human Evolution Migration and Adaptation.
He tells us how the characteristics of different human populations have been shaped by the environments they live in, how our genes can protect us against disease and what we learn can from all of this about our future health and wellbeing.
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Research over the past few decades has proven that getting a good night’s sleep is essential for our health and wellbeing. But sometimes strange things can happen in our brains while we’re asleep.
In this episode, we catch up with Dr Dan Denis, a sleep researcher and lecturer at the University of York’s department of psychology.
He tells us what happens in our brains and bodies when we dream, why some of us are prone to sleepwalking and even sleep eating, and talks about the strange phenomenon of lucid dreaming.
This episode is presented in partnership with Lumie. https://www.lumie.com/
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We may pride ourselves on our intelligence, but humans perhaps actually have to thank our ability to process and communicate information for our species’ success. In this episode, we speak to ‘The History of Information’ author Chris Haughton about the evolutionary adaptations, technologies and moments in our history that propelled us forward – and what he thinks is coming next.
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We all know we should be eating a good diet to keep ourselves healthy, but did you know your diet can have a significant impact on how well you sleep?
In this episode, we speak to Dr Piril Hepsomali, a psychologist and sleep researcher based at the University of Reading.
She tells us how consuming caffeine affects our sleep, why we feel tired after eating a big Sunday lunch and what actually happens if you eat cheese before going to bed.
This episode is presented in partnership with Lumie.
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Since its launch on Christmas Day 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope has delivered some of the most stunning images of space we’ve ever seen, peering deeper into the cosmos than ever before. But as awe-inspiring as these images are, data about the history of the Universe being collected by the telescope are perhaps even more mind-blowing.
In this episode, we catch up with Sky at Night Presenter Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock to talk about her new book Webb’s Universe: The Space Telescope Images that Reveal our Cosmic History.
She tells us how the telescope is shedding new light on what we know about the birth of stars and galaxies, how it’s teaching us more about the structure and atmospheres of distant exoplanets and what she’s most excited about it discovering in the future.
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Our bodies have in-built clocks that allow us to sync our daily activities to a roughly 24-hour cycle. This determines everything from our sleep patterns to our appetites and even dictates the time of day we are most likely to perform at our best.
However, not all of our body clocks keep the same time – some of us prefer early mornings while some of us prefer late nights. What’s more, alterations in external time, such as crossing time zones or changes to and from daylight saving time can play havoc with this finely tuned internal system.
In this episode, we catch up with Dr Beatriz Bano, a neuroscientist based at the University of Manchester.
She tells us the role exposure to daylight plays in setting our body clocks, how they change over our lifetimes and how we can set up our daily routines to ensure we are well rested and performing at our best.
This episode is presented in partnership with Lumie.
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Since the discovery of the double helix by Francis Crick, James Watson and Rosalind Franklin in the 1950s, human knowledge of DNA and genetics has grown almost immeasurably.
We now know that genes affect every aspect of our lives, from our appearance, our health and even our personality. But more than this, our genes are a living document of our evolutionary past, an ancient document that, if read properly, can reveal almost everything about how we came to be how we are.
In this episode, we’re joined by the evolutionary biologist and multi-million selling author Richard Dawkins to speak about his latest book The Genetic Book of the Dead: A Darwinian Reverie.
He tells us how different species of animals hit on the same evolutionary strategies despite being separated by multiple continents, how natural selection doesn’t necessarily always follow the perfect path and how a scientist of the future may one day be able to read the genetic code of any living animal like a book to uncover its entire evolutionary past.
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Do you find it hard to get out of bed first thing in the morning? Maybe you feel your energy levels starting to wane in the afternoon? Or perhaps you struggle to fall asleep in the first place?
Why not tune into the Instant Genius How to Hack Your Sleep miniseries, brought to you from the team behind BBC Science Focus.
It's still the same show, with the same great guests. We’ll just be spending a little extra time to go deeper into the science of all things related to sleep.
Starting on Monday 21 October, this four-part special series will feature interviews with some of the leading figures in sleep research to give you everything you need to get the most out of your shuteye.
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We all love our dogs and want to do what’s best for them but, unfortunately, they aren’t able to talk to us to let us know when something isn’t going well for them. So how can we make sure we’re doing our best to keep them safe and happy?
In this episode, we catch up dog expert and author Zazie Todd to talk about her latest book, Bark!: The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog.
She teaches us about some key body language cues to look out for to tell when your dog is feeling anxious, shares her top tips on buying a healthy puppy, and explains why it’s always a good idea to let your dog have a good old sniff.
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If you’re anything like Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, the idea of a mass human migration to space is exciting but, well, a little flawed. As they say in their new book, A City on Mars (shortlisted for this year's Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize): “An Earth with climate change and nuclear war and, like, zombies and werewolves is still a way better place than Mars.”
In this episode, we speak to Kelly about why we’re not likely to see billionaires rocketing off to Mars-based bunkers, what we might eat when we live in space, and how close we really are to moving to Mars.
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For a relatively small country, England is home to an astonishing variety of habitats. From the low-lying grasses, gorse and heather that make up the heathland to the many rivers that make their way across our countryside and cities, each landscape has its own individual characteristics and charms.
In this episode, we catch up with farmer and best-selling nature writer John Lewis-Stempel to talk about his new book England: A Major Natural History in 12 Habitats.
He takes us on a tour of some of the country’s unique habitats, speaks about the flora and fauna we can enjoy there and tells us how the best way to interact with nature is to get your hands dirty.
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Did you know that according to some psychologists we have two minds, not one? The first of these is our regular, analytical mind – the part of us that processes language and is home to our ego – and the second is a more primitive, animal mind that responds to our environment in a more automatic, intuitive way.
It is argued that learning how to listen more closely to our animal minds can help us to overcome stress, anxiety and trauma.
In this episode, we catch up with psychologist and author Steve Biddulph to talk about his latest book Wild Creature Mind.
He tells how our ‘gut feelings’ are a way of our animal minds trying to tell us something, talks us through some simple techniques we can use to help us be more in touch with our animal minds, and explains how simply being a bit kinder to ourselves is a great place to start.
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A state of absolute focus, able to complete a single task or activity effortlessly, flow states are desirable. But how can you achieve one and can they be turned on and off? We spoke to Julia Christensen, author of the new book The Pathway to Flow to find out.
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Thanks to the advent of the smartphone, we now have in our pockets more computing power than NASA needed to put human beings on the Moon. With it comes access to vast amounts of information, both good and bad, and the ability to communicate like never before. But what impact is this having on our children’s lives and how should we approach their smartphone use?
In this episode, we’re joined by neuroscientist, author and BBC Science Focus columnist Dr Dean Burnett to talk about his latest book Why Your Parents Are Hung Up On Your Phone And What To Do About It.
He tells us why screen time isn’t anywhere near as bad for your kids as people say, why using search engines isn’t rotting their brains and how, far from being antisocial, phones can actually help younger people to develop and maintain their social lives.
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The Y chromosome is responsible for making people male, but according to recent research, we could see it disappear in the future. So what will happen when the Y chromosome is gone? We spoke to Jenny Graves, a geneticist at La Trobe University to find out.
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Often, we’ll hear it said that we live in an uncertain world. Upon hearing this, most of us respond, well of course we do. But what does the term uncertainty actually mean when analysed under a scientific lens and how can we think about it more rationally.
In this episode, we catch up with Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, Chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication in the Centre for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge, to talk about his new book, The Art of Uncertainty: How to Navigate Chance, Ignorance, Risk and Luck.
He tells us how uncertainty essentially comes from our personal relationships with the outside world, how to analyse and express probability more effectively and why philosophers argue that there are several different types of luck.
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Free will, as defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica, is the “supposed power or capacity of humans to make decisions or perform actions independently of any prior event or state of the universe”.
In a previous episode, neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell argued that human evolution has indeed equipped us with the capacity for genuine free will. Go and check it out if you haven’t already.
Now, we turn the spotlight on the opposing view.
In his latest book, Determined: Life Without Free Will, renowned neuroscientist and recipient of the prestigious MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ Robert Sapolsky challenges the notion of free will, presenting a compelling case that our actions are largely determined by biological, environmental and chance factors.
In this episode, Sapolsky gets into the reasoning behind his controversial conclusions. But he also looks beyond just the lack of free will, exploring how this realisation might necessitate some fundamental changes to our society. And you know what? Even without the ability to truly choose, he still contends that life can hold real meaning.
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Being a positive person can be good for your health and social relationships. But can you take it too far? In this episode, we talk to psychologist Dr Linda Blair about what ‘toxic positivity’ is and why it’s bad, how to spot it, and how to stop.
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Thanks to the years and years spent poring over textbooks to study the inner workings of the brain, the high level of manual dexterity required to perform operations and the mental pressures that come with taking patients’ lives in your hands, there can be little doubt the journey to becoming a brain surgeon is one of the most challenging any of us can embark upon.
So, what exactly does it take to become a successful brain surgeon and what does the day-to-work reality look like when the years of training are finally complete?
In this episode, we catch up Theodore H Schwartz, professor of neurosurgery based at Weill Cornell Medical Center, to talk about his new book Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery.
He tells us about his own personal journey to become an in-demand surgeon, what it’s like to work in one of New York’s busiest hospitals, and the surprising crossover between brain surgery and learning how to play an instrument.
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Do you ever feel a bit stressed and think that taking a walk in the woods is just the thing to calm your mind? Maybe you take a moment to listen to the birdsong around you to lift your mood during your lunch hour. Or maybe you feel a deep sensation of relaxation when you hear the sound of a gently flowing brook.
Over the past decade or so new evidence on what is going on in our bodies when we interact with nature has emerged leading to some fascinating discoveries showing how forming a deeper relationship with nature can help our mental and physical health.
In this episode, we catch up with Kathy Willis, professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford to talk about her new book Good Nature: The New Science of How Nature Improves Our Health.
She tells us how smelling pine trees can slow our heart rates, how keeping houseplants can make our gut microbiomes healthier and how touching wooden furniture can help us feel calmer.
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In his book, Into The Clear Blue Sky, Rob Jackson asks an important question, can we really restore the Earth’s atmosphere within our lifetime? He talks us through how this could be possible through technology and genuine effort from civilisation.
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New, so-called ‘superfoods’ frequently find their own moment in the spotlight. But what if there was one type of food that really did help with everything?
Well, microbiome scientist, dietician and ex-chef Dr Emily Leeming thinks that the magic ingredient could be fibre. Following the release of her book Genius Gut, we spoke about how eating more fibre can not only improve your day-to-day life, but also lower your risk of death – from bettering your mood to helping you control your appetite, and even slowing your ageing.
Listen on for Emily’s cooking and meal prep tips for upping your intake!
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Animals can do some pretty cool things, but the world is full of bizarre adaptations you’ve probably never heard of or not given much thought to. In this episode, we speak to vet and TV presenter Dr Jess French, whose new book The Animal Body explains some of the everyday magic of animal anatomy to children.
From slug teeth to self-healing abilities, Jess gives us her most surprising facts and busts some common myths – and even does a special impression of a white-handed gibbon.
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These days we’re constantly bombarded with information, be it from television, social media, friends and family or simply from the world around us. But how do we interpret this information, what role do our beliefs play and how can we harness the power of critical thinking in our daily lives.
In this episode, we catch up with Peter Lamont, a professor of history and theory of psychology at the University of Edinburgh to talk about his latest book Radical Thinking: How to see the bigger picture.
He tells us why we should constantly be questioning the foundation of our beliefs, why we should recognise and embrace our limitations and how thinking radically all begins with curiosity.
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Right now, in labs and lecture halls all around the world, there’s a war raging. Not a physical war of fists and gunfire, but a war of ideas, and of research and of fact.
The battle ground is this: Could it be that we animals are not alone in our ability to make decisions, to feel the world around us, to listen and communicate, maybe even be conscious. In short, could it be that plants are intelligent too?
Today’s guest is Zoë Schlanger, a staff writer at The Atlantic covering the environment, and the author of The Light Eaters, a book exploring the fascinating science of plant intelligence and behaviour.
She argues that plants are more than just a green blob in the ecosystem, but an active part of it; one with the agency to decide its own destiny, and, fundamentally, one which we humans should show respect and reverence towards.
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The future can be scary, but what if there was a way for us to understand it a little better? Tom Chivers believes there is. His new book Everything Is Predictable explains how Bayes Theorem, a statistical model, can explain the world around us and, in some cases, help us predict the future.
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It is easy to feel like we know celebrities, and even love them. But these people don’t know who we are, so is it healthy? We spoke to Karen Shackleford, a media psychologist to better understand the one-sided world of parasocial relationships.
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Ray Kurzweil has made many accurate predictions about AI in the past. Having worked in the area of AI research for 61 years, he is one of the longest standing experts in the field. Now, he’s back with a new book titled The Singularity Is Nearer, breaking down his expectations for our future.
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Mention the word 'fungi' and it’s likely many of our minds will turn to the mushrooms we enjoy sliced on the top of our favourite pizza or bowl of pasta. But there’s more to these fascinating organisms than this. Without fungi we’d have no yeast to make bread or brew beer and no penicillin to treat infections.
In this episode, we catch up physician and immunology researcher Arturo Casadevall to talk about his latest book What if Fungi Win?
He tells us about the essential role fungi plays in the ecosystems and lifecycles of the Earth, how they pose a potential threat to our food supplies, the role climate change is playing in the evolution of fungi and the role they may possibly play in combatting it.
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These days, top athletes are breaking fewer and fewer world records. But why is this occurring, and does it mean that we are close to reaching the limits of human sporting performance?
In this episode, we catch up with Dr Jonathan Taylor, a senior lecturer in sport and exercise at Teesside University.
He tells us the role our genes play in our athletic performance, the limits our musculature and cardiovascular systems play, and why it’s unlikely to mean that we’ll lose interest in playing and watching sports anytime soon.
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Whether we’re lifting weights in the gym, going for an outdoor run or competing in sports, any kind of physical activity takes its toll on our bodies. So, what should we be doing when we’re not exercising to make sure our bodies stay in top condition?
In this episode, we catch up with James Betts, professor of metabolic physiology at the University of Bath.
He tells us how to refuel after a gruelling workout, why there’s little evidence on the effectiveness of ice baths and why muscle soreness is just part of the game.
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When we watch professional sports people, we’re no doubt in awe of their physical prowess. But how are their performances affected by what’s going on in their minds, how do they get their headspace ready to perform at their best and what can us mere mortals learn from them?
In this episode, we catch up with Tim Woodman, a professor of performance psychology based at Bangor University.
He tells us what role motivation plays in our ability to perform, how anyone can benefit from practising visualisation and breath work, and how we really all are performing in one way or another on a daily basis.
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Most of us know that we should probably be trying to get a bit more exercise, but fitting gym sessions into our busy work and homelives can often be tricky. And even then, we still have to decide what activities suit our needs best when faced with the intimidating number of options that are out there.
In this episode, we catch up with Dr Sinead Roberts, a lecturer in sport and exercise nutrition at the University of Westminster.
She tells us why the good news is that doing something, whatever it is, is nearly always better than doing nothing, why it’s a good idea to do strength training even if you don’t want to be a body builder and how to get through frustrating plateaus in progress.
The Peak Performance miniseries features interviews with some of the leading figures in sports research to give you everything you need for a science-packed summer of sport.
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From the oxygen in the air we breathe to the atmosphere that cloaks the Earth and protects us from the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet light, gases are essential for the existence of human beings.
But did you know that we’ve also harnessed the properties of these elusive, largely invisible substances to impact almost every aspect of our lives?
In this episode, we catch up with material scientist Prof Mark Miodownik to talk about his latest book, It’s a Gas: The Magnificent and Elusive Elements that Expand Our World.
He tells us how gases helped us to make our cities safer and more prosperous, how Nobel Prize-winning chemistry led to the invention of neon lights and how we owe our very existence to gases influence in shaping the chemical makeup of the Earth.
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Looking to get the maximum possible benefits out of your gym time? Want to find out why what you do to recover outside of the gym is just as important what you do inside it? Or maybe you’d like to learn some of the secret psychological tricks pro athletes use to stay at their best?
Why not tune into the Instant Genius Peak Performance miniseries, brought to you from the team behind BBC Science Focus.
It's still the same show, with the same great guests. We’ll just be spending a little extra time to go deeper into the science of all things related to sports and fitness.
Starting on Monday 22 July, this four-part special series will feature interviews with some of the leading figures in sports research to give you everything you need for a science-packed summer of sport.
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There are currently more than eight billion human beings living on Earth, occupying nearly every corner of the planet. It’s a remarkable situation to find ourselves in, and there can be little doubt that the story of human progress has, by and large, been a successful one. But how did we reach this point? What sets us apart from other animals? And what is it about our biology that has allowed us to achieve this incredible feat?
In this episode, we catch up with astrobiologist and author Prof Lewis Dartnell to talk about his latest book Being Human: How Biology Shaped World History.
He takes us on a trip through the evolution of the human race. We talk about how human beings’ ability to form harmonious societies has helped us prosper, why we’re so prone to making errors in judgment despite our great success as a species and how the world we’ve built has ended up influencing our biology back in return.
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We can see climate change in our food, holidays and even day-to-day life, but one area we rarely think about is our sports. And yet, climate change could completely change how we play and experience sports all together. We spoke to Madeleine Orr, the author of the new book Warming Up to learn a little bit more about how sports will be changed by a changing climate.
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It’s often said that the human brain is the most complex structure in the known Universe. So how do we go about studying it? You may think that we should leave this to biologists or neuroscientists, but approaching the brain as a mathematical object and investigating its geometry and structure is providing researchers with more and more new insights.
In this episode we catch up with mathematician Alain Goriely, professor of geometry at Gresham College, London ahead of his series of free public lectures entitled Mathematics and the Brain.
He tells us how the brain’s shape, structure and size relate to intelligence, how mathematical models can help us deepen our understanding of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and how advances in scanning technology have helped us begin to uncover its many mysteries.
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Did you really choose to listen to this podcast? Or was the decision just the product of neurons firing in your brain, used by biochemical reactions, governed by the laws of physics?
Today, it’s become almost fashionable to chalk how we think and behave up to nothing more than the physical sum of our parts. But our guest in this episode is bucking that trend, arguing that we humans do have autonomy over our lives.
Kevin Mitchell is an associate professor of genetics and neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin and author of Free Agents – How Evolution Gave Us Free Will. He argues that free will isn’t just an illusion, and that evolution proves that we’re more than mere machines simply responding to the world around us.
Will you choose to believe him?
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From tortilla chips and ham sandwiches to teepees and the Great Pyramid of Giza, the world is filled with triangles. But why is this seemingly simple shape so ubiquitous and how do we take advantage of its unique properties?
In this episode we catch up with stand-up comedian, mathematician and best-selling author Matt Parker to talk about his latest book Love Triangle: The Life-Changing Magic of Trigonometry.
He tells us how triangles can be used to erect the world’s tallest buildings, help spacecraft land on distant planets and create realistic CGI images, and explains how we should all fall back in love with the trigonometry we learned in high school.
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Right now, in hospitals around the world, patients are being cured of diseases once thought untreatable.
The reason? A gene therapy revolution means that what was once the stuff of science fiction is now becoming a reality.
One person who’s been at the centre of this medical revolution is Dr Bobby Gaspar, a professor of paediatrics and immunology at Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London, and CEO of Orchard Therapeutics.
Bobby guides us through the complex world of gene therapy, explaining what it is, what it can do and where it’s going.
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It’s well established that human beings are social animals who thrive on making connections with others. But did you know that developing and maintaining nourishing relationships is just as vital to our health as eating a nutritious diet or taking regular exercise?
In this episode, we catch up with science writer David Robson to talk about his new book The Laws of Connection: 13 Social Strategies That Will Transform Your Life.
He tells us how human beings have evolved to crave shared experiences, how lending a helping hand to someone in need can improve our wellbeing and why we shouldn’t be so afraid of speaking to strangers.
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It’s a scene many of us will have experienced: we’re at the cinema, the lights go down, the film begins and then suddenly the person behind us starts rustling a packet of sweets or noisily chomping on popcorn.
For most of us this is merely an annoyance and after a while we’re able to tune the sounds out and concentrate on enjoying the cinematic experience. But for some, it can be unbearable and engender feelings of distress, anger and even panic. These people are experiencing misophonia.
In this episode, we catch up with Dr Jane Gregory, a clinical psychologist and author of the book Sounds Like Misophonia: How to Stop Small Noises from Causing Extreme Reactions.
She tells us what’s going on in our brains when we experience a misophonic reaction, how it can trigger our fight or flight response and why it’s surprisingly common.
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Finding alien life could be just around the corner. At least, that’s if the James Webb Space Telescope and other techniques help us discover their extraterrestrial homes. In this episode, astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger and author of new book Alien Earths: Planet Hunting in the Cosmos talks us through the ways she and her team are looking for these planets and the kinds of life they might hold.
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Why are we here? Where did we come from? What are we even made from? These must be some of deepest questions humans can ever ask. But that has never stopped scientists throughout the ages asking them.
In this episode we catch up with Professor Tim Coulson, a zoologist based at the University of Oxford to talk about his new book, The Universal History of Us: The science of why we exist.
He helps us trace the origins of human beings right back to the Big Bang and the beginning of the Universe itself and goes on to investigate whether our existence was inevitable thanks to the underpinning laws of nature or whether we were just extremely lucky.
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Addiction can be devastating not only for the addict themselves, but also for their loved ones and anyone around them. But what causes it, and how should we treat it?
According to Dr Elias Dakwar, a psychologist based at Colombia University, New York, we should be looking beyond the commonly held brain disease model of addiction and deeper into its philosophical or existential underpinnings.
In this episode, we speak to Dr Dakwar about the years of clinical research he outlines in his latest book The Captive Imagination: Addiction, reality and our search for meaning.
He tells us about his thinking on how addiction stems from our desire for happiness and feelings of meaningless, how it fits in with the notion of personal freedom, and details some of his work with clinical patients in treating addiction in new ways.
Warning: Recreational drug use can be dangerous to your health and possession of certain controlled substances in the UK can result in an unlimited fine, prison sentence or both. For more information visit talktofrank.com
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These days, pretty much every move we make online is tracked in one way or another. Whether it’s through our social media accounts or online shopping habits, algorithms are getting better at painting a picture of who we are and how we think. But why do we let this happen?
In this episode we catch up with science broadcaster and writer Timandra Harkness to talk about her new book, Technology is not the Problem.
She tells us how various online agencies keep tabs on us, whether we should be worried about it, and why sometimes it can be too hard to resist buying that expensive pair of shoes you keep getting ads for.
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Black holes are surely one of the most fascinating and mysterious phenomena in the known Universe. But few people know that the story behind their discovery, and the cast of dogged, often ignored scientists behind it, is just as interesting.
In this episode we catch up with the award-winning science writer and long-time BBC Science Focus contributor Marcus Chown. We talk about his new book A Crack in Everything: How black holes came in from the cold and took cosmic centre stage.
He takes us through the gripping story that saw black holes go from being a mere mathematical curiosity to one of the most talked about cosmic objects ever observed.
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We humans are never truly alone. This is because our bodies are colonised by vast numbers of microscopic organisms that can be found living everywhere from the surface of our skin to deep within our guts.
Collectively, this population of microbes is known as the human microbiome, and they play a key role in maintaining our health and wellbeing.
In this episode we catch up with Dr James Kinross, a colorectal surgeon and researcher based and Imperial College London and author of the new book Dark Matter: The new science of the microbiome.
He tells us about the fascinating ways that our microbiomes can impact our brain health, regulate our emotions and if we could ever use them to make an effective love potion.
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The existence of flight in the animal kingdom is something that many of us take for granted. But on closer inspection, it can perhaps be thought of as one of the miracles of nature.
In this episode we catch up with the writer Lev Parikian about his book Taking Flight: How animals learned to fly and transformed life on Earth, which was shortlisted for Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize.
He tells us about how flight has evolved independently in four separate groups of animals, how bats became the only mammals capable of powered flight, and how some birds ended up losing the ability to fly altogether.
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The internet is full of false facts and misinformation, but how can you tell what is real or fake? We spoke to Alex Edmans, author of May Contain Lies, who gives us tips on how to separate the real from the false.
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In the short time since its launch in 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope has produced some absolutely breathtaking images of the cosmos. And there’s much more to come.
In this episode I speak to the head of Space Science at the UK Space Agency Dr Caroline Harper about her new book Unseen Universe: New secrets of the cosmos revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope.
We talk about some of the highlights of the telescope has delivered so far, including incredibly detailed images of Jupiter, its Moon and some of the most distant stars and galaxies ever observed, how it can look for extra-terrestrial life on exoplanets, and also about some of the future space missions that Dr Harper is most excited about.
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Have you ever had a difficult decision to make and after much thought and deliberation decided that you should sleep on it and see how you feel in the morning? I’d venture most of us have at one point or another. But is there any science to back up this common habit?
In this episode, the second of a two-part series, I speak to neurosurgeon and bestselling author Rahul Jandial about his new book This is Why You Dream: What your sleeping brain reveals about your waking life.
We talk about the strange phenomenon of sleep paralysis, how the dreaming brain can work alongside the waking brain to help us solve problems, and what we can learn from the weird and wonderful phenomenon of lucid dreaming.
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The chances are most of us will remember at least one dream we’ve had recently. But where do dreams come from, why is their content often universal across different cultures, and what can we learn from studying nightmares?
In this episode, the first of a series of two, I speak to neurosurgeon and bestselling author Rahul Jandial about his new book This is Why You Dream: What your sleeping brain reveals about your waking life.
We talk about what’s going on in the different areas of our brains when we dream, how the dreaming brain differs from the waking brain, and the intimate links that exist between our emotions, imagination and ability to dream.
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If most of us hear the word ‘egg’ it’s likely our minds will immediately turn to the hens’ eggs that we enjoy fried, poached or scrambled for our breakfast.
But on closer inspection it turns out that the natural world is filled with all manner of different kinds of eggs that are as varied and fascinating as the animals that produce them. And what’s more, eggs have helped to shape life on Earth as much as life has shaped them.
In this episode I speak to zoologist and award-winning science writer Jules Howard about his new book Infinite Life: A Revolutionary Story of Eggs, Evolution and Life on Earth.
He tells us about the fascinating evolution of eggs over hundreds of millions of years, the strange and varied forms they’ve taken over all of this time, and how the story all began with jellyfish.
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Do you brush your teeth before you shower in the morning, or do you shower first? Perhaps you like to give yourself a pep talk in the bathroom mirror before you’re about to give an important presentation at work. Or maybe you always cook a particular meal on special occasions.
These are all examples of the personal rituals that many of us perform in our daily lives. But where do they come from, why are we so attached to them, and can they really help us to have a better day or make a more successful presentation?
In this episode I speak to Prof Michael Norton, a behavioural scientist based at Harvard University. He tells me about the fascinating discoveries he made while writing his new book The Ritual Effect: The Transformative Power of Our Everyday Actions.
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From the time that we are first developing in the womb right through until we are in our old age, the food we eat has a huge impact on our health and wellbeing.
But exactly what should we be feeding our infants, how do the dietary choices we make as adolescents affect us later in life and how can we approach nutrition as we age to make sure we stay healthy for as long as possible?
In this episode I speak to Dr Federica Amati, a medical scientist and head nutritionist at the ZOE project.
We talk about the latest thinking on nutritional science she outlines in her book Every Body Should Know This: The Science of Eating for a Lifetime of Health.
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Whether they’re triggered by looking through old family photographs, hearing a piece of music you haven’t heard for years or eating a favourite childhood snack, feelings of nostalgia often come flooding into our hearts and minds.
But what is going on in our brains when we have these feelings?
In this episode I catch up with writer and historian Dr Agnes Arnold-Forster a writer, author of the new book Nostalgia: A History of a Dangerous Emotion.
She tells us how this intriguing emotion has gone from being thought of as a deadly disease to being used as a therapy to treat degenerative cognitive conditions.
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We all forget things from time to time, it’s a normal part of everyday life. But according to the latest research in neuroscience, it is forgetting, not remembering that is the brain’s default action.
So why is this?
In this episode I speak to Prof Charan Ranganath, director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at UC Davis and author of the book Why We Remember: The Science of Memory and How it Shapes Us.
He tells us how memories form in our brains, how they are intimately linked to our emotions and imagination, and why we often walk into another room and forget why we went there in the first place.
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When it comes to thinking about sustainability, most of us usually keep our feet on the ground. But as we extend our reach beyond this small rocky planet and out into the solar system, is it time to think about how we use space sustainably too?
Our guest today is Aaron Boley, Associate Professor of astronomy and astrophysics at The University of British Columbia and co-author of Who Owns Space?: International Law, Astrophysics and the Sustainable development of space.
With hundreds of thousands of satellites planned for launch in the next few years, Aaron is warning that our orbital space is getting too crowded and could be heading for a dangerous point of no return.
Is there still time for us to learn from our mistakes down at ground level and build a sustainable future among the stars?
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There is little doubt that the advent of the computer has had one of the most far-reaching impacts of any invention in the history of mankind. These days, it’s difficult for most of us to imagine life without them. But building ever faster processors is becoming something of a challenge.
The solution to this could be quantum computers – machines so powerful they can tackle problems that would take even the biggest supercomputers we have today billions of years to solve.
In this episode I speak to Prof Winfried Hensinger, director of the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies.
We talk about his work on creating the world’s first large-scale quantum computer, how it works, and how quantum computers could help scientists do everything from breaking complex forms of encryption to creating innovative new medicines.
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We often hear about the importance of our immune system, but how can we maintain it and keep it healthy? The answer is easier than you might think. We spoke to Bobby Cherayil, the author of the new book The Logic Of Immunity, deciphering an enigma to learn more about the importance of a healthy immune system.
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Be it drank first thing in the morning, as an afternoon pick-me-up or to soothe our souls after hearing some bad news, we Brits love a cup of tea.
But over recent years, the traditional cup of black builders’ tea has found a new rival vying for our attention in cafés and on supermarket shelves – its more traditional cousin green tea.
Many people are making the change not for reasons of flavour but for its supposed health benefits. But is there any truth in this?
In this episode I speak to Justin Roberts, a professor of nutritional physiology based at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.
He tells us all about the nutritional content and potential health benefits we can gain from drinking this ancient beverage.
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For years researchers around the world have viewed the brain and body as separate entities, to be treated using different methods and even in different hospitals.
However, recent discoveries have turned this picture on its head. We now know that our brains and immune systems are intimately linked and have a huge influence on each other.
In this episode I speak to Dr Monty Lyman a medical doctor, researcher and author who studies the relationship between the mind and the immune system.
We talk about the latest science he outlines in his book The Immune Mind: The New Science of Health.
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Artificial Intelligence can seem scary, especially with rapid advancements, but what if it actually improves our future? We spoke to Nick Bostrum, a leading philosopher at the University of Oxford and author of the new book Deep Utopia to find out why AI could be a force for positive change.
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These days as many as 60 per cent of us are turning to the Internet or social media to get health advice. It’s a staggering number, especially when you consider the fact that literally anyone, regardless of their background or qualifications, can set up an account and start giving out lifestyle or dietary tips that can have a huge effect on our wellbeing.
In this episode I speak to Dr Idz, an NHS doctor with a background in nutritional research. He’s has made it his mission to fight the misinformation doled out on social media and provide scientifically accurate health advice. In doing so, he has racked up almost 2 million followers on TikTok and almost 300k on Instagram.
He tells us about some of the most common, and potentially dangerous, nutrition myths that abound on social media that he busts in his book Saturated Facts.
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Be it biology, psychology or philosophy, ageing and death are undoubtedly two of the most difficult concepts to tackle in any field of research, so where do we even begin?
In this episode I speak to Prof Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, a researcher based at Cambridge University’s MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, a former president of the Royal Society and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
We talk about the fascinating discoveries he outlines in his latest book Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortality.
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Do you ever find yourself in a meeting at work or in a social occasion and notice how someone in the room seems able to effortlessly and succinctly put their ideas across while also listening to others and giving them room to speak? Chances are that person is a supercommunicator.
In this episode I’m joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Charles Duhigg to talk about his book Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection.
He tells us how by asking deeper questions, listening correctly and approaching difficult conversations with an open mind we can all learn how to be better communicators.
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Do you experience sounds or music visually as certain shapes? Or perhaps you are able to ‘taste’ words or ‘hear’ colours.
If so, it sounds like you have synaesthesia, a neurological phenomenon that leads to some of us experiencing a merging of different senses that are not typically connected.
In this episode we catch up with Prof Jamie Ward, a psychologist and synaesthesia researcher based at the University of Sussex.
He tells us about the varying forms synaesthetic experiences can take, what we know about their impacts on cognition and creativity and how it’s likely that you’ve met a synaesthete without even realising it.
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Just about everywhere we look today, screens, and in particular social media, are being called addictive, and being blamed for causing mental health problems and damaging childhood development.
But does the evidence support this?
In today’s episode we catch up with Pete Etchells, professor of psychology and science communication at Bath Spa University and author of Unlocked: The real science of screen time.
Pete tells us why we need to redefine our relationship with technology and why social media, for all its ills, may not be as bad as we often make out.
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There’s no doubt new advances in science and technology are having a huge impact on the way we live our lives these days. From Big Data and artificial intelligence to genomics and wearable devices that track daily our activity.
Of course, medicine is no exception. All of these technological steps forward are pointing healthcare towards a coming era of personalised medicine that focusses more directly on the needs of the individual patient.
In this episode we speak to Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, David Weatherall Chair in Medicine at the University of Liverpool, NHS Chair of Pharmacogenetics, and a consultant physician at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
He tells us how advances in medical techniques such as genetic screening and a focus on patients’ differing reactions to treatment can go beyond a one-drug-fits-all approach to healthcare and even treat diseases before symptoms appear.
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For those of us on the outside, scientific discoveries can often appear to be neat, tidy and well thought out in advance. Theorists come up with a hypothesis on a chalkboard and then it’s up to the experimentalists to attempt to prove their theories right or wrong through observation. But this isn’t always the case, especially when it comes to astronomy.
In this episode we catch up with Chris Lintott, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford and a presenter on BBC’s Sky at Night to talk about his book Our Accidental Universe.
He tells us about the many unexpected discoveries astronomers have made almost by accident, and how with a bit of luck, and the right kind of eyes, the mysteries of the Universe are hiding in plain sight, just waiting to be discovered.
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Clouds aren’t just the harbingers of bad weather. Turns out, they are crucial players in the climate – and so, too, in climate change. In this episode we speak to climate scientist Dr Paulo Ceppi, who contributed to Greta Thunberg’s The Climate Book, to learn about how clouds change our world.
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There can be few animals that are as iconic and instantly recognisable as giraffes. But despite their unique, almost mystical appearance and enduring worldwide popularity, their numbers are dwindling. According to researchers, they are undergoing something known as a silent extinction.
In this episode we catch up with Dr Sam Penny, a conservationist and lecturer based at Bristol Zoological Society.
He tells us about the current thinking on the existence of not one but several different giraffe species, how they only have one remaining genetic relative, and goes on to talk about his own conservation work in Cameroon’s Benoue National Park.
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In the first quarter of 2024, infectious diseases including measles, plague, and cholera have all reared their ugly heads again. Are we seeing an unprecedented level of disease re-emergence? Why do they come back? And what would it take for another Black Death to happen? To find out, we spoke to Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine at UEA’s Norwich Medical School.
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Do you often find yourself worrying that people are talking about you behind your back? If so, don’t worry: according to our guest, Prof Daniel Freeman, it’s an extremely common thought pattern – and one you can easily break free from.
Daniel is a Professor of Psychology at Oxford University and author of new book Paranoia: A Psychologist’s Journey Into Extreme Mistrust and Anxiety. In this episode, he explains the link between paranoia and social anxiety, exactly how to tell how paranoid you are – and simple strategies to build self-esteem and reduce your social paranoia.
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Are you feeling demotivated and aimless and struggling to figure out why? If so, it sounds like you might be languishing – a term used to describe the epidemic of listlessness that has spread across the globe in recent years.
In this episode we speak to Dr Corey Keyes, author of Languishing: How to Feel Alive Again in a World That Wears Us Down.
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The placebo effect is a seemingly wonderful experience, healing people with no apparent cure - but how does it really work? We spoke to Jeremy Howick, an epidemiologist and author of the new book The Power of Placebos to find out.
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We all have a breaking point. But how close we come to it – and how we cope – comes down to our unique blend of genetics and life experiences. In this episode, we speak to health psychologist Prof Vincent Deary about how we’re adapted to get through with tough times, the physiological processes at work when we’re struggling, and how to build yourself back and recover from fatigue.
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It's easy to try to ignore feelings of boredom, but it can actually be trying to tell you something. We spoke to James Danckert, a professor of cognitive neuroscience to find out more about this strange feeling.
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From birdsong to wolf howls, from dolphins’ clicks and whistles to gibbons’ whoops and wows, the natural world is filled with a myriad of animal vocalisations that are as varied as they are numerous. But what is their purpose? How did they evolve? And will we ever be able to understand them?
In this episode we catch up with Dr Arik Kershenbaum, a zoologist based at the University of Cambridge and author of the new book Why Animals Talk.
He tells us why some animals are chattier than others, how wolves have regional accents and how dolphins give themselves names.
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Coffee is a drink favoured by billions of people around the world, but doing it right isn't easy.
We spoke to Christopher Hendon, a computational materials chemist and coffee expert from the University of Oregon.
He talks us through how to make great coffee at home, where to spend your money, and debunks the myths of the coffee world.
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Laughter is a fundamental part of our lives, but why do we do it? We spoke to Sophie Scott, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University College London to better understand why and how we laugh.
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Whether it’s from reading Beatrix Potter’s Mrs Tiggy-Winkle or from encounters in our own gardens, many of us have a special place in our hearts for hedgehogs. But sadly, the charismatic mammals are having a bit of a hard time of late, with their numbers declining across the globe. So, what can we do to help them?
In this episode we catch up with Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen, a research associate at WildCRU, at the University of Oxford, or as she is otherwise known Dr Hedgehog.
She tells us about the current state of hedgehog conservation, what she’s learnt from many years of studying them and how we can make our gardens more hedgehog friendly.
To find more about her work studying hedgehogs, follow her on Facebook.
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Chances are, many of us will have tried to drop a few pounds at some point in our lives. And it’s likely that to do so we will have cut down on the amount of calories we are consuming, exercised a bit more and relied on willpower to stop ourselves reaching for the biscuit tin, bag of crisps or can of fizzy drink. But is there a more effective method?
In this episode we catch up with Dr Andrew Jenkinson, a bariatric surgeon based at University College London Hospital and author of the book How to Eat Well (And Still Lose Weight).
He tells us how our brains are hard-wired to crave salty, fatty, sugary foods and how gaining a better understanding of our biology can help us to turn our unhealthy eating patterns into healthy ones, for good.
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Since their first appearance on our supermarket shelves several decades ago, avocados have gone from being a mere exotic curiosity to a regular feature on many millennials’ breakfast tables. But how has this happened and what does it mean for our diets, the food industry and the environment?
In this episode we speak to Honor May Eldridge, a food and farming expert and author of the book The Avocado Debate. She tells us about the avocado’s fascinating journey from everyday staple in traditional South and Central American cuisine to western superfood, how nutritious the fruit really is and whether or not we should feel guilty for eating smashed avocado on toast?
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How can we rearrange our lives to get a bit more energy? In her new book Pace Yourself: How to have energy in an exhausting world, Amy Arthur traces the latest science that can help you find the right pace in every aspect of your life to make your day-to-day a little less exhausting.
This episode, Amy talks us through surprising insights like why having toast for breakfast may not be the best start to your day, warning signs for spotting when you’re close to exhaustion, and her top tips for protecting your energy.
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UFOs, tarot cards, and ghostly figures. The paranormal world is all around us, but how can the unexplainable be explained? We spoke to Chris French, the head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London to find out more about the world of the paranormal.
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In our short history of space exploration, humans have already changed the Moon significantly. From the cultural heritage of our first footprints to the damage caused by spacecraft crashes, our presence is almost frozen in time in the Moon’s dusty regolith. Now, researchers are arguing for the formalisation of a new epoch on the Moon: the lunar Anthropocene. This epoch, they argue, began in 1959 with Russia’s Luna 2 spacecraft becoming the first ever to land on the Moon. We spoke to one of the researchers, space archaeologist Dr Justin Holcomb at the University of Kansas in the US, to learn more.
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It’s a feeling most of us will have experienced at some point: you arrive at work in the morning and open your email client only to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of unread messages staring back at you.
In this episode we catch up with Dr Emma Russell, a psychologist based at the University of Sussex.
She tells us about the far-reaching effects dealing with a constant stream of emails can have on our mental health, why some of us are more prone to these negative effects than others, and how we can take back control.
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Could you ever take a pill that actually prevents ageing? If we’re lucky, absolutely. In fact, such a pill might be available within the next decade. That’s according to our guest today Andrew Steele, the author of Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old.
In this episode, the second and final of our anti-ageing specials, Andrew unpacks the most promising longevity drugs currently being trialled.
If you haven’t done so already, check out part one of this series, where Andrew explains the simple lifestyle changes that can slow, stop and potentially reverse your biological age.
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How would you like to slow, stop or even reverse your body’s ageing? Although that might sound like science fiction, a growing body of research suggests that ageing isn’t inevitable, that you can control a large proportion of how you age.
How exactly? That’s just what we’ll be unpacking across two episodes with guest Andrew Steele, the author of Ageless: The new science of getting older without getting old. In this first part of our anti-ageing special, we’ll go through how to assess your own biological age, and how to slow it with several simple lifestyle changes.
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Great mountains, beautiful movies and moments to appreciate life in all its glory. These are all experiences that make us feel a sense of awe, but what actually is awe, why do we feel this emotion and is it good for you? We spoke to Dacher Keltner, a leading psychology professor and author the book Awe: The New Science Of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life to find out.
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Many of us will have experienced a ringing or whining noise in our ears at some point, perhaps after going to a concert or working a long shift in a loud environment. But for some, the ringing sound never stops. These people have something know as tinnitus.
In this episode we catch up with Dr Lucy Handscomb, a lecturer in audiology at University College London’s Ear Insitute.
She tells us what’s going on in our bodies when we hear these mysterious sounds, the impact they can have on our lives and what we can do to lessen their effect.
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A staggering 415 million people around the world today are living with diabetes, with almost half of those cases undiagnosed. In fact, it’s perfectly possible for a person to have type 2 diabetes for decades without knowing it.
This may sound scary, but recent research has suggested that type 2 diabetes is not only easily preventable but also reversible. How exactly? Our guest today, Dr Jason Fung, will explain all. Sometimes called the inventor of intermittent fasting, Jason is the author of The Diabetes Code: Prevent and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally, and The Diabetes Code Journal.
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When you hear the word ‘horse’ do you find it difficult to conjure up a mental image of what a horse looks like? If so, it sounds like you’re an aphantasiac.
Those with aphantasia have no ‘mind’s eye’ and are unable to form visual imagery in their heads. So how do they think, how do they remember events, and do they even have an imagination?
In this episode we catch up with Professor Julia Simner, a neuropsychologist based at the University of Sussex. She answers these questions and more and share with us her own experiences as an aphantasiac.
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At this time of year most of us will likely be a little concerned about piling on a few pounds after overindulging in food and drink over the holidays. But what is happening in our bodies when gain a bit of extra insulation? Why is fat more likely to be stored in certain places, are all types of bodyfat the same, and are some people really more prone to gain weight than others?
In this episode we catch up with Dr Rebecca Dumbell, a researcher based at Nottingham Trent University’s School of Science and Technology.
She tells us all about the different properties of the fats we consume, how body fat comes in different forms and what we should be doing if we want to shift that troublesome spare tyre.
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The climate is notoriously unpredictable and hard to plan for, but can and should we try to understand its future, or simply prepare for what is to come. We spoke to leading climate scientist David Stainforth to find out.
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What happens after we die is one of the biggest questions we ask. Over centuries it’s been asked not only by scientists, but by philosophers, theologists and laymen alike. But how on Earth do we go about studying it? Could near-death experiences provide us with an answer?
In this episode we catch up with Dr Neil Dagnall, a cognitive and parapsychological researcher based at Manchester Metropolitan University.
He tells us all about the long and storied history of near-death experiences, the wide-ranging nature of their content and what we know about what is occurring in our brains when we are having one.
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The Royal Institution has been putting on the science spectacles for children known as the Christmas Lectures almost every year since 1825. For 200 years, the shows have inspired young science lovers in subjects sweeping from chemistry and astronomy through to psychology and climate change. This year, they turn to artificial intelligence. Delivering the 2023 Christmas Lecture is Mike Wooldridge, professor of computer science at the University of Oxford. In this episode, Mike gives us a sneak peak at his take on the lecture’s iconic use of props – plus an insight into how he thinks AI is going to change the world for children.
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In this episode, we hear about Chris Packham’s guide to saving the planet. Think of the most iconic creature in the world. Now put that creature into its natural habitat, and imagine all the ways it connects with other parts of the sprawling web of life. You’re now thinking of nature as we should be thinking about it, according to the biologist and presenter – who has written the foreword for a new book called Habitats.
In this episode, we spoke to Chris about his top tips for making the most of nature, a close encounter with a baboon, and what he thinks about COP28. Chris even gives us a peak at some childhood memorabilia that reveals what he wanted to be before he became a biologist.
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Never mind so-called molecular gastronomy. Even without Michelin-Starred chefs’ use of spherification, sous vide and meat glues, there’s more than enough science going on in the kitchen to get your teeth into.
In this episode we catch up with George Vekinis, a research director and former head of the education office at the National Centre for Scientific Research, in Athens, Greece.
He tells us all about how his two lifelong passions, science and cooking, led him to write his new book Physics in the Kitchen, why food often tastes better the day after it’s cooked, and breaks down his method of cooking the perfect steak.
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Whether its jumping out of planes or climbing giant mountains, some people live for the thrill. But are their brains different and can you become a thrill seeker? We spoke to Brendan Walker, a thrill engineer and expert in all things exhilarating to find out.
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Why do so many of us find babies, kittens and puppies so cute? How did the now-widespread Japanese notion of kawaii end up transcending cultural boundaries? And can cute things help us with our mental health?
To answer these questions and more, we catch up with Joshua Paul Dale, a professor of American literature and culture based at Chuo University in Tokyo.
He tells us all about his pioneering work in the field of cute studies and his new book Irresistible: How Cuteness Wired our Brains and Conquered the World.
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Do you ever find yourself going about your daily business when suddenly an unpleasant thought pops into your head? These are known as intrusive thoughts. The majority of us experience them without any ill effects. However, for some people they can be highly distressing.
In this episode we catch up with Dr Scott Cairney, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of York.
He tells us all about what is going on in our brains when we have intrusive thoughts, what we can do to limit their impact on our lives and the connection they have to sleep.
To take part in a short survey related to sleep and intrusive thoughts produced by Scott and his team, please click here.
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These days, largely thanks to science fiction movies, most of us will be familiar with the idea of black holes – regions of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape it. But what about white holes?
In this episode we catch up with theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli, author of the book White Holes: Inside the Horizon.
He tells us all about his ground-breaking work investigating what is happening inside black holes, how they can give birth to white holes and how white holes may be the best candidate for dark matter yet.
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Whether its from work, home life or just general pressure, more and more people are suffering from burnout. But what is it, and how can you beat it? We spoke to Sarah Boss, clinical director at The Balance to find out.
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In October, Kew Gardens released a report inspired by a dream of Charles Darwin’s. Described as the most comprehensive plant database ever produced, the State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2023 report not only details the discoveries of over 18,000 new plant and fungi species since 2020 – but also the fact that many of these are already threatened with extinction. We spoke to one of the scientists behind the report – Dr Matilda Brown, conservation science analyst at RGB Kew – to learn more about why plants are disappearing all over the world and what we can do to save them.
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There can be few animals as iconic and instantly recognisable as pandas. The black and white bears are beloved the world over thanks to their distinctive appearance, entertaining personalities and relative scarcity.
In this episode we catch up with Kristine Gandia a researcher based at the University of Sterling. She tells us what she has learnt during her time observing and studying these fascinating animals.
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Sougwen Chung is one of the TIMES 100 most influential people in AI. Through the use of AI, robotics and other forms of futuristic tech, she creates mindblowing artwork. But how does she do it, what are the ethical considerations and where does she see art going in the future?
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Around a decade ago, beavers were spotted in the rivers of southwest England for the first time in 400 years. But exactly what impact have they made on the waterways they live in during this time?
In this episode we speak to Prof Richard Brazier, a researcher based at the University of Exeter and co-director of the Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste.
He tells us what he and his team have learned from studying these charismatic and often misunderstood animals over the last ten years, and how they provide a compelling argument for the reintroduction of other species.
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Not all failures are equal. In fact, some of them can present us with valuable opportunities to learn new things and make new discoveries. The trick is failing in the right way.
In this episode we catch up with Amy Edmondson, Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School and author of the book The Right Kind of Wrong: Why Learning to Fail Can Teach us to Thrive.
She tells us how to identify different types of failure, how we can examine their causes and how we can learn to fail better to make our lives richer and more rewarding.
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Future human races may indeed live extra-terrestrial lives. But how will we reproduce and continue survival once we’re in space? To find out, we spoke to space gynaecologist – yes, you read that right – Dr Varsha Jain from the University of Edinburgh. We cover everything from the myths about women’s bodies in space that stopped them being allowed on the early missions, right through to the impacts of space on a pregnancy, and the future of space babies.
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Artificial intelligence has grown drastically in recent years, entering everything from art to medicine. We talk to Nigel Cannings, an expert in artificial intelligence to better understand the ethics behind AI and copyright, working rights and energy consumption.
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When it comes to the climate crisis, energy is one of the biggest and most complex topics. To help us break it down into something more manageable, we spoke to engineer Dr Bart Kolodziejczyk from Monash University in Australia. (Bart has advised everyone from the UN to the World Economic Forum on clean energy technologies).
In this episode, Bart tells us about the surprising energy transition that he predicts will happen after renewables, the research he’s working on that could reduce global carbon emissions by a whopping 10 per cent, and what you can do to help transition our energy towards a sustainable future.
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If we learnt anything from the COVID-19 pandemic it was that, as a society, we owe a huge debt to the scientists around the world that work, day in, day out, on developing medicines to keep us healthy and to fight disease. But how does this process work?
In this episode we catch up with Prof Simon Ward, Director of the Medicines Discovery Institute at Cardiff University.
He tells us about the journey a new medicine has to take, starting from its initial inception in the lab, through various rigorous clinical trials before it can finally be used in clinics and hospitals around the world to save lives.
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We humans depend on the Earth’s natural resources for our very existence so it’s vital that we take as good care of them as we can. However, it’s abundantly clear that the environment isn’t in great shape at the moment.
In this special six-part series we explore the different factors affecting the sustainability of our natural resources, investigate what their current state is and discuss what we could be doing to take better care of them.
And in this episode, we’re delving into the biggest myths of biodegradability, which itself is actually a rather misleading term. To debunk the biggest biodegradability mistruths we’re joined by Mark Miodownik, a professor of materials science at University College London, and author of Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World.
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We humans depend on the Earth’s natural resources for our very existence so it’s vital that we take as good care of them as we can.
However, it’s abundantly clear that the environment isn’t in great shape at the moment.
In this special six-part series we explore the different factors affecting the sustainability of our natural resources, investigate what their current state is and discuss what we could be doing to take better care of them.
Smart materials are a tool that have grown in popularity in recent years. Able to change properties back and forth, these materials can be used to revolutionise everything from the clothing industry to the buildings that we live in, making our world both smarter and more sustainable.
We’re joined by Anna Ploszajski, a material scientist and writer to find out more about these materials. She guides us through shape-shifting clothes, heat-absorbing roof tiles and everything in-between.
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We humans depend on the Earth’s natural resources for our very existence so it’s vital that we take as good care of them as we can. However, it’s abundantly clear that the environment isn’t in great shape at the moment.
In this special six-part series we explore the different factors affecting the sustainability of our natural resources, investigate what their current state is and discuss what we could be doing to take better care of them.
Thanks to its ease of manufacture, versatility and durability plastic can be used for making everything from packaging and building materials to children’s toys and clothing. But the material’s great success comes with an equally big downside – how do we dispose of it once we are finishing using it?
In this episode we catch up with Dr Costas Vellis, a lecturer in resource efficiency systems at the University of Leeds. He tells us how widespread plastic pollution is, how we have reached this point and what we can do to solve the problem.
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Like it or not, food plays a central role in all of our lives. It’s so important that whole societies and economies have formed around it, wars are fought over it, and, now, the way we consume it is having profound impacts on the planet. So just how stable are the food systems on which most of us depend?
In this episode, Prof Tim Benton, research director at Chatham House, joins the podcast to talk about food security. Tim has been working on issues in food, ecology, biodiversity, sustainability for 30 years.
We humans depend on the Earth’s natural resources for our very existence, so it’s vital that we take as good care of them as we can. However, it’s abundantly clear that the environment isn’t in great shape at the moment. In this special six-part series we explore the different factors affecting the sustainability of our natural resources, investigate what their current state is, and discuss what we could be doing to take better care of them.
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Most of us are aware that an asteroid strike led to the extinction of the dinosaurs some 66 million years ago. But fewer are aware that this was just one of several mass extinction events to have occurred throughout the Earth’s history.
In this episode we catch up Prof Michael Benton, a palaeontologist based at the University of Bristol and author of the new book Extinctions: How Life Survives, Adapts and Evolves.
He tells us all about the previous extinctions that have changed the balance of life on Earth, how they happened and what we can learn about the future of the planet by studying them.
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What’s beyond our Universe? Will time travel ever be possible? And what might aliens look like? All huge questions that today we’re asking a special guest, Neil DeGrasse Tyson – astrophysicist and author of the new book To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery.
In a wide-ranging conversation, DeGrasse Tyson unpacks the biggest scientific mysteries of our Universe, from whether space is really empty, to if humans are actually smart enough to make sense of the cosmos.
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Why is it that cats sleep so much? Can they be taught any tricks? And are dogs actually smarter than cats? These are just some of the questions you might have wondered about our feline friends, questions we’re putting to Dr Zazie Todd.
Todd is a dog and cat behaviour expert and is the author of Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy. In this episode, she unpacks the most misunderstood cat body language, the science behind making a cat like you, and the simple things you can do to upgrade a cat’s life.
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Lose weight, gain more energy, boost your metabolism and even live for longer: these are some of the claims made by the adherents of fasting and time-restricted eating. But was does the science say?
In this episode we catch up with Prof Javier Gonzalez, a physiologist based at the University of Bath’s Department of Health.
He tells us all about the effects fasting has on our bodies and brains, breaks down some of the myths surrounding it and tells us the safest way we should go about it if we’re thinking about giving it a try.
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Are we alone in the Universe? It’s probably one of the most hotly debated questions in science today.
In this episode we catch up with theoretical physicist Prof Avi Loeb, author of the new book Interstellar – The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and our Future Beyond Earth.
He talks to us about the tantalising possibility that we have already observed alien technology travelling through space, why we should be doing more to look for it and what he found on his recent expedition to retrieve Interstellar material from the depths of the Pacific Ocean.
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Mere mention of the word ‘testosterone’ is likely to bring to mind images of bodybuilders with bulging muscles or angry, aggressive men that are constantly spoiling for a fight. But what does the science really say?
In this episode we catch up with Dr Channa Jayasena, an endocrinologist based at Imperial College London. He helps us to break down some of the myths surrounding this often-misunderstood hormone.
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When an animal is extinct that means we’ll never see the likes of it again, right? Well, not quite. Not if biotechnology and genetic engineering company Colossal Biosciences have anything to say about. A few years ago the company launched with the bold aim of bringing animals such as woolly mammoths, dodos and Tasmanian Tigers back from extinction.
In this episode we catch up with Ben Lamm, founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences. He tells us all about how the ambitious project got started, how they plan to bring back extinct animals and why we might being seeing baby mammoths sooner than we think.
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From picking out what to wear in the morning, to choosing your profession or where to live, life is full of decisions, both big and small. But what can science do to help us make better choices?
In this episode we catch up with Prof Sherheryar Banuri, a behavioural economist based at the University of East Anglia and author of the new book The Decisive Mind: how to Make the Right Choice Every Time.
He talks to us about how even the smallest of decisions can have a huge impact on our lives, the traps we should look out for when making decisions and the simple changes we can make in our lives to make better choices.
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According to the World Health Organization, dementia currently affects an estimated 55 million people worldwide. But despite its prevalence, there is very little in the way of effective treatments.
In this episode we catch up with Tara Spires-Jones, Professor at the UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh and President of the British Neuroscience Association.
She tells us all about the different types of dementia, how they progress and the latest thinking on how we can beat the disease once and for all.
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AI, deepfakes and advanced technology has made scams more advanced than ever. We spoke to Oli Buckley, a professor of cyber security at the University of East Anglia to learn what these scams look like and how to avoid them.
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Do you consider yourself to have a good memory? Perhaps you can recall the minor details of events that occurred years ago. But how about remembering something that didn’t even happen? This is known as a false memory, and we all have them.
In this episode we catch up with Dr Julia Shaw, a psychologist at University College London and author of The Memory Illusion. She tells us all about the ways in which false memories can trick our brains and how it is even possible to implant a false memory into a person’s head.
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We’ve all heard of ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. But there’s actually a lot scientists don’t for sure know about the condition. From its causes, to what actually defines the disorder – or if it’s a disorder at all – is all hotly debated.
To guide us through the latest ADHD research, we’re joined by one of the world’s biggest experts on the topic, Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke. He’s professor of Developmental Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience at King’s College London.
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Artificial intelligence has a new role. It is acting as people’s friends, mentors and even romantic partners. But what are the ethics of this, and is it what we can expect in the future? We spoke to Marco Dehnert, an expert in human-machine relationships to understand more.
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We now know that the deep sea is full of bizarre creatures, and these have found a special place in our imaginations. But some people have their eyes on a different sort of ocean riches: the rare minerals and metals embedded in underwater mountains and rocks for use in everything from phones to electric cars. At the time of recording, representatives from countries around the world have just decided to delay a decision on deep sea mining laws by two years. So what’s the deal with the seabed, and why is everyone talking about it right now?
Marine biologist Dr Helen Scales joins us for today’s podcast to talk about deep sea mining, the lures of the ocean’s resources, and the fine balance between exploration and exploitation.
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If you’re looking to lose a bit of weight, it’s easy to get lost in the complex and often contradictory health advice you can find online, from the fad diets, to the extreme exercise regimes.
But what actually works? To answer this and much more, we’re joined by Dr Adam Collins, Associate Professor of Nutrition at the University of Surrey. He unpacks the science-backed core principles of weight loss, why losing muscle alongside fat can be an issue, and what actually happens in your body during a calorie deficit.
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Do you ever feel like a fraud in your everyday life, and everyone’s about to find out you don’t really belong? If so, you’ve likely experience imposter syndrome – a pattern of self-doubt that persists despite all your accomplishments.
Why is it these feelings emerge? And can a person actually be cured of imposter syndrome? To answer these questions and much more, we’re joined by Dr Jessamy Hibberd, Clinical Psychologist and author of book The Imposter Cure: How to stop feeling like a fraud and escape the mind-trap of imposter syndrome.
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Last month saw the hottest June on record – and, while July has seen heavy downpours in the UK, much of Europe and the US experienced life-threatening heatwaves.
As things heat up, aquifers shrivel – and London’s 90-day supply of water means the city is never far from its taps running dry. That’s Day Zero: a benchmark that several cities around the world have come alarmingly close to – or, in some cases, even reached – in the last decade. But what happens when that day comes?
In today’s episode we speak to Professor Priti Parikh, infrastructure engineer at University College London, about the looming threat of Day Zero and how household tricks all the way national innovations can offer promising solutions.
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A recent study found that nearly 50 per cent of adults in the UK reported having feelings of loneliness, at least occasionally. It’s a fairly shocking stat, but what effect is this having on our collective health?
In this episode we catch up Prof Andrea Wigfield, director of the Centre for Loneliness Studies at Sheffield Hallam University. She tells about the different types of loneliness we can feel, the risks it poses to our mental and physical health and what we can do to limit its impact.
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Octopuses are surely one of the most unusual animals on Earth. They have eight limbs, three hearts, a doughnut-shaped brain and bleed blue blood. It’s little wonder, then, that they have inspired awe and curiosity in everyone from artists and filmmakers to biologists and science fiction writers.
In this episode we catch up David Scheel, professor of marine biology at Alaska Pacific University. He tells us what he has learned in his 25 years of studying these fascinating animals, and what new discoveries he made when writing his book, Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses.
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Would you call yourself a bit of a hugger? Or does the mere thought of a stranger brushing past you in a cafe make your skin crawl? When it comes to being touched, we all have our own attitudes and opinions. But what can science tell us about this understudied and often misunderstood sense?
In this episode we catch up with Prof Michael Banissy, a social neuroscientist based at Goldsmiths University in London and author of the new book When we Touch.
He tells us all about the fascinating discoveries he has made about everything from the effects of mother’s skin-to-skin contact on a new born’s growth and development to the boost in performance sports team’s get when they regularly hit high fives.
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This week, we’re talking about allergies. Everything from hay-fever to serious nut allergies plague our daily life, but why do we get them?
I’m joined by Theresa Macphail, to discuss this topic. She’s the author of the new book Allergic: How our immune system reacts to a changing world.
She explains what allergies are, why some are more dangerous than others, and whether there is a possible future where we no longer have to worry about allergies.
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For many, working only four days a week – and enjoying a longer weekend – might sound like a pipe dream: However, some workplaces are now experimenting with just that. 61 UK companies recently piloted a four-day workweek, with above 90 per cent of them continuing the scheme after the six-month trial.
What impact does a four-day workweek have on a person’s productivity, mental health and physical wellbeing? And are there many drawbacks to working less? To answer this and much more, we’re joined by Alex Pang, productivity researcher, author of Work Less, Do More and programme director at non-profit organisation 4 Day Week Global.
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Even before the global COVID pandemic, simple mention of the word ‘virus’ was likely to send shivers down most of our spines. But it turns out not all viruses are nasties. Ever heard of a phage? They are a type of virus that infect bacteria. Despite being one of the most common forms of life on Earth we still only know very little about them. However, current research suggests they may just be one of our greatest allies in the fight against superbugs.
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As the UK builds more nuclear reactors, there is an increasing pressure to find somewhere to put the waste. But what actually is nuclear waste? Does it actually look like a bright green sludge? Where does currently go? To answer these questions I’m joined by Dr Lewis Blackburn, nuclear materials scientist at the University of Sheffield. He talks about the incredible research going into sealing, burying and locking away nuclear waste, the relationship between nuclear and space (and why we can’t just fire off our nuclear waste on a rocket), and the vast timescales when it comes to nuclear waste that go beyond human lives, including the people working on them.
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Whether your goal is mastering a new skill or losing weight, you’ll know the importance of motivation and effective planning. And one intriguing new field of psychology called Functional imagery training may help here.
As an increasing number of compelling studies show, vividly visualising attaining your goal and the road bumps along the way could leave you better motivated when setbacks occur. That’s why functional imagery training is now being used by athletes and the military.
How does it work? And how promising are the results? We speak to Dr Jon Rhodes, lecturer in psychology at the University of Plymouth, to find out.
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From kimchi to kombucha to kefir, you’ve probably noticed that fermented foods are trendy right now. They appeal to the daring, but also to people who may not even know they are eating fermented foods when they enjoy their beer, bread, and cheese. In fact, these fermented goodies have actually been around for hundreds of years – but what actually are they, and why do we like them?
This week, I’m joined by Andrea Sella – a professor of chemistry at University College London and a keen fermenter. Speaking to Andrea behind the scenes of the Cheltenham Science Festival, we discussed the importance of sugars to creating and digesting food, why and how we overcome disgust responses to get pleasure out of fermented foods, and how new fermentation techniques could help us lower our greenhouse gas emissions – along with some chemist’s tips for creating delicious fermented meals.
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Thinking about retiring? Or maybe someone in your family is. Hopefully, we’ll all reach the age where we can at some point. But how can we navigate it in good mental and physical health, for ourselves and our loved ones?
In this episode we speak to Tania Wiseman, associate professor of occupational therapy at Swansea University.
She runs us through what can happen to us when we retire and how to best cope with it.
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At our core, humans are deeply curious about the unknown – and ghostly spirits are no exception. From Hamlet to The Sixth Sense to Ghostbusters, the excitement or horror of encountering ghosts or spirits is ingrained in the human imagination. But for many people it’s very real: for people who feel someone’s presence who isn’t there, or see someone or something, or hear voices.
In this episode of Instant Genius, we spoke to psychologist Ben Alderson-Day ahead of the Cheltenham Science Festival about why some of us believe in ghosts, science mediums and psychological disorders, and what makes someone more likely to feel presences.
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Be it in the office or at home, it’s likely there’s at least one narcissist in your life. But what exactly are the key traits of narcissism? Are narcissists necessarily bad people? And how can you tell if you’re one?
To answer these questions and much more, we’re joined by Dr Erica Hepper, lecturer in psychology at the University of Surrey. She also unpacks the key misconceptions about narcissism, its causes, and whether narcissists can ever change their behaviour.
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Currently only 14 per cent of UK rivers are rated as having a ‘good’ ecological status. Agricultural runoff and the release of untreated sewage are the leading causes of water pollution. But why are rivers in such a bad way and what can we do about it?
In this episode we speak to Dr Tanja Radu, senior lecturer in water engineering at Loughborough University. She tells us how we’ve reached this point in river pollution, the risk it poses to human health and what we can do to set things right.
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In this episode we speak to Thomas Curran, Assistant Professor of Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at the London School of Economics and author of The Perfection Trap – The Power of Good Enough in a World that Always wants more.
He tells us why perfectionism is on the rise, why that’s a bad thing and what we can do about it.
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You may have heard the phrase ‘we know more about the moon than the deep sea’ – it’s now an old phrase, dating back to 1948. In fact, we actually know quite a bit more about the ocean than you might think – which physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski shows in her new book Blue Machine. But it’s still full mysteries, and that’s why Helen says that the secrets of the moon and the ocean are incomparable, because when it comes to the ocean there is just so much more to know, and we urgently need to uncover more.
In this episode we speak to Helen about some of the secrets hidden – and found – in the ocean’s currents, including shipwrecks and missing planes, what we’ve learned from rubber ducks and Finding Nemo, and the swirling currents in underwater rivers and waterfalls.
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In this episode we speak to Alexandra Horowitz, professor of canine cognition at Barnard College, Columbia University and author of Inside of a Dog – What Dogs, See, Smell and Know.
She tells us what your dog is trying to tell you when they stare at you, what causes them to tilt their heads from side to side and why so many of them seem to like rolling in poo.
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It goes without saying that breasts get a lot of attention. But less focus is given to the science behind them: why do we have them? Why are they all different, and does it matter? What happens when things go wrong?
GP and author Dr Philippa Kaye is out to change that in her latest book, Breasts: An Owner’s Guide. In today’s podcast she tells us about the science of human breasts, the benefits – and costs – of having them, current research in breast cancer and sports, and how to take care of yours.
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From HG Well’s The Time Machine, to Doctor Who and Back to the Future, time travel has become a beloved staple of science fiction. But will humans ever actually be able to jump through time? According to physics, quite possibly.
To explain this today, we’re joined by Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist and author of the new book The Known Unknowns: The Unsolved Mysteries of the Cosmos. He delves into the strangest theories of time travel, time tourism, and also what most time travel movies get wrong.
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Want to get better at interpreting body language? Well, most books on the topic are unlikely to help you. At least, that’s the argument of Geoff Beattie, professor of psychology at Edge Hill University.
He claims that most stereotypes of non-verbal communication, be it defensive arm-crossing or nervous hair twiddling, are vastly misunderstood. In this episode, Beattie unpacks these body language myths – and also explains science worth paying attention to.
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Artificial intelligence has seeped into the art world, creating incredible paintings, winning art competitions, and turning amateurs into Picasso. But how does it work, and can it really replace artists? We spoke to Ahmed Elgammal, a professor of computer science at Rutgers University to find out.
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Ever had an ‘aha’ moment? The point where your thoughts somehow finally coalesce into a revelation? Or have you ever wondered where your creative impulses come from and how they’re formed?
In this episode we speak to Hilde Ostby, author of the book The Key to Creativity, the Science Behind Ideas and How Day Dreaming Can Change the World. She tells us about nature of creativity, where it comes from and how we can nurture it in our own lives.
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Have you ever struggled to put that packet of biscuits back in the cupboard after opening them? Or found yourself dialling for your favourite takeaway more often than you’d really like to? If so, it sounds like you’ve been under the influence of ultra-processed food. But what exactly are they and what are they doing to our bodies when we consume them?
In this episode I speak to Dr Chris van Tulleken, BBC TV presenter and infectious diseases doctor based at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. He tells me about the surprising discoveries he made about UPF when writing his latest book – Ultra-Processed People - Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop?
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As space travel becomes more common, questions are being raised over laws in space, how it will be split up amongst countries and even the risk of potential star wars. We spoke to author Tim Marshall to find out about the future of space politics.
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Out-of-body experiences have long fascinated humans, with accounts of people feeling as if they’ve floated above their own bodies going back thousands of years. But what causes them? Intriguing new findings by neuroscientists could provide some answers.
One such researcher is Dr Jane Aspell, head of the Self and Body lab at Anglia Ruskin University. She joins us to explain what happens in the brain during an out-of-body experience – and how virtual reality and the metaverse can replicate these events.
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About 1 in 10 people in the UK have dyslexia, which is a neurological difference that can result in difficulties learning to read and write. But what exactly causes it? Scientists aren’t in full agreement, but our guest this episode – Professor Usha Goswami, a leading neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge – poses one intriguing theory.
Her work so far suggests that dyslexia is not a visual disorder, but rather a difference in how sound and rhythm are processed in the brain. She joins us to explain all.
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In the not too distant future, we could all be wearing wearables that scan our brain waves, understanding how we feel, think and act. Before then, author Nita Farahany argues that we need to rethink our rules to privacy to include our brains.
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Hay fever is something huge parts of the population deal with every year, but what actually causes it, is it genetic and is it something that is faced all over the world? We spoke to Dr Sam White, a senior lecturer of immunology and genetics at Nottingham Trent University to find out more about this common issue.
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The idea of the multiverse, a hypothetical group of coexisting multiple universes, has long been a staple of science fiction books and movies but the theory is actually grounded in bona fide science. It has been gathering momentum amongst cosmologists for several decades but what exactly does the theory say and what evidence is there to back it up?
In this episode, we’re joined by the Astronomer Royal and fellow of Trinity College Cambridge, Lord Martin Rees. He tells us about his thoughts on the possibility of the existence of the multiple universes, what parallel universes might look like and how our universe evolved to produce the ideal conditions for life.
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Your body clock, or circadian rhythm, doesn’t just influence your energy levels throughout the day. Recent studies have revealed that your internal timekeeper also has a significant impact on your bodyweight, immune system, mental health, sleep quality and more.
How can this be possible? And what are the simple things you can do to live more in sync with your biological timepiece? To answer these questions and more, we’re joined by Russell Foster, professor of circadian neuroscience at the University of Oxford and author of Life Time: The New Science Of The Body Clock, And How It Can Revolutionize Your Sleep And Health.
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When the University of Leuven professor of theoretical physics Thomas Hertog first met famed cosmologist Stephen Hawking he found himself confronted with two questions: “Why is the Universe the way it is? Why are we here?”. The two would go onto to seek answers to these profound questions during a close collaboration that lasted for twenty years.
In this episode, Prof Hertog tells us about his time working with Hawking, his new book, On the Origin of Time, and the path that led the two of them to hit upon the revolutionary new theory that the laws of physics are born and evolve as the Universe they govern takes shape.
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Over time, we have become infected with various viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms, which have had a huge impact on our evolution and history. In this episode, Dr Jonathan Kennedy, a reader in politics and global health, tells us about the close links between disease and colonialism, how infection shaped the migration of humans out of Africa, and what we can all learn from the COVID pandemic.
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At one time or another it’s likely that we’ve all experienced the profound effect that engaging with art can have on us. Be it listening to a favourite song, reading a moving poem or walking around a much-loved gallery. But is there more to these experiences than mere entertainment?
We speak to Susan Magsamen the founder of the International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab), at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine about the new book she has co-authored with Google’s Vice President of Design Ivy Ross, Your Brain on Art. She tells us exactly what is going on in our brains when we engage with art and how these powerful effects can be used to boost our health and wellbeing.
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If you suffer from insomnia, you’ve probably heard the same old advice before: don’t drink caffeine in the afternoon, get plenty of exercise during the day, and don’t take your phone to bed. But what if you do all that and still can’t sleep?
To get more insight into insomnia and the techniques shown to overcome it, we speak to Guy Leschziner, Professor of Neurology and Sleep Medicine at King's College London.
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BBC’s Wild Isles, presented by Sir David Attenborough, is currently showing on Sunday evenings. The series showcases British wildlife, shining a light on some of the animals and plants we share our islands with. In this episode, we speak to Dr Philip Wheeler, a senior lecturer of ecology at the Open University. He is a consultant on Wild Isles, and here he tells us about some of the wildlife featured in the series.
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What happens when fearsome predators like tigers, lions and crocodiles live alongside humans? Ecologist Adam Hart explores how conservation works when the species we want to protect also happens to be deadly.
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What are the most important, achievable things you can do to live a happier life? It’s a big question that’s been researched for many years by Robert Waldinger. He’s a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the man in charge of the world’s longest-running scientific study of happiness.
Waldinger joins us to discuss the key findings of this research, the biggest happiness myths and also how much money you actually need to be happy.
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Research suggests that – unless you’re a psychopath – you’ve experienced anxiety about a social situation at some point. But why? What is it that makes humans afraid of others? And how can we manage these worries? To answer these questions and much more, we’re joined by psychologist Dr Ellen Hendriksen, a world-leading expert on social anxiety and author of How To Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic And Rise Above Social Anxiety.
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Will we soon see self-driving cars and fancy city automation? Or will existing transport finally improve? We spoke to Paris Marx, author of the book Road to Nowhere to find out what the future of transport will look like.
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A recent study carried out at Peking University has found that Earth’s inner core, a giant ball of iron located in the middle of the planet, is slowing down its rotation. But what exactly does this mean?
We speak to Dr Jessica Irving, a seismologist based at the University of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences. She tells us how scientists study the goings on deep inside Earth, what we can learn about the life cycles of planets and whether the news should be cause for alarm.
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Whether you love them or are frightened of them, you cannot deny that snakes are fascinating, adaptable creatures. They are found on every continent except Antarctica, and occupy all sorts of habitats, from deserts, to swamps, to forests, oceans and trees. In this episode, herpetologist Prof Mark O’Shea, reveals how snakes move, why we have so few species in the UK, and how venom works.
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Sorry if we’ve already asked, but do you know what causes déjà vu? Or why you experience it less as you get older? Just in case you're unsure, we got the answers from Dr Akira O’Connor, senior psychology lecturer at the University of St Andrews. In this episode, he talks us through the bizarre neuroscience of déjà vu, from what makes you more prone to it, to how you can easily create an artificial sense of déjà vu in somebody else.
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Storm Otto caused havoc across Scotland last week. Yet it was unusual in that it was the first named storm to hit our shores this autumn and winter.
Alex Deakin, a weather forecaster and meteorologist for the Met Office, reveals why we had such calm conditions this winter, why we name storms, and whether climate change could make storms worse.
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Think you can tell when someone’s being dishonest with you? Think again. Richard Wiseman, a professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire and host of the new podcast On Your Mind, busts the common myths around lie-detecting and reveals how you can identify if someone’s really telling the truth.
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The World Health Organisation recently released a report stating that fungal infections currently kill around 2 million people a year and that they present a growing threat to human life. For anyone who has been watching HBO’s fungal zombie TV series The Last of US this may be cause for alarm. But how big is the threat of fungal infections, how well equipped are we to deal with them and could a fungus ever really turn us all into mindless zombies?
We speak to Dr Rebecca Drummond, Associate Professor of Immunology and Immunotherapy, at the University of Birmingham. She tells us about the fascinating lifecycles of fungi, the threats they pose to human life and why we should be doing more to protect ourselves from them.
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Constantly feeling like you never have enough hours in your day? Then you’re actually experiencing what psychologists call ‘time famine’. And it could be having major implications on your health, happiness and even productivity. So, how do you get more time? Social psychologist Ashley Whillans, author of Time Smart, unpacks key strategies that could help you reframe your time and feel more in control of your day.
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It was recently reported that China has entered an era of negative population growth, after demographic statistics revealed a drop in numbers for the first time since 1961. And they are not alone, many other countries across the world are also experiencing dramatic falls in birth rates. This had led some researchers to suggest that many countries are facing a so-called demographic time bomb that will leave them with an ageing population and a shortfall of people of working age.
We speak to Prof Jane Falkingham of the University of Southampton’s Centre for Research on Ageing. She tells us more about the world’s ageing population, how we have reached this point and what we can do to lessen its impact.
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How strong are your powers of persuasion? Probably a lot greater than you realise. That’s according to social psychologist Vanessa Bohns, professor of organizational behaviour at Cornell University and author of book You Have More Influence Than You Think. In this episode, she explains the power of compliments, a concept called behavioural contagion, and how to convince somebody to do you a favour.
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A recent study carried out by the Globe at Night project – a citizen science program involving more than 50,000 observations from volunteers around the world – has found that the brightness of the night sky has increased by an average of 7 to 10 per cent a year for the last decade. This trend is making it increasingly difficult to observe the stars, especially from built-up urban areas.
We speak to Dr Greg Brown, an astronomer and science communicator based at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. He tells us how bad the current situation really is, what it means for laypeople, astronomers and animals, and what measures we can take to get our view of the stars back.
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What music will improve your concentration most? Could the hubbub of a coffee shop increase your attention span? And what’s the deal with white noise? To answer all your questions about how to best use sound to boost your focus, we’re joined by Dr Nick Perham, reader in applied cognitive psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University.
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ChatGPT is a tool that can create essays, poems, full movie script and more from a simple worded prompt. We spoke to Sam Illingworth, an associate professor in the department of Learning Enhancement at Edinburgh Napier University to learn how it will change the education system.
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Every cell in our body – bones, skin, muscle, nerves – has a tiny voltage, like a battery. This bioelectricity enables our brains to send messages, but can also help us heal from injury and develop in the womb. In her new book, We Are Electric, science journalist Sally Adee explores our body’s electrome, and reveals the ways it could help us treat cancer, regenerate cells, and even halt ageing.
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From 27-29 January the RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) will invite the nation to count the birds in our green spaces. Adrian Thomas, the RSPB’s chief expert on gardening for wildlife, joins us to explain what one of the world’s biggest crowd science projects has taught us so far and he shares the simple steps you can take to make your back garden more welcoming to birds.
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Ever wondered what is happening in your body and brain when you feel an emotion? How to better cope with negatives ones? Or why we even have them in the first place? We speak to neuroscientist and author Dr Dean Burnett about the surprising discoveries he made when writing his new book: Emotional Ignorance.
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In December 2022, representatives from governments and other official bodies from around the world met in Montreal for COP15: The UN Biodiversity Conference. Amongst the many things discussed was the so-called 30 by 30 target – the pledge to conserve 30 per cent of the planet’s terrestrial and marine habitat by 2030.
In this episode, Terry, tells us about the significance of the target, the current state of the Earth’s biodiversity and what role we can all play in reversing its devastating loss.
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Struggling to form a new habit? Or kick an unhelpful one? While behaviour change is doubtlessly difficult, it can be made easier with a few simple psychological tools. To explain this and the neuroscience of habit formation, we speak to Dr Gabija Toleikyte, lecturer in Psychology at Sheffield Hallam University.
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With energy bills skyrocketing of late, many of us are thinking twice before putting the heating on, or maybe not even putting it on at all. But what effect could living in a cold home have on our health? We speak to Dr Radha Modgil, an NHS GP and BBC Science Focus columnist to find out more.
In this episode of Instant Genius, Dr Radha explains what the cold does to the human body, who is most at risk and if the solution really is to heat the human, not the home.
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In this episode Jason speaks to virologists Dave O’Connor and Marc Johnson from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
For the past year they have been hunting down a heavily mutated strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in a search that has led them to scour through everything from sewage water to dog poo.
In this episode they explain how viruses mutate, how there may be rogue forms of coronavirus still out there and how we can track viruses down.
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Can animals sniff out cancer? Absolutely they can! It turns out that a dog’s incredible sense of smell can sniff out prostate cancer from a urine sample. Indeed, one recent study suggested that a dog can detect lung cancer from someone’s breath. So how do they do it? And how is this incredible talent being deployed in the real world? We talk to the co-founder of the Medical Detection Dogs charity Dr Claire Guest to find out.
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What if you could hold a supernova in the palm of your hand? Or what if you could listen to a black hole? Dr Kimberly Arcand, a data visualiser for NASA, explains how astrophysics is moving beyond flat 2D images and how you can get involved at home.
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Jack Stilgoe, a professor of science and technology policy, talks us through the future of self-driving cars, upcoming changes to the law surrounding them, and how they could change society.
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Marine biologist, broadcaster and author Dr Helen Scales tells us all about seashells, where to find them, and what they can reveal about their inhabitants.
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How smart can an insect be? Lars Chittka, a professor of sensory and behavioural ecology and Queen Mary, University of London unpacks the incredible depth of intelligence exquisitely packed into the mind of a bee.
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Anthropologist Brenna Hassett, author of Growing Up Human, explains why our super-long childhood is so weird compared to the rest of the animal kingdom.
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Marine ecologist Peter Davie, author of Crabs: A Global Natural History, tells us about the biology and behaviour of these crustaceans.
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Cosmochemist Dr Tim Gregory tells us about the exciting science of space rocks.
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Science writer Ed Yong tells us about the staggering diversity of animal senses, from dogs’ powerful sense of smell to birds’ incredible colour vision.
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Dr Rebecca Cliffe, founder and executive director of the Sloth Conservation Foundation, busts the myths around these loveable animals and explains just how bizarre their biology is.
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Brett Scott, author of Cloudmoney, explains how cryptocurrencies work, and why he believes Bitcoin will never be a true currency.
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What story do the statistics tell about the pandemic? Sir David Spiegelhalter, the non-executive director the UK Statistics Authority, explores what lessons we’ve learned over the last two years.
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Neuroscientist Sidarta Ribeiro speaks to us about what is going on in our brains when we dream.
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Neuroscientist Prof Russell Foster explains how our circadian rhythms control functions throughout our entire bodies.
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Zoologist Jules Howard, author of the new book Wonderdog, tells us how smart our pet pooches really are.
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Physicist Dr Emma Chapman tells us everything we know – and everything we don’t – about the first stars to exist after the Big Bang.
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Lichenologist Kerry Knudsen, from the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, tells us all about the biology of lichens.
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Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary psychology, explains why spirituality and religion took root in early humans.
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Biologist David George Haskell, author of Sounds Wild and Broken, explains how and why the animal kingdom evolved to communicate by sound.
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Coral expert Dr Jamie Craggs tells us all about the biology of corals and reveals why they are so important for the planet.
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Dentist Dr Kami Hoss explains how to take care of our teeth, debunking myths about plaque, cavities, fluoride and more.
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Science writer Ruth Kassinger, author of Bloom: From Food to Fuel, The Epic Story of How Algae Can Save Our World, tells us everything we need to know about this bizarre organism, from the animal that grows algae in its fur to why we should be including it in our diet.
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Cognitive neuroscientist Dr Adrian Owen explains how he’s been able to communicate with patients in vegetative states and comas, and what consciousness is like for a patient in this condition.
Once you’ve mastered the basics with Instant Genius, dive deeper with Instant Genius Extra, where you’ll find longer, richer discussions about the most exciting ideas in the world of science and technology. Only available on Apple Podcasts.
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Kimberley Wilson, a psychologist, nutrition expert and Great British Bake Off finalist, explains what we should eat to keep our brains healthy.
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Science writer Marcus Chown tells us everything we need to know about gravity, from Isaac Newton’s apple falling from a tree to Einstein’s general relativity.
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Lisa debunks some common misconceptions about the brain and explains how our grey matter really works.
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Mat Ward, author of What Dogs Want, debunks the myths of dog behaviour, and explains how to get your pup ready for your return to the office.
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Dr Michael Mosley, host of the podcast Just One Thing, explains the simple lifestyle changes we can all make to improve our health and wellbeing.
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The presenters of Autumnwatch and Chris and Meg's Wild Summer tell us about all the different types of wildlife you can see right here in the UK.
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Criminal psychologist Dr Julia Shaw tells us how false memories can sway a trial and whether evil truly exists.
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Professor of mathematics Marcus du Sautoy reveals how thinking like a mathematician can help you make better decisions in all aspects of life.
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Food journalist Dan Saladino tells us all about endangered foods, and what we could stand to lose if these foods disappear.
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Chemist Dr Raychelle Burks tells us all about poisons, from how to tell what substance was used, to whether there are any poisons that are undetectable.
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Astronomy author and speaker Colin Stuart explains why time has an arrow, its intimate relationship with space, and why it's impossible to go back in time and kill Hitler.
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Prof Fyodor Urnov tells us how CRISPR is already changing the lives of people with genetic disorders, and why it’s essential that gene editing therapies are accessible to all.
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Lee tells us about why science denial is on the rise, from flat-Earthers to anti-vaxxers, and where conspiracy theories come from in the first place.
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Entomologist Dave Goulson is the author of Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse. He tells us how we can save the bugs and why they’re so important.
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Headache specialist, author and podcast host Dr Katy Munro tells us what goes on in your body during a migraine.
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Dr Fuschia Sirios, well-being researcher from The University of Sheffield, unpacks the psychology of procrastination – from why we do it, to how to stop.
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Dr Emma Byrne, author of How to Build a Human, tells us about the hidden science of childhood.
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Trust Me, I’m a Doctor’s Giles Yeo tells us about the history of calorie counting and whether there’s such thing as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ calories.
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Dr Matthew Walker, professor of neuroscience, tells us about how sleep evolved and what happens when we don’t get enough.
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Dr Monty Lyman, author of The Painful Truth, tells us what pain really is, how the placebo effect works, and why our emotions have a huge effect on the pain we feel.
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Prof Sue Black explains the science behind identifying a body at a crime scene. Warning: This episode contains a frank and academic discussion about forensic investigation – how it works and what clues a dead body might leave behind – which some listeners may find uncomfortable.
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Cognitive neuroscientist Dr Christian Jarrett tells us all about what forms personality traits – and the simple ways to change yours.
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Mathematician Jordan Ellenberg tells us about his book, Shape, and why geometry is about so much more than triangles and circles.
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Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes tells us all about Neanderthals, and reveals how they continue to shape our view about deep human history.
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Prof Steve Brusatte tells us how the latest findings in palaeontology have turned our picture of dinosaurs on its head.
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Jim Al-Khalili, a theoretical physicist and Professor of Public Engagement in Science, tells us about the origins of the Universe.
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Science journalist and presenter Ginny Smith tells us about the chemicals that run your brain.
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Food scientist, doctor and TV presenter Stuart Farrimond tells us about how you can use science to upgrade your cooking.
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Theoretical astrophysicist, author and one of Twitter’s most-followed scientists Dr Katie Mack tells us about the Universe's ultimate fate.
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While Daft Punk may have sadly split, machine-created music may be about to skyrocket in popularity. Not only are artificial intelligence neural networks now capable of creating original melodies, but scientists are also developing robots capable of playing – and improvising – live music.
So, will AI and androids soon top the charts? And could they even replace human musicians entirely?
On this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, Prof Nick Bryan-Kinns, director of the Media and Arts Technology Centre at Queen Mary University of London, joins staff writer Thomas Ling to explain groundbreaking new music technology.
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Most laws of physics tell us what must happen. Throw a ball in the air and it will come back down. But physicist Chiara Marletto, a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, says that laws like this only tell us part of the story.
She believes that the rest lies in 'counterfactuals': things that could be.
In her new book, The Science of Can and Can’t (£20, Allen Lane), she explains how these counterfactual properties could solve many of science’s biggest outstanding problems.
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Around two months ago, a group of 15 people – scientists, explorers and medics – travelled deep into a cave in the south of France. The expedition descended to a point so deep that natural light could not reach them, and there the team stayed for 40 days and 40 nights without clocks, phones or anyway of telling the time.
The project’s goal was to understand what happens to our brains and bodies when we’re deprived of an external measure of time and they hoped to discover how a group of people could adapt to such an extreme situation.
Just two weeks ago, that team emerged from the cave, and Christian Clot, the expedition’s leader and the designer of the DEEP TIME mission, joins editor Daniel Bennett on this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast to talk about what the experiment discovered, how the expedition changed him and what ultimately happened when the team returned to the surface.
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Our lives are full of music, from the songs we sing along to on the radio to the orchestral scores that bring a film to life. But why is it that humans love to make music, and how did it evolve in the first place?
Musicologist Prof Michael Spitzer, author of the new book The Musical Human (£30, Bloomsbury), joins BBC Science Focus online assistant Sara Rigby on this week’s episode to explain.
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In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we talk to the "real-life Iron Man" – not Marvel's Tony Stark, but inventor Richard Browning.
He’s the creator of the ‘Jet Suit’, which can fly one person through the air at speeds of 135km/h. He’s also founder and chief test pilot of Gravity Industries and author of new book Taking on Gravity (£20, Bantam Press).
He explains his quite literal rise to success – and the future of human flight.
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In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, commissioning editor Jason Goodyer speaks to Dr Carl Strathearn, a research fellow at the School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier University.
He's currently conducting research on realistic humanoid robots, specifically on more realistically synchronising their speech and mouth movements.
He tells us about how to get robots out of the Uncanny Valley, why the way a robot looks is so important, and why Data from Star Trek is an inspiration for his work.
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In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, editor Daniel Bennett speaks to Tom Chivers and David Chivers.
Tom is a veteran science journalist and author and David is lecturer in economics at the University of Durham. As well as a surname, they share a passion for statistics, or more precisely for the way that numbers are used and presented in the media. Together they’ve written a new book: How to Read Numbers: A Guide to Statistics in the News and Knowing When to Trust Them.
They talk to Daniel about how to understand the sometimes confusing stats surrounding health and risk, how to spot a suspicious claim when you see one, and how to think about the current concerns surrounding the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
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What is your favourite animal? If you know anything about the mantis shrimp, it might well be your top pick. Dwelling in shallow tropical waters, these mysterious predators not only wield one of the strongest punches in nature, but also a one-of-a-kind visual system that scientists are only just making sense of.
One of these scientists is Dr Martin How from the University of Bristol. He joins us on this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast to reveal more about mantis shrimp and their remarkable abilities.
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In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we speak to Elliot Higgins, the founder of Bellingcat. If you haven’t heard that name before, then you might be surprised to know that Bellingcat is behind some of the biggest news revelations of the decade.
They use social media and information freely available online to carry out what they call open source investigation.
Their work has uncovered the use of chemical weapons in Syria, identified suspects in the Skripal poisoning in Salisbury and identified the people responsible for downing flight MH17 over Ukraine.
Eliot speaks to editor Dan Bennett about his new book, We Are Bellingcat (£20, Bloomsbury), which tells the story of how a group of amateur hobbyists ended up taking on Russian spies.
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In 2017, the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii spotted an interstellar object passing by Earth for the first time. Shortly after, Harvard’s Prof Avi Loeb was met with a backlash from the scientific community for suggesting it could be of alien origin.
Now, several years on, he has written a book, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, outlining why we still can’t out rule the possibility, and why scientists should always keep an open mind.
We speak to Avi on this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast. He tells us why he believes the object, 'Oumuamua, was of alien origin, and what problems this reveals about the way modern physics is conducted.
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Many of us have had a one-to-one interaction with artificial intelligence. Whether that’s through an automated chat service for customer service, or trying our hand at beating an AI built to play chess. But these experiences aren’t flawless, they’re not as smooth as our interactions with other human beings.
One researcher trying to improve the language abilities of AI is Lara Martin, a postdoc at the University of Pennsylvania. More specifically, Lara is trying teach AI to tell stories.
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Today is International Women’s Day, and in this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, online assistant Sara Rigby talks to science historians Anna Reser and Leila McNeill, authors of Forces of Nature: The Women who Changed Science (£20, Frances Lincoln).
They tell us about the women who engaged in science throughout history but don’t always get remembered – the midwives, the astronomers, and the wives and sisters.
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As the UK enters its 13th month of lockdown restrictions and home-working, many surveys cite a slump in mental wellbeing and general productivity.
But are there any scientific ways we can maximise our motivation and prevent procrastination?
In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, neuroscientist Dr Gabija Toleikyte, author of Why the F*ck Can't I Change, tells us all about it.
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In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we chat through the February 2021 issue of the magazine, which is on sale now.
Managing editor Alice Lipscombe-Southwell opens the episode by telling us why it's so important artificial intelligence learns how to tell stories.
Next up is editor Dan Bennett, who tells us about the world’s first airport for drones and flying cars, which is opening in Coventry, UK.
Finally, commissioning editor Jason Goodyer tells about the latest developments in the study of dark matter.
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In the UK, one in four people experience a mental health problem each year. The reality of living with common problems like depression and anxiety is increasingly well-known.
But how much do you actually know about what’s going on in your brain when your mental health suffers?
Neuroscientist Dean Burnett, author of the new book Psycho-logical, tells us all about it on this episode of the Science Focus Podcast.
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There are few places left on Earth that have been untouched by humans, and biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate.
Luckily, there are ambitious rewilding programmes around the world that aim to fix this by returning land to nature.
In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we speak to Dr Andrea Perino, a scientist from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research and an expert on rewilding. She tells us about the benefits of rewilding, whether it's acres of forest or just a tiny patch in your back garden.
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2021 has got off to a strange start, with a surprising trend sweeping the internet: sea shanties. This ancient genre of music has exploded in popularity in recent weeks, thanks to people on social media singing them, sharing them and adding their own twists.
In fact, they’ve become so popular that Bristol-based shanty band The Longest Johns have entered the top 40 in the UK singles chart.
Naturally, we here at BBC Science Focus wanted to know what it was about sea shanties that makes them so catchy. So this week, we spoke to Professor Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster. She’s a neuropsychologist who specialises in music.
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In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we chat through the January 2021 issue of the magazine, which is on sale now.
Editor Dan Bennett opens the episode by talking about new research that suggests that rather than following a pattern of spring, summer, autumn and winter, our bodies may have their own seasonal fluctuations that don’t match the calendar.
Next up is managing editor Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, who tells us about how we can beat the pandemic burnout.
Finally, commissioning editor Jason Goodyer tells the story of a daring rescue of endangered giraffes from an island where food is slowly running out.
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Humans' ability to turn thoughts into actions has enabled us to change the world. But we've never been great at getting two things done at once.
Understanding how our brain helps us achieve our goals through something called executive function, or cognitive control, can explain why we're so bad at multitasking.
According to neuroscientist Prof David Badre, when we're armed with this knowledge we can begin to work together to become a better society. Badre's new book, On Task (£25, Princeton University Press) explains the mechanisms behind cognitive control.
In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast we speak to Badre to find out more about how our brains work.
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In the New Year issue, we cover the biggest ideas that you need to understand in 2021, and in the past few episodes of the podcast we’ve been talking to the experts who will explain these ideas in their own words.
For the next in the series, we speak to Daniel Freeman, a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford. Daniel has been working with VR technology since 2001 and is a founder of Oxford VR, a University of Oxford spinout company.
He tells us about using virtual reality to treat mental health problems.
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In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we're joined by AIDS researcher Professor Steffanie Strathdee.
In 2015, Strathdee's husband was infected by superbug that was resistant to every antibiotic that the doctors could throw at it, but she was able to save his life with an experimental treatment made of viruses found in sewage.
In the New Year issue of BBC Science Focus Magazine, we cover the biggest ideas that you need to understand in 2021. This episode is one of a series in which we talk to the experts who will explain these ideas in their own words.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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In the New Year issue of BBC Science Focus Magazine, we cover the biggest ideas that you need to understand in 2021. Over the next few episodes of the Science Focus Podcast, we’ll be talking to the experts who will explain these ideas in their own words.
In this episode, we talk to science writer Marcus Chown, who tells us all about the major problems in our current understanding of cosmology. We discuss the Big Bang, dark matter, inflation, and what we still don't know about the formation of our Universe.
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It’s been a long and strange year, and most of our attention has been focussed on the coronavirus. So, in this bonus episode of the Science Focus Podcast, the team talks about this year’s most interesting science that has nothing to do with COVID.
We start off by talking about our favourite scientific developments of the year, and then we discuss the books and documentaries that we’ve loved.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we talk to Prof John Drury, a behavioural psychologist based at the University of Sussex who specialises in studying crowds and collective behaviour.
The UK recently came out of the second COVID-19 lockdown, and went into a new three-tier system, with much of the country still in in the strictest tier.
John tells us about why people respond to the restrictions differently, how to ensure people follow the rules, and what the long-term effects the lockdowns will have on our psychology.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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This week on the Science Focus Podcast, we're joined by Dr Pete Etchells, a professor of psychology with a particular interest how video games affect our mood and behaviour.
Pete is also the author of the book Lost in a Good Game which explores why we love video games, and what they do for us.
Today we’re talking about the relationship between gambling and video games: what we know and what don’t. We want you to help us with the research, so if you want to get involved in a real-life scientific study that could shape the conversation around gaming and gambling, stayed tuned and listen in for details at the end.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Started by Michael Faraday in 1825, and now broadcast on national television, the Christmas lectures bring a science topic to our screens over three nights every year. The series of lectures has always been held within the Royal Institution in London, but this year, of course, is going to be slightly different.
In this week's episode, editorial assistant Amy Barrett is joined today by three expert scientists, Tara Shine, Chris Jackson and Helen Czerski, who are going to be presenting the 2020 Christmas lectures, titled Planet Earth: A User's Guide.
In lecture one, geologist Chris Jackson will reveal our Earth's climate story through the rocks and the fossil record. In lecture two, physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski will talk about the part our oceans play in the climate crisis. And in lecture three, environmental scientist Tara Shine will talk about carbon emissions and what we're really breathing in.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we chat through the December 2020 issue of the magazine, which is on sale now.
The issue is all about the search for extraterrestrial life, so managing editor Alice Lipscombe-Southwell starts us off by telling us about the most promising places in our Solar System to search for alien life.
Commissioning editor Jason Goodyer tells us about a new drug delivery system that draws inspiration from parasitic hookworms, and then editorial assistant Amy Barrett brings us back around to ET by discussing why we want to believe in aliens.
We close the podcast with details of our exciting new competition, judged by comedian and author Dara Ó Briain.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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For this instalment in the Everything you ever wanted to know about... series, we’ve sourced questions from Google, our listeners and the Science Focus team to put to experts and help you understand key ideas in science, in short episodes.
This week, we're joined by geneticist Sir Paul Nurse, the Director of the Francis Crick Institute in London and one of the recipients of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which he shared with Leland Hartwell and Timothy Hunt.
Paul has recently published a book that helps readers understand biology, called What is Life? (£9.99, David Fickling Books). He shared some of the concepts from the books with us over two quick-fire episodes.
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For this instalment in the Everything you ever wanted to know about... series, we’ve sourced questions from Google, our listeners and the Science Focus team to put to experts and help you understand key ideas in science, in short episodes.
This week, we're joined by geneticist Sir Paul Nurse, the Director of the Francis Crick Institute in London and one of the recipients of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which he shared with Leland Hartwell and Timothy Hunt.
Paul has recently published a book that helps readers understand biology, called What is Life? (£9.99, David Fickling Books). He shared some of the concepts from the books with us over two quick-fire episodes.
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In this week’s episode, I’m talking to Dr Douglas Vakoch, President of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence, or METI.
We talk about whether we should be broadcasting messages into space to signal our existence to intelligent alien species.
We also discuss how we could create a message that an unknown species of alien could understand.
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Our guest this week is Dr Jon Copley. Jon is a marine biologist, specialising in the deep sea. He went on the first mini sub dive to the world’s deepest hydrothermal vents, 5km down on the ocean floor, and also took part in the firs minisub dives to 1km deep in the Antarctic.
Jon is also a science communicator and writer, who worked as a science advisor on the iconic BBC series Blue Planet II. He is also an associate professor of ocean exploration and public engagement at the University of Southampton. In 2019, he also published fantastic book called Ask an Ocean Explorer which tells you all about the ocean in 25 questions.
Over three quick-fire episodes, Jon tells BBC Science Focus managing editor Alice Limpscombe-Southwell about the bizarre life found on the ocean floor, the habitats where they thrive, and what it's like to explore the deep sea in a submarine.
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Our guest this week is Dr Jon Copley. Jon is a marine biologist, specialising in the deep sea. He went on the first mini sub dive to the world’s deepest hydrothermal vents, 5km down on the ocean floor, and also took part in the firs minisub dives to 1km deep in the Antarctic.
Jon is also a science communicator and writer, who worked as a science advisor on the iconic BBC series Blue Planet II. He is also an associate professor of ocean exploration and public engagement at the University of Southampton. In 2019, he also published fantastic book called Ask an Ocean Explorer which tells you all about the ocean in 25 questions.
Over three quick-fire episodes, Jon tells BBC Science Focus managing editor Alice Limpscombe-Southwell about the bizarre life found on the ocean floor, the habitats where they thrive, and what it's like to explore the deep sea in a submarine.
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Our guest this week is Dr Jon Copley. Jon is a marine biologist, specialising in the deep sea. He went on the first mini sub dive to the world’s deepest hydrothermal vents, 5km down on the ocean floor, and also took part in the firs minisub dives to 1km deep in the Antarctic.
Jon is also a science communicator and writer, who worked as a science advisor on the iconic BBC series Blue Planet II. He is also an associate professor of ocean exploration and public engagement at the University of Southampton. In 2019, he also published fantastic book called Ask an Ocean Explorer which tells you all about the ocean in 25 questions.
Over three quick-fire episodes, Jon tells BBC Science Focus managing editor Alice Limpscombe-Southwell about the bizarre life found on the ocean floor, the habitats where they thrive, and what it's like to explore the deep sea in a submarine.
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In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast we chat through the November 2020 issue of the magazine, which is on sale now.
Editor Dan Bennett explains why, this month, we’re focusing on food myths. Scientist and writer Professor Tim Spector penned our cover feature to reveal the fact and the fiction surrounding diet and nutrition, and some of his research may have results that surprise you.
Talking about the amazing variety of our ocean’s other-worldly sea slugs is managing editor Alice Lipscombe-Southwell. These small marine animals might sport cute faces and bright colours, but they’re armed with an array of deadly defences too.
Commissioning editor Jason Goodyer digs into our piece about algorithms, which asks, what went wrong with the A Level results algorithm? And online assistant Sara Rigby scrutinises the stats around plug-in hybrid cars to find out if they’re as eco-friendly as marketed.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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In this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we talk to Professor Linda Scott, an expert in women’s economic development and Emeritus DP World Chair for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Oxford.
Her book, The Double X Economy, has been shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize 2020. In it, she argues that when we economically empower women, we all succeed.
Linda tells us about her work in women's economics, why the number of women joining the workforce is slowing down, and her idea for an '80 per cent Christmas' to close the gender pay gap.
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In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we talk to Dr Kat Arney about cancer.
Kat is a science writer and broadcaster, and founder of the science communication consultancy First Create The Media. Her book, Rebel Cell is out now.
She reveals how tissue becomes a tumour, how cells migrate to help cancer spread, and what scientists are doing right now to better understand the disease.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we talk to Hugo Zeberg, a geneticist working at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
Hugo has just published a paper that suggests those of us with a certain set of genes inherited from Neanderthals may suffer from more severe effects of COVID-19.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.
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Today‘s podcast episode is a special one, with not one, not two, but three fantastic guests. We’ve teamed up with the three spoken nerds – Matt Parker, Steve Mould and Helen Arney – to bring you an episode of unnecessary details all about… ice.
Steve explains how instant coffee is made, Matt gets irate about eight-pointed 'snowfakes' and Helen talks cryonic freezing.
To hear more from the three spoken nerds, check out their new Podcast Of Unnecessary Detail.
The song was “You And Me And Walt Disney”, produced by Helen Arney and Olly the Octopus and you can download it for free along with all the songs from Unnecessary Detail podcasts at helenarney.bandcamp.com
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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The fungal kingdom is vast, and yet much of it remains unknown to us – it’s estimated that only about 6 per cent of all fungal species have, so far, been described.
But if fungi are all around us, why do we only know the names of a few? We might use yeast in baking, mushrooms in our cooking, or have been treated with penicillin, but biologist Merlin Sheldrake says there is much more wonder to be found in understanding our fungal friends better.
His new book, Entangled Life, reveals the complexity of the fungal world. In it, he describes the fungal networks that connect trees and plants in something called the Wood Wide Web, and explains how fungi were crucial to the creation of the world we see around us today.
We spoke to Merlin about this strange and wondrous lifeform.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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In today’s episode, we’re chatting to Professor Sue Black, an anatomist and forensic anthropologist. You might’ve seen characters doing her job on television, in shows like NCIS or Silent Witness – although, they’re not quite an accurate portrayal, as you’ll find out.
Over the course of her career, Sue has worked with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the United Nations, helping to identify victims and perpetrators from only sections of their bodies – perhaps a finger found in a bin bag, or the back of an assaulter’s hand caught on film. Her work has taken her to places such as Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq.
She talks to us about how science helps her piece together fragmented parts of a human jigsaw. This episode contains some graphic content, including descriptions of criminal acts and dissection, that some listeners might find upsetting.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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For decades, Stonehenge, the mysterious prehistoric circle of stones built on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, has left scientists scratching their heads. Who exactly built it and what was it used for?
In the latest attempt to get to the bottom of this mystery, a team of engineers based at the University of Salford have 3D-printed a scale model of the ancient monument in order to investigate the effect its unique structure would’ve had on conversations, rituals, and even music.
We spoke to Professor Trevor Cox, the acoustic engineer heading up the study, to find out more.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Everyone does bad things. We know deep down are wrong, but we do them anyway. Sometimes, people do things so bad that we call them evil.
Criminal psychologist Dr Julia Shaw says there’s no such thing as evil. In her book Making Evil, she argues that we should ditch the idea altogether, and try to understand so-called “evil” people.
In this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast, she talks about psychopaths, mental illness and why we do bad things.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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We know how important good hygiene is. It protects us from viral infections and diseases, but what if, by washing, soaping and scrubbing, we’re actually damaging our health?
Dr James Hamblin, journalist and professor of public health, stopped showering five years ago. In his new book, Clean (£16.99, Bodley Head), he reveals how our skin is affected by the products we apply. The overuse of soap and cosmetic products – sold to us with the promise of caring for our skin – might even be causing some of the ailments we’re using them to try to treat.
It hasn’t always been this way. Historically, humans have gone from seeing bathing as something vaguely sinful and reserved for the wealthy, to a daily necessity that, if neglected, is a huge social blunder.
According to James, it’s time for a whole new perspective on cleaning. One that starts with a personal reflection of our relationship with our body.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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The end of the Universe may be a common feature in science fiction, but this one isn’t a crisis that can be averted by a team of superheroes. The Universe really will come to an end one way or another, and we have an idea how – five ideas, actually.
In this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast, astrophysicist Dr Katie Mack talks to us about the future of the cosmos. She dives into these five possible apocalypses, from the Universe gradually fading out to the ‘quantum bubble of death’.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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For many, the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown restrictions has isolated us from the people we love, reducing our social life to screens and Zoom meetings. But even with the added visual, communicating online still isn’t as straightforward as being in-person. It can feel like jokes fall flat when everyone has their microphone off, and the jittering of poor signal can make anyone’s face hard to read.
But what if our computers could read and respond to our emotions? If the engagement of a virtual meeting could be shown on-screen to generate a buzz like the one of a live audience?
That’s just one possibility of a future with emotionally intelligent machines. Researcher and CEO Rana el Kaliouby believes that by teaching computers to read facial expressions, they could detect early signs of Parkinson’s, prevent drivers from getting behind the wheel when tired, or help teachers design educational programmes that keep kids engaged.
Rana speaks to us about making machines empathetic, being named by Forbes as one of America's top 50 women in tech, and how her research into human emotions has affected her personal life.
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A recent study carried out at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH, on confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients has found neurological complications of the virus can, in some rare cases include delirium, brain inflammation, stroke and nerve damage.
We spoke to Dr Rachel Brown, an MRC Clinical Research Training Fellow involved with the study to find out more.
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COVID-19 could cause delirium, brain inflammation and stroke
A study carried out on a small number of confirmed or suspected Covid-19 patients at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery has linked the coronavirus to a number of neurological conditions.
Can you tell us about your research?
COVID-19 is still predominantly a respiratory illness, but in a small subset of patients we’ve been seeing neurological symptoms and syndromes.
Some of the early studies from Wuhan showed that around a third of patients were having neurological symptoms. In those early descriptions a lot of the symptoms that people were describing included things like headache and dizziness, loss of smell and things that could just really be attributed to viral illness.
As we gained more experience, we noticed other cases appearing that looked a little bit different. We have information from...
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Many of us have found solace in nature over the last few months, relishing our time outdoors, especially when it was limited to one form of exercise a day. A recent report by the RSPB found that people see access to nature as being important for health and wellbeing during and in recovery from the coronavirus crisis.
One man who has always been connected to the natural world is David Lindo. Known by most as the Urban Birder, David is a champion for the wellbeing benefits of wildlife, encouraging us all to get outside and see what we can find, be it in the garden, the city, or the countryside.
In this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast, David tells us about the human benefits of biodiversity, the need for conservation education, and diversity within the birding community.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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If, like us, you love to read a good science book, (and thanks to this podcast we’ve read a fair few over the years), you’ll probably recognise the feeling of having more questions about its subject at the end of the book than before you even turned page one.
It’s because of this that we decided to launch the Science Focus Book Club, where we pick out what we think is an excellent, thought provoking science book and ask your questions to its author.
You can sign up for the newsletter to find out which book is coming up next, but to give you a taster, in May, our legion of science book fans read Fast Asleep, by Science Focus columnist and BBC presenter Dr Michael Mosley.
In this week’s podcast we’ve selected a few of our favourite Q&As where he explains everything you need to know about sleep; from what it is, why we need it and how to get more of it.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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If I asked you to build a robot, the first materials you would probably reach for would be some metal bits and plastic bobs.
However, mechanical engineer Ritu Raman designs machines made with biological material, and has created all manner of wonderful machines, including a walking robot made with muscle tissue.
In this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast, she tells us about how to integrate biology into engineering and what these remarkable devices can do that traditional machines can’t.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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In a previous episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we discovered how a team of scientists harnessed the combined power of hundreds of thousands of players of the massively multiplayer online game Eve Online to help in the search for exoplanets.
Now, the next phase of this programme, called Project Discovery, is turning its sights from the stars to the coronavirus pandemic.
This week we speak to scientists Ryan Brinkman and Jerome Waldispuhl, and Project Discovery’s creator Atilla Szantner about why they intend to turn gamers into citizen scientists to help find a cure for COVID-19.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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In 1969, Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people ever to walk on the Moon, a feat over the next three and a half years only 10 other space explorers would go on to achieve.
Now it has taken nearly 50 years, but NASA once again has ambitions to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024.
The Artemis Program is a wide-reaching effort by numerous space agencies and led by NASA, with ambitions to not only put human feet on the lunar surface but to build a permanent base there, with a lunar space station in orbit around the Moon.
To find out more, this week we speak to Dr Jacob Bleacher, Chief Exploration Scientist for human exploration at NASA, about how we are going to get there, what effect deep space will have on the astronauts, and why now is the time to go back to the Moon.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Not so long ago, English scientists believed that they could study differences between people and that certain ethnicities were ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than others – of course, white Europeans were put at the top of any list.
In the 19th Century, anthropologist and statistician Francis Galton took this even further when he coined the term ‘eugenics’, the idea that science could better the human race by promoting the spread of certain genes, deemed ‘good’, and by halting the distribution of those deemed bad.
While these Victorian ideas have since been refuted and discarded by the scientific community, there are those in society that turn to race science in an attempt to justify their bigotry and racism.
Subhadra Das has spent the last eight years as a museum curator for the science collections at University College London, specialising in the history of scientific racism and the history of eugenics.
She tells us how Francis Galton’s idea spread through Victorian society, and why it’s important to understand science’s racist history in order for us to move forward.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Brendan Walker originally trained and worked as an aeronautical engineer, but now has a far more thrilling job title, quite literally - he’s a thrill engineer.
He’s been working with theme parks to help create the most exciting rollercoasters, using design principles to craft extreme, human emotional experiences to the rides.
He tells us why people have a love/hate relationship with rollercoasters, the fine line between fun and fear, how to get your thrills in lockdown and most importantly, where the best place to sit on a rollercoaster might be.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.
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Two years to the day the great physicist Professor Stephen Hawking was interred at Westminster Abbey, and at the time of his death, we spoke to one of the people that knew him best, Leonard Mlodinow.
Leonard is an American theoretical physicist who worked with Stephen on the books The Grand Design and A Briefer History of Time, and his own book chronicling their time together, Stephen Hawking: A Memoir of Friendship and Physics (£20, Allen Lane), will be released in September this year.
In this republished interview he speaks with BBC Science Focus editor Daniel Bennett about writing together, his qualities, and what they did when they weren’t talking physics.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations
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No matter how open-minded we consider ourselves to be, all of us hold biases towards other people.
Dr Pragya Agarwal is a behavioural and data scientist, ex-academic, and a freelance writer and journalist, who runs a research gender equality think tank The 50 Percent Project.
Her new book, Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias (£16.99, Bloomsbury Sigma), unravels the way our implicit or 'unintentional' biases affect the way we communicate and perceive the world, and how they affect our decision-making, even in life and death situations.
In this week’s podcast, she explains where these biases come from and why it’s important for us to recognise and unlearn them to help make the world a better, fairer place.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Mental health has become a hot topic in recent years, with campaigns asking us to be kind on social media and to reach out to friends who are struggling.
It seems now more than ever, we have a better understanding of what it means when someone is struggling with their mental health, but despite this, some people feel that the stigma surrounding it stops them from getting the help they need.
Professor Anthony David is a neuropsychiatrist at University College London, whose book Into the Abyss (£14.99, Oneworld) tells the stories of patients he has treated and what their cases have taught him.
He speaks to our editorial assistant Amy Barrett about why this stigma exists and whether it’s getting any better.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Our guest Prof Richard Wiseman is a spectacularly creative scientist who started off his career as a magician before becoming a psychologist. Over the last few decades, Richard has studied the art of deception, parapsychology and the concept of good luck alongside many other aspects of the human mind.
Richard has a hugely popular YouTube channel called Quirkology, with a mere 2.15m subscribers and has written a book called Shoot For The Moon (£20, Quercus), which takes a closer look at the psychology that achieved the Moon landings.
Over two quickfire, 30-minute episodes, Richard tells BBC Science Focus magazine editor Daniel Bennett how to make himself luckier, whether magicians make the best psychologists and why the stories we tell ourselves matter.
And if you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, check out any of Richard’s books at richardwiseman.wordpress.com or follow him on Twitter @RichardWiseman.
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Christiana Figueres is the former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and it was her work that led to its members signing the 2015 Paris agreement.
Together with Tom Rivett-Carnac, she created Global Optimism, an organization focused on bringing about environmental and social change.
Their book, The Future We Choose (£12.99, Bonnier), reveals that we are on the precipice of two futures: one where net-zero emissions is achieved, and one where it is not, and this week they’re talking to our editorial assistant Amy Barrett about the Paris Climate Agreement, why we need to reduce carbon emissions, and how we all have a role to play in combating climate change.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Our guest Prof Richard Wiseman is a spectacularly creative scientist who started off his career as a magician before becoming a psychologist. Over the last few decades, Richard has studied the art of deception, parapsychology and the concept of good luck alongside many other aspects of the human mind.
Richard has a hugely popular YouTube channel called Quirkology, with a mere 2.15m subscribers and has written a book called Shoot For The Moon (£20, Quercus), which takes a closer look at the psychology that achieved the Moon landings.
Over two quickfire, 30-minute episodes, Richard tells BBC Science Focus magazine editor Daniel Bennett how to make himself luckier, whether magicians make the best psychologists and why the stories we tell ourselves matter.
And if you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, check out any of Richard’s books at richardwiseman.wordpress.com or follow him on Twitter @RichardWiseman.
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Here on Earth, we take the force of gravity for granted. For years, researchers have neglected to study its influence because of this very reason, but with commercial spaceflight on the horizon, researchers are now racing to discover what living off-Earth might do to our bodies and our brains.
In this week’s episode, we hear from psychologist Dr Elisa Raffaella Ferrè.
She explains how her studies are revealing the impact of gravity on our cognition through her experiments in a zero-g environment aboard the so-called ‘Vomit Comet’– the aircraft used to train astronauts for the weightlessness in space.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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This week we talk to one of the world’s leading pioneers in the field of nanotechnology, Sonia Contera.
Nanotechnology is the application of science at a truly nano scale. To put that in perspective, if a nanometre were the size of a cup of tea, a meter would cover the diameter of the whole Earth.
Being able to control the world at such an intricate level has the potential to revolutionise medicine - enabling us to target cancer cells, deliver drugs and fight antibiotic resistance – but how do we create technology to that size?
Sonia talks to our editorial assistant Amy Barret about how her work in nanotechnology began, building proteins unknown to nature, and why going nano is nothing like in the movies.
Her book Nano Comes To Life (£22, Princeton University Press), is out now.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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The first time a fish crawled out of the water and onto land, it was a turning point that led to brand new kinds of life. But this couldn’t happen on its own: that fish would have needed both lungs and legs.
Neil Shubin, evolutionary biologist and author of Some Assembly Required (£18.99, Oneworld), says that fish didn’t evolve these traits to help them live on land. In fact, the reason they could live on land was that they repurposed the body parts they had already.
The same remarkable changes have happened all through evolutionary history, from the first vertebrate life to the first flying dinosaurs.
He speaks to our Online assistant Sara Rigby.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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This week we talk to the Sandro Galea, Dean of the school of public health at Boston University.
His book, called Well: What We Need to Talk About When We Talk About Health (£18.99, OUP) takes a deep look at the differences between health and medicine, and looks at how everything from the environment, taxation, education and even luck plays a part in the overall health of a nation.
Speaking before the coronavirus pandemic, he explains the surprising factors that influence public health, which countries are doing it well, and why he felt he had to write this book.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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This week we talk to the philosopher Toby Ord about the end of civilisation as we know it.
Ok, it’s not all doom and gloom. As Toby says, he’s an optimistic person, but in his new book The Precipice (£25, Bloomsbury) he explains why we’re at a point in time where we, as a species, are teetering on the edge of extinction.
We discuss how much potential us homo sapiens have, what’s putting our continued survival at risk, how civilisation as we know it could come to an end, and what are the odds we’ll see out the century.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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In this week's Science Focus Podcast chef and author of the book The Truth About Fat: Why Obesity is Not that Simple (£9.99, Oneworld), Anthony Warner chews the fat about, well, fat.
Pretty much all of us have been tempted at some point in our lives to shed some weight around our midriff, especially when we see our BMI creeping over 25, but what does this actually mean, and is it really a reliable measure of general health?
He speaks to our editorial assistant Amy Barrett about why the body needs fat, what influences our body shape, and why there is so much stigma about being obese.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Dr Camilla Pang is a bioinformatician, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when she was eight years old.
Her first book, Explaining Humans (£14.99, Viking), is a guide to navigating life, love and relationships using the lessons she’s learned in her scientific career so far.
In it she draws on examples from how the different proteins in the human body can reflect the different roles in a social group, to the way how light refracts through a prism helping her to break down fear into something manageable.
In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, she discusses her current work using disease and cancer data, along with machine learning methods, to find patterns that can be used in healthcare and lead to the development of therapies.
She also explains how her neurodiversity has affected the way she works.
If you have a burning science question you want an expert to answer, send them to us on twitter at @sciencefocus, and we may answer them in a future episode.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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This week we catch up with Kevin Fong about the new series of his award-winning podcast 13 Minutes to the Moon.
Whereas the first series celebrated the 50th anniversary of one of humanity’s greatest scientific achievements, the Moon landing, the new season follows what could have been one of our worst disasters – an explosion aboard the spacecraft Apollo 13.
We discuss what happened on this ill-fated mission, how it impacted the astronauts and staff at Mission Control, and whether catastrophe at space could ever happen again.
If you have a burning science question you want an expert to answer, send them to us on twitter at @sciencefocus, and we may answer them in a future episode.
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What happens to all your digital data once you die? We ask social psychologist, host of BBC Radio 4's Digital Human and BBC Science Focus columnist Aleks Krotoski about life after death, and she enlightens us on how much digital data is really out there, the value of virtual gravestones and why big data firms really don’t care if you’re alive or dead.
If you have a burning science question you want an expert to answer, send them to us on twitter at @sciencefocus, and we may answer them in a future episode.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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This week, we’re going on a search for the theory of everything.
The two main theories of physics are at odds with one another. Einstein's general relativity explains gravity, but it contradicts quantum theory: how we understand matter, atoms and particles.
Theoretical physicist at Imperial College London Professor Fay Dowker has been working on a solution to this quantum gravity problem, and tells us why the theories are incompatible, and how she plans to bring them together.
If you have a burning science question you want an expert to answer, send them to us on twitter at @sciencefocus, and we may answer them in a future episode.
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Imagine, just for one moment, that you’re flying. What can you see? How high up are you? Can you feel the rush of wind in your face? Keep these thoughts in mind while you listen to this week's podcast.
Your imagination is a strange old thing, with some people experiencing vivid senses while some struggle to picture anything at all. In this episode, we speak to Jim Davies, whose book, Imagination: The Science of Your Mind's Greatest Power (£21.99, Pegasus), sheds light on this mysterious function of the brain.
As you can imagine, we go deep into the neuroscience of conjuring up mental images, but we also find out why your memory doesn’t need to be perfect, the joys of playing video games after a bad day, the benefits of imaginary friends, and, rather bizarrely, how to make a better door.
If you have a burning science question you want an expert to answer, send them to us on twitter at @sciencefocus, and we may answer them in a future episode.
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You’ve probably bought something from a corner shop and taken it home in a plastic bag that says it’s biodegradable, or eaten takeaway food with a compostable fork.
But when you’re done with your bag or your fork, what do you do with them? Can you put them in your food waste bin, your compost heap, or even the recycling bin?
To find out, we spoke to materials scientist Professor Mark Miodownik. Mark is leading the Big Compost Experiment, a nationwide citizen science experiment to explore whether home-compostable plastics really do compost in your garden.
If you sent us a question for Mark, listen out for his answer towards the end of the episode.
If you have a burning science question you want an expert to answer, send them to us on twitter at @sciencefocus, and we may answer them in a future episode.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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This week we’re boldly going where no Science Focus Podcast has gone before.
Dr Erin Macdonald is the new science consultant for the Star Trek franchise. With the release of Star Trek: Picard on Amazon Prime, she takes us through the science of both the new and classic series.
She tells our production assistant and resident Trekkie Holly Spanner about supernovae, what a science consultant really does, and whether warp drive is possible.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Adam Rutherford is a geneticist at the University College London, which has one of the most prestigious population, genetics and evolution departments in the world.
However, the university was also the home of ideas such as eugenics and race science.
Times have changed, and although our current understanding of genetics and biology should have consigned them to history, these insidious ideas are making their way back into the mainstream.
In his new book, How to Argue with a Racist (£12.99, Weidenfeld & Nicolson), Adam wants to show his readers that what we understand as race doesn’t really hold up with the genomic data, why professional sport is not a particularly good data set for studying race, and whether we can ever truly remove racism from science.
He speaks to our editorial assistant Amy Barrett.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast we’re investigating long-extinct animals. No, not dinosaurs, they get plenty enough coverage already. Instead, we’re going to look at creatures that lived in the Pleistocene era, a period of time that covered the last known ice age.
During this period enormous creatures roamed the Earth, with some surprising animals making what we now know as the British Isles their home.
What makes these often-enormous animals so interesting is that they lived side-by-side humans and other early human species, which means we have more than just fossilised bone fragments to learn from - we have cave art, sculpture, tools and even cooking utensils that we can use to build our understanding.
Ross Barnett is a palaeontologist, whose recent book The Missing Lynx: The Past and Future of Britain's Lost Mammals (£16.99, Bloomsbury Wildlife) explores the story of Britain’s lost megafauna.
He speaks to our online assistant Sara Rigby about Britain’s biggest beasts, humans’ role in their extinction, and what they can teach us about the future of conservation.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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We all appreciate the buzz of the humble bee in the garden, however, not a summer goes past without hearing news that our bee population is under threat, with the finger usually pointing at habitat loss or chemicals containing neonicotinoids.
But in reality, there are a whole host of reasons why our vital bee population is in decline.
And given they provide pollination services for every one in three bites of the food we eat, their survival is critical to our very way of life.
In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, University of Vermont environmental scientist and pollination specialist Samantha Alger talks about her work uncovering the secret life of bees, what is causing the decline in bee numbers, and what we can do so save them.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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We all love a good story, and sometimes a lie is more interesting to hear than the truth, but there is more to it than spinning a good yarn.
According to Marcel Danesi, linguist and author of the book The Art of the Lie (£11.95, Prometheus Books), throughout history certain ‘Liar Princes’ have perfected the art of lying to gain fame, fortune and notoriety.
In this week’s podcast, he explains what makes them so effective at this so-called ‘Machiavellian intelligence’, what happens in the brain when we twist the truth, and why we’re all liars in one way or another.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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By day Dr Becky, is an astrophysicist, unravelling the mysteries of supermassive black holes, but by night entertains science buffs like us on her YouTube channel.
In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast she explains how to find a black hole (and why they’re actually incredibly bright), what an astrophysicist does all day, and why flooding YouTube with scientists is the best way to counteract disinformation and bogus theories.
Her book Space: 10 Things You Should Know (£9.99, Orion), is out now and you can read an extract from it here.
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Hopefully by now the last crumbs of mince pie will be wiped clean and Grandad has woken up from his Christmas day nap.
If you’re anything like us, that period between Christmas and New Year means only one thing – lazing in front of the TV and watching the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. This institution has been sharing the wonders of science and entertaining children and adults alike for generations, and this year’s host hopes this year will be no different.
Our editorial assistant Amy Barret sat down with Hannah Fry, only the fourth mathematician to deliver one of the lectures, who’ll be showing the audience how maths secretly underpins much of the world around us in her lecture series called Secrets and Lies, broadcast on BBC Four on 26-28 December at 20:00.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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If you’re stuffing your face with mince pies this Christmas Day, spare a thought for the hundreds of thousands of people working in the NHS providing vital medical support over the festive period.
One person who has seen his fair share of Christmas shifts is comedian and writer Adam Kay, who in a previous life worked as a junior doctor. His new book, Twas the Nightshift before Christmas (£9.99, Harper Collins), is at times, a graphically intimate diary of what happens on a labour ward over the holidays.
Our editorial assistant Amy Barrett spoke to Adam over the phone about whether Christmas is more dangerous than other seasons, some of the issues facing healthcare at this time of the year, and life after medicine.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Kathryn D Sullivan made history on 11 October 1984 when she became the first American woman to make an Extravehicular Activity, something most of us will know as a space walk, and in this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, she explains how maybe ‘walk’ isn’t the most appropriate way of describing it.
She also reveals the importance of planning over plans, the influence of the Hubble Space Telescope, and whether this year’s news story about spacesuits for women was really as problematic as the headlines suggested.
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Brian Switek, the pen name of science writer and fossil fanatic Riley Black. This year she released a book called The Secret Life of Bones: Their Origins, Evolution and Fate (£9.99, Duckworth), which as well as explaining how and why we evolved bones, explains the relationship us humans have with these sturdy struts of osseous tissue.
In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, she helpfully explains what a bone is and how they turn into fossils, as well as how they revealed Richard III’s diet, were historically used to justify scientific racism, and why Hollywood is getting aliens all wrong.
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We’re living in the age of big data. Scientists can collect and store more information than ever before. So how can they manage it all?
That’s where citizen science comes in. Members of the public can log in to the Zooniverse, the world’s largest citizen science platform, and do the hard work of sorting through the data.
Whether that’s searching for alien planets or spotting penguins, the project’s co-founder Chris Lintott says that the public aren’t just helping out, but doing real science.
In his new book, The Crowd and the Cosmos: Adventures in the Zooniverse (£20, OUP), Chris explains how, in just a few minutes in your lunch break, you can contribute to fields from astronomy to zoology.
He speaks to BBC Science Focus online assistant Sara Rigby.
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Why are teens so emotional? Why won’t they listen when adults depart their worldly knowledge? Why won’t they tidy their rooms?
Well, there are plenty of parenting books out there that attempt to answer these questions, but in the new book Why Your Parents Are Driving You Up the Wall and What To Do About It (£8.99, Penguin) by neuroscientist, comedian and science writer Dean Burnett, for the first time, it’s teens who are getting an insight into their parents’ minds.
The book is all about reverse parenting, and offers teens an answer to why their parents are always dragging them out of bed, why they’re so obsessed with asking ‘How was school?’ and other common complaints.
He speaks to BBC Science Focus editorial assistant Amy Barrett.
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If you need advice for the best way to move house, predict the weather or take a selfie, Randall Munroe, the creator of the webcomic xkcd, can’t help you.
But if you’re willing to get creative, Randall’s book How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems (£16.99, John Murray Press) will show you the worst ways to solve your problems, with some help from tennis star Serena Williams and astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield along the way.
In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, Randall talks to online assistant Sara Rigby about why the worst solution to a problem can be the most interesting.
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Some scientists now believe we are living in a new epoch, the age of invention and human influence on the world, called the Anthropocene.
In 2014, science journalist and broadcast Gaia Vince took readers on a journey through this new world in her award-winning book, Adventures in the Anthropocene. Documenting the startling impacts of human’s growth on Earth, Gaia opened eyes to the future that we have all but set in stone.
Her new book, Transcendence (£20, Allen Lane), looks instead to our past, and how humans have evolved as much through our culture as through our genes. How did Homo sapiens out-live our hominin relatives, and what made us so different from the other primates?
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Every Tuesday morning, physicist and science communicator Jim Al-Khalili presents the long-running radio programme The Life Scientific on BBC Radio 4. On 5 November 2019, the show celebrates its 200th episode, so we caught up with Jim just after recording this landmark show.
He talked to us about what it’s like to work on The Life Scientific, he fights the corner for creativity in science, and reveals why research and scientists keep him optimistic about the future.
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we hear from renowned travel writer and science communicator, Bill Bryson.
Beloved by readers around the world, his works have included Notes from a Small Island, an observation of life in England, and the best-selling science book A Short History of Nearly Everything.
His new book is called The Body: A Guide for Occupants (£25, Doubleday), where he turns inward to look at the mechanisms that keep us alive.
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Scroll through Facebook or Twitter and you’ll notice that many people type in a particular style: full of lols and emoji, and rarely using punctuation or capital letters.
Does this mean that we’re losing the ability to use our language correctly? Gretchen McCulloch, author of Because Internet (£12.99, Penguin Books), says absolutely not: in fact, internet users have collaboratively developed a style of language that makes communication much richer.
Here’s Gretchen talking to BBC Science Focus online assistant Sara Rigby about how sarcasm and humour drive our use of language, the value of emoji, and the history of lol.
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In this week’s podcast, we speak Robert Elliott Smith, an expert in evolutionary algorithms and researcher of artificial intelligence.
His latest book, Rage Inside the Machine: The Prejudice of Algorithms, and How to Stop the Internet Making Bigots of Us All (£20, Bloomsbury), explores how the harmful effects of bigotry, greed, segregation and mass coercion are finding their way into the AI that runs our lives, without us even realising it.
He tells us how powerful algorithms have been manipulated to divide people, why algorithmic bias has a dark history in the field of eugenics, and what we can do to fight back against the insidious influences of social media.
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Today on the Science Focus Podcast, we’re talking to Professor Monica Grady, planetary and space scientist, ahead of World Space Week.
World Space Week runs from 4 to 10 October, and this year’s theme is ‘The Moon: Gateway to the Stars’. Events to celebrate World Space Week are being held in the UK and across the world, including Monica’s talk at the Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.
Monica’s research spans to the Moon and beyond, and Asteroid 4731 is named Monicagrady, in honour of her contributions to the field.
Here, she speaks to editorial assistant Amy Barrett about working in the industry and the challenges faced by current and future space scientists.
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Science and art have not always been separately defined. Leonardo Da Vinci studied anatomy, neuroscientist Cajal created beautiful drawings of the cells in the cerebellum and hippocampus, and the painter John Constable observed the skies with an almost scientific study.
Though their pursuits have diverged into distinct fields, the relationship between art and science has remained tightly woven together.
Documenting the history of this tumultuous relationship is The Art of Innovation. Comprised of a 20-part BBC Radio 4 series, an exhibition at the Science Museum and an accompanying book, The Art of Innovation shows how scientific discoveries have influenced, and been influenced by, artists and the general public.
Editorial assistant Amy Barrett visited the Science Museum’s Dana Research Centre and Library to meet the Head of Collections & Principle Curator at the Science Museum and the co-host of The Art of Innovation radio series, Dr Tilly Blyth.
The Science Museum’s major free exhibition runs from now until the 24 January 2020. You can also read 20 stories from the history of art and science in The Art of Innovation (£25, Transworld).
Image: A Philosopher Giving that Lecture on an Orrery, in which a Lamp is put in the Place of the Sun, by Joseph Wright, exhibited 1776, oil on canvas © Derby Museums Trust
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Richard Dawkins is considered one of the top British intellectuals of the 21st Century. He’s known for his opinions on atheism and his books on evolution. In his most recent book, Outgrowing God, he talks about his own experience with religion, and how science offers us a far more convincing and concrete view of the world we live in.
We sat down with Richard to discuss his views on faith, flat-earthers and Facebook.
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When Apple launched its health tracker app HealthKit in 2014, they promised users the ability to track everything from their blood pressure to their copper intake – but not their periods.
This seems like a startling oversight, but Apple aren’t alone in failing to consider women’s needs. For example, it wasn’t until 2015 that the EU required new cars to be tested on a female crash-test dummy.
Caroline Criado Perez, whose book Invisible Women (£16.99, Chatto and Windus) has been shortlisted for the 2019 Royal Society Science Book Prize, calls this the gender data gap, and it appears in everything from public policy to medical research.
In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we talk to Caroline about the gender data gap and how it causes everything from mild inconvenience to potential fatality.
She speaks to BBC Science Focus online assistant Sara Rigby.
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Launching a rocket into space doesn’t come cheap. That much won’t surprise anybody, but what goes into the planning, construction and the science before the mission even gets off the ground? And when it’s up there, what does it do, and what makes it a success?
One man that knows how to put a space project together is Mark McCaughrean, senior advisor for science and exploration at the European Space Agency. During his 10 years at ESA, he’s worked on numerous projects, including the Rosetta mission to land a probe on a comet, and the enormous James Webb Space Telescope.
Ahead of his talk at ESA's Space Rocks event on 21 September 2019, he talks to BBC Science Focus Online Editor Alexander McNamara about how to build a space project from start to finish, why studying space is so important for life on Earth, and reaching out through the power of rock music.
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The largest organ in the body isn’t the lungs or the brain, but the skin. Our skin performs a vast array of functions for us, from protecting us from disease to helping us make friends.
Dr Monty Lyman, author of The Remarkable Life of The Skin (£20, Bantam Press), calls skin the ‘Swiss Army Organ’ because of all the tasks it carries out.
Monty talks to BBC Science Focus Online assistant Sara Rigby about what the skin is for, why vanity is good for you, and what kind of creatures inhabit our skin.
We now have more than 75 episodes of the Science Focus Podcast, each of which is still well worth a listen. Here are a few that you might find interesting:
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If you grew up on a steady stream of Hollywood blockbusters filled with killer robots, alien invasions and apocalyptic natural disasters, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the future looks pretty bleak. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be that way.
In fact, according John Higgs, a writer who specialises in finding previously unsuspected narratives hidden in obscure corners of our history and culture, the group of adults of school-leaving age might be just the sort of individuals we need if we’re going to avoid the dystopian future science fiction would have us believe inevitable.
In his book, The Future Starts Here (£20, Orion), he explains why this Generation Z have inherited a world apparently on the brink of self-destruction, and why their enthusiasm for wider social networks will be key to a brighter future.
He speaks to BBC Science Focus Online editor Alexander McNamara about what Star Trek can teach us about generational attitudes, the desire for meaning over stuff, and why life on Mars would be rubbish, and who kicks things off by asking him why he decided to write a book about the future.
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Materials scientist Gordon Wallace is the director of ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science at the University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. He is developing the ‘sutrode’, a medical device made from graphene that combines the electrical properties of an electrode with the mechanical properties of a suture.
The device is wrapped around damaged or malfunctioning nerve bundles and used to stimulate them and return their regular function. Though still in its early stages, the technology may one day be used to treat epilepsy, schizophrenia, and in the production of next generation prosthetics.
He speaks to BBC Science Focus commissioning editor Jason Goodyer in this episode of the Science Focus Podcast.
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Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast of the United States in October 2012, causing $65bn of damage. Remarkably, weather forecasters managed to predict its impact on the US eight days in advance, when it was barely even a storm.
How did forecasts get to be so good? It’s a story that begins with the invention of the telegraph and ends with supercomputers.
We talk to Andrew Blum, author of The Weather Machine (£16.99, Bodley Head), about the history of weather forecasting, why we shouldn’t trust the icons on our weather apps, and whether we’ll ever have an accurate minute-by-minute forecast.
He speaks to BBC Science Focus online assistant Sara Rigby.
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Image: Actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio stares at a visual showing Hurricane Sandy using data from Goddard Earth Observing System Model © NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth
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In mid-July this year, science and music lovers alike donned their Wellington boots and rain ponchos and made the journey to Jodrell Bank Observatory for the fourth annual Bluedot festival.
The star-studded line-up included Helen Sharman; the first British astronaut, Jim Al-Khalili; science writer and author, an incredible 3-D concert experience from Kraftwerk and the post-punk sounds of New Order.
We sent BBC Science Focus’ new editorial assistant Amy Barrett to the festival, where she chatted to a few of the speakers at the event. Not bad for your first week in a new job, eh?
First up was, Libby Jackson, Human Exploration Programme Manager at the UK Space Agency, who took to the Mission Control stage to talk about the future of space exploration and the UK’s role in that future. While some looked back across the fifty years since the Apollo Moon Landings, she talked to Amy about advances in the space industry, human exploration and the Bluedot experience.
Also in attendance at the festival was Tom Shakespeare, professor of disability research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Tom was involved in three events over the weekend, talking assistive technology, the ethics of genetics and being an activist.
Finally, back at Jodrell Bank where she began her career, Danielle George brought the invisible Universe to light. She spoke to us about the Lovell Radio Telescope based at Jodrell, new endeavours such as the SKA (Square Kilometre Array telescope project) and what we can learn from looking at our skies.
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We can’t reverse the slow march of time, but thanks to the wonders of technology and modern medicine, we have a lot more of it in our lives. But as people live longer, and the birth rate declines, how are we going to manage a world with an ageing population?
That one of the questions Sarah Harper, Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford, has been trying to find an answer for.
She talks to BBC Science Focus editorial assistant Helen Glenny about how we cope with dramatic shifts in population, what effect it has on natural resources and climate change, and a quirk in our retirement age that suggests we should start drawing our pension aged 103.
How Population Change Will Transform Our World by Sarah Harper is available now (£9.99, OUP)
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In the past few years, traditional male stereotypes have come under increasing scrutiny.
These stereotypes often come under the term ‘Toxic masculinity’, which has been widely used to explain certain male actions and characteristics that conform to established gender roles, which do harm to both themselves or the society that they live in.
Gary Barker has a PhD in developmental psychology and studies how we raise and socialise boys and men. In the late 1990s he founded Promundo, which carries out global research into men, boys and masculinities, and recently discovered that that in the UK, this these negative stereotypes could be costing the economy an additional £3.8bn a year.
He speaks to BBC Science Focus editorial assistant Helen Glenny about why these stereotypes are harmful, and what a new, progressive form of masculinity could look like.
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For most of us, switching off the light and curling up in a warm, cosy bed is the welcome reward for a good day done (or much-needed respite from a bad one).
But not everybody can soak up their allotted hours in joyful slumber before the alarm goes off. In fact, according to the Mental Health Foundation, it is estimated that 20 per cent of adults suffer from some form of insomnia, while many more of us experience issues like sleep walking, sleep apnoea and night terrors.
Dr Guy Leschziner is a world-renowned neurologist and sleep physician, whose new book The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience and the Secret World of Sleep (£16.99, Simon & Schuster) attempts to unpick some of the mysteries around what is happening to your body whilst you doze off in the land of Nod.
In this podcast, we find out what is happening in our brain while we dream, how to get a better night’s sleep, and whether sleep tech and apps are all they’re all cracked up to be.
He speaks to BBC Science Focus Online Editor Alexander McNamara.
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This week on the Science Focus Podcast, we spend some time with James Lovelock – the visionary scientist and environmental thinker who this month turns 100 years old.
James Lovelock is best known as the creator of the Gaia hypothesis, which proposes that our planet and all the life on it functions as a single self-regulating organism.
Less well known is that he also developed scientific instruments for NASA missions to Mars; he invented the electron capture detector, with which he became the first person to detect the widespread presence of CFCs in the atmosphere; and he even carried out influential work in cryopreservation, bringing frozen hamsters back to life.
James Lloyd, staff writer at BBC Science Focus, visited Lovelock at his Dorset home to look back at his life and achievements.
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The UK government’s official climate advisors recently reported that the country’s greenhouse gas emissions must fall to zero by 2050 in order to tackle the growing threat of manmade climate change.
However, it seems unlikely that we will be able to reach this target by simply burning less fossil fuel and cutting down on international travel. So what else can be done?
Environmental charity Rewilding Britain thinks that the answer is to let large areas of the country return to their pre-agricultural state to restore natural carbon sequestering environments such as peat bogs, heaths and salt marshes.
In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast BBC Science Focus commissioning editor Jason Goodyer talks to environmental researcher Mark Lynas about the potential beneficial effects of rewilding.
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We like to think our Science Focus Podcast is something really rather special (really, you should tell all your mates about it). But let’s face it, it pales in comparison to the hugely popular podcast No Such Thing As A Fish, which bagged Apple’s prestigious ‘Best New Podcast’ award in 2014.
Numerous awards later, including the 2019 Heinz Oberhummer Award in science communication, they have amassed a whopping 700,000 subscribers for their irreverent podcast about the weird and wacky things they’ve discovered over the past week.
We can’t resist the opportunity to get meta and do a science podcast about doing a science podcast, so we sent Online Editor Alexander McNamara to meet two of the show's stars, Andrew Hunter Murray and Dan Schreiber, where they chewed the ‘facts’ about Isaac Newton lecturing to empty theatres, meeting scientists who suggest putting fake eyes on a cow’s backside, and the logistics around building a statue out of sausages.
We also put their fact-checking skills to the test with a little quiz pulled from the Q&A section of BBC Science Focus Magazine. Why don’t you play along as well and let us know how you get by tweeting us @sciencefocus.
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After World War II, mainstream science denounced eugenics and the study of racial differences. Yet there remained a staunch group of scientists who continued to research race. For a few decades, these people remained on the fringes of research. Yet now, in the 21st Century, fuelled by a rise in the far right and extremist views, an increasing number of researchers are framing race as a biological construct rather than a social one.
Yet even well-meaning scientists continue to use racial categories in genetics and medicine, betraying their belief that there are biological differences between us, and that race can explain differences in intelligence and disease susceptibility.
In her new book, Superior, Angela Saini explores the concept of race. She interviews anthropologists, historians, social scientists and geneticists and finds that time after time, the science is retrofitted to accommodate race.
Here, she talks to BBC Science Focus production editor Alice Lipscombe-Southwell.
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Image: Nazi officials use callipers to measure an ethnic German's nose. The Nazis developed a system of facial measurement that was supposedly a way of determining racial descent. The compiled results, based on biased samples, were used to back up the Nazi claim that Germans were a pure and superior "Aryan" race © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
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In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we’re going to try to guess when the end of the world will happen.
Don’t worry, it’s not as gloomy as it might sound. Those people waving ‘The End is Nigh!’ placards are probably completely wrong about an immanent doomsday… Probably.
There is a formula that has circulated for the last 50 years which suggests we can pinpoint the end of something with a reasonable amount of certainty. It has been used to predict any number of things, including successful stock market investments, the run of Broadway shows and even how many Harry Potter books go missing from local libraries.
But since the 1990s, it has sparked considerable debate among theorists about when humanity as we know it will come to an end.
We ask William Poundstone - whose new book How To Predict Everything (£12.99, Oneworld) explains the history of this enigmatic equation - how long we have left as a species on this planet, whether we can shift the odds in our favour, and how we can predict, well, pretty much everything else.
How long do you think we have left, and why? Let us know on Twitter at @sciencefocus, and don’t forget to rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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We live in a society that values looks, but only if they fit into a restrictive set of ideals regarding size and shape, age, skin colour, as well as many other features of our bodies.
The result is an immense pressure to look a certain way. According to a recent survey by the Mental Health Foundation, one in five adults in the UK had experienced shame over their body at some point in the last year.
The rise of social media has provided a platform for a rebellion against these ideals in the form of body positivity, which advocates loving your body, even the parts that don’t fit the ideal standards of beauty.
So, is loving your body the key to defeating body image issues? Or is it making the problem worse?
In this podcast we speak to Professor Phillippa Diedrichs, a psychologist at the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England. She takes us through the importance of a healthy body image and the research into how body positivity could help or harm.
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If you were to picture the Moon landing in your head right now, you could probably conjure up images of Neil Armstrong’s famous first steps, accompanied by his inspirational (and often misquoted) speech, despite it happening many years before most of us were even born.
But this remarkable achievement did not come easily, and the decade-long mission culminated in the final nerve wracking 13 minutes it took the Moon lander to arrive safely on the surface.
This moment, and the people who contributed to this landmark occasion in our quest to explore space, are the subject of a new BBC podcast series, 13 Minutes To The Moon.
We caught up with the show’s host, Kevin Fong, about the show, and he tells us why the Moon landing still inspires us today, what it was like speaking to the people who ran mission control, and where our next Moon shot will be.
Remember, if you like what you hear then please rate and review the episode wherever you listen to your podcasts. It really helps get the show out there, which means we can bring you even more interviews with the people at the forefront of science.
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We know a lot. In scientific studies, we can count data, observe trends, infer links and calculate risks. But we also spend a lot of time ignoring noise – the unexplained variations in our results that we can’t account for. Take smoking for example. We all know that smoking kills, but it doesn’t kill everyone, and we can’t predict which lifelong smokers will be struck down by lung cancer, and which won’t.
In his new book The Hidden Half (£14.99, Atlantic Books), Michael Blastland discusses how, even in the most tightly controllable situations, we often still see variations in outcomes. He argues that our unwillingness to admit uncertainty can affect science, economics, politics and business, sometimes with disastrous consequences.
But it’s not all bad news. New research that shows that admitting the extent to which we’re not sure could make us seem more trustworthy. And he explains that even though we don’t know everything, experts and the scientific method are still the most important places for us to turn to for guidance.
He talks to Helen Glenny, editorial assistant at BBC Science Focus Magazine, in this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast.
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It’s been 500 years since the death of Leonardo Da Vinci, and he’s remembered mainly for his great works of art, like The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. But he was also a scientist, working across disciplines like anatomy, engineering, and architecture.
Sadly, his scientific research was never published and his engineering ambitions went largely unrealised. However, through his sketches and drawings we can see his anatomical discoveries, his plans for machines, and his investigations into the world around him. We can see what was occupying his mind, allowing us to piece together clues about the mysteries he aspired to solve.
So to mark the anniversary of his death, 200 of those drawings will go on display at the Queen’s Gallery next to Buckingham palace in the exhibition Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing. In this episode, we talked to Martin Clayton, Head of Prints and Drawings for Royal Collection Trust at Windsor Castle, about Da Vinci’s lasting scientific legacy. We ask him about the work he was doing, how he influenced the scientific disciplines he experimented with, and what we should remember him for.
He speaks to BBC Science Focus editorial assistant Helen Glenny in this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast.
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Image: Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019.
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In 2012, scientists developed a method to edit any part of the human genome, and the implications were astounding. Now, we’re starting to see the technology’s potential; we will soon cure previously untreatable diseases, but at the same time, rogue scientists are experimenting in ways considered unethical by the wider medical community. So where does gene editing go from here?
In this week's Science Focus Podcast, Nessa Carey, author of the book Hacking the Code Of Life: How gene editing will rewrite our futures (£12.99, Icon) explains how gene editing was developed, how it works, and why it holds so much promise for medical science. We talked to her about the potential ways this technology could be mishandled, and how we should go about making ethical decisions around when and for whom gene editing is used.
What does a future like where we can manipulate the human genome to any end? Should we be inspired, or terrified?
She speaks to BBC Science Focus editorial assistant Helen Glenny.
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Theoretical physicist and science communicator Professor Jim Al-Khalili has taken a break from writing popular science books to write his first novel. Sunfall (£16.99, Bantam Press) is a science fiction thriller set in the year 2041, when the Earth’s magnetic field has started to die, leaving life on Earth vulnerable to threats from space.
Scientists and engineers are thrown into a race against time to protect the Earth. All the science in the novel, from the futuristic technology to the apocalyptic event, are based on real science, as we understand it now.
In this episode, Jim explains how the Earth’s magnetic field protects us, how being a scientist helped inform his writing, and why fiction can be a frontier for science communication.
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In this week's Science Focus Podcast, we dive into the world of video games. Over the past couple of decades, video games have often got a bad rap, blamed for everything from aggression and violence to addiction and mental health problems.
But what does the research actually say? Dr Pete Etchells is a psychologist at Bath Spa University who researches the behavioural effects of video games. In his first book, Lost in a Good Game (£14.99, Icon Books), he gets to the bottom of our relationship with games, and reveals a more positive side to our game-playing habits.
He speaks to BBC Science Focus staff writer James Lloyd.
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Abracadbra! Prestidigitation! We know that these words hold no intrinsic power, but when we hear them, we are instantly transported away to a land of magic and wonder; where the impossible becomes reality right before our eyes.
So why, as rational human beings, are we instantly drawn to magic, and what makes us delight in seeing a rabbit pulled from a hat, despite knowing full well that we are being fooled into thinking it was never already there in the first place?
Those are the sort of questions expert in cognitive psychology, magician, and author of Experiencing the Impossible: The Science of Magic (£20.00, MIT Press), Gustav Kuhn, is currently trying to solve at his Magic Lab at Goldsmith’s University.
In this week’s Science Focus Podcast, he talks to sciencefocus.com editor Alexander McNamara about why we believe in magic, what actually happens in our brain when we watch tricks, and how understanding magic can help us make sense of a world filled with fake news and misinformation.
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Pollution scientist Gary Fuller explains how bad our air is, what causes it, and how we can stop this invisible killer.
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Girls are not picking as many STEM A-levels as boys, while professional female scientists are dropping out of the field. Is it time for change? In this episode we talk to four women currently working in STEM about their experiences, the problems faced by women and girls, and how we can fix the issues.
The panel:
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How much difference can a small change make? When it comes to changing habits, convincing someone to do something or affecting the behaviour of people without them even knowing about it, quite a lot, as we have seen with the recent Facebook scandal, where data firm Cambridge Analytica used personal data influence the way people vote.
In this week's Science Focus Podcast, BBC Focus commissioning editor Jason Goodyer speaks to David Halpern, Chief Executive of the Behavioural Insights team, about nudge theory – a psychological tool used in behavioural science to subtly influence peoples’ decisions.
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En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.