Discovery

The reliability and availability of data in this field has become more of a concern in light of a study published this year, suggesting that sperm counts worldwide have dropped 62% in the past 50 years. As yet there is no clear answer as to why that is.

Professor Chris Barratt is one of the scientists working to change that. He's the Head of Reproductive Medicine at Ninewells Hospital and the University of Dundee Medical School, and has dedicated his career to better understanding male infertility; driving breakthroughs in how to study sperm dysfunctions – and most recently spearheading advances in developing a male contraceptive pill.

Chris talks to Professor Jim Al-Khalili about his academic struggles as a youngster, the lecture that changed his life, his research into 'head-banging sperm' and why he believes a new male contraceptive could be a game-changer.

Chris Barratt on head-banging sperm and a future male contraceptive pill.

Physicist Edward Witten on M-Theory, the leading contender for a 'theory of everything'.

100 years ago this was a scrawny, egg-laying bird, only good for a stew once her eggs ran out – no one ate chicken meat. Fast forward to today and it's the most consumed protein on the planet. How did we come to eat it in the first place, and what are the consequences of producing chicken meat on the vast, industrial scales we now consume it?

Dr Chris van Tulleken uncovers the extraordinary accident of history that birthed a new industry, and changed the way we eat – and think about – meat forever.

How human innovation turned chicken from backyard bird to multi-billion dollar industry.

Chris explores the rise of the alternative protein industry – plant-based meat alternatives, lab-grown meat, or most shocking of all for some, actual meat abstinence, Veganism.

And it is time to revisit that initial question: what's influencing our choices when it comes to eating chicken, what impact is that having – and are we bothered?

Dr Chris van Tulleken wrestles with the thorny issue of animal slaughter

Dr Chris van Tulleken wrestles with the thorny issue of animal slaughter.

So we've got a comprehensive overview of the chicken planet we live on... Do we still want to eat it? And if not, what are the alternatives?

Dr Chris van Tulleken wrestles with the final dilemma: slaughter. Could he bring himself to dispatch an animal himself? Is he happy supporting an industry which kills animals in his name? And if not, what could he eat instead?

We explore the rise of the alternative protein industry – plant-based meat alternatives, lab-grown meat, or most shocking of all for some, actual meat abstinence. Veganism.

Where should we go from here?

And it's time to revisit that initial question: what's influencing our choices when it comes to eating chicken, what impact is that having – and are we bothered?

While some cite it as a shining example of a super-efficient food production system, one that could help drive food security around the world, others say it is a cruel, destructive and outdated structure that makes a few people richer while exploiting others – along with animals and the environment.

In Brazil, one of the world's biggest chicken and soya producers, our reporter Leonardo Milano hears accusations of threats and pollution relating to the feed sector; while in Africa, Dr Chris van Tulleken learns about poultry-farming initiatives helping to make struggling nations more food-secure.

There are also other challenges that the industry is wrestling with: from antimicrobial resistance to the threat of another major global pandemic - bird flu. So is there a ‘big business bad guy' to blame – or does responsibility lie closer to home, with unquestioning consumers like Chris?

Dr Chris van Tulleken ponders the global cost of keeping the world in wings

Dr Chris van Tulleken ponders the global cost of keeping the world in wings.

We're a planet addicted to chicken - and our appetites fuel a massive global industry... but is it one we should support?

As Chris wrestles with how he personally feels about this weird and wonderful bird, he decides to take a look at the business as a whole: a global industry that's cited by some as a shining example of a super-efficient food production system, one that could help drive food security around the world.

But others say it's a cruel, destructive and outdated structure that makes a few people richer while exploiting others – along with animals and the environment.

In Brazil, one of the world's biggest chicken and soya producers, our reporter Leonardo Milano hears accusations of threats and pollution relating to the feed sector; while in Africa, Chris learns about poultry-farming initiatives helping to make struggling nations more food-secure.

And then there are the other challenges that the industry is wrestling with: from antimicrobial resistance to the threat of another major global pandemic, potentially stemming from chicken farms -

Dr Chris van Tulleken is keen to make good food choices, and buy the best chicken possible for his dinner. High welfare, tasty, and good for the environment, ideally. But it's not as easy as that. How CAN he make good food choices if he has no idea what he's buying?

Chris explores what we actually know about the food we buy, and to what extent we can trust what's on a label.

He also uncovers the startling truth about two very different ways that we buy chicken - lifting the lid on why sometimes, even the most moral meat shoppers turn a blind eye...

Dr Chris van Tulleken asks if we can trust what's on the label when it comes to food.

Dr Chris van Tulleken finds out what it takes to produce the most eco-friendly chicken meat possible. And makes a devastating discovery. Welfare concerns, and environmental credentials, often pull in OPPOSITE directions. Does he want to eat the happiest birds, or the ones kindest to the planet?

Halfway through his poultry quest, Chris remains massively conflicted: he loves chicken, but some of what he's discovered makes him question how much he eats it. Will he still be able to look at it the same way as he goes deeper down the rabbit hole? And more importantly, should he keep serving it up to the family?

Dr Chris van Tulleken asks whether we can raise a chicken that's good for the planet.

Chicken is at the very heart of this industry. As a cheap meat that does not have a strong taste, can easily take on other flavours and does not have any religious restrictions, it's the ideal takeaway ingredient; from nuggets to chow mein to tikka masala.

And although we might be careful about chicken choices when buying it raw, somehow we don't seem to mind turning a blind eye to the origins and nutritional content of our fast food favourites, especially if we're hungry.

Chris discovers just how bad this food can be for both us and the planet, and why we are powerless to resist it.

Dr Chris van Tulleken gets a taste of a guilty pleasure - sinful yet delicious fast food

Dr Chris van Tulleken gets a taste of a guilty pleasure - sinful yet delicious fast food.

Chris has learned how to make better chicken choices, and what those choices really mean.

So why is he STILL eating RUBBISH?

Like many of us, Chris is always trying to eat better food: healthy, high welfare, good for the environment. This kind of consumer demand is making the chicken industry better, in tiny increments. So why do so many of us give ourselves a pass when it comes to the food we KNOW we shouldn't be eating, yet we do in absolutely vast amounts - fast food?

Chicken is at the very heart of this industry. As a cheap meat that doesn't have a strong taste, can easily take on other flavours and doesn't have any religious restrictions, it's the ideal takeaway ingredient; from nuggets to chow mein to tikka masala.

And although we might be careful about chicken choices when buying it raw to prepare at home, somehow we don't seem to mind turning a blind eye to the origins and nutritional content of our fast food favourites, especially if we're hungry -

Chris discovers just how bad this food can be for both us and the planet, and why we're powerless to resist it.

Dr Chris van Tulleken gets a taste of a guilty pleasure: sinful yet delicious fast food.

He's recently been forced to confront a serious gap in his food knowledge - what happens before it gets to our plates - and has decided this, the world's most popular meat, is an ideal starting point.

Chris' initial investigations reveal the vast scale of modern chicken consumption; and how a once revered jungle fowl was manipulated to become a modern food success story, a fast-growing heavy-breasted beast to feed the masses.

Now, he's torn: is this a triumph of human ingenuity – or the creation of a monster?

Dr Chris van Tulleken discovers how we changed chicken, and how chicken changed us

Dr Chris van Tulleken discovers how we changed chicken, and how chicken changed us.

After witnessing first-hand the reality of indoor chicken farming - how most of the chicken we eat is raised - Dr Chris van Tulleken wants to know: are the birds happy enough, or is our method of rearing cheap chicken actually cruel?

If so, what's the ‘happier' alternative – and do carnivores like Chris care enough to pay the price for that, or does a love of meat ultimately trump ethics?

Chris battles with his conscience, and finds the answer hard to stomach.

Dr Chris van Tulleken explores what it takes to make a chicken happy.

Gideon Henderson's research focuses on trying to understand climate change by looking at what was happening on our planet thousands of years ago.

His work has taken him all around the world - to the deepest oceans and the darkest caves - where he collects samples containing radioactive isotopes which he uses as “clocks ? to date past ice ages and other major climate events.

As a geochemist and Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, his work deals with the biggest questions, like our impact on the carbon cycle and climate, the health of our oceans, and finding new ways to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

But in his role as Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, he also very much works on the present, at the intersection between the worlds of research and policy. He has overseen the decision to allow gene-edited food to be developed commercially in England and a UK surveillance programme to spot the Covid-19 virus in our waste-water.

(Photo: Gideon Henderson. Credit: Gideon Henderson)

Gideon Henderson on climate 'clocks' and dating ice ages.

Gideon Henderson on climate ‘clocks' and dating ice ages.

With 86 billion nerve cells joined together in a network of 100 trillion connections, the human brain is the most complex system in the known universe.

Dr Hannah Critchlow is an internationally acclaimed neuroscientist who has spent her career demystifying and explaining the brain to audiences around the world. Through her writing, broadcasting and lectures to audiences – whether in schools, festivals or online – she has become one of the public faces of neuroscience.

She tells Prof Jim Al-Khalili that her desire to understand the brain began when she spent a year after school as a nursing assistant in a psychiatric hospital. The experience of working with young patients - many the same age as her - made her ask what it is within each individual brain which determines people's very different life trajectories.

In her books she explores the idea that much of our character and behaviour is hard-wired into us before we are even born. And most recently she has considered collective intelligence, asking how we can bring all our individual brains together and harness their power in one ‘super brain'.

And we get to hear Jim's own mind at work as Hannah attaches electrodes to his head and turns his brain waves into sound.

Hannah Critchlow on the connected brain.

Dr. Hannah Critchlow is an internationally acclaimed neuroscientist who has spent her career demystifying and explaining the brain to audiences around the world. Through her writing, broadcasting and lectures to audiences – whether in schools, festivals or online – she has become one of the public faces of neuroscience.

She tells Professor Jim Al-Khalili that her desire to understand the brain began when she spent a year after school as a nursing assistant in a psychiatric hospital. The experience of working with young patients - many the same age as her - made her ask what it is within each individual brain which determines people's very different life trajectories.

In her books she's explored the idea that much of our character and behaviour is hard-wired into us before we're even born. And most recently she's considered collective intelligence, asking how we can bring all our individual brains together and harness their power in one ‘super brain'.

[LISTEN NOW]

Dr Chris van Tulleken shares stories from the making of his chart-topping podcast, Fed. In conversation with Leyla Kazim, at Hay Festival 2024.

In Fed, Dr Chris van Tulleken, investigated the entangled web of forces that shape what ends up on our plates. And he focused his investigation around one foodstuff in particular. The most widely eaten meat on our planet, a staple of nearly every diet and a global food production phenomenon: the humble chicken, Chris dug into the history of our relationship with this extraordinary animal, to try to get to the truth of why we eat so much of it, and what that means for the birds, for us, and for the planet.

In this lively conversation, recorded live at Hay festival 2024, Chris talks to Leyla Kazim about the hidden stories behind the globalised food networks of today. From industrial-scale farming, to food labelling, to ethical dilemmas, environmental quandaries, and the complexities of the world of fast food. Plus tales from the adventure that ran through the whole series: raising his own tiny flock of broiler chickens, in his back garden.

[LISTEN NOW]

Perhaps you couldn't drift off, or maybe you woke in the middle of the night and then couldn't nod off again.

In this edition of Inside Health we're talking all about insomnia. It's an issue that may affect many of us at some point in our lives – but for some it goes beyond a short period of not being able to sleep and becomes something more serious.

James is joined by a trio of experts ready to answer to them: Dr Allie Hare, president of the British Sleep Society and consultant physician in sleep medicine at the Royal Brompton Hospital, Colin Espie, a professor of sleep medicine at Oxford University and Dr Faith Orchard, a lecturer in psychology at Sussex University. We're going to find out why we get insomnia, when to seek help and how much factors like ageing, menopause, needing the loo or shift work matter. And we'll look at the latest advice and treatments. Can insomnia be fixed?

How did you sleep last night?

Explorations in the world of science.

[LISTEN NOW]

From the Hay Festival, James and a panel of experts explain what we can all do to help ourselves age well.

We discover what's going on in our bodies when we age, the difference between biological and chronological age, as well as getting the audience moving for a physical test.

James is joined by gerontologist Sarah Harper from the University of Oxford, biomedical scientist Georgina Ellison-Hughes from King's College London, and doctor Norman Lazarus to understand how exercise, diet, and mental health all have a part to play in how we age.

[LISTEN NOW]

In 2016, Niall McCann was left with a bruised spinal cord when he crashed his speed glider into the side of a mountain at 50mph.

He shares his journey to recovery and some unexpected life lessons he has had to navigate, from soiling himself in inconvenient places and not being able to control his flatulence, to having to re-learn how to have sex again.

We also hear from a Mountain Rescue medic on what looked like an “unsurvivable” situation and Niall's surgeon on fixing his “exploded” spine.

Explorations in the world of science.

[LISTEN NOW]

In the first few days, Roger had intimate encounters with the whales but most of the time, he was sat on the back of the boat, waiting to find a heat run. After two unsuccessful weeks, he started to wonder whether they would ever see one.

But a few days later somebody spotted a heat run, and everything sprang into action. Roger got in position and dove down ten meters underwater on a single breath. From then on, his job was just to wait and hold his camera ready. In a moment that seemed to stretch out time, he waited, nervously, for a group of 40-ton bus-sized whales to speed past him -

And Victor Vescovo describes his adventures into the deep, diving to the deepest parts of all five oceans.

Victor's longest dive was solo to the lowest point on Earth - the Challenger Deep at the bottom of the Marianas trench in the western Pacific. On reaching the bottom, some 35,853 feet below the ocean surface, should something have gone wrong, there was no hope of rescue.

Victor describes his feelings before making this historic descent and on the way down. Touching down on the sea bed, he was astounded by the abundance of marine life. Victor describes how he hopes that the mapping, observations and sample collections he has made on his dives will advance scientific understanding of the deep oceans, and where his eternal quest to explore might take him next.

Produced by Florian Bohr and Diane Hope

Credits:

Humpback whale mother and calf sounds - Acoustic Communications CNRS team & CETAMADA

Humpback whale calf sounds - Lars Bejder (MMRP Hawaii), Peter T. Madsen (Aarhus University) & Simone Videsen (Aarhus University)

Filming the humpback heat run and exploring the deepest points of our oceans.

Roger Munns describes filming the humpback heat run, the animal kingdom's biggest courtship ritual. And Victor Vescovo recounts his journey to the deepest points in our oceans.

It turns out that life in a chimpanzee troupe is every bit as gripping as a soap opera. But there are many more moments of beauty, revelation and the joy of discovery, as Catherine pursues her continuing, multi-decadal quest to understand what it means to be a chimpanzee.

And when Sara Dykman set out to bicycle with the monarch butterfly migration, from the mountains of central Mexico, across the USA to Canada, she didn't think about the 10,201 miles that she would cover. Coping with headwinds, heavy rain storms, and everything from dirt roads to busy highways were not the challenge for Sara though. It was seeing how little of the Monarch's only food plant, milkweed, was left for them to feed on during their amazing, multigenerational, multinational migration.

However, Sara found solace in the many conservationists and backyard butterfly gardeners she met along the way, and in the 9000 schoolchildren she gave talks to en route. The most emotional part of the journey for Sara was the last three miles - arriving successfully back at the monarch's overwintering site in Mexico.

Produced by Diane Hope.

Credits:

Monarch butterfly recordings - Robert Mackay

What does it mean to be a chimpanzee? And following the monarch butterfly migration.

Catherine Hobaiter explains her quest to understand what it means to be a chimpanzee and Sara Dykman recounts her 10,201-mile journey following the monarch butterfly migration.

Take a trip around the supermarket and you'll see shelves of products claiming to be 'high in protein'. Scroll through your social media and you'll find beautiful, sculpted people offering recipes and ideas for packing more protein into your diet.

Science presenters Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber have noticed this too. They wanted to unpick the protein puzzle to find out what it does in our bodies and how much we really need. Can this macronutrient really help us lose weight, get fit and be healthier?

Along the way, they speak to Professor Giles Yeo from the University of Cambridge, Bridget Benelam from the British Nutrition Foundation, Paralympian hopeful Harrison Walsh, and food historian Pen Vogler.

Presenters: Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber

Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell

Editor: Martin Smith

Protein is having a moment in the spotlight. Should you be worried about getting enough?

Supermarket shelves are groaning with high-protein products, while social media feeds are filled with uber-fit people urging us to eat more protein. We find out how much we need.

Credits: @thefitadam/@TSCPodcast/@tadhgmoody/@meg_squats/@aussiefitness

[LISTEN NOW]

Jim Al-Khalili discusses monkey infanticide and human parenting with Sarah Hrdy.

She has spent her life using science to help solve cases, working on crime scenes and then analysing material in the lab, and presenting scientific evidence in court.

It's a complicated business. Forensic science relies on powerful technology, such as DNA analysis, but it cannot be that alone - it's also about human judgement, logical reasoning and asking the right questions.

It is these fundamentals of forensic science that Sheila has fought for through her long career and what she fears may be becoming lost from the field now.

We find out what happens when the two very different worlds of science and the law clash in the courtroom. How to walk the line of presenting scientific evidence where there is pressure to be definitive where often science cannot be - and what this part of the job has in common with food packaging.

And what makes a good forensic scientist?

We'll turn the studio at London's Broadcasting House into a live crime scene to see if host Professor Jim Al-Khalili would be any good as a forensic investigator -

A top secret little-known mission that changed the outcome of World War II. Not Alan Turing's Enigma code-breaking mission but a daring foray, conducted behind enemy lines on the shores of Normandy. Harrison Lewis and wetland scientist Christian Dunn re-enact one of the most remarkable feats of the Second World War and discover the intricate details of the daring but forgotten science that underpinned D-Day.

The scientific mission that ensured the success of the D-Day landings

A top secret little-known mission that changed the outcome of World War II. Not Alan Turing's Enigma code-breaking mission but a daring scientific foray, behind enemy lines

[LISTEN NOW]

Bill Gates is one of the world's best-known billionaires - but after years at the corporate coalface building a software empire and a vast fortune, his priority now is giving that wealth away. And his ethos for doing it has been shaped by science.

Famed for co-founding Microsoft, in recent decades Bill's attention has turned to philanthropy via The Gates Foundation: one of the largest charities in the world. Since its inception in 2000, the organisation's helped tackle issues around health, education, inequality and climate change in some of the world's poorest countries, with an undeniable impact: from contributing to the eradication of wild poliovirus in Africa, to helping halve global child mortality rates within 25 years.

But, as Jim Al-Khalili discovers, for a man with lofty ambitions and an even loftier bank balance Bill has surprisingly humble tastes.

Explorations in the world of science.

[LISTEN NOW]

The engineering industry, like many other STEM sectors, has a problem with diversity: one that Dawn Bonfield believes we can and must fix, if we're to get a handle on much more pressing planetary problems...

Dawn is a materials engineer by background, who held roles at Citroën in France and British Aerospace in the UK. But, after having her third child, she made the difficult decision to leave the industry - as she thought at the time, for good. However a short spell working in post-natal services and childcare gave her new skills and a fresh perspective. This led to Dawn rehabilitating the struggling Women in Engineering Society and creating ‘International Women In Engineering Day', which has just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Today, she's Professor of Practice in Engineering for Sustainable Development at King's College London, and the founder of Magnificent Women: a social enterprise celebrating the story of female engineers over the past century. She's also President of the Commonwealth Engineers' Council and has had her work supporting diversity and inclusion recognised with an MBE.

Dawn talks to Professor Jim Al-Khalili about why 'inclusive engineering' should not be dismissed as tokenism, and why she's optimistic about the engineering sector's power to change the world.

Dawn Bonfield on inclusive engineering.

[LISTEN NOW]

From anorexia nervosa to binge-eating, eating disorders are potentially fatal conditions that are traditionally very difficult to diagnose and treat - not least because those affected often don't recognise that there's anything wrong. But also because of the diverse factors that can influence and encourage them.

Janet Treasure is a Professor of Psychiatry at King's College, London - where she's focused on understanding the drivers behind these disorders, to help develop more effective treatments. Her study of twins in the 1980s offered one of the earliest arguments of a genetic link to anorexia, rather than the purely psychological motivations accepted at the time; while her most recent work explores holistic ways to better treat these conditions.

Speaking to Jim Al-Khalili, Janet explains the work that's revealed anorexia's roots in both body and mind - as well as how attitudes towards eating disorders are slowly changing.

[LISTEN NOW]

Kip Thorne is an Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech, the California Institute of Technology, and someone who's had a huge impact on our understanding of Einsteinian gravity. Over the course of his career Kip has broken new ground in the study of black holes, and been an integral parts of the team that recorded gravitational waves for the very first time – earning him a share in the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics.

He went on to promote physics in films: developing the original idea behind Christopher Nolan's time-travel epic Interstellar and, since then, advising on scientific elements of various big-screen projects; including, most recently, the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer.

In a special edition of The Life Scientific recorded in front of an audience of London's Royal Institution, Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to Kip about his life and career, from his Mormon upbringing in Utah to Hollywood collaborations – all through the lens of his unwavering passion for science.

[LISTEN NOW]

Throbbing head, nausea, dizziness, disturbed vision – just some of the disabling symptoms that can strike during a migraine attack. This neurological condition is far more common than you might think, affecting more people than diabetes, epilepsy and asthma combined.

While medications, to help relieve the symptoms of migraine, have been around for some time, they haven't worked for everyone. And what happens in the brain during a migraine attack was, until recently, poorly understood.

Peter Goadsby is Professor of Neurology at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience and is a true pioneer in the field of migraine.

Over the course of his career, he has unravelled what happens in the brain during a migraine attack and his insights are already benefiting patients - in the form of new medications that can not only treat a migraine, but also prevent it from occurring.

Peter shares this year's Brain Prize, the world's largest prize for brain research, with three other internationally renowned scientists in the field.

Professor Peter Goadsby is a true pioneer in the field of migraine.

[LISTEN NOW]

It's summer - no really - and although the weather might have been mixed, the sporting line-up has been undeniably scorching - from the back-and-forth of Wimbledon, to the nail-biting Euros, to the current pageantry of the Summer Olympics.

Next month the 2024 Paralympic Games get underway in Paris, involving the world's very best para athletes; and Professor Vicky Tolfrey is at the forefront of the science that makes their sporting dreams a reality.

Vicky is the Director of the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport at Loughborough University, a hub for elite para-sport research. She's worked with stars from the worlds of wheelchair athletics, basketball, rugby and tennis, amongst others – and in 2017, became the first European recipient of the International Paralympic Committee's prestigious Scientific Award.

She tells Professor Jim Al-Khalili about her work with elite para athletes, her experiences at major international sporting events, and her childhood dreams of becoming an Olympian herself.

Vicky Tolfrey on parasport research and childhood dreams of the Olympics.

[LISTEN NOW]

Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder that makes renders the body's connective tissues incredibly fragile; this can weaken the heart, leading to potentially fatal aneurysms. What's more, anyone with the condition has a 50/50 chance of passing it on to their children.

Dr Anne Child is a clinical geneticist who's dedicated her professional life to finding answers and solutions for people affected by Marfan's.

Born in Canada, she met her British future-husband while working in Montreal in a case she describes as 'love at first sight' - and in the 1970s she relocated her life to the UK.

There, an encounter with a Marfan patient she was unable to help set Anne on a career path for life. She subsequently established the team that discovered the gene responsible for Marfan's, and founded the Marfan Trust to drive further research. Since then, life expectancy for those with the condition has jumped from 32 years old, to over 70.

Speaking to Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Anne shares how she and her team achieved this remarkable turnaround.

[LISTEN NOW]

Many of us have heard of seismology, the study of earthquakes; but what about asteroseismology, focusing on vibrations in stars?

Conny Aerts is a professor of Astrophysics at the University of Leuven in Belgium - and a champion of this information-rich field of celestial research. Her work has broken new ground in helping to improve our understanding of stars and their structures.

Conny describes herself as always being “something of an outlier” and she had to fight to follow her dream of working in astronomy. But that determination has paid off - today, Conny is involved in numerous interstellar studies collecting data from thousands of stars, and taking asteroseismology to a whole new level.

Recorded at the 2024 Cheltenham Science Festival, Prof Jim Al-Khalili talks to the pioneering Belgian astrophysicist about her lifelong passion for stars, supporting the next generation of scientists, and her determination to tread her own path.

Conny Aerts is a professor of Astrophysics at the University of Leuven in Belgium.

[LISTEN NOW]

Nira Chamberlain on how mathematics can solve real-world problems.

[LISTEN NOW]

Kip Thorne is an emeritus professor of theoretical physics at Caltech, the California Institute of Technology, and someone who has had a huge impact on our understanding of Einsteinian gravity. Over the course of his career Kip has broken new ground in the study of black holes, and been an integral parts of the team that recorded gravitational waves for the very first time – earning him a share in the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics.

He went on to promote physics in films: developing the original idea behind Christopher Nolan's time-travel epic Interstellar and, since then, advising on scientific elements of various big-screen projects; including, most recently, the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer.

In a special edition of The Life Scientific recorded in front of an audience of London's Royal Institution, Prof Jim Al-Khalili talks to Kip about his life and career, from his Mormon upbringing in Utah to Hollywood collaborations – all through the lens of his unwavering passion for science.

Kip Thorne's study of black holes earnt him a share of the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics

Explorations in the world of science.

The life and career of Prof Kip Thorne whose study of black holes earning him a share in the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics.

[LISTEN NOW]

In recent decades, we have taken huge steps forward in treating formerly fatal viruses - with pharmacological breakthroughs revolutionising treatment for conditions such as HIV, hepatitis and herpes. Raymond Schinazi has played a big role in that revolution.

Ray was born in Egypt, where his mother's brush with a potentially deadly illness during his childhood inspired a fascination with medicine. His childhood was scattered; after his family were forced to leave their homeland and travelled to Italy as refugees, Ray ended up on a scholarship to a British boarding school - and subsequently went on to study and flourish in the world of chemistry and biology.

Today, Ray is the director of the Laboratory of Biochemical Pharmacology at Emory University in Atlanta, where he also set up the renowned Center for AIDS Research. His work in the early days of HIV studies led to drugs that many with the virus still take today; while his contribution to developing a cure for Hepatitis C has saved millions of lives around the world.

Speaking to Jim al-Khalili, Ray reflects on his route to success and explains why he is confident that more big breakthroughs are on the horizon.

Raymond Schinazi reflects on his role revolutionising treatment for HIV and hepatitis C

Raymond Schinazi has played a big role in revolutionising treatment for conditions such as HIV, hepatitis and herpes

[LISTEN NOW]

Built for high speed chases, these spotted cats are slender, with semi-retractable claws for good grip, and a flexible spine and long tail for balance and manoeuvrability. Cheetahs are able to make tight, quick turns to shift course in fast pursuit of their prey, as they rely on their speed over brute strength when hunting. But with a shrinking population cheetahs are classified as vulnerable – what is being done to conserve them and are the conservation projects having any success?

Presented by Adam Hart.

Produced by Jonathan Blackwell for BBC World Service.

Adam Hart investigates the fastest land animal in the world - the cheetah!

Adam Hart investigates the fastest land animal in the world – the cheetah! Built for high speed chases, the population of these spotted cats is shrinking and they are vulnerable.

Adam Hart investigates the fastest land animal in the world – the cheetah! Built for high-speed chases, these spotted cats are slender, with semi-retractable claws for good grip and a flexible spine plus a long tail for balance and manoeuvrability. Cheetahs rely on speed over brute strength when hunting – and can make tight, quick turns to shift course in fast pursuit of their prey. But with shrinking populations cheetahs are classified as vulnerable – so what's being done in terms of conservation and are these projects having any success?

Adam hears how cheetahs differ from lions and leopards and learns about their relationships with other predators. He looks at their unique adaptions and behaviours, as well as the different approaches that conservationists are undertaking to try and reverse the population decline. And we also hear about the re-introduction of cheetahs to India.

Contributors:

Professor Sarah Durant is from the Zoological Society of London and is project leader of the Africa Range-Wide Cheetah Conservation Initiative.

Vincent van der Merwe is director of The Metapopulation Initiative and is cheetah metapopulation coordinator for Southern Africa and India.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

Editor: Holly Squire

Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris

Studio Manager: Andrew Garratt

(Photo: Cheetah, Credit: Paul & Paveena Mckenzie via Getty Images)

The fastest land animal in the world - Adam Hart investigates the cheetah!

Adam Hart investigates the fastest land animal in the world – the cheetah! Built for high-speed chases, the population of these spotted cats is shrinking and they are vulnerable.

Adam hears what it's like to see these sharks up-close and in person for the very first time. He learns more about how great whites detect and hunt their prey, as well as the challenges they've been facing due to another ocean predator.

Contributors:

Dr Alison Towner is a postdoctoral researcher at Rhodes University in South Africa. She has a PhD in white shark ecology and has been studying the displacement of great whites due to orcas (killer whales) in South Africa.

Professor Gavin Naylor is Director of the Florida Program for Shark Research. He is a biologist who has specialised in evolutionary and population genetics, focusing on sharks.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

Editor: Holly Squire

Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris

Studio Manager: Jackie Margerum

(Photo: Great White Shark, Credit: Todd Winner/Stocktrek Images via Getty Images)

Adam Hart investigates the most famous and feared predator in all the ocean!

Adam Hart investigates the most famous and feared predator in all the ocean, the great white shark! But is it really the ultimate predator as we've been led to believe?

This week it's the turn of the most famous and feared predator in all of the ocean – the great white shark! In Tooth and Claw, Adam Hart explores our complex and challenging relationships with Earth's greatest predators - through the people who have spent their lives studying, protecting and, at times, narrowly escaping them!

With rows of large serrated teeth, it's often thought of as a ferocious man-eater and was the villain of a film that frightened a generation of beachgoers. This star of the silver screen may be the subject of fascination and fright for many, but is this animal really the ultimate apex predator of the ocean that films such as Jaws have led us to believe? Could it be that the great white is becoming prey to another super-predator?

Presented by Adam Hart

Produced by Jonathan Blackwell for BBC World Service

The most famous and feared predator in all of the ocean - the great white shark!

It's the turn of the most famous and feared predator in all of the ocean – the great white shark! But is it really the ultimate apex predator that we have been led to believe?

Said to be able to strip their prey to the bone in mere minutes – what role did former United States President Theodore Roosevelt have in creating the piranha's reputation? From feeding frenzies to bubbling bloodbaths there are plenty of gruesome stories about shoals of these hardy fish in the freshwaters of South America – but are these tales true? Adam dispels myths with two piranha experts who work closely with these ferocious fish, including out in the Amazon!

Presented by Adam Hart.

Produced by Jonathan Blackwell for BBC World Service.

Adam Hart investigates a frenzied and voracious fish from South America - the piranha!

Adam Hart investigates a frenzied and voracious fish from South America – the piranha! But what role did a former United States President have in creating their reputation?

Adam Hart investigates a frenzied and voracious fish from South America – the piranha! Said to be able to strip their prey to the bone in mere minutes, there are plenty of gruesome tales about the bubbling bloodbaths that occur when shoals of these hardy fish feed in the freshwaters across South America - from up in Venezuela in the Orinoco River, to the Amazon and down to the Paraná River in Argentina. What role did former United States President Theodore Roosevelt have in creating the piranha's fearsome reputation? And is this reputation misguided?

Adam hears what piranhas are really like, both in the wild and in captivity. He learns about how these fish hunt, the impact that humans are having on them and tries to establish if they really are as bloodthirsty as we've been led to believe.

Contributors:

Marcelo Ândrade is a professor at the Federal University of Maranhão in Brazil. He researches the environments that piranha live in and their behaviour, as well as plastic ingestion by piranhas.

Hannah Thomas is the aquarium team manager at Chester Zoo in the UK where they care for 40 red-bellied piranhas.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

Editor: Holly Squire

Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris

Studio Manager: Neva Missirian

(Photo: Red-Bellied Piranha, Credit: Ed Reschke via Getty Images)

Adam Hart investigates, do these South American fish deserve their frenzied reputation?

Contributors:

Rebecca Watters is founder and director of the Mongolian Wolverine Project, as well as the executive director of the Wolverine Foundation, a non-profit that's dedicated to advancing science-based conservation of wolverines.

Jenny Mattisson is a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, who is involved in the monitoring of wolverines in Scandinavia. She has studied interactions between wolverines and Eurasian lynx, as well as their predation of reindeer.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

Editor: Holly Squire

Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris

Studio Manager: Donald MacDonald

(Photo: Wolverine, Credit: Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Adam Hart investigates, do wolverines deserve their reputation for gluttony and ferocity?

Adam Hart investigates the largest terrestrial member of the weasel family - the wolverine! Do they deserve their reputation for gluttony and ferocity?

A small, informal survey leads to shocking revelations about the US justice system, with its truths only uncovered decades later. Meanwhile, an ambitious portfolio manager discovers a perfect graph outlining eye-watering profits. But something doesn't seem right. Could the graph be accurate, or is it hiding a far more sinister truth? This story delves into the power of data, the hidden forces behind it, and the unexpected revelations that can change everything

Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery.

Explorations in the world of science.

[LISTEN NOW]

A young researcher gains access to a secretive data set and discovers a system causing harm to the very people it is supposed to help.

One day a student makes a discovery which, if true, could shake the intellectual foundations of a global movement, and undermine politicians around the world.

Producer: Lauren Armstrong Carter

What happens when a system designed to help people harms them instead?

What happens when a system designed to help people harms them instead? And, a PhD student discovers an anomaly which undermines a global movement.

A mathematician searching for love discovers that relationships aren't always as simple as equations—are his calculations the issue, or is there something deeper at play? Meanwhile, at an engineering conference, a young researcher's seemingly minor mistake uncovers a scandal of epic proportions. Can numbers find love or unveil problems? From personal dilemmas to professional revelations, this episode dives into the unexpected ways numbers can change lives.

Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery.

Explorations in the world of science.

[LISTEN NOW]

A PhD student with a passion for whales' stumbles upon a strange, eerie sound deep beneath the ocean waves—something that will soon rock her world. Meanwhile, a fisherman is stranded in the ocean late at night, completely alone. With time running out, can he be rescued before it's too late? From mysterious discoveries to life-or-death struggles, this story delves into the power of the ocean and the determination to survive.

Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery.

Explorations in the world of science.

[LISTEN NOW]

Two couples are brought together by a tragedy and a tatty piece of paper, which reveals a serial murderer hiding in plain sight.

And, across the world in Singapore, a metro system is misbehaving wildly. The rail engineers and company officials are flummoxed. Can data save the day?

Produced by: Ilan Goodman and Lauren Armstrong Carter

Two couples brought together by a tragedy and a tatty piece of paper with a serial number

At a conference in Mexico, one scientist's outburst sparks a global quest to find a ‘golden spike'—the boundary marking the shift into a new geological period dominated by humans, not volcanoes or asteroids. From plastics and concrete to nuclear fallout, the data they uncover reveals a planet profoundly altered. But can they convince their colleagues—and the world—of the extent of this transformation? Meanwhile, in a small Italian city nestled in the Apennine mountains, a series of low-level tremors raise the question: Is this just a passing phase, or a warning of something much more devastating?

Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery.

Explorations in the world of science.

[LISTEN NOW]

Gossip and rumour are plaguing a tile manufacturing company. The chatter is pulling morale to new lows, and amid it all, a question hangs in the air: who is spreading it? Can the science of networks find out?

And, what is the secret to ageing well? One man believes he may have found the beginnings of an answer, and it is hiding in a convent.

Produced by: Ilan Goodman and Lauren Armstrong Carter

Gossip and rumour can affect morale but can the science of networks explain why?

A manufacturing company is in trouble as gossip and rumour affects morale. Can the science of networks explain why? And, what a room full of nuns reveal about ageing with grace.

Amid the desperation of war-starved Netherlands, a doctor defies conventional wisdom to save gravely ill children, uncovering a treatment that sparks both hope and controversy. Years later, in 1967, a young female researcher detects a strange, pulsing signal—could it be mundane interference or evidence of alien life? From lifesaving breakthroughs to cosmic discoveries, this story celebrates the determination of pioneers who challenge convention and pursue truth against the odds.

Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery.

Explorations in the world of science.

[LISTEN NOW]

Do orangutans - or humans - experience a midlife crisis? Hidden deep in the data, two economists have found a surprising pattern: happiness is U shaped.

And, John Carter has a terrible choice to make. One path offers glory, the other to death. His decision hinges on one graph, but can it help him take the right road?

Produced by: Ilan Goodman and Lauren Armstrong Carter

Do orangutans, or humans, experience a midlife crisis? And, why happiness is U shaped

Do orangutans, or humans, experience a midlife crisis? Hidden deep in the data, two economists have found a surprising pattern: happiness is U shaped.

In a few specific years across the 20th Century, the proportion of boys born, mysteriously spiked. We follow one researcher's obsessive quest to find out why.

And next, a tale of science and skulduggery. Michael Mann was a respected climate scientist, unknown outside of a small academic circle, until he produced a graph that shocked the world and changed his life forever.

Producer: Ilan Goodman

Uncharted with Hannah Fry

Hannah Fry follows one researcher's obsessive quest to discover why in one year more boys were being born than girls.

In a lab in 1950s Kolkata, Asima Chatterjee laboriously extracts chemicals from the Indian snakeroot plant. She knows she'll have to send the products away – she doesn't have the money or resources to analyse them in India. But the tireless and uncompromising chemist perseveres, and her work paved the way for modern-day chemotherapy treatments.

Asima grew up in a time when it was uncommon for women in India to have an education, but went on to become a hugely influential figure in her field whose work is still repurposed and cited today. Dr Ella and Dr Julia take us through her inspirational journey, joined by Professor Sivapriya Kirubakaran and Dr Sarah O'Connor.

Presenters: Dr Ella Hubber and Dr Julia Ravey

Producers: Ella Hubber and Julia Ravey

Assistant producer: Sophie Ormiston

Production Coordinator: Elisabeth Tuohy

Editor: Holly Squire

Discover the unsung heroines of science and their world changing inventions.

Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber tell each other inspiring tales of pioneering female inventors – the stories they wish they'd known when they were starting out as scientists.

Florence Bell's scientific career began in the 1930s whilst studying at Cambridge University. The University didn't grant degrees to women at the time, but this didn't dissuade Florence. She was so talented at an imaging technique called X-ray crystallography that she started a PhD in the field – and it was during this time that she would make a pivotal discovery about the molecule of life.

Florence is an unsung hero of the DNA story. Her work laid the foundation for a vital field of research, yet her contribution was buried for years. Dr Julia and Dr Ella tell Florence's tale, with input from Dr Kersten Hall, science historian and visiting fellow at the University of Leeds.

Presenters: Dr Ella Hubber and Dr Julia Ravey

Producers: Ella Hubber and Julia Ravey

Assistant producer: Sophie Ormiston

Production Coordinator: Elisabeth Tuohy

Editor: Holly Squire

(Photo: Florence Bell. Credit: Courtesy of her son Chris Sawyer. No reuse)

Discover the unsung heroines of science and their world changing inventions.

Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber tell each other inspiring tales of pioneering female inventors – the stories they wish they'd known when they were starting out as scientists.

Known as the ‘most beautiful woman in film' during the 1940s, Hedy Lamarr was one of the most in demand Hollywood actresses of her time. But she wasn't just a movie star. From a young age, she also had a knack for inventing – she liked to take her toys apart just to see how they worked. And she carried this passion into her adult life – creating an invention that laid the groundwork for technology many of us couldn't live without: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

But it didn't come without struggle. Dr Julia and Dr Ella take us through Hedy's remarkable journey, and we get a first-hand look into Hedy's life from her daughter Denise Loder-DeLuca.

Presenters: Dr Ella Hubber and Dr Julia Ravey

Producers: Ella Hubber and Julia Ravey

Assistant producer: Sophie Ormiston

Production Coordinator: Elisabeth Tuohy

Editor: Holly Squire

(Photo: Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-born American actress and inventor. Credit: Eric Carpenter/John Kobal Foundation/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Discover the unsung heroines of science and their world changing inventions.

Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber tell each other inspiring tales of pioneering female inventors – the stories they wish they'd known when they were starting out as scientists.

Known as the ‘most beautiful woman in film' during the 1940s, Hedy Lamarr was one of the most in demand Hollywood actresses of her time. But she wasn't just a movie star. From a young age, she also had a knack for inventing – she liked to take her toys apart just to see how they worked. And she carried this passion into her adult life - creating an invention that laid the groundwork for technology many of us couldn't live without: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner – known as Beatrice – grew up in a family of inventors, creating her first invention at just six years old. And she didn't stop there – she continued to invent throughout her adult life, including a new and improved sanitary pad in a time when there was still a big taboo around periods.

However, as an African American woman during a time of racial segregation, Beatrice faced injustice and discrimination when trying to get her inventions patented. But if anything, this spurred Beatrice on, and at one point in time she held the most patents of any African American woman.

Dr Julia and Dr Ella are joined by Professor Sharra Vostral and Ashleigh Coren as they tell Beatrice's remarkable story.

Presenters: Dr Ella Hubber and Dr Julia Ravey

Producers: Ella Hubber and Julia Ravey

Assistant Producer: Sophie Ormiston

Production Coordinator: Elisabeth Tuohy

Editor: Holly Squire

Discover the unsung heroines of science and their world changing inventions.

Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber tell each other inspiring tales of pioneering female inventors – the stories they wish they'd known when they were starting out as scientists.

Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner grew up in a family of inventors, creating her first invention at just six years old. And she didn't stop there – she continued to invent throughout her adult life, including a new and improved sanitary pad in a time when there was still a big taboo around periods.

However, as an African American woman during a time of racial segregation, Mary Beatrice faced injustice and discrimination when trying to get her inventions patented. But if anything, this spurred Mary Beatrice on, and at one point in time she was the African American woman with the most patents. Dr Julia and Dr Ella are joined by Professor Sharra Vostral and Ashleigh Coren as they tell Mary Beatrice's remarkable story.

Every day, around 500 tonnes of plastic waste is generated in the Kenyan city of Nairobi. Hardly any of it is recycled – but engineer Nzambi Matee is on a mission to change that. Frustrated by the level of pollution, in 2017 Nzambi constructed a laboratory in her mother's backyard. It was here that she used her self-taught engineering skills to convert plastic waste into bricks that are stronger and more eco-friendly than concrete.

Since then, Nzambi's backyard operation has grown into a company – Gjenge Makers – and the bricks are widely used across Nairobi. And at only 31, Nzambi is just getting started. As Dr Julia and Dr Ella trace Nzambi's journey, we hear from Nzambi herself about what it took to get to this point, as well as her ambitions for the future.

Presenters: Dr Ella Hubber and Dr Julia Ravey

Producers: Ella Hubber and Julia Ravey

Assistant producer: Sophie Ormiston

Production Coordinator: Elisabeth Tuohy

Editor: Holly Squire

(Photo: Nzambi Matee, Kenyan entrepreneur and inventor, holds plastic polymer recycled to make bricks. Credit: SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images)

Discover the unsung heroines of science and their world changing inventions.

Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber tell each other inspiring tales of pioneering female inventors – the stories they wish they'd known when they were starting out as scientists.

As the very first Latina woman working in engineering at Nasa, Olga's career has not always been an easy ride, but is filled with remarkable achievements. Dr Ella and Dr Julia tell her story, and Olga herself gives us a first-hand account of her life so far.

Presenters: Dr Ella Hubber and Dr Julia Ravey

Producers: Ella Hubber and Julia Ravey

Assistant producer: Sophie Ormiston

Production co-ordinator: Elisabeth Tuohy

Editor: Holly Squire

(Photo: Olga González-Sanabria. Credit: Nasa Glenn Research Center)

Olga Gonz\u00e1lez-Sanabria's work was instrumental for International Space Station

Olga González-Sanabria's instrumental work for Nasa helped set up the International Space Station.

Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber both have a love of science, but it turns out there's a lot they don't know about some of the leading women at the front of the inventing game. In Unstoppable, Dr Julia and Dr Ella tell each other the hidden, world-shaping stories of the engineers, innovators and inventors they wish they'd known about when they were starting out as scientists. This week, the engineer whose work helped launch the International Space Station.

In her last year of high school, Olga González-Sanabria went on a field trip to the University of Puerto Rico's school of engineering – and immediately knew that was what she wanted to do. She followed her passion and after university was recruited by NASA, where she carried out instrumental work, without which we wouldn't have the International Space Station.

As the very first Latina woman working in engineering at NASA, Olga's career hasn't always been an easy ride, but is filled with remarkable achievements. Dr Ella and Dr Julia tell her story, and Olga herself gives us a firsthand account of her life so far.

Discover the unsung heroines of science and their world changing inventions.

(Photo: Elderly man going for a run. Credit: Charday Penn / Getty Images)

James Gallagher tries to understand what holds us back from exercise as we age.

James Gallagher delves into the science to find out exactly how much sitting is too much?

(Photo: Woman sitting at desk in office. Credit: Richard Drury / Getty Images)

Co-Presenters: Ben Garrod and Jess French

Executive producer: Adrian Washbourne

Producer: Ella Hubber

Editor: Martin Smith

Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Insights into the anatomy and physiology of the tiny sap-sucking aphid

Insights into the anatomy and physiology of the tiny sap-sucking aphid and how we could curtail its damaging impact.

The tiny sap-sucking aphid, at just a few millimetres long, is the scourge of many gardeners and crop-growers worldwide, spreading astonishingly rapidly and inflicting huge damage as it seeks to outwit many host plants' natural defences. With insights and guidance from aphid expert George Seddon-Roberts at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, some delicate dissecting tools, and a state of the art microscope, Professor Ben Garrod and Dr Jess French delve inside this herbivorous insect to unravel the anatomy and physiology that's secured its extraordinary reproductive success, whilst offering new clues as to how we could curtail its damaging impact in the future.

Professor Ben Garrod, evolutionary biologist from the University of East Anglia, and expert veterinary surgeon Dr Jess French, open up and investigate what makes each of these animals unique, in terms of their extraordinary anatomy, behaviour and their evolutionary history. Along the way, they reveal some unique adaptations which give each species a leg (or claw) up in surviving in the big, wild world.

The series begins with an icon of the outback – known best for its hopping, boxing, and cosy pouch – the red kangaroo. Despite the immense heat and lack of water, these marsupials dominate Australia, with their evolutionary history driving them to success. From the powerful legs which allow them to hop up to 40km an hour, to an unexpected reproductive system that keeps their populations plentiful, Ben, Jess and marsupial expert Dr Jack Ashby reveal a mammalian anatomy which holds many surprises.

Co-Presenters: Ben Garrod and Jess French

Producer: Ella Hubber

Editor: Martin Smith

Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Ben Garrod and Jess French get under the skin (and blubber) of the California sea lion

Ben Garrod and Jess French get under the skin (and blubber) of the California sea lion.

Executive Producer: Adrian Washbourne