Podcast Episodes

Darren Croft on killer whale matriarchs and the menopause

Darren Croft studies one of the ocean’s most charismatic and spectacular animals – the killer whale. Orca are probably best known for their predatory behaviour: ganging up to catch hapless seals or…

Published on 1 year, 1 month ago

Bill Gates on vaccines, conspiracy theories and the pleasures of pickleball

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 hi…

Published on 1 year, 1 month ago

Kip Thorne on black holes, Nobel Prizes and taking physics to Hollywood

The final episode in this series of The Life Scientific is a journey through space and time, via black holes and wormholes, taking in Nobel-prize-winning research and Hollywood blockbusters!

Kip Thorn…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

Vicky Tolfrey on parasport research and childhood dreams of the Olympics

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 c…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

Dawn Bonfield on inclusive engineering, sustainable solutions and why she once tried to leave the sector for good

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 pro…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

Raymond Schinazi on revolutionising treatments for killer viruses

In recent decades, we've taken huge steps forward in treating formerly fatal viruses: with pharmacological breakthroughs revolutionising treatment for conditions such as HIV, hepatitis and herpes.

Ra…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

Janet Treasure on eating disorders and the quest for answers

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 rec…

Published on 1 year, 2 months ago

Anne Child on Marfan syndrome and love at first sight

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 …

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

Conny Aerts on star vibrations and following your dreams

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 …

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

Mike Edmunds on decoding galaxies and ancient astronomical artefacts

What is the universe made of? Where does space dust come from? And how exactly might one go about putting on a one-man-show about Sir Isaac Newton?

These are all questions that Mike Edmunds, Emeritu…

Published on 1 year, 5 months ago