The Life Scientific Podcast
Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires and motivates them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future
Episodes to download
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Vlatko Vedral on the universe as quantum information
Tue 21 Jun 2022
A self-confessed physics fundamentalist decodes reality.
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Adam Hart on ants, bees and insect burgers
Tue 14 Jun 2022
When does a waggle dance become a tremble dance?
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Jacinta Tan on anorexia nervosa and the mind
Tue 7 Jun 2022
How does a person with anorexia nervosa think? Jacinta Tan talks to Jim Al-Khalili.
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Pete Smith on why soil matters
Tue 31 May 2022
Restore peat bogs to mitigate climate change and improve bio-diversity.
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Chi Onwurah on why engineering is a caring profession.
Tue 24 May 2022
Why politics needs more scientists and engineers.
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Ben Garrod on conservation and extinction
Tue 22 Mar 2022
What can bones tell us about evolution, behaviour and extinction?
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Steve Brusatte on the fall of dinosaurs and the rise of mammals
Tue 8 Mar 2022
How did mammals come to dominate our planet? Prof Steve Brusatte talks to Jim Al-Khalili.
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Shankar Balasubramanian on decoding DNA
Tue 1 Mar 2022
The man who found a way to decode DNA at speed.
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Julia Shaw on memories that aren't true
Tue 22 Feb 2022
Can we trust our memories of events? Julia Shaw talks to Jim Al-Khalili.
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Sharon Peacock on hunting pandemic variants of concern
Tue 2 Nov 2021
Leading the UK's hunt for new and dangerous Covid-19 variants.
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Tim Clutton-Brock on meerkats, red deer and evolution
Tue 26 Oct 2021
What makes meerkats so cooperative and why do sons cost mothers more than daughters?
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Tim Spector and personalised diets for long term health
Tue 19 Oct 2021
Professor Tim Spector on fuelling gut microbes for long term health.
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The Life Scientific at 10: What makes a scientist?
Tue 12 Oct 2021
Jim Al-Khalili and distinguished guests reflect on ten years of The Life Scientific.
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Hannah Cloke and predicting floods
Tue 5 Oct 2021
Hannah Cloke talks to Jim Al-Khalili about predicting this summer's serious floods.
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Derk-Jan Dijk on the importance of sleep
Tue 28 Sep 2021
How does sleep change as we age? Derk-Jan Dijk talks to Jim Al-Khalili.
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Brenda Boardman on making our homes energy efficient.
Tue 21 Sep 2021
Can we achieve carbon net zero in our homes? Brenda Boardman talks to Jim Al-Khalili.
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David Eagleman on why reality is an illusion
Tue 14 Sep 2021
Can we create new senses? Prof David Eagleman talks to Jim Al-Khalili.
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Hannah Fry on the power and perils of big data
Tue 7 Sep 2021
Why, in the Age of the Algorithm, humans have never been more important.
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Tamsin Edwards on the uncertainty in climate science
Tue 1 Jun 2021
All climate change models are wrong. Tamsin Edwards tells Jim Al Khalili why.
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Mike Tipton on how our bodies respond to extreme conditions
Tue 25 May 2021
Mike Tipton on cold water swimming.
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Nira Chamberlain on how mathematics can solve real-world problems
Tue 18 May 2021
Jim Al-Khalili asks Nira Chamberlain how he uses maths to solve real-world problems.
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Helen Scales on marine conservation
Tue 11 May 2021
Fish watching and the downsides of deep sea mining. Helen Scales talks to Jim Al-Khalili.
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Peter Goadsby on migraine
Tue 4 May 2021
Peter Goadsby on migraine attacks and the new treatments his research has inspired.
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Jane Clarke on Protein Folding
Tue 27 Apr 2021
Jane Clarke unravels her discoveries into the molecular origami of our body's proteins.
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Professor Martin Sweeting, inventor of microsatellites
Tue 20 Apr 2021
How Martin Sweeting made a satellite on his kitchen table.
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Theresa Marteau on how to change behaviour
Tue 13 Apr 2021
Prof Dame Theresa Marteau tells Jim Al-Khalili about her life and work.
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Mark Spencer on how plants solve crimes
Tue 9 Mar 2021
Inside the mind of a forensic botanist, Mark Spencer.
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Sarah Bridle on the carbon footprint of food
Tue 2 Mar 2021
Why did a rising star in the study of dark energy turn her attention to climate change?
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Richard Bentall on the causes of mental ill health
Tue 23 Feb 2021
Why madness is in the world not in us. Prof Richard Bentall talks about his life and work.
Sleep – the mystery state
What is the secret to a good nights sleep? Professor Jim Al-Khalili explores.
Is your mind a machine?
Daniel Dennett thinks so. Here is what we learned from his Life Scientific.
