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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Jane Hurst on the secret life of mice
Tue 9 Feb 2021
Jane Hurst reveals how mice are ruled by their noses.
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Anne Johnson on the importance of public health
Tue 2 Feb 2021
From HIV to influenza and Covid-19, why prevention is better than cure.
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Giles Yeo on how our genes can make us fat
Tue 26 Jan 2021
Giles Yeo reveals the role our genes play in the obesity epidemic.
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Cath Noakes on making buildings Covid-safe
Tue 19 Jan 2021
How good ventilation dramatically reduces the risk of inhaling tiny airborne pathogens.
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Chris Jackson on sustainable geology
Tue 12 Jan 2021
Geologist Chris Jackson on the earth's past, deep salt and abseiling into a volcano.
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Scientists in the Spotlight during the Pandemic
Tue 15 Dec 2020
Jim Al-Khalili finds out how The Life Scientific has changed during the pandemic.
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Neil Ferguson on modelling Covid-19
Tue 22 Sep 2020
Predicting the spread of Covid-19. Neil Ferguson talks to Jim Al-Khalili about lockdown.
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Sarah Gilbert on developing a vaccine for Covid-19
Tue 15 Sep 2020
How did Sarah Gilbert get so far, so fast in developing a vaccine for Covid-19?
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Steve Haake on technology, sport and health
Tue 8 Sep 2020
Steve Haake talks to Jim al-Khalili about how technology improves sporting ability.
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Francesca HappΓ© on autism
Tue 1 Sep 2020
Francesca HappΓ© talks to Jim al-Khalili about the abilities of people with autism.
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Heather Koldewey on marine conservation
Tue 25 Aug 2020
Saving seahorses and turning old fishing nets into luxury carpets.
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Dale Sanders on feeding the world
Tue 18 Aug 2020
Why the world needs more plant scientists. Prof Dale Sanders talks to Jim Al-Khalili.
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Andy Fabian on black holes
Tue 11 Aug 2020
Professor Andy Fabian on supermassive black holes and their dramatic hold over galaxies.
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Alice Roberts on bones
Tue 4 Aug 2020
What can we learn from human remains? Alice Roberts talks bones with Jim Al Khalili.
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Emma Bunce on the gas giants
Tue 9 Jun 2020
Professor Emma Bunce shares her passion for Jupiter and Neptune with Jim Al-Khalili.
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Jane Goodall on living with wild chimpanzees
Tue 2 Jun 2020
Jane Goodall describes her life with the wild chimpanzees of Gombe.
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Liz Seward and the dream of spaceflight
Tue 26 May 2020
Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to Liz Seward about designing spacecraft.
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Frank Kelly on air pollution
Tue 19 May 2020
The impact of lockdown on the quality of the air we breathe.
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Debbie Pain on conserving globally threatened bird species
Tue 12 May 2020
Professor Debbie Pain talks to Jim Al-Khalili about conserving our endangered birdlife.
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Jim McDonald on power networks
Tue 5 May 2020
Is the National Grid fit for purpose? Jim McDonald talks to Jim Al-Khalili.
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Brian Greene on how the universe is made of string
Tue 28 Apr 2020
Is the universe really made of string? Physicist Brian Greene talks to Jim Al Khalili.
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Matthew Cobb on how we detect smells
Tue 3 Mar 2020
What maggots teach us about our sense of smell. Prof Matthew Cobb tells Jim Al-Khalli
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Anya Hurlbert on seeing colour
Tue 25 Feb 2020
Anya Hurlbert tells Jim Al-Khalili how colours are made in the mind.
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Myles Allen on understanding climate change
Tue 18 Feb 2020
The physicist behind net zero. Prof Myles Allen talks to Jim Al-Khalili.
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Optical communications pioneer Polina Bayvel
Tue 11 Feb 2020
The invention of the optical fibres that makes ultra-fast broadband possible.
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2019 Nobel Prize winner for Physiology or Medicine, Sir Peter Ratcliffe
Tue 4 Feb 2020
The 2019 Nobel Prize-winner Sir Peter Ratcliffe on living with low oxygen.
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Peter Fonagy on a revolution in mental health care
Tue 28 Jan 2020
How Peter Fonagy changed the way we treat our mental health.
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Susannah Maidment on stegosaurs
Tue 14 Jan 2020
Susannah Maidment tells Jim how she came to be a world authority on stegosaurs
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Patricia Wiltshire on how pollen can solve crimes.
Tue 7 Jan 2020
Using pollen to solve crimes. Prof Pat Wiltshire talks to Jim Al Khalili.
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.
