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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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.
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Elizabeth Fisher on chromosomes in mice and men
Tue 12 Nov 2019
Elizabeth Fisher on studying chromosomal abnormalities in mice and men
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Demis Hassabis on artificial intelligence
Tue 5 Nov 2019
Demis Hassabis tells Jim Al-Khalili why he wants to create artificial intelligence.
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Saiful Islam on materials to power the 21st century
Tue 29 Oct 2019
Professor Saiful Islam on the materials that make renewable energy possible.
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Adrian Owen on scanning for awareness in the injured brain
Tue 22 Oct 2019
Adrian Owen tells Jim Al-Khalili about his search for awareness in brain-injured patients.
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Martha Clokie on the viruses that could improve our health
Tue 15 Oct 2019
Professor Martha Clokie on the viruses that destroy antibiotic-resistant bugs.
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Anne Magurran on how to measure biodiversity
Tue 8 Oct 2019
Professor Anne Magurran on how nature is going the same way as our high streets.
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Richard Wiseman on lying, luck and the paranormal
Tue 1 Oct 2019
How to spot a liar. Professor Richard Wiseman tells Jim Al-Khalili
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Jonathan Ball on his arms race against viruses
Tue 30 Jul 2019
Virologist Jonathan Ball talks to Jim Al-Khalili about his quest to disarm killer viruses.
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Robin Dunbar on why we have friends
Tue 23 Jul 2019
Why do we have friends? Robin Dunbar tells Jim Al-Khalili.
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Katherine Joy on moon rock
Tue 16 Jul 2019
Lunar geologist Katherine Joy tells Jim Al-Khalili why we need to go back to the moon.
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DNA detective Turi King
Tue 9 Jul 2019
How geneticist Turi King identified the 500 yr old skeleton of Richard III.
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Ewine van Dishoeck on cosmic chemistry
Tue 2 Jul 2019
Astrochemist Ewine van Dishoeck tells Jim Al-Khalili about the space between the stars.
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Plastic pollution with Richard Thompson
Tue 25 Jun 2019
How Richard Thompson alerted the world to the micro-plastics in the ocean.
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Erica McAlister on the beauty of flies
Tue 16 Apr 2019
Dr Erica McAlister talks to Jim Al-Khalili about the beautiful world of flies.
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Richard Peto on why smoking kills but quitting saves lives
Tue 9 Apr 2019
Epidemiologist Richard Peto on the links between tobacco, disease and early death
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Irene Tracey on pain in the brain
Tue 2 Apr 2019
Irene Tracey tells Jim Al-Khalili how imaging the brain reveals how and why we feel pain.
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Paul Davies on the origin of life and the evolution of cancer
Tue 26 Mar 2019
Physicist Paul Davies on the origin of life, aliens and the evolution of cancer.
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Corinne Le Qu茅r茅 on the global carbon cycle
Tue 19 Mar 2019
Professor Corinne Le Qu茅r茅 talks to Jim Al-Khalili about tracing global carbon.
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Ken Gabriel, Why your Smartphone is Smart.
Tue 12 Mar 2019
How working with robots in the 1980s kicked off a microelectronics revolution.
Sleep 鈥� 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.
