Do Diet Coke and salt cause heart disease? How do you transport a heart to be transplanted? How can you learn to live with angina? In this month's talk, we hear from world-renowned cardiac surgeon Samer Nashef. Samer discusses his book, ‘The Angina Monologues: Stories of Surgery for Broken Hearts’, with journalist Sathnam Sanghera. Together they explore a collection of Samer’s stories that are sure to get your heart racing – from driving a donor heart up the motorway to Samer's personal experien...
Dec 23, 2022•50 min
In this Christmas-special we go behind-the-scenes of our 2022 CHRISTMAS LECTURES, presented by Professor Dame Sue Black. Katherine Mathieson, Director of the Ri, managed to steal Sue away from rehearsals for a quick chat about her CHRISTMAS LECTURES memories, science communication and what we can expect to learn about forensic science. The CHRISTMAS LECTURES will be broadcast on BBC Four on 26, 27 and 28 December 2022. Find out more about the CHRISTMAS LECTURES: rigb.org/christmas-lectures Watch...
Dec 16, 2022•28 min
An advanced form of radiotherapy, proton beam therapy enables tumours to be targeted with greater precision, reducing the collateral damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Physicist Simon Jolly sheds light on this leading-edge technique and the technology needed to deliver it. This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 12 October 2018. Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8YnQkUWTS64 Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you t...
Nov 21, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Did you know that zoologists have only found 5 species of mammals that go through the menopause? That's 4 species of toothed whale, plus us humans. The animal kingdom reveals a lot about female evolution and this month, Lucy Cooke explores evolutionary biology through an array of animal examples and research stemming from Darwin's time. Get Lucy Cooke's book 'Bitch: A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal': www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/111196…80857524133.html This talk was r...
Jul 05, 2022•1 hr 18 min
If you're a fan of multiverse movies, this episode is for you. The many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics says that an infinite number of universes exist in parallel to eachother, each having branched off in a moment of divergence before following its own unique timeline. Theoretical physicist Sean M Carroll guides us through the strange and sometimes daunting topic of quantum mechanics – from Einstein and Bohr to Schrödinger's cat and the many-worlds interpretation. This talk was recor...
May 31, 2022•1 hr 25 min
Our exploration of the Earth’s fluctuating environment is an extraordinary story of human perception and scientific endeavour, which began much earlier than you might think. This month we hear from Alice Bell as she explores climate change science’s earliest steps in the 18th and 19th centuries, through the point when concern started to rise in the 1950s, right up to the modern day. You can learn more in Alice’s latest book 'Our Biggest Experiment: A History of the Climate Crisis’. This talk was...
Apr 30, 2022•1 hr 27 min
Do you consider yourself a ‘thrill-seeker’? If so, you may have a variation in the DRD4 dopamine receptor gene which makes you less able to process dopamine, a neurotransmitter that's responsible for how we feel pleasure. This month we hear from thrill-engineer Brendan Walker as he explains how he designs rollercoasters to induce thrill, priming our bodies’ innate responses through sounds, visual cues, virtual reality and much more. This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institutio...
Mar 28, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Does love at first sight exist? How does your attachment style influence how you love? This month we hear from lawyer-turned-poet and author, Laura Mucha, and artificial intelligence expert, Kate Devlin, about love and relationships. They share real love stories, explore what companies learn about you through online dating and discover what the future holds for sexual companion robots. This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 14 February 2019. Website: www.rigb.org Twi...
Feb 07, 2022•58 min
Physicist Harry Cliff explains how the Universe is made, drawing on experimental data from the Large Hadron Collider and labs around the world. We hear how the basic building blocks of matter and four fundamental forces of nature make up The Standard Model of particle physics. This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on the 10 August 2021. Watch the video version on YouTube: youtu.be/bzV4O85n2y8 Learn more in Harry Cliff’s book, ‘How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch’: ge...
Jan 06, 2022•1 hr 20 min
This episode is about forensic anthropology. Please be aware that due to the nature of the topic, this talk includes discussions of violence, child sexual abuse, death by suicide and mass-fatality events, which some listeners may find disturbing. This month, we hear from Sue Black, a forensic anthropologist who has led teams across the world to identify the victims and perpetrators of various conflicts and cases. Sue shares examples of her breakthrough work on real-life events, and examines how ...
Dec 06, 2021•1 hr 17 min
The Hubble Telescope has revolutionised our understanding of the Universe. It has, among many other achievements, revealed thousands of galaxies in what seemed to be empty patches of sky and measured precisely how fast the universe is expanding. In this talk, the first American woman to walk in space, Kathryn D Sullivan , recounts how the team of astronauts, engineers and flight controllers helped launch, rescue and maintain Hubble, the most productive observatory ever built. Her book, 'Handprin...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 7 min
How does advertising influence us? This month, we hear from advertiser and behaviour expert Rory Sutherland, as he uses case studies from the world’s biggest brands to show how advertising makes us act against reason. This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 10 May 2019. Website: www.rigb.org Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalInstitution Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution Thumbnail image credit: Franck Michel via Flickr htt...
Oct 04, 2021•1 hr 37 min
What makes up a cannabis medicinal product? How do the active ingredients work in our bodies? What conditions can it treat, and how can doctors prescribe it? We’re joined by neurologist and medical cannabis expert Mike Barnes, and ‘End our Pain’ campaigners, Peter Carroll and Hannah Deacon. Hannah fought to obtain cannabis oil to treat her son Alfie’s epileptic seizures, and the campaign succeeded in changing UK law – as of November 2018, NHS doctors can legally prescribe cannabis. So why is it ...
Sep 06, 2021•1 hr 23 min
In autumn 1933, Albert Einstein found himself living alone in an isolated holiday hut in rural England. There, he toiled peacefully at mathematics while occasionally stepping out to chat with the locals and play his violin. But how had Einstein come to abandon his Berlin home and go ‘"on the run"? Andrew Robinson tells the story of how Britain became the a refuge for Einstein from rumoured assassination by Nazi agents. This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution, on 29 Octob...
Aug 02, 2021•1 hr 23 min
This month a panel of psychologists and sociologists discuss why conspiracy theories arise, how they can affect people’s political beliefs, and how we might better communicate with the people who believe in conspiracies. Conspiracy theories have been around for a long time, but in recent years they appear more frequently in public discourse. From increasing attention to anti-vaccine misinformation, to growing communities of conspiracy theorists, like the ‘flat earth’ community, who held their fi...
Jul 05, 2021•1 hr 23 min
If you see a newspaper headline with a big, bold statistic, how do you know that you can trust it? How often do false positive and false negative test results occur in medical screenings? And how do you safely bet whether or not 2 people in any room will share a birthday? This month we hear from Kit Yates about the maths of medicine, crime and the media, exploring real-world data from his book, ‘The Maths of Life and Death’. This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution, on 21...
Jun 07, 2021•54 min
This month, writer and former laser-physicist Kate Greene sat down for a chat with our Public Programme Producer, Lisa Derry. They talk about Kate’s experience living as second-in-command on NASA’s first simulated Mars mission, ‘HI-SEAS’. Living in an isolated geodesic dome for 4 months with her crew-mates, Kate gained incredible insight into human behaviour in tight quarters. Lisa and Kate cover food taste experiments, how human bodies cope in space, how NASA and SpaceX work together, and how t...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 18 min
What is the difference between sleep and rest? What activities to people actually find restful? Why is rest important? Award-winning broadcaster, author and psychology lecturer, Claudia Hammond, joins us to talk about her book 'The Art of Rest'. Drawing on results from 'The Rest Test' – the largest global study ever undertaken on the subject – Claudia explores how we can all learn to lead a more restful and balanced life. Check out our website: www.rigb.org Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science YouTub...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 23 min
How high can we build? What are the new technologies that might see our skyscrapers go beyond anything we ever imagined? What creativity and drive is needed to push engineering forward? Structural engineer Roma Agrawal delves into the history of the materials that enable immense construction and the developments that have made our structures what they are today. All while noting the accomplishments of key visionary engineers of the past. Check out our website: www.rigb.org/ Twitter: twitter.com/...
Mar 30, 2020•1 hr 16 min
Endometriosis is as common as diabetes, yet the disease is poorly understood and not many people have heard about it before. It affects around 10% of women in their reproductive years, and can cause great pain. In this special extra podcast, Ri Digital Intern and PhD student, Madga Mareckova, sits down with her PhD supervisors, Krina Zondervan & Christian Becker. They dispel myths and discuss the symptoms, potential causes and treatments of endometriosis, whilst sharing insights into their u...
Mar 04, 2020•44 min
How far are we from creating Artificial General Intelligence? Can we build a machine to perform all of the intellectual tasks that a human being can? Reports of the ever-increasing power of AI systems have never been far from the headlines, from AlphaGo to self-driving cars. However, these are examples of ‘weak’ or ‘narrow’ AI; that is, systems that excel at one particular task, be it playing a game or understanding speech. But how far are we from creating Artificial General Intelligence? Join a...
Feb 24, 2020•1 hr 21 min
Why do people lie? Why has 'fake news' become such a global phenomenon in modern public discourse? Bringing together the fields of human evolution and current affairs, Richard Byrne and Evan Davis, together with comedian Rachel Wheeley, discuss whether the ability to communicate evolved to pass on facts or to deceive, why deception is so widespread in the era of 'post-truth' politics, and what we can do about it. Check out our website: www.rigb.org/ Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science YouTube: www.y...
Jan 27, 2020•1 hr 26 min
Why has engineering always been the backbone of civilisation? And why do we enjoy making things? This month, Lord Browne in conversation with Vivienne Parry, explains what engineering is, what it has done for us and how it can deliver a brighter future. Robots, our health, security, climate change as well as autonomous vehicles are discussed. Check out our website: www.rigb.org/ Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalInstitution And Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheRoya...
Dec 30, 2019•1 hr 28 min
The ribosome is the mother of all molecules without which nothing lives. This month, the Nobel Prize winner Venki Ramakrishnan in conversation with Vivienne Parry, tells the story of the race to uncover the structure of the ribosome - a fundamental discovery that resolves an ancient mystery of life itself and could lead to the development of better antibiotics to fight the most deadly diseases. Check out our website: www.rigb.org/ Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/The...
Nov 25, 2019•1 hr 26 min
Stress is our natural reaction to physical or emotional pressure, encompassing everything from too much work to being tortured. But what goes on in our bodies and minds to cause stress? And how does stress affect our memory, mood and thinking? This month, Vincent Walsh hosts an expert panel of Joe Herbert, Julie Turner Cobb, and Shane O’Mara, to explore the science of stress. Image credit: Lewis Ronald/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0 Check out our website: www.rigb.org/ Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Sc...
Oct 28, 2019•1 hr 23 min
We take the advance of science as given - but how does science really work? This month, Jeremy Baumberg sheds light on a cutthroat and tightly tensioned enterprise that even scientists themselves often don’t fully understand. Jeremy Baumberg is a leader in nanoscience and nanotechnology, working for much of his career at the interface between academia and industry. He has led interdisciplinary nano-centres at the Universities of Cambridge and Southampton, and developed novel devices within Hitac...
Sep 30, 2019•1 hr 21 min
What does the future have in store? Medicine, robotics, artificial intelligence, energy production and genetic engineering are all fields that will change our world - but how? This month, Jim Al-Khalili and a panel of experts debate the topic and predict the answers. Jim Al-Khalili OBE (https://twitter.com/jimalkhalili) is a theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster. He is the host of the Life Scientific on BBC Four and was awarded the inaugural Stephen Hawking medal for science communicatio...
Aug 26, 2019•1 hr 24 min
How was the code of DNA cracked? How did it confirm the theory of evolution? And why did life evolve the way it did? This month, Matthew Cobb and Nick Lane unravel the tangled story of DNA, and why life began in the first place. Nick Lane is an evolutionary biochemist in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London. His work focuses on the origin of life, and the origin and evolution of eukaryotes. He is also author of prize-winning popular science books, incl...
Jul 29, 2019•1 hr 32 min
Where should humans inhabit next? The Moon? Mars? Or further beyond? This month, Apollo Astronaut Al Worden and space experts Chris Welch and Stuart Eves will will argue their case for each. Who will win your vote? Al Worden is an American astronaut and engineer who was the Command Module Pilot for the fourth lunar landing mission in 1971, Apollo 15. After his time in space, he was Senior Aerospace Scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center, and then the chief of the Systems Study Division at Am...
Jun 24, 2019•1 hr 16 min
How can you turn failure into success? This month, journalist and table-tennis champion Matthew Syed will explain the science of success using real life stories and practical takeaways. Matthew Syed is a British journalist, broadcaster and author. He has won numerous prizes for his writing including Feature Writer of the Year at the SJA Awards and Sports Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards. He is also a three-time Commonwealth table tennis champion and a two-time Olympian. Check o...
May 27, 2019•1 hr 21 min
