Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode, Chris and Xand explore the role and impact of exercise on our bodies and mood. Is going to the gym three times a week the best way of keeping fit? Or should you spread out your activity in shorter bursts throughout the day? They also discover which one of the brothers is ‘an active couch potato’ and why y...
Jan 20, 2026•29 min•Ep. 101
In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on nails with Dr Yusur Al-Nuaimi, Consultant Dermatologist at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and Clinical Lead for the British Hair and Nail Society. Yusur highlighted how our nails have developed to optimize human function and are deeply rooted without our evolutionary history. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Do...
Jan 19, 2026•4 min•Ep. 100
In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand are returning to their episode on sleep with Professor of Circadian Neuroscience, Russell Foster. As a sleep expert, Russell explained why we can perhaps relax a bit when it comes to sleep, especially when it comes to losing some from time to time. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main episodes of t...
Jan 16, 2026•6 min•Ep. 99
In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on hanger with Professor of Social Psychology, Viren Swami who explains what hanger is and how best we should deal with it. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main episodes of the podcast.
Jan 15, 2026•4 min•Ep. 98
In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their first episode of What’s Up Docs?, on willpower with Kimberley Wilson. Chartered Psychologist Kimberley reminded us that willpower might not actually be the positive, motivating force we think it is. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main episodes of the podcast.
Jan 14, 2026•6 min•Ep. 97
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about alcohol with Dr May van Schalkwyk, Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, who focuses on how commercial actors influence ideas, knowledge, science and policymaking. The twins want to know why some people might struggle to get through Dry January, whether we have a drinking culture in the UK and how it may have been shaped by industry. They also examine attitudes towards alcohol in other cultures, whether attitudes towards alcohol are chan...
Jan 13, 2026•24 min•Ep. 96
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode, Chris and Xand dive into alcohol. Is there such a thing as a safe level of alcohol or a safe form? Are there actually any benefits to alcohol? Should teetotalism be the goal? They also explore the short- and long-term effects and harms of alcohol, including indirect harms, whether we should be doing Dry J...
Jan 13, 2026•29 min•Ep. 95
In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on nature with Professor Baroness Kathy Willis. Kathy had some excellent advice on how to bring more nature into our homes and lives. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main episodes of the podcast.
Jan 12, 2026•6 min•Ep. 94
In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on embarrassment with cultural historian, Dr Tiffany Watt-Smith. Tiffany identified that, while embarrassment is painful on a personal level, it is in fact an important social emotion. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main episodes of the podcast.
Jan 09, 2026•4 min•Ep. 93
In this Daily Dose, Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken are returning to their episode on knees with rheumatology professor, Phil Conaghan from University of Leeds. Phil gave Chris some sage advice on why you shouldn't avoid exercising your knees if they give you pain from time to time. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main episodes of t...
Jan 08, 2026•3 min•Ep. 92
In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on menstrual health with Dr Chi Eziefula, who flipped our perspective on the menstrual cycle, reframing it as a positive, evolutionary advantage that has enabled us to survive and thrive. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main episodes of the podcast.
Jan 07, 2026•5 min•Ep. 91
In this new year episode, Chris and Xand continue their conversation with behaviour change expert Alasdair Cant, taking a closer look at the psychology behind our attempts to start afresh. They explore how Alasdair got into the field of behaviour change and the patterns that distinguish people who succeed with long-term change from those who struggle. If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic covered on the podcast, you email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk or Whatsapp on 08000...
Jan 06, 2026•27 min•Ep. 90
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken untangle the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this new year episode, they’re taking on the idea of the fresh start, especially the powerful urge many of us feel at the beginning of a new year to overhaul our health. Why do we want to make big changes in January? Why do our good intentions so often fall apart? And do we actually need to ‘turn over a new leaf’, or is t...
Jan 06, 2026•28 min•Ep. 89
In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on difficult conversations. Chartered Psychologist Kimberley Wilson has some great advice on how best to approach a difficult conversation and what happens when we find ourselves confronted by one. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main episodes of the podcast.
Jan 05, 2026•5 min•Ep. 88
January is a time when we pay considerable attention to our health and wellbeing and we all want a little reminder of some tips and tricks for how best to care for and think about our minds and bodies. In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand need a refresher on the episode of What’s Up Docs? about False Memories. They were joined by Dr Linda Henkel, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Fairfield University who took them on a tour of what false memories are, how they form and why they are ...
Jan 02, 2026•3 min•Ep. 87
January is a month when we pay considerable attention to our health and wellbeing and we all want a little reminder of some tips and tricks for how best to care for and think about our minds and bodies. In this first Daily Dose - if they can resist the temptation to snooze - Chris and Xand return to their episode on napping with Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. Russell offered up some very clear advice on what an ideal nap could look like and how w...
Jan 01, 2026•4 min•Ep. 86
Welcome to Chris and Xand's Daily Doses! January is a month when we pay considerable attention to our health and wellbeing and we all want a little reminder of some tips and tricks for how best to care for and think about our minds and bodies. So, alongside the four main episode of What's Up Docs?, each weekday this January (other than Tuesdays), we'll be dropping a Daily Dose of expert wisdom from a previous episode. Whether it’s your knees, willpower, oral health or bringing nature into your h...
Dec 31, 2025•2 min•Ep. 85
Chris and Xand continue their conversation with Professor Sophie Scott, CBE. Together, they explore the neuroscience behind joy: what happens in the brain when joy strikes, how spontaneous joy differs from the joy of achievement, and whether joy serves an evolutionary purpose. They also ask whether joy can be cultivated, and what a healthy relationship with joy might look like in the long term. If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic covered on the podcast, you email us a...
Dec 30, 2025•23 min•Ep. 84
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken try to get to the bottom of the ideas shaping our health and wellbeing. In this festive episode, they turn their attention to joy. What actually is joy, and how is it different from happiness or pleasure? Why do some people seem to feel it more intensely, and does that make them more vulnerable to the emotional lows that can follow? They also ask whether we should really be striving for joy all ...
Dec 30, 2025•28 min•Ep. 83
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about comfort with Dr Tiffany Watt Smith, writer and cultural historian interested in the histories of emotion and medicine, former director of the Centre for the History of Emotions at Queen Mary University of London, and fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken want to know what nostalgia is, how it can affect us, how it interacts with comfort, why certain things bring us comfort, and what comfort foods are. They also ex...
Dec 23, 2025•30 min•Ep. 82
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode, Chris and Xand dive into winter comforts. What is comfort? How has the meaning of comfort evolved? How did the ancients find comfort in the winter? How do other cultures embrace comfort? They explore the history of comfort, especially that found in winter celebrations and rituals, discuss how traditional ...
Dec 23, 2025•29 min•Ep. 81
Drs Chris and Xand continue their conversation about hearing loss with Prof Doris Bamiou, Professor of Neuroaudiology at the UCL Ear Institute, and Honorary Consultant in Audiological Medicine at the University College London Hospitals. Chris and Xand want to know how cognitive processing of sound works, what audio processing disorder is, why it happens, how it is diagnosed, and the external factors like neurodivergence and age that interact with it. They also examine the popular earplugs that f...
Dec 16, 2025•30 min•Ep. 80
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode, Chris and Xand dive into the physical side of hearing loss. What is the cocktail party problem, and why does it get worse with age? How does hearing work? What causes hearing loss? How can we protect our hearing? How can we manage hearing loss? What is tinnitus and how is it treated? They explore the phys...
Dec 16, 2025•29 min•Ep. 79
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about dopamine with Masud Husain, Professor of Neurology & Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. They explore how he first became interested in dopamine, what happens when dopamine systems become overactive, underactive, or disrupted, and whether we have any real control over our dopamine at all. Masud also shares the one thing he wishes everyone understood about dopamine. If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic...
Dec 09, 2025•22 min•Ep. 78
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken untangle the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode, they’re diving into dopamine – one of the most talked-about chemicals in modern wellness culture. But what is dopamine, really? What role does it play in pleasure, motivation, learning, and movement? And how accurate are ideas like “dopamine hits”, “dopamine detoxes”, or being “addicted to dopamine”? Chris a...
Dec 09, 2025•29 min•Ep. 77
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about belief with Ryan McKay, Professor of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London. They want to know why some beliefs take hold so strongly, what’s happening in our brains when we hold on to them, and how trust, identity, and community shape what we believe. Beyond that, they’ll explore why health beliefs can be so difficult to shift, and whether it’s ever really possible to change someone’s mind. From the psychology of delusions to the spre...
Dec 02, 2025•20 min•Ep. 76
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken confront the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode, they’re asking why beliefs about our bodies are so powerful? We often think of belief as something soft – just ideas in our heads. But beliefs can shape how we experience pain, how we heal, and even how societies behave. In health, they can influence whether treatments work and how symptoms are felt. So what...
Dec 02, 2025•29 min•Ep. 75
Drs Chris and Xand continue their conversation about dry skin with Dr Tess McPherson, Associate Professor of Paediatric and Adolescent Dermatology at the University of Oxford. The docs want to know what eczema is, why it happens, whether it is worth eliminating triggers and whether topical steroids are an effective treatment. They also explore the stigma around skin conditions and what we can all do to address it, and hear Dr McPherson’s personal and clinical perspective on dry skin and skincare...
Nov 25, 2025•25 min•Ep. 74
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode, Chris and Xand dive into dry skin and how it can be relieved. Why does dry skin happen? How can your washing and cleansing routine affect your skin? Should you use moisturisers, and how do they work? Can you use too many products? They explore the biology of dry skin, whether it can be prevented, the tren...
Nov 25, 2025•29 min•Ep. 73
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about body temperature with Dr Heather Massey, Associate Professor of extreme environments and physiology at the University of Portsmouth. Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken want to know how cold water swimming and contrast therapy can challenge your body temperature and what the benefits might be. They also explore whether everyone should be challenging their body temperature, and whether there are alternatives to the extreme methods. They also hear Dr Ma...
Nov 18, 2025•27 min•Ep. 72
