2017-02-02 Why do cities make us rude?
It’s a familiar scene, a busy metro carriage with people pushing and shoving but never saying hello or even making…
2017-01-26 Family history
Do you know who your great-great-grandparents are? Where did they live? What did they do? Neil and Catherine discuss why…
2017-01-19 Life on the edge
The increased study of extremophile microbes has revealed a lot about what is and is not needed to sustain life…
2017-01-12 What’s your superpower?
Why are we so fascinated with the superheroes that populate our cinema screens and comic books? Alice and Neil discuss…
2017-01-05 Driving
Alice and Neil discuss whether we would miss driving as driverless cars are tested in cities around the world. This…
2016-12-29 Introvert… and proud!
What’s your personality type? Alice and Neil discuss where they lie on the introvert/extrovert spectrum. If you are an introvert…
2016-12-22 Why do crazes take off?
Why is it that some games, hobbies and activities become crazes while others don’t? Alice and Neil discuss whether there…
2016-12-15 When do you feel sleepy?
Alice and Neil discuss circadian rhythms – the so-called body clock that influences an organism’s daily cycle of physical, mental…
2016-12-08 Cleopatra
The last pharaoh to rule Egypt, Cleopatra was a woman of intelligence and charisma, only later celebrated as a great…
2016-12-01 Animal phobias
Why do we fear animals that pose no threat to us? Sophie and Neil face their own phobias and discuss…
2016-11-24 Women’s right to vote
Alice and Neil talk about British suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst and her struggle to get women a better life. This…
2016-11-17 Why we love trainers
Call them what you want – trainers, sneakers, tennis shoes – but why does everybody love them so much? Sophie…
2016-11-10 On your bike
Why do we love the bicycle? Cycling began its life as a leisure pursuit for middle-aged and wealthy men. Sophie…
2016-11-03 Hi, meet my online persona!
Are we different online than we are in real life? Sophie and Neil discuss their views on social networks, and…
2016-10-27 How do you read your news?
Free, digital news is threatening traditional newspapers around the world, so why do they survive and what is their future?…
2016-10-20 Do opposites attract?
Why are we attracted to some people and not to others? What role does beauty, personality, and how people smell…
2016-10-13 Is loneliness in our genes?
What is loneliness and why do we feel it? Sophie and Neil discuss how feeling lonely can help us to…
2016-10-06 Who do you think you are?
How do you see yourself and how do others see you? Alice and Neil discuss identity and how appearances can…
2016-09-29 Does punctuation matter?
Why is punctuation important, and does it matter if we get it wrong? Neil and Alice discuss rhetoric, commas, and…
2016-09-22 Penicillin: breaking the mould
Alice and Neil discuss penicillin, the so-called wonder drug discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming. They talk about Neil’s sore…