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…
2016-09-15 Global warming
What might the world look like if the temperature keeps rising? There will be many losers – but who are…
2016-09-08 Old tech
Did you ever own a Walkman or a record player? Is there still a market for DVD rental stores? Alice…
2016-09-01 Slang
Is slang a bad thing? Do you use it a lot? Neil and Alice discuss a very English kind of…
2016-08-25 Domestic chores
Do women sweep the floor and clean the bathroom more often than men? Should men be more tidy? Alice and…
2016-08-18 Have you walked off your pizza?
Is food labelling clear enough to help us make healthy choices? – Especially when on average we spend only six…
2016-08-11 How to cure writer’s block
Who were the Muses and how did they help the creative process? Neil and Alice discuss Neil’s poetry and some…
2016-08-04 Is English changing?
Will we still be speaking in an English we recognise in a thousand years’ time? Which words and grammar will…
2016-07-28 Heritage sites
The Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon, and the Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru, are just some of…
2016-07-21 Are we there yet?
Why do some weeks just fly by but sometimes minutes can seem like hours? And why do we perceive time…
2016-07-14 Cities of the future
What will the cities of the future look like, and will we enjoy living in them? Vast mega-cities are emerging…