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Series 25
Yawn Chorus
Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain try to stay awake long enough to explore contagious yawning.
17 Oct 2026,·28 mins
Trouble with Hubble
4. Once in human history
Nasa risks everything on a daring rescue mission to restore Hubble’s vision
19 Oct 2026,·40 mins
The climate changing power of 400 billion toasters
How can we to compete against a natural force with the power of 25 atomic bombs?
15 Oct 2026,·28 mins
Why don't we lay eggs?
Why give birth to live young when eggs seem so much simpler?
16 Oct 2026,·29 mins
Mining: Can we learn lessons from the past?
Lithium and copper are crucial to the energy transition, but at what environmental cost?
18 Oct 2026,·30 mins
Can the UK go it alone on AI?
Aleks and Kevin ask whether the UK can stay sovereign in the global AI race.
14 Oct 2026,·29 mins
Recluses
Naomi Alderman examines whether being a recluse has an impact on how we do our thinking.
03 Oct 2026,·57 mins
Taking a shortcut
A marathon runner hitching a sneaky bike ride has us contemplating scientific shortcuts.
16 Oct 2026,·49 mins
Asel Sartbaeva on protecting vaccines with a pinch of sand
Asel Sartbaeva on protecting vaccines with a bespoke coat of silica, found in beach sand.
13 Oct 2026,·28 mins
What happens in the ovaries postmenopause?
New research shows the ovaries remain biologically active after the menopause
14 Oct 2026,·26 mins
Virtual data centres in space
The plan for an orbiting data centre involves linking satellites around Earth.
13 Oct 2026,·26 mins
The Life Scientific: Edith Heard
Epigeneticist Edith Heard on decoding the details of how X chromosomes are expressed
12 Oct 2026,·26 mins
Can AI feel pain?
An AI "torture chamber" has provoke an ethical debate - and has "going viral" had its day?
Series 1
Sleep Deprivation and Insomnia
If we don't snooze, we lose. How badly does lack of sleep affect our mind and our body?
19 Dec 2017,·28 mins
Rutger Bregman - Moral Revolution
4. Fighting for Humanity in the Age of the Machine
Dutch historian Rutger Bregman gives his fourth and final Reith Lecture.
16 Dec 2025,·57 mins
Everything Is Fake and Nobody Cares
6. F For Fake
Jamie and Jimmy explore where fakery goes next – but can you tell which is which?
15 Apr 2026,·28 mins
The Science of Adventure
Adam Walton talks to expert mountaineers and daring scientists.
13 Oct 2026,·29 mins
Series 2
Episode 1
Are there civilisations on other planets, and, if so, why do they never call?
16 May 2012,·15 mins
AI: A Future for Humans?
The science sleuths unwrap some of the biggest ideas in this year's BBC Reith Lectures.
22 Dec 2021,·28 mins
Doing the Maths
First broadcast in 2006. The mathematics of infinity are discussed
27 Sep 2006,·22 mins
Nicolas Bourbaki
Professor Marcus du Sautoy argues that mathematics drives science.
25 Jun 2010,·15 mins
Newgenics
Could powerful genetic technologies usher in a new eugenic era?
27 Dec 2022,·28 mins
Update from the Digital Human Team
The Digital Human is pausing to focus on what everyone's talking about - AI
19 Feb 2024,·1 min
Omnibus: 1980s onwards
From the ZX Spectrum to the dot com bubble, Hannah Fry looks at our computing history.
17 Mar 2017,·58 mins
How Music Can Hold and Heal Us
We explore how music—especially lullabies—heals like medicine.
13 Mar 2025,·25 mins
How science got here, and where next
As anti-science leaves research reeling, does evidence-based policy have a future?
30 Oct 2025,·31 mins
Insects and mobile phone
Smart phones could become even smarter – thanks to ants, beetles, moths and spiders!
17 Jan 2022,·20 mins
Series 4
Strontium
Chemist Andrea Sella ends his festive series with fireworks and the element strontium.
27 Dec 2019,·14 mins
Are microplastics affecting our health?
Claudia Hammond puts your questions on microplastics to a panel of experts
29 Aug 2026,·49 mins
The Spreading Use of Drugs
First broadcast in 1997. Examination into the social consequences of the misuse of drugs
08 May 1997,·27 mins
