Data: dry and boring, right? Not in the hands of Justin Evans, a data expert himself, who set out to show that data is not only the lifeblood of today’s world; it is also the source of moving stories of other data experts who have achieved remarkable things – like the epidemiologist whose inspired use of data in the early days of Covid helped save hundreds of thousands of lives in New York city alone.

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After adopting a beagle that had spent the first four years of his life as an experimental subject in a laboratory, she set out – with Hammy the beagle by her side – to explore the murky world of animal experimentation. She tells the story of her travels and her discoveries in a new book, Lab Dog.

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Not only are non-violent protests more effective than armed resistance, but a surprisingly small percentage of the population – around three and a half percent – has been enough to change governments.

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With long memories and the ability to figure out what other crows are thinking  – then plot to outdo them, using what Nicky Clayton calls “sleight of beak” – crows are at least as smart as chimpanzees, despite having very different brains.

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It then becomes “common knowledge,” and can be both beneficial – like cementing friendships or empowering peaceful protests – or destructive, causing a run on toilet paper or splitting society into silos, each with their own common knowledge.

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Alan and Executive Producer Graham Chedd look ahead to next season and some unexpected connections between our first guests. They include best-selling author Steven Pinker, and how you know that I know that you know that I know; psychologist Nicky Clayton and why crows are so smart; Erica Chenoweth and the power of peaceful protest; climate scientist Kate Marvel on why she gets emotional in her new book; and journalist Melanie Kaplan, who with her beagle Hammy explore together the murky world of animal experimentation.

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Perched on a mountain top in Chile, the new Vera Rubin Observatory’s telescope will view the universe as it’s never been seen before, seeking answers to cosmic mysteries like dark energy and dark matter, but also helping keep Earth safe from potentially dangerous asteroids.

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With lessons learned from the Covid pandemic, he points to how we might better tackle the next, inevitable, global pandemic — at a time when science has been all but discarded from the leading government agencies responsible for public health.

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Unlike most other land animals, we can live almost anywhere – from deserts, to mountains, rain forests, even the arctic. We are supremely adaptable, and that adaptability has led to our diversity – not only in our biology but also in our cultures.

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Along with revelations about snake sex, their contributions to medicine, that flickering tongue and why slithering is a secret to their success, Stephen Hall goes at least some way to convincing Alan that snakes – “the ultimate other” – deserve our respect as well as our dread.

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