CrowdScience

By BBC World Service

What's CrowdScience about?

We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.

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CrowdScience episodes:

04.12.2024
How do my ears sense direction?
How do we know where a sound is coming from? Another chance to hear this ear-opening episode, exploring a question from CrowdScience listener Chiletso. One day, he heard his son bounce a ball and instantly knew the direction it...
04.05.2024
How many people have ever existed?
Today there are over eight billion people on Earth. That’s an awe-inspiring figure… but how does it compare to the vast numbers who came before us? Listener Alpha wants to know how many people have ever existed, so CrowdScience sets...
03.29.2024
Could climate change lead to more volcanic eruptions?
We spend a lot of our time thinking about climate change, but listener Paul has a question that isn’t usually part of the conversation. He wants to know whether a hotter atmosphere will affect how often volcanoes erupt, or make...
03.22.2024
Do animals have anxious habits like us?
Many of us have habits that calm us down in times of stress. Things we find deeply comforting, like sucking our thumb or biting our nails. We might not even be aware we’re doing them, but they play a fundamental...
03.15.2024
Is the BMI fatphobic?
Crowd Science listener Maik wants to know what the BMI is and what his BMI score says about his body. He trains dogs for a living and wonders if, like different breeds of dog, we simply have different body types? ...
03.08.2024
Do we all see the same colour?
CrowdScience listener Gregory wants to know what affects the way we see the colours of the world. He was looking at a blue summer sky with a friend and they got to wondering whether they both see the same colour...
03.01.2024
How bad is our data for the planet?
Storing your data in ‘the cloud’ might sound like an ethereal, intangible place, but it’s actually a physical location - a data centre. CrowdScience listener Art is worried about how much energy and water data centres are consuming. He’s from...
02.23.2024
Why do we have wisdom teeth?
Why do humans have wisdom teeth if so many of them get removed soon after they appear? Wisdom teeth, the third molars in the back of our mouths, are so called because they normally appear in late teenage, early adulthood...
02.16.2024
What time was the first clock set to?
When the first person set the very first clock, how did they know what time to set it to? This question, from listener Chris in the UK, sends CrowdScience off on a quest into the history of timekeeping. ...
02.09.2024
When will the next earthquake hit?
In 2011, CrowdScience listener Amanda survived the devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. It arrived unannounced - as all earthquakes do - leaving her with no time to prepare a response. So Amanda wants to know whether science will ever...
02.02.2024
Why do we daydream?
Have you ever been through a romantic break up, unable to shift the ex from your thoughts? You are, obviously, not alone… Listener Elkin, experienced just that. But rather than wallowing in self-pity, he sought out an explanation. Where better...
01.26.2024
How should we measure cleverness?
Presenter Marnie Chesterton and the team pit their wits against a multitude of mind-bending puzzles from an old TV gameshow - all in the name of answering a question from Antonia in Cyprus: how do we work out how clever...
01.19.2024
Were humans ever semi-aquatic?
What evidence is there for a semi-aquatic period in human evolutionary history? That’s the question that’s been bothering listener Dave in Thailand. He thinks our lack of hair and love of water might indicate that, at some point, we were...
01.12.2024
Can planting trees solve the climate crisis?
Our question this week comes from a father and his two young boys. They want to know whether it’s possible to plant enough trees to soak up all the extra carbon we are putting into the atmosphere? The...
01.05.2024
Will electric cars help solve noise pollution?
Noise pollution from vehicles in the public space has a huge impact on human health. But as the world switches to quieter electric-powered means of transport there’s a debate about whether we will actually see any noticeable improvement to our...
12.29.2023
2023 Year End Extravaganza, Part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of our year-end extravaganza and the final episode of 2023! We’ve had a brilliant year hunting down the answers to your science questions - on everything from food and phobias to friction and flying...
12.22.2023
2023 Year-End Extravaganza, Part 1
Welcome to Part 1 of CrowdScience’s year-end extravaganza! It’s an extra-festive episode this week. For those who celebrate it, Christmas is the perfect time to pause and look back at the year just gone. Here on CrowdScience we’ve had a...
12.15.2023
Are seeds alive?
Seeds are crucial to human existence – we eat them, we grow them and then we eat what they become. But what is a seed and how come it can sit there doing nothing for ages and then suddenly, when...
12.08.2023
Where does our fat go when we exercise?
If, like this week’s Crowdscience listener Lili, you enjoy working out in the gym, you may have wondered where your fat disappears to when you exercise? The short answer is that we convert it to energy that powers...
12.01.2023
What is brainwashing?
*Warning* This episode includes references to suicide. When listener Ben heard about a Kenyan “starvation cult” in the news, he wondered whether the members of this group had been brainwashed. Is it possible to control someone’s mind? In...
11.24.2023
What’s the difference between reading and listening to books?
CrowdScience listener Michael wants to know whether the brain responds differently if we listen to books instead of reading them. Do we retain information in the same way? And is there a difference between fiction and non-fiction? Anand Jagatia...
11.17.2023
Why do we lie?
Lying is something all humans do. We find it in every culture around the world. It’s in the world of work, in our relationships and online. It’s all pervasive and hard to escape. Our question this week is...
11.10.2023
What will 1.5° of warming look like?
Our planet is quickly approaching 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Scientists say we might cross this milestone in just six years. Listener Julian wants to know what life will look like on the other side of that...
11.03.2023
How does food affect our mood?
“You are what you eat” is a well-known saying. But is it really true? That’s what we explore in this week’s CrowdScience thanks to a question from listener Claire from Australia. We each have trillions of tiny microbes...
10.27.2023
Green Man Festival: Why are some animals so ugly?
Why are some animals cute, cuddly, adorable – and some are slimy, creepy and downright weird? This edition of Crowdscience, recorded in front of a live audience, comes to you directly from the world-famous Green Man Festival in Bannau Brycheiniog...
10.20.2023
Which is healthier, farmed or wild salmon?
Salmon are one of the world’s most popular fish. And - in terms of the size of the industry - they’re also the world’s most valuable. They provide crucial proteins and fatty acids to many people’s diets. But like other...
10.13.2023
Why are spices delicious?
CrowdScience listener Kristine from Wisconsin in the USA wants to know why herbs and spices taste so good to so many of us. She’s intrigued to know if there's evidence that herbs and spices can keep us healthy. Anand...
10.06.2023
Can humans be part of healthy ecosystems?
Humans have an outsized impact on the planet: we’ve wreaked havoc on countless ecosystems and one study estimates only 3% of land on Earth remains untouched by our influence. CrowdScience listener Teri has witnessed the harmful effects of development on...
09.29.2023
What is consciousness?
It's pretty obvious to each of us that we are conscious, as we go about our days and feel the experience of just ‘being ourselves'. But how do we know that someone else is conscious? It’s something we...
09.22.2023
Can we grow a conscious brain?
Philosophers have long pondered the concept of a brain in a jar, hooked up to a simulated world. Though this has largely remained a thought experiment, CrowdScience listener JP wants to know if it might become reality in the not-too-distant...
09.15.2023
Why am I scared of bridges?
Everyone has fears – but what makes a fear become a phobia? Why are some people scared of spiders (arachnophobia), buttons (koumpounophobia), or the colour yellow (xanthophobia)? Or why are others are scared of situations, like small spaces (claustrophobia), empty...
09.08.2023
Why do my children stress me out?
CrowdScience listener Leo gets stressed when his young children start screaming at the same time in the middle of the night. He wants to know why we haven’t evolved to deal with the stress more effectively. The challenges of bringing...
09.01.2023
What does a sustainable life look like?
Many of us are worried about the environment, but the aim of living in a truly sustainable way is hard to pin down. Do we all need to stop buying things? Is it down to governments to make the changes...
08.25.2023
How do butterflies and moths fly?
For hundreds of millions of years insects controlled the skies. Before birds, bats and pterodactyls, insects were the only creatures that had evolved the ability to fly: a miracle of physics and physiology requiring their bodies to act in coordinated...
08.18.2023
What is the weight of the internet?
How do you think about the internet? What does the word conjuror up? Maybe a cloud? Or the flashing router in the corner of your front room? Or this magic power that connects over 5 billion people on all the...
08.11.2023
Are dogs good for us?
Dogs have been our best animal buddy for thousands of years. They’ve helped us out in countless ways from hunting alongside us to guiding us as service dogs. Talk to any pet owner and they’ll tell you how much joy...
08.04.2023
Is the ‘sunshine cure’ a real thing?
Imagine spending six months of every year living in total shade. That’s what life is like for residents of the Norwegian town of Rjukan, set so low in a valley that they see no direct sunshine at all from October...
08.04.2023
Is the ‘sunshine cure’ a real thing?
Imagine spending six months of every year living in total shade. That’s what life is like for residents of the Norwegian town of Rjukan, set so low in a valley that they see no direct sunshine at all from October...
07.28.2023
Why does some music make us sad?
CrowdScience investigates the link between music and emotion to try and understand why certain songs can have such a profound impact on our mood. From breakup songs to upbeat holiday hits, many of us have made playlists that reflect how...
07.21.2023
Why do we get bored?
“I’m bored!” We can all relate to the uncomfortable - and at times unbearable - feeling of boredom. But what is it? Why does it happen? And could this frustrating, thumb-twiddling experience actually serve some evolutionary purpose? CrowdScience...
07.14.2023
Why aren't we all ambidextrous?
Why are some people left-handed? Why are some people right-footed? Why do some write with their right and throw a ball with their left? What does this all have to do with our brains? Why is it hard for some...
07.07.2023
Why do we experience vertigo?
CrowdScience listener Ali wants to know why we experience vertigo. Anand Jagatia finds out that it’s not just the giddy sensation we feel when we’re at the top of a mountain. Vertigo is also a physical illness that...
06.30.2023
Why do I crave unhealthy foods?
We all enjoy a deep-fried Mars bar with french fries from time to time, but why do we crave these unhealthy foods instead of healthy things like spinach or broccoli? And what is a food craving? The answers lie in...
06.23.2023
Human v machine
Please note: This is a shorter version than the original podcast. A longer version is available here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct3j6y. Humans can walk for miles, solve problems and form complex relationships using the energy provided by daily meals. That is a...
06.16.2023
Why can’t I see images in my head?
CrowdScience listener Eileen cannot see images in her head of her memories. She only discovered by chance that most other people can do this. She wants to know why she can’t see them and if it is something she can...
06.09.2023
Can Artificial Intelligence teach itself?
Welcome to the exciting new field of generative artificial intelligence - or generative AI. We’re not talking about robots or spaceships: instead these are image generators and chatbots that are already revolutionising the way people write, research and interact in...
06.02.2023
Is there a connection between memory and speech?
CrowdScience listener Nyankami, from Kenya, has a friend with dementia. Despite memory loss and no longer knowing his way around, his friend has no problem communicating. So what’s the connection between memory and language? Caroline Steel discovers how dementia...
05.26.2023
Why is the sun at the centre?
It may seem like a simple question but could you explain why the earth revolves around the sun? That is what listener Josh from New York wants to know. For much of human history we thought everything revolved around us,...
05.19.2023
Can sea-swimming improve my health?
Anyone who has ever enjoyed a beach holiday will know there’s something special about being by the seaside. But does sea swimming actually have tangible health effects? This week’s listener Holly is a self-confessed water baby, and says her regular...
05.12.2023
Why am I so lazy?
Lazy. Unmotivated. Procrastinating. If those are words you’re used to hearing from your inner critic, you are not alone. Take CrowdScience listener Laurie. On her days off she loves to relax on the sofa, watch TV, put off chores and...

What's CrowdScience about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

CrowdScience episodes:

How do my ears sense direction?

How many people have ever existed?

Could climate change lead to more volcanic eruptions?

Do animals have anxious habits like us?

Is the BMI fatphobic?

Do we all see the same colour?

How bad is our data for the planet?

Why do we have wisdom teeth?

What time was the first clock set to?

When will the next earthquake hit?

Why do we daydream?

How should we measure cleverness?

Were humans ever semi-aquatic?

Can planting trees solve the climate crisis?

Will electric cars help solve noise pollution?

2023 Year End Extravaganza, Part 2

2023 Year-End Extravaganza, Part 1

Are seeds alive?

Where does our fat go when we exercise?

What is brainwashing?

What’s the difference between reading and listening to books?

Why do we lie?

What will 1.5° of warming look like?

How does food affect our mood?

Green Man Festival: Why are some animals so ugly?

Which is healthier, farmed or wild salmon?

Why are spices delicious?

Can humans be part of healthy ecosystems?

What is consciousness?

Can we grow a conscious brain?

Why am I scared of bridges?

Why do my children stress me out?

What does a sustainable life look like?

How do butterflies and moths fly?

What is the weight of the internet?

Are dogs good for us?

Is the ‘sunshine cure’ a real thing?

Is the ‘sunshine cure’ a real thing?

Why does some music make us sad?

Why do we get bored?

Why aren't we all ambidextrous?

Why do we experience vertigo?

Why do I crave unhealthy foods?

Human v machine

Why can’t I see images in my head?

Can Artificial Intelligence teach itself?

Is there a connection between memory and speech?

Why is the sun at the centre?

Can sea-swimming improve my health?

Why am I so lazy?