Discovery

What do the very first writhing movements of babies have in common with orangutans solving problems for food? Well, according to Gillian Forrester they may both offer clues about how we humans developed language. Working with her great ape colleagues, Gilly Forrester – Professor of Comparative Cognition at the University of Sussex – has dedicated her career to finding out how we became the talkative, tool-using troop we are today. Examining the link between movement, spoken language and social communication, Gilly’s research has looked at how brain organisation could affect the likelihood of being diagnosed with autism and ADHD, as well as how training dexterity may improve linguistic fluency in children. In conversation with Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Gilly reveals what she believes it really means to be human, and the pair discover that despite his PhD in nuclear physics, Jim might not be quite as smart as a chimp. Presented by Jim Al-Khalili

Although books and movies might suggest otherwise, catching criminals is of course less about hunches and gut instinct, and more about gruelling analysis of hard data - including when it comes to the psychological side. David Canter is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Liverpool, who took exactly this approach in the 1980s when he was asked to help police track down a serial killer. David had built his reputation as an environmental psychologist, studying how people behave in emergency situations and even advising the government on how to prevent disasters in football stadiums. But when he was asked to apply his unique methodology to help track down a serial killer and rapist, he realised that data-driven analysis of a suspect's behavioural patterns could be invaluable to any investigation. David tells Jim Al-Khalili about how he founded the field of investigative psychology - and went on to advise on major criminal investigations, write award-winning books and even make time to pursue a parallel life as a composer.

Imagine looking at a map of a city you thought you knew inside-out, only to discover a collection of tightly knit neighbourhoods that nobody had ever realised existed... Edith Heard has achieved something rather similar with DNA.

Edith is a leading expert in epigenetics: put simply, the science around how our bodies can turn particular genes on or off without actually altering our DNA. She’s spent her career studying the mechanisms that make us who we are and transforming our understanding of how X chromosomes are expressed; notably, how female cells turn off the spare X chromosome.

Talking to Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Edith discusses her journey from a shy and introverted youngster to the cutting edge of European science - including her latest role as Director of London’s prestigious Francis Crick Institute.

What do you do when your childhood dream of becoming an astronaut is grounded at the final hurdle?

If you’re physicist Ginger Kerrick, you go on to help run the missions instead.

After failing the medical of her astronaut application process, Ginger went on to become Nasa’s first non-astronaut CAPCOM and its first Hispanic female Flight Director. Across a remarkable three-decade career, she helped train the International Space Station’s first long-term crew, logged thousands of hours in Mission Control, and shaped future missions to the moon and Mars. All with her trademark determination and resilience – qualities forged through life experiences that might have derailed someone else entirely.

In conversation with Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Ginger reveals the highs and lows of life at Nasa, and discusses the future of human spaceflight: from the potential of AI, to missions to Mars.

Here's a little fact you might have heard before: humans are around 70% water. About the same percentage as a sweet potato, incidentally. But what does that actually mean? Sure, there's blood, that accounts for some of it. And the lymphatic system has a fair amount too, sloshing around. There is water in each of our cells. But that does not add up to the full 70%, so where is the rest of it?

In 2018, a scientific paper was published which gives a tantalising clue. The authors revealed for the first time that our 'interstitial spaces' - those gaps, between our bones and joints and all of our organs - spaces which are often sidelined in conventional anatomy - those spaces were full of a kind of soft, gel-like liquid. Flowing around the body. Bringing essential substances to where they are needed. Connecting all the disparate parts of us and communicating between them. They called this massive, fluid-filled system 'The Interstitium', and suggested that it might be a brand new, previously undiscovered organ.

This moist, fibrous network seems to be important, in ways we still do not quite understand. It seems to have a key role in so many of our body's essential functions, from wound repair, to the maintenance of our body-clocks, to the spread of cancer from one tissue to another. And it is everywhere.

Emily Knight takes a journey deep into the human body, into the ocean within us, the spaces in between the things we think of as 'us'. And discovers the way it flows, and the things that flow through it.

An ant becomes infected by a fungus which takes over its nervous system, turning the ant into a vehicle for the fungus’s reproduction and killing the ant in the process. It sounds like science fiction, but it is happening in rainforests around the world.

It is a parasitic relationship that has inspired the TV series The Last of Us, but it also reveals a great deal about control, autonomy and the interconnectedness of the natural world.

Cultural entomologist Bridget Nicholls investigates this intriguing natural phenomenon with Merlin Sheldrake, mycologist and writer; Philip Ball, science writer; Mark Brown, director of the University Museum of Zoology at Cambridge University; Nura Sidarus, lecturer in Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London; Lore Lixenberg, mezzo-soprano and sound artist, and Jason Singh, sound artist and composer. Jason's recordings and compositions feature throughout this documentary.

Presenter: Bridget Nicholls

Design is never neutral and small choices can have a big impact.

Dr Ella Hubber and journalist Katie Silver explore how consumer products marketed to women are frequently developed without fully understanding their needs. Along with expert insight, they look at everything from footwear based on male anatomy to menstrual products tested with unrealistic methods, revealing how these decisions can affect comfort, performance and even health.

As awareness grows, they also ask what change can look like and whether everyday products can finally reflect women’s real needs.

Presenter/producer: Ella Hubber

CPR mannequins, medical implants and surgical tools. These are life changing and lifesaving medical devices. But when they are built around male bodies, what does that mean for everyone else?

Through expert insight, Dr Ella Hubber and journalist Candice Bailey uncover how gaps in research can lead to higher complication rates in women, why the “one-size-fits-all” design method falls short, and how even the operating theatre can fail women.

As awareness grows, they also ask what change can look like and whether the tools used in healthcare can finally serve every body.[EH1.1]

Presenter/producer: Ella Hubber

Dr Ella Hubber and journalist Katie Silver unpack how artificial intelligence is far from neutral, and why that matters. They speak to experts who reveal how some AI is trained with bad data and how this means it can often reflect the same inequalities found in society be that in voice assistants, hiring tools, or translation apps.

As awareness grows, they also ask what change can look like. Better training, better regulation, and the technologies shaping our future working fairly for everyone.

Presenter/producer: Ella Hubber

On every street corner, at every bus stop, in every public toilet the message is clear: this city is not built for women.

Along with journalist Chhavi Sachdev, Dr Ella Hubber explores how urban design often fails to reflect the realities of women’s lives. They unpack issues like why women spend longer queuing for toilets, how safety concerns shape the way women move through cities, and why transport systems built around linear commutes fail those juggling care, work and home.

As awareness grows, they also ask what change can look like. More inclusive planning, policies shaped by lived experience, and cities finally designed to work for everyone.

Presenter/producer: Ella Hubber