As an evolutionary anthropologist working with human populations around the globe, Herman Pontzer has conducted research that reveals the wonder of our species's evolution and our biological diversity, documenting the connections between lifestyle, landscape, local adaptations and health. He joins Robin Ince to reveal these intricacies and how the way we understand our biology and its interplay with our cultural environments is critical to how we understand our world and one another.

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One of the great mavericks of British music, Kevin Rowland, recounts his formative years and reveals a deeply personal account of his life. From trying to be 'good' at church and to make his mum proud, to thieving and fighting on the outside,  from his early discovery of his love for music as a school boy, to his earliest gigs in his brother's band, Kevin reveals the roots of his musical journey, and the lessons they imparted to him through the years. With an unwavering passion for music and a highly tuned sense of fashion, Kevin rocketed down a path that led to his huge chart successes with Dexys Midnight Runners in the 1980s. Bringing us back to these years, he also reveals the burden of fame, the inner turmoil of stardom, and the propelling power of his musical vision.

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Informed by over fifteen years covering the world’s most advanced innovations, Lewington joins journalist Hannah MacInnes to explore the transformative potential of AI and health tech—from early cancer detection and personalised diagnostics to wearable devices that track everything from sleep to blood sugar. Drawing on her new book Hacking Humanity, Lewington shares her own journey of self-experimentation, separates scientific promise from Silicon Valley hype, and asks what it truly means to live a longer, healthier life. With clarity, compassion and infectious curiosity, she shows how we can all take part in shaping a future where medicine is not just reactive but predictive, and where technology helps us stay well, not just treat us when we’re sick.

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It’s the early 20th century, in the small village of Nagyrév in Hungary. The village is so small, there is no post office, no police, and no doctor. And the men are being poisoned. By their wives. Journalist and author Hope Reese reveals the motivations and consequences of this mysterious chapter of the past, this open secret, which became one of the deadliest mass poisonings in history.

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At the age of twenty-two, Dr Grace Spence Green’s spine was broken at the fourth thoracic vertebra. One day, she was in hospital supporting patients, the next she was fighting for her own life.

As Grace came to understand her new life as a wheelchair user, she also had to reconceptualise how she could be both a doctor and a patient, and her now deeply personal understanding of society’s persistent ableism. She joins Dr Xand van Tulleken to share her journey, from how people’s perception of her post-injury changed dramatically due to ableist mindsets, to how her own experience navigating the medical system as a patient helped her better understand her own patients, to how her patients have in turn helped her in surprising and deeply human reciprocity. Grace shares her own passion for disability advocacy, and calls for us all to change the narrative about disability and ableism.

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Sir David Attenborough, Miriam Margolyes, Nigel Planer, and others join us for a glimpse into Uncharted Territories, a new audio author showcase from John Murray publishers.

This week we have a guest appearance from our friends at John Murray publishers who are sharing Uncharted Territories, their first ever audio author showcase. Here they’ve curated a collection of some of the best historians, memoirists, academics, critics and national treasures publishing on their 2025 non-fiction list to introduce and share clips from their current and upcoming audiobooks. You’ll find some recognisable names and be introduced to some new voices. Listen to the legendary Sir David Attenborough reading from his top 10 bestseller Ocean, to playful provocateur Miriam Margolyes, to comedy legend Nigel Planer who shares an exclusive extract from his upcoming memoir, and discover some new voices along the way.

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Most of us speak a descendant of one ancient tongue: Proto-Indo European. Almost all of Europe shares the DNA of its legacy. Acclaimed journalist and author of international bestseller Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World Laura Spinney explores the origins of this ancient language and how it spread far from its cradle near the Black Sea. Reaching the coasts of Scotland and the western reaches of China, traveling across the Mediterranean and deep into South Asia, Indo-European unites Dante’s Inferno and the Rig Veda, the knights of Arthurian legend and the early Hittite kings. Now Indo-European languages are spoken by nearly half of humanity. How did this happen? Laura shares the epic journey.

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How does the body stay alive? And what does ageing really mean, from the inside ? Biomedical scientist and Professor of Vaccine Immunology at Imperial College London John Tregoning reveals the science of staying alive, ageing, and death. Journeying from the nature of genes to the science of inflammation, from today's anti-ageing craze to real health foods and the evolving landscape of diagnostic care, John reveals how we can lead healthier, better-informed lives.

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Oscar nominated for her film The Edge of Democracy, which documented the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff and the rise of Jair Bolsonaro, Petra Costa returns to the subject of Brazil's fragile democracy in Apocalypse in the Tropics. Streaming now on Netflix, Apocalypse explores the relationship between evangelical Christianity and the far-right, following the televangelist Silas Malafaia in his work campaigning for Jair Bolsonaro. Petra joins the podcast to discuss this precarious moment in Brazilian politics and its significance for democracies around the world.

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When high-flying journalist Dolly Jones had her children, the idea of returning to work felt daunting. She struggled to find material to galvanise and reassure her, and to make her feel that anything was possible.

She set out to change all of that, gathering practical advice, life-hacks and guilt-avoidance strategies from a diverse range of women in a wide variety of industries – fashion designers, taxi drivers, journalists, actors, employment lawyers, doctors, bankers, health specialists, entrepreneurs and restaurateurs.

In this empowering episode, Dolly acts as a ‘ladder down’ to the next generation of working women from a generation who have experimented their way to making it work.

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