Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by comedian Sara Pascoe and the very numerate Prof Hannah Fry, maths comedian Matt Parker and statistician Prof David Spiegelhalter for a unique maths class.  Are some of us just innately bad at maths or can everyone get to grips with algebra and calculus?  What do our panel wish they'd been taught at school, and what is the key to a life-long love of numbers? Get your calculators ready! Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

How to Teach Maths

Brian Cox and Robin Ince host a witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists' eyes.

Comedy

Science

Brian Cox and Robin Ince embrace failure in its many forms, with a frank look at the importance of making mistakes. They examine the flaws in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution with the anthropologist Alice Roberts, as she tells them no idea is totally watertight. And sometimes scientific error even leads to important discoveries – just ask the heart patients who took a pill that did nothing for their medical condition but did boost their libido and which we now know as Viagra. But other failures in the field of medicine have had more serious consequences, and Dr Chris van Tulleken questions why we’re not better at drug development for the poorest parts of the world. New episodes will be released on Wednesdays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the full series on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF Producer: Marijke Peters
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem Episodes featured:
Series 15: Science’s Epic Fails
Series 11: Serendipity
Series 25: What Have We Learnt From Covid?

The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… Failure

Robin Ince and Brian Cox ask why some people always seem to win as they investigate the science of gambling. They hear how playing monopoly is no way to make friends, but don’t worry, because psychologist Richard Wiseman claims that it’s never really good fun anyway. In fact, games are mainly a form of social bonding and studies show deception could even be essential to human behaviour, which may just explain why so many people cheat. So should we even bother playing them? Well, it just so happens that solving maths problems can help us in other areas of life, so the team tackle a conundrum involving a goat, a cabbage and very hungry wolf, before becoming side-tracked by a debate over why the three were ever on a trip together in the first place, let alone trying to cross a river. New episodes will be released on Wednesdays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the full series on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF Producer: Marijke Peters
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem Episodes featured:
Series 15: How to Beat the House and Win
Series 3: Randomness
Series 11: Deception

The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… Gambling

Robin Ince and Brian Cox tackle the thorny debate over whether science and religion can co-exist. But forget the tension between the church and the researchers – Eric Idle wants an answer to the important question of whether God is in gluten free communion bread? Katy Brand launches the inaugural theologian’s corner with a pair of Reverends, who explain that comedians and the clergy have a lot in common, including a tendency to like the sound of their own voices. As we learn more about how our universe works, will there even be a need for religious belief? Since some research suggests fundamentalists and zealots tend to be less intelligent, perhaps there’s a case to be made for some healthy scepticism. New episodes will be released on Wednesdays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the full series on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF Producer: Marijke Peters
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem Episodes featured:
Series 1: Science and Religion
Series 4: Is There Room for Mysticism in a Rational World?
The Infinite Monkey Cage 100
Series 21: Quantum Worlds
Series 10: Irrationality

The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… The Gods

Brian Cox and Robin Ince are on a mission to discover whether extra-terrestrials exist. But if there really is other life out there, what would it look like? Comedian Conan O’Brien is hoping for lizard-like creatures with superhuman strength, while Greg Proops imagines little green girls, like the ones in the Star Trek series he grew up with. Or possibly Ewoks. Either way, nobody can agree on the best way to communicate with them if we do ever make contact. Should we send them complicated equations so they realise how intelligent we are, and is playing Bach to aliens too much like showing off? New episodes will be released on Wednesdays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the full series on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF Producer: Marijke Peters
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem Episodes featured:
Series 1: Extraterrestrial Life
Series 25: Exploring Our Solar System
Series 12: San Francisco Special
Series 9: To Infinity and Beyond

The Infinite Monkey's Guide To…  Talking to Aliens

Robin Ince and Brian Cox dig into the secret lives of plants to discover that there’s more going on in your average garden than you might at first think. They hear why trees are better than humans at re-growing broken bits, while comedian Ed Byrne reveals a surprising understanding of horticulture, despite dropping out of his university degree early. And while they’re still no closer to discovering if they’re alive or dead, the team find a new debate to have about strawberries, as they argue with forensic botanist Dr Mark Spencer over whether they should be classified as an invasive species. But what about other common pests? Phill Jupitus tells them about an intimate encounter with grey squirrel, and entomologist Erica McAllister puts up a strong defence of the mosquito, claiming they don’t deserve such a bad reputation. New episodes will be released on Wednesdays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the full series on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF Producer: Marijke Peters
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem Episodes featured:
Series 11: What’s the Point of Plants?
Series 18: Invasion!
Series 23: Bats v Flies

How to Teach Maths

Download our free app to listen on your phone