Over the last several decades, the world has seen artificial intelligence undergo a rapid transformation. Since its beginnings in the 1950s as speculative theorising and novel thought experiments, AI has blossomed into a bona fide technological tool that can perform sophisticated tasks such as detecting signs of cancer or spotting signs of financial fraud, in many cases much more effectively than we humans can.

But recently, another, more personal use for the technology has arisen – that of the AI companion. Against a backdrop of rising issues of social isolation and loneliness, more and more of us are turning to AI agents to act as friends, therapists and, in some cases, even lovers.

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr James Muldoon, a sociologist based at Essex Business School, to talk about his latest book, Love Machines – How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Our Relationships.

He tells us how far from being a niche activity, more than 200 million AI companions have been downloaded worldwide, how many of the people who interact with them view them as being ‘real’, and why tech companies and policymakers need to work together to ensure that our relationships with AI agents remain healthy as the technology progresses.

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For many of us, consuming or making art – be it listening to music, playing an instrument, reading a book, painting a watercolour or attending a dance class – is seen as a pastime or hobby, a fun way to spend an evening or Sunday afternoon. But according to the latest scientific thinking, engaging with the arts can have a profound effect on our mental and physical well-being, and may even help us to live longer, healthier lives.

In this episode, we’re joined by Daisy Fancourt, a professor of psychobiology and epidemiology and head of the Social Biobehavioural Research Group at University College London, to talk about her latest book, Art Cure – The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health.

She tells us what happens in our brains and bodies when we make, perform or interact with art, how engaging with the arts may even have a beneficial effect our genes, and how medical professionals are increasingly prescribing art therapies to improve our overall health in almost every way, whether you’re three years old or 103.

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There’s little doubt that we humans are a deeply social species; in many ways, our interactions with others define the very essence of who we are. But in recent times, studies have shown that we’re connecting with one another less and less, to the point where some say we may now be facing a loneliness epidemic. So, why are social interactions so vital to our health and well-being, what actually happens in our brains and bodies when we form meaningful relationships, and what measures can we take to reverse this worrying trend?

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Ben Rein, a neuroscientist, science communicator and author based at Stanford University, to talk about his latest book, Why Brains Need Friends, The Neuroscience of Social Connection – and Why We All Need More.

He tells us how feel-good chemicals are released in our brains when we interact with others, how we all lie on a spectrum of introversion and extroversion and that recognising our own personalities can help us all make the most of our social interactions, and how small acts such as complimenting a stranger or putting emojis at the end of a text message can help us all to boost our social capital.

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Chances are that if you open your bathroom cabinet, many of the medicines you find there were first discovered by studying the chemical processes of the plants that grow all around us. But with 450,000 plant species existing in the world, the truth is that we’re only just scratching the surface of this almost limitless resource.

In this episode, we’re joined by Prof Anne Osbourn, a group leader in biosynthesis research based at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, and co-founder of drug discovery platform HotHouse Therapeutics.

She tells us about the long history we humans have of making use of the medicinal properties found in plants, how technological developments over the last several decades have enabled us to identify the genes and naturally occurring processes in plants that we can harness to produce life-saving drugs, and how artificial intelligence shows great promise in our search for new, innovative medicines.

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Currently, around 40 per cent of children in the UK have been diagnosed with an allergy of some form or another – the most common being food allergies, eczema, asthma, and hay fever. Why is this number so alarmingly high, what can we do to treat them, and what measures can we take to ensure that our children don’t develop allergies in the first place?

In this episode, we’re joined by Willem M. de Vos, a professor of microbiology based at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

He tells us how the recent rise in births by caesarean section may be contributing to the increase in childhood allergies, how exposure to microbes in early life can have a profound effect on our immune systems, and how cutting-edge microbial treatments such as faecal transplants are showing promise in our fight against this growing health epidemic.

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It sounds like a theory plucked from the page of a science fiction novel, but according to Enrique Gaztañaga from the University of Portsmouth, our entire Universe could be trapped inside a black hole. It's a mind-blowing theory, but it could help us better understand the fundamental nature of our reality.

But how is it even possible for us to be inside a black hole? Will we ever know for sure? And what could lie beyond its boundaries.

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Chances are that when most of us think of spinosaurs our minds will turn to the hulking, predatory sail-backed dinosaur that famously took down a T. Rex in the Jurassic Park movies. But thanks to their highly fragmented fossil records, in the real world, our knowledge of these fascinating, ancient creatures is far from complete. Where did they live? How did they live? And what did they really look like?

In today’s episode, we’re joined by David Hone, a palaeontologist based at Queen Mary University of London, and Mark P. Witton, a palaeontologist and paleoartist based at the University of Portsmouth, to talk about their latest book, Spinosaur Tales, The Biology and Ecology of the Spinosaurs.

They tell us how palaeontologists piece together details of dinosaurs’ appearances and behaviours by painstakingly poring over fossil records, why we shouldn’t believe everything we see in the movies, and why there’s still so much to learn about these mysterious, and at times controversial, beasts.

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How much control do we have over our actions and decisions? For most of us, it’s likely that the answer is that, of course, all of the choices we make are our own. But it’s long been argued by some scientists and philosophers that this isn’t the case at all. Could it be that the trajectories of our lives are largely already written into our biology, genes and neural circuitry before we’re even born?

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Hannah Critchlow, a neuroscientist and author based at the University of Cambridge and recipient of the 2026 Humanist Society’s Rosalind Franklin Medal.

She explains how our personalities, beliefs and actions are deeply influenced by our ancestry, genes and upbringing, what’s happening in our brains when we make a decision, and how current research is showing that accepting our predispositions can likely help us all make the most of who we are.

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It’s likely that if any of us step and of our front doors and take a moment to listen to what’s going on around us, we’ll hear the vocalisations of dozens of different animals. But why are they making these sounds and can we ever really understand what they actually mean?

In this episode, we’re joined by naturalist and author Amelia Thomas to discuss her latest book What Sheep Think About the Weather, How to Listen to What Animals Are Trying to Say.

She tells us how the tone that’s innate in animal vocalisations may be the mother of all communication how dogs may have evolved their barks in order to express their wants and needs to us humans and how we can all enrich our lives by listening to the sounds that naturally occur around us.

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It’s currently thought that around one billion people worldwide aren’t getting enough protein to meet their daily needs. Alongside this, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the large-scale farming of livestock and the overfishing of the Earth’s oceans to provide us with vital sources of protein are causing great harm to the environment. But could the production of more alternative protein sources, such as cultivated meat, plants like algae and duckweed and even insects, help provide us with a neat solution to both of these issues?

As part of our four-part miniseries, Future of Food, we’re joined by a panel of three researchers based at The University of Sheffield: Professor of biomanufacturing Tuck Seng Wong, Professor of plant cell signalling Julie Gray and a Senior Lecturer based at the School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering, Dr Kang Lan Tee.

They tell us about the latest technological developments that are helping us to produce healthy, nutritious proteins in novel ways, how many of these methods can make much more efficient use of resources such as energy and water, and why perhaps many of us could benefit from being a little more open-minded when it comes to thinking about what we put on our plates.

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