Do you ever find yourself going about your daily business when suddenly an unpleasant thought pops into your head? These are known as intrusive thoughts. The majority of us experience them without any ill effects. However, for some people they can be highly distressing.

In this episode we catch up with Dr Scott Cairney, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of York.

He tells us all about what is going on in our brains when we have intrusive thoughts, what we can do to limit their impact on our lives and the connection they have to sleep.

To take part in a short survey related to sleep and intrusive thoughts produced by Scott and his team, please click here.

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These days, largely thanks to science fiction movies, most of us will be familiar with the idea of black holes – regions of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape it. But what about white holes?

In this episode we catch up with theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli, author of the book White Holes: Inside the Horizon.

He tells us all about his ground-breaking work investigating what is happening inside black holes, how they can give birth to white holes and how white holes may be the best candidate for dark matter yet.

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Whether its from work, home life or just general pressure, more and more people are suffering from burnout. But what is it, and how can you beat it? We spoke to Sarah Boss, clinical director at The Balance to find out.

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In October, Kew Gardens released a report inspired by a dream of Charles Darwin’s. Described as the most comprehensive plant database ever produced, the State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2023 report not only details the discoveries of over 18,000 new plant and fungi species since 2020 – but also the fact that many of these are already threatened with extinction. We spoke to one of the scientists behind the report – Dr Matilda Brown, conservation science analyst at RGB Kew – to learn more about why plants are disappearing all over the world and what we can do to save them.

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There can be few animals as iconic and instantly recognisable as pandas. The black and white bears are beloved the world over thanks to their distinctive appearance, entertaining personalities and relative scarcity.

In this episode we catch up with Kristine Gandia a researcher based at the University of Sterling. She tells us what she has learnt during her time observing and studying these fascinating animals.

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Sougwen Chung is one of the TIMES 100 most influential people in AI. Through the use of AI, robotics and other forms of futuristic tech, she creates mindblowing artwork. But how does she do it, what are the ethical considerations and where does she see art going in the future?

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Around a decade ago, beavers were spotted in the rivers of southwest England for the first time in 400 years. But exactly what impact have they made on the waterways they live in during this time?

In this episode we speak to Prof Richard Brazier, a researcher based at the University of Exeter and co-director of the Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste.

He tells us what he and his team have learned from studying these charismatic and often misunderstood animals over the last ten years, and how they provide a compelling argument for the reintroduction of other species.

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Not all failures are equal. In fact, some of them can present us with valuable opportunities to learn new things and make new discoveries. The trick is failing in the right way.

In this episode we catch up with Amy Edmondson, Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School and author of the book The Right Kind of Wrong: Why Learning to Fail Can Teach us to Thrive.

She tells us how to identify different types of failure, how we can examine their causes and how we can learn to fail better to make our lives richer and more rewarding.

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Future human races may indeed live extra-terrestrial lives. But how will we reproduce and continue survival once we’re in space? To find out, we spoke to space gynaecologist – yes, you read that right – Dr Varsha Jain from the University of Edinburgh. We cover everything from the myths about women’s bodies in space that stopped them being allowed on the early missions, right through to the impacts of space on a pregnancy, and the future of space babies.

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Artificial intelligence has grown drastically in recent years, entering everything from art to medicine. We talk to Nigel Cannings, an expert in artificial intelligence to better understand the ethics behind AI and copyright, working rights and energy consumption.

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