Instant Genius

Be it drank first thing in the morning, as an afternoon pick-me-up or to soothe our souls after hearing some bad news, we Brits love a cup of tea.

But over recent years, the traditional cup of black builders’ tea has found a new rival vying for our attention in cafés and on supermarket shelves – its more traditional cousin green tea.

Many people are making the change not for reasons of flavour but for its supposed health benefits. But is there any truth in this?

In this episode I speak to Justin Roberts, a professor of nutritional physiology based at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.

He tells us all about the nutritional content and potential health benefits we can gain from drinking this ancient beverage.

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For years researchers around the world have viewed the brain and body as separate entities, to be treated using different methods and even in different hospitals.

However, recent discoveries have turned this picture on its head. We now know that our brains and immune systems are intimately linked and have a huge influence on each other.

In this episode I speak to Dr Monty Lyman a medical doctor, researcher and author who studies the relationship between the mind and the immune system.

We talk about the latest science he outlines in his book The Immune Mind: The New Science of Health.

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Artificial Intelligence can seem scary, especially with rapid advancements, but what if it actually improves our future? We spoke to Nick Bostrum, a leading philosopher at the University of Oxford and author of the new book Deep Utopia to find out why AI could be a force for positive change.

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These days as many as 60 per cent of us are turning to the Internet or social media to get health advice. It’s a staggering number, especially when you consider the fact that literally anyone, regardless of their background or qualifications, can set up an account and start giving out lifestyle or dietary tips that can have a huge effect on our wellbeing.

In this episode I speak to Dr Idz, an NHS doctor with a background in nutritional research. He’s has made it his mission to fight the misinformation doled out on social media and provide scientifically accurate health advice. In doing so, he has racked up almost 2 million followers on TikTok and almost 300k on Instagram.

He tells us about some of the most common, and potentially dangerous, nutrition myths that abound on social media that he busts in his book Saturated Facts.

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Be it biology, psychology or philosophy, ageing and death are undoubtedly two of the most difficult concepts to tackle in any field of research, so where do we even begin?

In this episode I speak to Prof Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, a researcher based at Cambridge University’s MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, a former president of the Royal Society and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

We talk about the fascinating discoveries he outlines in his latest book Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortality.

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Do you ever find yourself in a meeting at work or in a social occasion and notice how someone in the room seems able to effortlessly and succinctly put their ideas across while also listening to others and giving them room to speak? Chances are that person is a supercommunicator.

In this episode I’m joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Charles Duhigg to talk about his book Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection.

He tells us how by asking deeper questions, listening correctly and approaching difficult conversations with an open mind we can all learn how to be better communicators.

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Do you experience sounds or music visually as certain shapes? Or perhaps you are able to ‘taste’ words or ‘hear’ colours.

If so, it sounds like you have synaesthesia, a neurological phenomenon that leads to some of us experiencing a merging of different senses that are not typically connected.

In this episode we catch up with Prof Jamie Ward, a psychologist and synaesthesia researcher based at the University of Sussex.

He tells us about the varying forms synaesthetic experiences can take, what we know about their impacts on cognition and creativity and how it’s likely that you’ve met a synaesthete without even realising it.

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Just about everywhere we look today, screens, and in particular social media, are being called addictive, and being blamed for causing mental health problems and damaging childhood development.

But does the evidence support this?

In today’s episode we catch up with Pete Etchells, professor of psychology and science communication at Bath Spa University and author of Unlocked: The real science of screen time.

Pete tells us why we need to redefine our relationship with technology and why social media, for all its ills, may not be as bad as we often make out.

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There’s no doubt new advances in science and technology are having a huge impact on the way we live our lives these days. From Big Data and artificial intelligence to genomics and wearable devices that track daily our activity.

Of course, medicine is no exception. All of these technological steps forward are pointing healthcare towards a coming era of personalised medicine that focusses more directly on the needs of the individual patient.

In this episode we speak to Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, David Weatherall Chair in Medicine at the University of Liverpool, NHS Chair of Pharmacogenetics, and a consultant physician at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

He tells us how advances in medical techniques such as genetic screening and a focus on patients’ differing reactions to treatment can go beyond a one-drug-fits-all approach to healthcare and even treat diseases before symptoms appear.

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For those of us on the outside, scientific discoveries can often appear to be neat, tidy and well thought out in advance. Theorists come up with a hypothesis on a chalkboard and then it’s up to the experimentalists to attempt to prove their theories right or wrong through observation. But this isn’t always the case, especially when it comes to astronomy.

In this episode we catch up with Chris Lintott, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford and a presenter on BBC’s Sky at Night to talk about his book Our Accidental Universe.

He tells us about the many unexpected discoveries astronomers have made almost by accident, and how with a bit of luck, and the right kind of eyes, the mysteries of the Universe are hiding in plain sight, just waiting to be discovered.

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