When Professor Brad Lister returned to Puerto Rico to track insect populations, he found he was only catching a fraction of the amount he’d seen 40 years ago. When he analysed what he’d caught, he saw a 98 per cent decline in insects on the ground. What’s causing this huge loss, and what does it mean for the future of our planet?

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This week, we delve into the complex relationship between science and religion. Why invoke a god to explain the world, the argument goes, when science does a perfectly good job? Professor John Lennox, however, begs to differ.

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What does it mean to be happy? The pleasure of doing nothing, the sense of community from performing a haka, or drinking in your pants? Helen Russell, author of The Atlas of Happiness, explains what happiness means to different people around the world.

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Astrobiologist Lewis Dartnell is here to talk about how the Earth's ancient geography has influenced the development of human civilisations, and how it still affects our behaviour today.

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The men and women of the Apollo program needed a particular mindset to land astronauts on the Moon – Richard Wiseman explains how you can harness this mentality to achieve your own Moon shots.

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Jamie Susskind explains how the politics of the future will be shaped by the technology influencing our lives today.

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Statistician and Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk in the Statistical Laboratory at the University of Cambridge Sir David Spiegelhalter explains the pseudoscience behind Blue Monday, the power of numbers, and how to spot a dodgy stat.

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From 'Oumuamua to Planet Nine, astronomy writer and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society Colin Stuart counts down the five strangest cosmic enigmas.

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Dr Giles Yeo studies the relationship between our genetic make-up and how we’re eating, and knows that poor self-control isn’t entirely to blame for the obesity epidemic. He’s here to talk about how our genes influence how hungry we feel and how much we eat, and what we should do about it. 

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Evolutionary geneticist Aoife McLysaght is joining Alice Roberts as a guest at this year’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Together, they’re exploring where we come from, what makes us human, and what makes each of us unique.

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