Instant Genius

In this episode of the Science Focus Podcast we chat through the November 2020 issue of the magazine, which is on sale now.

Editor Dan Bennett explains why, this month, we’re focusing on food myths. Scientist and writer Professor Tim Spector penned our cover feature to reveal the fact and the fiction surrounding diet and nutrition, and some of his research may have results that surprise you.

Talking about the amazing variety of our ocean’s other-worldly sea slugs is managing editor Alice Lipscombe-Southwell. These small marine animals might sport cute faces and bright colours, but they’re armed with an array of deadly defences too.

Commissioning editor Jason Goodyer digs into our piece about algorithms, which asks, what went wrong with the A Level results algorithm? And online assistant Sara Rigby scrutinises the stats around plug-in hybrid cars to find out if they’re as eco-friendly as marketed.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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In this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we talk to Professor Linda Scott, an expert in women’s economic development and Emeritus DP World Chair for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Oxford.

Her book, The Double X Economy, has been shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize 2020. In it, she argues that when we economically empower women, we all succeed.

Linda tells us about her work in women's economics, why the number of women joining the workforce is slowing down, and her idea for an '80 per cent Christmas' to close the gender pay gap.

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In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we talk to Dr Kat Arney about cancer. 

Kat is a science writer and broadcaster, and founder of the science communication consultancy First Create The Media. Her book, Rebel Cell is out now.

She reveals how tissue becomes a tumour, how cells migrate to help cancer spread, and what scientists are doing right now to better understand the disease.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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In this week's episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we talk to Hugo Zeberg, a geneticist working at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. 

Hugo has just published a paper that suggests those of us with a certain set of genes inherited from Neanderthals may suffer from more severe effects of COVID-19.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

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Today‘s podcast episode is a special one, with not one, not two, but three fantastic guests. We’ve teamed up with the three spoken nerds – Matt Parker, Steve Mould and Helen Arney – to bring you an episode of unnecessary details all about… ice.

Steve explains how instant coffee is made, Matt gets irate about eight-pointed 'snowfakes' and Helen talks cryonic freezing.

To hear more from the three spoken nerds, check out their new Podcast Of Unnecessary Detail.

The song was “You And Me And Walt Disney”, produced by Helen Arney and Olly the Octopus and you can download it for free along with all the songs from Unnecessary Detail podcasts at helenarney.bandcamp.com

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

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The fungal kingdom is vast, and yet much of it remains unknown to us – it’s estimated that only about 6 per cent of all fungal species have, so far, been described.

But if fungi are all around us, why do we only know the names of a few? We might use yeast in baking, mushrooms in our cooking, or have been treated with penicillin, but biologist Merlin Sheldrake says there is much more wonder to be found in understanding our fungal friends better.

His new book, Entangled Life, reveals the complexity of the fungal world. In it, he describes the fungal networks that connect trees and plants in something called the Wood Wide Web, and explains how fungi were crucial to the creation of the world we see around us today.

We spoke to Merlin about this strange and wondrous lifeform.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

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In today’s episode, we’re chatting to Professor Sue Black, an anatomist and forensic anthropologist. You might’ve seen characters doing her job on television, in shows like NCIS or Silent Witness – although, they’re not quite an accurate portrayal, as you’ll find out.

Over the course of her career, Sue has worked with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the United Nations, helping to identify victims and perpetrators from only sections of their bodies – perhaps a finger found in a bin bag, or the back of an assaulter’s hand caught on film. Her work has taken her to places such as Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq.

She talks to us about how science helps her piece together fragmented parts of a human jigsaw. This episode contains some graphic content, including descriptions of criminal acts and dissection, that some listeners might find upsetting.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

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For decades, Stonehenge, the mysterious prehistoric circle of stones built on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, has left scientists scratching their heads. Who exactly built it and what was it used for?

In the latest attempt to get to the bottom of this mystery, a team of engineers based at the University of Salford have 3D-printed a scale model of the ancient monument in order to investigate the effect its unique structure would’ve had on conversations, rituals, and even music.

We spoke to Professor Trevor Cox, the acoustic engineer heading up the study, to find out more.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

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Everyone does bad things. We know deep down are wrong, but we do them anyway. Sometimes, people do things so bad that we call them evil.

Criminal psychologist Dr Julia Shaw says there’s no such thing as evil. In her book Making Evil, she argues that we should ditch the idea altogether, and try to understand so-called “evil” people.

In this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast, she talks about psychopaths, mental illness and why we do bad things.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

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We know how important good hygiene is. It protects us from viral infections and diseases, but what if, by washing, soaping and scrubbing, we’re actually damaging our health?

Dr James Hamblin, journalist and professor of public health, stopped showering five years ago. In his new book, Clean (£16.99, Bodley Head), he reveals how our skin is affected by the products we apply. The overuse of soap and cosmetic products – sold to us with the promise of caring for our skin – might even be causing some of the ailments we’re using them to try to treat.

It hasn’t always been this way. Historically, humans have gone from seeing bathing as something vaguely sinful and reserved for the wealthy, to a daily necessity that, if neglected, is a huge social blunder.

According to James, it’s time for a whole new perspective on cleaning. One that starts with a personal reflection of our relationship with our body.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

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