Insult My Intelligence

In this episode of Insult My Intelligence, Tim Dowling investigates the looming banana crisis — the potential downfall of the Cavendish banana, which makes up nearly all the bananas sold in the UK and Europe. With help from Dr. Chris Cockel of the Millennium Seed Bank and Professor James Dale from the University of Queensland, Tim explores the history of Panama disease, the song Yes! We Have No Bananas, and why today’s bananas aren’t what they used to be. As a new, more aggressive fungus threatens to repeat history, scientists race to save the world’s favourite fruit through painstaking breeding, genetic modification, and gene editing. Will they prevent a bananapocalypse? 

What does it really mean to bring a “dead” language back to life? In this episode, we speak with Professor Ghil’ad Zuckermann and Professor Julia Sallabank about the complex, political, and deeply emotional work of language revival — from Australian Aboriginal languages to Guernsey’s native tongue. We explore how reviving a language is about more than words: it’s about identity, pride, and healing cultural loss.

In a world designed for the right-handed majority, how have left-handers not only survived but sometimes thrived? This week, Tim discovers why about one in ten of us stubbornly writes, throws, and stirs tea the ‘wrong’ way. Psychologist Chris McManus explains the deep evolutionary roots of handedness — and why our hearts might secretly be to blame. Meanwhile, author Ed Wright argues that a lefty’s surprise factor once turned the tide in duels, battles, and even modern baseball. Is it true that lefties think differently? Are they more creative, better leaders — or just more likely to spill ink across their homework? 

This week on Insult My Intelligence, Tim tackles his vast ignorance about the far edges of our solar system. He always thought Pluto was Planet 9 — but spoiler: it’s not. So is there a real ninth planet out there? To find out, Tim talks to Konstantin Batygin, the scientist behind today’s Planet 9 hypothesis, and astronomer Samantha Lawler, who has her doubts. 

Welcome to the very first episode of Insult My Intelligence — the podcast where host Tim asks smart people the dumb questions we’ve all secretly wondered about. This week: dog intelligence. How clever are dogs compared to other animals? And more importantly, how clever (or clueless) is Tim’s own dog, Nellie? Featuring canine cognition experts Vanessa Woods, Brian Hare, and Dr. Adam Miklosi, plus some less-than-stellar test results from Nellie herself.