Dave writes in wanting to know whether there is any way to get nuclear energy onto the grid without heating up water to turn a steam turbine. A great question that sees James Tytko dip his toe into the uranium heated waters of nuclear engineering... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In the news pod, Chris van Tulleken tells us what he's got planned for this years Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Then we hear about the innovation to harness energy from radioactive carbon-14 atoms, and learn more about when humans and Neanderthals got to know each other. Then, we look skyward, where astronomers have described a series of mysterious near-Earth objects similar to the famous Oumuamua... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Titans of Science returns with Jocelyn Bell Burnell who discovered radio pulsars as a postgraduate student at Cambridge. Her work not only revolutionised the field of astrophysics, but inspired one of the most famous pieces of music artwork too... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Pervasive misconceptions about what OCD is may have stood in the way of making progress towards better treating the condition. Keeping your room tidy is not necessarily a sign that you have a psychiatric condition, despite what someone might claim in passing. Now, new theories about the way this anxiety disorder affects the brain are leading to new possibilities with regards to helping people who don't see an improvement from current gold standard therapies. James Tytko explores... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this episode of Naked Genetics: What new DNA techniques are revealing about human sacrifices in Mayan culture; we debunk the 'junk', in junk DNA; and, the upside down sea snail that makes rafts of its own snot... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Chris Smith answers CapeTalk listeners' questions. Including, do wind turbines affect the temperature of the ground? What is the cause of protein build up in my eye? Can we predict how much we might shrink as we age? And does microwaving food affect its nutritional content? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

David wants to know, after looking at distant galaxies in the night sky, how long it took to create them. James Tytko took on the question with the help of the University of Cambridge's Public Astronomer, Matt Bothwell... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In the News pod, Google DeepMind's weather forecasting AI model outperforms traditional tools. Also, new data from volcanoes on Venus dampen theories it was once a watery world, and is this double action weight loss drug the successor to Ozempic and Mounjaro? Then, we hear the proof that crustaceans can feel pain, and will seek drugs to relieve it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Have we been visited by space aliens? This month space boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham delve into the history and science of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). They discuss UFOs with Pennsylvania State College professor and author of After the Flying Saucers Came, Greg Eghigian. They also talk to Thomas Zurbuchen, the longest ever serving head of science at NASA who commissioned an official report on UFOs. What does he believe? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Obsessive compulsive disorder - OCD - is a mental health condition where intrusive, unwanted thoughts can become all consuming. Some people report anxieties over something terrible happening to them or someone they love for example, and, in some cases, in a bid to alleviate these fears, they may carry out compulsive actions repetitively to the point they become extremely disruptive to their lives.Due to pervasive misconceptions around this serious psychiatric condition, a lot of people suffer with their symptoms for a long time before getting help. It's also complicated to unpick the... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists