How can ancient DNA help us understand how diseases spread? This month, geneticist and pathogen genomics expert Pooja Swali explains how samples of DNA from the past can reveal how diseases have spread across the world over time. We explore the what, where, how, and why of ancient DNA research, and what doors these questions have opened for the future of the field. Pooja has worked extensively on Yersinia pestis, the bacteria responsible for plague, and uncovered the existence of plague thousands of years earlier than previously anticipated.

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and our new ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

• Book tickets to upcoming talks on our website 
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• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok 

Producer and presenter: Lia Hale

Music: Joseph Sandy  

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Planets outside of our solar system can unlock an abundance of secrets about our Universe. But how do we study them? Astrophysicist Jonathan Tennyson discusses his own research into exoplanets, and how researchers can use the stars to learn more about planets.

About 'From the Lab':

This is the second of our new 'From the Lab' series, taking the place of our 'From the Theatre' episodes. UCL are celebrating their 200th anniversary in 2026, and we've collaborated with them to host UCL researchers as our Discourse speakers throughout 2026. As part of this collaboration, we'll be bringing you episodes with each of these speakers two weeks before their Discourses to explore their research topics further and give you a sneak peek of what's to come in their Discourse.

Buy tickets to Jonathan's Discourse on Friday 27 February on our website.

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and 'From the Lab' episodes are released on the second or third Friday of the month (two weeks before their respective Discourse). Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

• Book tickets to upcoming talks on our website 
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel 
• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok 

Producer and presenter: Lia Hale

Assistant producer: Freddie Rodgers

Music: Joseph Sandy 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alzheimer’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disease caused by the excessive build-up of proteins in the brain. Neuroscientist Tomi Akingbade joins us this month to explain how inflammation could be playing a role in the progression of Alzheimer’s, and what this could mean for future research. Tomi is also the founder of the Black Women in Science (BWiS) network, and discusses the profound impact it’s had on herself and the community around her since she started the network. 

• Discover more about the BWiS network
• Follow BWiS on Instagram 

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

• Book tickets to upcoming talks on our website 
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel 
• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok 

Producer and presenter: Lia Hale 

Music: Joseph Sandy 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Medical research is continuously evolving with new technologies, but another key player in spurring this evolution is mathematics. Mathematician and healthcare engineering expert Becky Shipley joins us to discuss the role mathematics is playing in medical research, and some of the fascinating and innovative technologies she's been a part of developing.

About 'From the Lab':

This is the first of our new 'From the Lab' series, taking the place of our 'From the Theatre' episodes. UCL are celebrating their 200th anniversary in 2026, and we've collaborated with them to host UCL researchers as our Discourse speakers throughout 2026. As part of this collaboration, we'll be bringing you episodes with each of these speakers two weeks before their Discourses to explore their research topics further and give you a sneak peek of what's to come in their Discourse.

Buy tickets to Becky's Discourse on Friday 30 January on our website.

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and 'From the Lab' episodes are released on the second or third Friday of the month (two weeks before their respective Discourse). Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

• Book tickets to upcoming talks on our website 

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok 

Producer and presenter: Lia Hale

Music: Joseph Sandy 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the scientific mechanisms underlying ACL injuries, the application of computational fluid dynamics in the COVID-19 pandemic, and even the latest space mission on the way to Mercury, we've covered an enormous range of science on the Ri Science Podcast throughout 2025.

In this year's Science Wrapped episode, we take a look back over our favourite moments from the past year to give you a snippet of what you might have missed, and a taste of what's to come in 2026.

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and our new ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

• Book tickets to upcoming talks on our website 

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok 

Producer and presenter: Joshua Horton

Executive producer: Lia Hale

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re bringing you this month’s From the Theatre episode from the Space Park in Leicester, joined by Professor of Space Physics Suzie Imber. Suzie is a Co-Investigator on the Mercury Imaging X-Ray Spectrometer (MIXS) instrument onboard BepiColombo, the joint mission between ESA and JAXA currently on its way to Mercury. We explore the history of Mercury investigations, why it has been studied so much less than other planets, and what scientists are hoping to learn from BepiColombo. 

To discover more space science, tune into the 200th CHRISTMAS LECTURES from the Royal Institution with Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock on 28th, 29th and 30th December on BBC4 and BBC iPlayer.   

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and our new ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

• Book tickets to upcoming talks on our website 

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok 

Producer and presenter: Lia Hale 

Music: Joseph Sandy 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This December, space scientist and renowned science communicator Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock will be presenting the CHRISTMAS LECTURES in their 200th year titled ‘Is there life beyond earth?’.

Maggie joins us on the podcast this month to explore the history of space imaging and the huge number of projects she has worked on throughout her career, as well as her experiences navigating the scientific world and some of the biggest questions remaining in space science today.  

Tune into the CHRISTMAS LECTURES this December between Christmas and New Year, on BBC Four and iPlayer.  

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and our new ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

• Find out more about the 2025 CHRISTMAS LECTURES 

• Book tickets to upcoming talks on our website 

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok 

Lead producer and presenter: Lia Hale 

Assistant producers: Mohsina Asif, Poppy Aves, Mia Buxton 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month's 'From the Theatre' episode, we visited New Scientist Live at the Excel to explore what scientists are most excited about for 2026. From insects performing amputations to the latest developments at the Large Hadron Collider, discover what innovations are happening across a range of scientific disciplines.

This episode was recorded on Sunday 19 October 2025.

Presented and produced by Lia Hale

Music by Joseph Sandy

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and our new ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

• Book tickets to upcoming talks on our website 

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mechanical engineer and broadcaster Shini Somara joins us this month to uncover some of the fascinating and often under-appreciated innovations in the world of engineering, ahead of her double bill of talks at the Ri on Saturday 1 November.  

Shini discusses how computational fluid dynamics (CFD) transformed our understanding and management of Covid-19, and how the field has changed dramatically with the computing advancements and introduction of AI in recent years.  

• Book tickets to join Shini this weekend for her family and adult talks 

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

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In this month's From the Theatre episode, we revisit past Christmas Lecturer Hannah Fry's talk on the power of algorithms to continue celebrating our Discover200 campaign.
Hannah Fry takes us on a tour of the good, the bad and the downright ugly of the algorithms that surround us. She lifts the lid on their inner workings, to demonstrate their power, expose their limitations, and examine whether they really are an improvement on the humans they are replacing.

This talk was filmed at the Ri on 30 November 2018.

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released!

• Browse upcoming talks and livestreams on our website  

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram, TikTok and @rigb.org on Bluesky

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.