Ri Science Podcast

Halloween means lots of sweets, which in turn means lots of packaging. We’re starting to see more of the packaging on our shelves labelled as sustainable in some way, but are they really? Mike Shaver is a Professor of Polymer Science and Director of the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub at the University of Manchester, and joins us this month to unpick the current landscape of sustainable materials, and discuss whether or not a fully recyclable plastic is possible.

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released!

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Producer: Lia Hale

Music: Joseph Sandy

What makes a planet habitable? What are we looking for to find Earth 2.0? And how do you get a chunk of an asteroid through airport security? This month, astrophysicist Elizabeth Tasker discusses the latest missions at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and explores how our knowledge has progressed since she last spoke at the Ri back in 2018.  

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help other people discover the podcast.  

Producer: Lia Hale 

Music: Joseph Sandy 

Today marks the beginning of the Paralympic Games, and nearly 3 weeks since the end of the Olympic Games in Paris. But what actually happens to your brain when you exercise? What’s the science behind ‘runner’s high’? And why isn’t there enough research on women in sport? This month, we’re joined by exercise neuroscientist Flaminia Ronca, from UCL and the Institute of Sport Exercise and Health. She shares with us which chemical and physiological systems are involved when we exercise, and how regular exercise can decrease our chances of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.  

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help other people discover the podcast.  

Producer: Lia Hale 

Assistant producer: Isla Nakano 

Interviewer: Lia Hale 

Music: Joseph Sandy 

Why is there less medical research on women? How did humanity reach 8 billion despite the dangers of childbirth? In this episode, Cat Bohannon explores these questions and reveals insights from her book, Eve: How Women Drove 200 Million Years of Evolution, to highlight women’s pivotal role in our species’ history. This talk was recorded at the Royal Institution on 8 June 2024.

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released!  

Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help other people discover the podcast.  

Producer: Eloise Ross

Executive producer: Lia Hale

Music: Joseph Sandy  

To celebrate National Cheese Day earlier this month, we sat down with biochemist and cheese expert Bronwen Percival to look under the barrel at the science of one of the nation’s favourite foods. From the basics of cheese production to the biochemistry underlying its notorious smell, and even some cheese tastings, this episode guarantees to open your eyes to the captivating world of cheese.  

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help other people discover the podcast.  

Producer: Freddie Rodgers 

Interviewer: Isla Nakano 

Music: Joseph Sandy 

What came first, the chicken, the egg, or...the jellyfish? Zoologist and author Jules Howard joins us this month to explore evolution through a new lens - the egg. Eggs play a fundamental role in the reproduction and development of most species, yet they have been relatively overlooked in the narrative of evolution and the progression of life on Earth.

Jules takes us on a journey back through the history of eggs, their surprisingly fundamental role in everything from the extinction of dinosaurs to the evolution of the human brain.

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released!

Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.

Producer: Lia Hale

Interviewer: Lia Hale

Music: Joseph Sandy

Why is it that we can vividly remember a particular smell from years ago, but can’t remember where we put our keys a mere few hours prior? This month, we’re joined by renowned neuroscientist and author Dr Charan Ranganath to discuss how and why we remember.

Charan is a Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology, and Director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at UC Davis, and has recently released his first book ‘Why We Remember’. Charan takes us on a journey through our own minds, and a forward look at the future of memory research. 

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help other people discover the podcast.  

Producer: Lia Hale 

Assistant producer: Freddie Rodgers 

Interviewer: Lisa Derry 

Music: Joseph Sandy 

In the second episode of this miniseries, we’re exploring how AI is impacting different areas of scientific research, and in this episode we discuss the applications of AI in healthcare. Lisa Derry is joined by Dr James Kinross, a colorectal surgeon and medical researcher at Imperial College London, to discuss everything from the impact of AI on medical publishing to robotic surgery.Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to be notified as soon as the next episode is released!Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help other people discover the podcast.

Lead producer: Lia Hale
Assistant producer: Freddie Rodgers
Interviewer: Lisa Derry
Music: Joseph Sandy

Following on from his Discourse, Yang-Hui He is joined by LIMS science writer Madeleine Hall to discuss the past, present and future of Geometry. From Euclid’s postulates to how flower petals are arranged, explore how our modern understanding of geometry has come to be. LIMS is based here at the Ri, and you can find out more about their research by following the link below.  

New Ri Science Podcast episodes will be released on the last Wednesday of every month, so make sure to tune in for the next episode at the end of March! 

Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.  

Producer: Jeremy Monblat

Assistant producer: Lia Hale, Freddie Rodgers

Editor: Freddie Rodgers

Interviewer: Jeremy Monblat 

Music: Joseph Sandy

We’re exploring how AI is impacting different areas of scientific research, and in this episode we discuss AlphaFold, the machine learning programme from DeepMind that can determine a protein structure from its amino acids alone. Lisa Derry is joined by Dame Janet Thornton, an oracle of bioinformatics and former Director of the European Bioinformatics Institute, to discuss how AlphaFold has revolutionised its field, and what it could do in the future.

Producer: Lia Hale

Production assistants: Sarah Dick and James Kavanagh

Interviewer: Lisa Derry

Music: Joseph Sandy