Science(ish)

Does hypnosis work? Science(ish) explores the mend-bending neuroscience behind the Oscar-winning film Get Out. If you think your brain perceives reality in an fixed way, it’s time you opened the door to the world of hypnotic suggestion, trance-inducing handshakes, and intoxicating placebo alcohol... Your brain will never be the same again.

Featuring: Prof Amir Raz

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Can we create an unbreakable code? Through the film Enigma, Science(ish) delves into the murky history of cryptography and the hunt for the perfect cipher. Our modern world so fundamentally relies on secure digital communication and yet current ‘state-of-the-art’ encryption is actually breakable. Will the code-makers ever beat the code-breakers for good? Enter quantum physics...

  Featuring: Prof Artur Ekert

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Inspired by the latest blockbuster Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, the boys explore the alarming science of extinction. Humans may have conquered the planet, but have we also triggered the “6th Mass Extinction Event”? With the future of life on Earth in our great ape hands, Science(ish) tackles one of the biggest questions we face: how far should we intervene in the ebb and flow of other species?

Featuring: Dr James Borrell

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Could we ever cure dementia? Science(ish) takes on one of the biggest public health challenges of the 21st century: unravelling the science of Alzheimer’s disease. From chance discoveries to next generation brain imaging, the search for a cure is now beginning to gather momentum - an achievement that would change the lives of millions around the world.

Featuring: Prof John Hardy

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Is there another ice age coming? And if so, when? Delving into the science behind the animated film Ice Age, Rick and Michael explore the most fundamental question that we all ponder while eating our breakfast cereal: could we survive the next ice age? 

Featuring: Prof Siwan Davies

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It’s the question all Science(ish) listeners have asked themselves: what’s makes me a genius? With the all-time classic Good Will Hunting, Rick and Michael explore the neuroscience of truly exceptional intelligence and creativity. Is genius innate or can it be fostered? And most importantly: is Michael’s brain over the hill?

Featuring: Prof Rex Jung

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If Keanu Reeves can create a revolutionary new energy source in the film Chain Reaction, then why can’t we do the same in real life? Rick and Michael tackle the challenge of getting nuclear fusion - the ‘Holy Grail of Energy’ - to work on Earth. From superheated plasma to doughnut-shaped magnetic fields, will fusion always be the energy of the future? Or could it actually save us all?

Featuring: Prof Steve Cowley

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Coming straight from the very 90s classic Demolition Man, Rick and Michael tackle the science of freezing yourself in time: from human cryogenics to anti-freeze frogs who scoff in the face of winter, might we all be signing up to be frozen in the future?

Featuring: Dr Greg Fahy

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Rick and Michael delve into the world of the animated sitcom which (very nearly) bears their name: Rick and Morty. It’s time for quantum theory, parallel realities, and the end of physics as we know it in this extra-special LIVE episode. Haven’t you always wondered if there really is another 'you' out there?

Featuring: Prof Brian Greene

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Donating a kidney to a total stranger you’ll never meet sounds crazy - but then why do hundreds of people voluntarily do it every year? This week Rick and Michael tackle the neuroscience of empathy with the film Seven Pounds. Is there really no such thing as a selfless good deed? And of course: how big is your amygdala?

Featuring: Prof Abigail Marsh

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