Scientifically...

By BBC Radio 4

What's Scientifically... about?

Home of the best science programmes from BBC Radio 4, from the ingenuity behind everyday objects to the biggest questions facing our planet. Released weekly, this podcast is introduced by Dr. Alex Lathbridge.

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Scientifically... episodes:

04.01.2022
28ish Days Later - Day One: Power
Discover more episodes in the series by searching for 28ish Days Later on BBC Sounds. What do you really know about the menstrual cycle? India Rakusen explores the whole bloody story, discovering facts that could change your life. Periods are...
03.03.2022
Political Animals: Sex-Switching Fish and Non-Binary Brains - 3/3
Zoologist Lucy Cooke is on a mission: to break down the 'sexist stereotype' she believes has permeated our understanding of the natural world. In Political Animals, she sets out to prove that females of the species can be just as...
03.03.2022
Political Animals: Mole-Rat Queens and Genital Power - 2/3
Zoologist Lucy Cooke is on a mission: to break down the 'sexist stereotype' she believes has permeated our understanding of the natural world. In Political Animals, she sets out to prove that females of the species can be just as...
02.24.2022
Political Animals: Sex, Monkeys and the 'Coy Female' Myth - 1/3
Zoologist Lucy Cooke is on a mission: to break down the 'sexist stereotype' she believes has permeated our understanding of the natural world... In Political Animals, she sets out to prove that females of the species can be just as...
12.22.2021
Wild Inside: The Ocean Sunfish
Ben Garrod and Jess French get under the skin of Mola mola the world's largest bony fish to unravel this bizarrely shaped predator's ability to swim to a huge range of depths. Produced by Adrian Washbourne. First broadcast on...
12.17.2021
Wild Inside:The Burmese Python
Ben Garrod and Jess French delve deep inside the predatory Burmese python to examine its extraordinary body plan that enables it to catch, constrict and consume huge prey whole. Presented by Prof Ben Garrod and Dr Jess French and...
12.07.2021
Wild Inside: Jungle Royalty - The Jaguar
Wild Inside embarks on something we hardly ever witness – a look inside some of nature’s most wondrous animals. Its a rare chance to delve deep into some enigmatic and very different wild animals – from a reptile, to a...
10.12.2021
A Good Read with Adam Rutherford and Farrah Jarral
As part of Radio 4's Day of the Scientist Harriett Gilbert asks two scientists and broadcasters to choose a book on a science theme. Adam Rutherford chooses Kazuo Ishiguro's dystopian love story Never Let Me Go. Dr Farrah Jarral says...
10.12.2021
The Life Scientific at 10: What does it take to be a scientist?
How damaging is the stereotype of white males in white coats? Do scientists think differently? Or do the qualities we associate with being a nerd do them a disservice? Is specialism the best way to solve 21st century problems when...
10.12.2021
The Sir Patrick Vallance interview
As Chief Scientific Advisor to the government during a pandemic, Sir Patrick Vallance's calm, clear summaries of the state of our scientific understanding of the virus were welcomed by many. But what was going on behind the scenes? In this...
10.12.2021
The Men in the White Coats
Prof Andrea Sella on the shifting image of the scientist in popular culture, from Victor Frankenstein to Iron Man via victorious post-war boffinry and megalomanical Bond villainry. The monster unleashed by Mary Shelley in her 1818 tale of gruesome gothic...
09.17.2021
Celebrating the life of Sir Clive Sinclair: Computers at home
This week in Scientifically… we celebrate the life of Sir Clive Sinclair with this episode from the series Computing Britain that looks at how 'micro computers' invaded the home in the 1980s. In this episode, Hannah Fry discovers...
09.03.2021
Jim Al-Khalili's Life Scientific
In an ideal (quantum) world, Jim Al-Khalili would be interviewing himself about his life as a scientist but since the production team can’t access a parallel universe, Adam Rutherford is stepping in to ask Jim questions in front of an...
08.11.2021
Genetic Dreams, Genetic Nightmares - Episode 3
CRISPR is the latest and most powerful technique for changing the genetic code of living things. This method of gene editing is already showing great promise in treating people with gene-based diseases, from sickle cell disease to cancer. However, in...
07.28.2021
Genetic Dreams, Genetic Nightmares - Episode 2
Professor Matthew Cobb looks at how genetic engineering became big business - from the first biotech company that produced human insulin in modified bacteria in the late 1970s to the companies like Monsanto which developed and then commercialised the first...
07.21.2021
Genetic Dreams, Genetic Nightmares - Episode 1
Biologist Matthew Cobb presents the first episode in a series which looks at the fifty year history of genetic engineering: from the concerns around the first attempts at combining the DNA of one organism with the genes of another in...
06.24.2021
The Blind Astronomer
This is the story, and the sound, of Puerto Rican scientist Wanda Díaz-Merced, who is revolutionising astronomy by turning data from space into audio that can be explored by ear. This process, ‘sonification’, is not only making the universe accessible...
05.12.2021
Dare to Repair: Fixing the Future - Episode 3
Mark Miodownik, explores the environmental consequences of the throwaway society we have become and reveals that recycling electronic waste comes second to repairing broken electronics. He asks what we can learn from repair cultures around the world , he looks...
05.05.2021
Dare To Repair: The Right to Repair - Episode 2
Many electronics manufacturers are making it harder and harder for individuals and independent repairers to fix their broken kit. There are claims that programmed obsolescence is alive and well, with mobile phone batteries designed to wear out after just 400...
04.30.2021
Dare To Repair: How We Broke the Future - Episode 1
We love our electronic gadgets, gizmos and appliances. But when it comes to repairing and caring for them, UK citizens are second only to Norway when it comes to producing electronic waste. We have a culture of buying single-use, throwaway,...
04.21.2021
Gagarin and the lost Moon
On 12 April 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became an explorer like none other before him, going faster and further than any human in history, into what had always been the impenetrable and infinite unknown. Raised in poverty during the Second...
04.07.2021
Hardware, Software, Anywhere: Anywhere - Episode 3
Nick Baker’s collection of programmes and interviews reflects on how the impact of technology has changed, from the dawn of language to the age of virtual reality. In this final episode, ‘Anywhere’, Nick looks at bigger changes in our...
03.31.2021
Hardware, Software, Anywhere: Hardware - Episode 2
Nick Baker’s collection of programmes and interviews reflects on how the impact of technology has changed, from the dawn of language to the age of virtual reality. In this episode, Software, Nick revisits two of the past music software...
03.25.2021
Hardware, Software, Anywhere: Software - Episode 1
Nick Baker’s three-part collection of programmes and interviews reflects on how the impact of technology has changed, from the dawn of language to the age of virtual reality. This first episode, Hardware, features Stephen Fry along with an edition...
02.15.2021
Laws That Aren't Laws: Stigler's Law - Episode 5
Stephen M. Stigler's Law of Eponymy states that no scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer. Professor Stigler, a statistician at Chicago University, defined his own law in a tributary paper to his friend, the sociologist Robert Merton, in...
02.15.2021
Laws That Aren't Laws: The Peter Principle - Episode 4
n 1969, Canadian educationist Lawrence J. Peter developed an unorthodox concept that became known as The Peter Principle: “In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence". His satirical insights into business struck a chord with...
02.15.2021
Laws That Aren't Laws: Betteridge's Law of Headlines - Episode 3
If a newspaper headline ends in a question mark, is the answer always no? And if so, are journalists who use them being lazy and cynical? Ian Betteridge described what is now known as Betteridge's Law of Headlines in a...
02.15.2021
Laws That Aren't Laws: Parkinson's Law - Episode 2
Cyril Northcote Parkinson may have trained as a naval historian, but it was his succinct humorous essay for the Economist magazine in 1955 that was to overshadow much of his career. In it, he laid out his fundamental law of...
02.15.2021
Laws That Aren't Laws: Murphy's Law - Episode 1
“If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong.” Murphy’s Law is now a part of our culture, used to describe wrong outcomes of every sort, from how buttered toast falls to the way catastrophes strike. People have uttered similar...
09.30.2020
Long Covid
After becoming ill with covid six months ago, Inside Science presenter Adam Rutherford is only now getting back to normal. He didn’t go to hospital and, like many, thought he’d be back on his feet within a week or two....
08.27.2020
The Genius of Accidents: CRISPR - Episode 5
Having a fast and easy way to cut out and replace genes could revolutionise areas of biology as diverse as medicine and agriculture. And the discovery of the gene editing tool using CRISPR-cas9 makes that revolution a present reality. But...
08.19.2020
The Genius of Accidents: Jet Streams - Episode 4
Before the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, nobody knew about the invisible streams of air in the middle atmosphere that are important for air travel and meteorology. Adam Hart explores the archives of the Royal Society in London to...
08.12.2020
The Genius of Accidents: The Coelacanth - Episode 3
The coelacanth is a fish that, until 1938, was only known from the fossil record until a young South African curator named Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer found one - only just deceased - on the deck of a fishing boat. Presenter...
08.05.2020
The Genius of Accidents: The Big Bang - Episode 2
Evidence for the Big Bang at the start of the universe was discovered by accident, using technology developed to record radio waves from space, that were themselves found by accident. Adam Hart explores serendipity in radio astronomy with Professor...
07.29.2020
The Genius of Accidents: Viagra - Episode 1
Viagra was supposed to be a treatment for the heart condition angina, but during clinical trials an unexpected side effect was noticed by the young male participants. Telling the story of this unexpected discovery, presenter Adam Hart speaks with...
07.22.2020
Aleks in Wonderland: Attack of the Zombie Baby Monitors - Episode 3
Can we Control the Dark Side of the Internet? The Internet is the world's most widely used communications tool. It's a fast and efficient way of delivering information. However it is also quite dumb, neutral, treating equally all the data...
06.12.2020
Aleks in Wonderland: The World Wide Villain - Episode 2
With the coming of the World Wide Web in the 1990s internet access opened up to everybody, it was no longer the preserve of academics and computer hobbyists. Already prior to the web, the burgeoning internet user groups and chatrooms...
06.03.2020
Aleks in Wonderland: The International League of Geeky Gentlemen - Episode 1
Just how did the Internet become the most powerful communications medium on the planet, and why does it seem to be an uncontrollable medium for good and bad? With no cross border regulation the internet can act as an...
03.31.2020
Climate Change and Me: Richard Dawson - Episode 5
Richard Dawson, Professor of Earth System Engineering at Newcastle University, was the lead author of the Infrastructure section of the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017. He reflects on how he and his fellow civil engineers now view flooding from...
03.18.2020
Climate Change and Me: Professor Jennifer Leaning - Episode 4
Five scientists, working in different parts of the world, bear witness to some of the dramatic changes to our planet that have occurred in their lifetimes, as the global climate warms. 4. In May 2004, Professor Jennifer Leaning of...
03.11.2020
Climate Change and Me: Professor Mary Edwards - Episode 3
Five scientists, working in different parts of the world, bear witness to some of the dramatic changes to our planet that have occurred in their lifetimes, as the global climate warms. They share their hopes and fears and report on...
03.04.2020
Climate Change and Me: Sir John Lawton - Episode 2
Five scientists, working in different parts of the world, bear witness to some of the dramatic changes to our planet that have occurred in their lifetimes, as the global climate warms. Professor Sir John Lawton is an ecologist and...
02.20.2020
Climate Change and Me: Callum Roberts - Episode 1
Five scientists, working in different parts of the world, bear witness to some of the dramatic changes to our planet that have occurred in their lifetimes, as the global climate warms. 1. Marine biologist and underwater diver, Professor Callum Roberts...
02.11.2020
What's the Solution?: Plastic Fantastic - Episode 3
The solutions to the problem of plastic pollution and plastic waste lie in many directions. A global plan to stop littering will go a long way. But human behaviour change often needs some economic intervention. One idea by the UK...
02.11.2020
Things Start to Go Stale: Plastic Fantastic - Episode 2
Plastic waste has been a global crisis waiting to happen. To date it's estimated that around 8.3 billion tonnes of waste plastic exists. That's 25 Empire State Buildings or 1 billion elephants. Incredibly around half of this has been generated...
02.07.2020
First Flush of Love: Plastic Fantastic - Episode 1
Plastic waste and pollution have become a global problem but is there any sign of a global solution? And how did we allow this to happen in the first place? Across three programmes, materials scientist and broadcaster, Professor Mark Miodownik,...
01.29.2020
The Science of Addiction
Addiction specialist Sally Marlow examines the science behind addiction to find out why so many people in Britain are hooked on drugs and alcohol. Neuroscientists now have a sophisticated understanding of the networks in the brain that can pull...
01.22.2020
Every Step You Take
With smartphones and fitbits, tracking elements of your life has moved on from the dedicated followers of the Quantified Self movement, to something that any of us can do. Accompanied at all times by her step-counting app which she can't...
01.15.2020
The Misinformation Virus
In this online age, the internet is a global megaphone, billions of messages amplified and shared, even when they're false. Fake science spreads faster than the truth ever could, unhindered by national boundaries. Mainstream scientists are struggling to respond. The...
01.08.2020
Meet the Cyborgs
Frank Swain can hear Wi-Fi. Diagnosed with early deafness aged 25, Frank decided to turn his misfortune to his advantage by modifying his hearing aids to create a new sense. He documented the start of his journey three years ago...

What's Scientifically... about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Scientifically... episodes:

28ish Days Later - Day One: Power

Political Animals: Sex-Switching Fish and Non-Binary Brains - 3/3

Political Animals: Mole-Rat Queens and Genital Power - 2/3

Political Animals: Sex, Monkeys and the 'Coy Female' Myth - 1/3

Wild Inside: The Ocean Sunfish

Wild Inside:The Burmese Python

Wild Inside: Jungle Royalty - The Jaguar

A Good Read with Adam Rutherford and Farrah Jarral

The Life Scientific at 10: What does it take to be a scientist?

The Sir Patrick Vallance interview

The Men in the White Coats

Celebrating the life of Sir Clive Sinclair: Computers at home

Jim Al-Khalili's Life Scientific

Genetic Dreams, Genetic Nightmares - Episode 3

Genetic Dreams, Genetic Nightmares - Episode 2

Genetic Dreams, Genetic Nightmares - Episode 1

The Blind Astronomer

Dare to Repair: Fixing the Future - Episode 3

Dare To Repair: The Right to Repair - Episode 2

Dare To Repair: How We Broke the Future - Episode 1

Gagarin and the lost Moon

Hardware, Software, Anywhere: Anywhere - Episode 3

Hardware, Software, Anywhere: Hardware - Episode 2

Hardware, Software, Anywhere: Software - Episode 1

Laws That Aren't Laws: Stigler's Law - Episode 5

Laws That Aren't Laws: The Peter Principle - Episode 4

Laws That Aren't Laws: Betteridge's Law of Headlines - Episode 3

Laws That Aren't Laws: Parkinson's Law - Episode 2

Laws That Aren't Laws: Murphy's Law - Episode 1

Long Covid

The Genius of Accidents: CRISPR - Episode 5

The Genius of Accidents: Jet Streams - Episode 4

The Genius of Accidents: The Coelacanth - Episode 3

The Genius of Accidents: The Big Bang - Episode 2

The Genius of Accidents: Viagra - Episode 1

Aleks in Wonderland: Attack of the Zombie Baby Monitors - Episode 3

Aleks in Wonderland: The World Wide Villain - Episode 2

Aleks in Wonderland: The International League of Geeky Gentlemen - Episode 1

Climate Change and Me: Richard Dawson - Episode 5

Climate Change and Me: Professor Jennifer Leaning - Episode 4

Climate Change and Me: Professor Mary Edwards - Episode 3

Climate Change and Me: Sir John Lawton - Episode 2

Climate Change and Me: Callum Roberts - Episode 1

What's the Solution?: Plastic Fantastic - Episode 3

Things Start to Go Stale: Plastic Fantastic - Episode 2

First Flush of Love: Plastic Fantastic - Episode 1

The Science of Addiction

Every Step You Take

The Misinformation Virus

Meet the Cyborgs