Podcast · 66 episodes
CrowdScience, page 2
by BBC World Service · English
We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.
All episodes, page 2
When will the next super-volcano erupt?When the next supervolcano could erupt, and how scientists monitor volcanoes and predict eruptions.10 Apr 2026 · 29 min · 12 chapters
Will rabbits become super predators?Whether invasive species in Australia (feral cats, foxes, rabbits) will evolve into new “Australian” versions, and how fast evolution can occur, contrasted with long-term native adaptations; includes…3 Apr 2026 · 26 min · 16 chapters
Could AI present CrowdScience?Whether AI could take over all human jobs, and specifically whether an AI could present BBC’s CrowdScience.27 Mar 2026 · 26 min · 12 chapters
Can I unlock my car using my head?Whether holding a wireless car/garage key fob to your head increases its range, and why this works (or doesn’t) for different body parts and for mobile phones.20 Mar 2026 · 26 min · 12 chapters
Can I really manifest the future?The episode investigates whether “manifesting” can really change the future, contrasting “woo” cosmic-collaboration ideas with psychology and neuroscience-backed goal techniques.13 Mar 2026 · 26 min · 11 chapters
What keeps the universe in balance?Why the universe stays “balanced” as stars burn hydrogen—does anything convert helium back into hydrogen to recycle fuel, or will stars eventually run out?6 Mar 2026 · 31 min · 6 chapters
How can we save the Great Barrier Reef?Why the Great Barrier Reef matters and how scientists are trying to save it, focusing on coral breeding and “reseeding” heat-stressed reefs.27 Feb 2026 · 26 min · 10 chapters
Why don't more animals have opposable thumbs?Why opposable thumbs aren’t more common in animals, and what evolutionary pressures shaped human (and some primate) thumbs.20 Feb 2026 · 26 min · 8 chapters
Can we cancel light waves?Whether light waves can be cancelled like sound in noise-cancelling headphones, and what that would take for natural light; ends with medical uses of wave manipulation.13 Feb 2026 · 26 min · 14 chapters
Do multiple choice questions make us biased?Whether multiple-choice questions (and probability tasks generally) trigger bias, focusing on “middle bias” (A rarely chosen) and related cognitive errors like gambler’s fallacy and hot-hand fallacy;…6 Feb 2026 · 29 min · 13 chapters
Why do I tan more in the US?Why an Indian listener (Namrata) feels she tans more in Boston, US than in India, despite India being closer to the equator.30 Jan 2026 · 26 min · 11 chapters
Do fish know what they look like?How fish recognize other individuals and whether they can recognize themselves; includes shoaling/schooling, visual vs smell cues, and the “mirror test” for self-recognition.23 Jan 2026 · 26 min · 11 chapters
Why do I find silence unbearable?The episode explores why some people find silence unbearable, using acoustics, neuroscience, and psychology.16 Jan 2026 · 26 min · 13 chapters
How do cicadas know what season it is?This CrowdScience episode answers listener Ryusuke’s question: how cicadas “know” what season it is. It contrasts cicadas’ underground life with their above-ground emergence.9 Jan 2026 · 26 min · 11 chapters
Did I inherit my laugh?The episode of CrowdScience asks whether someone can inherit their laugh from a parent.5 Jan 2026 · 26 min · 11 chapters
The CrowdScience quiz of the yearCrowdScience Quiz of the Year, a multi-round quiz testing what listeners retained from prior CrowdScience episodes, with bonus “things we do for science” clips and a final score tally.26 Dec 2025 · 36 min · 13 chapters
How do we adapt to the cold?How humans adapt to cold—whether responses are universal or shaped by culture, experience, physiology, and ethnicity—plus what happens in the body when exposed to cold and how to manage it.19 Dec 2025 · 26 min · 12 chapters
Can you play the guitar underwater?Can you play a guitar underwater? The episode tests how guitar acoustics change when the body is filled with water and when the guitar is fully submerged, then visits an underwater music group that…12 Dec 2025 · 26 min · 15 chapters
Can we turn deserts green?Whether deserts can be “re-greened” by adding water or changing desert conditions, and what the risks are.5 Dec 2025 · 33 min · 22 chapters
How big is a rainbow?How big a rainbow is, and why rainbows don’t have a fixed “size” in meters—only a fixed angular size (about 42° radius, ~84° diameter).28 Nov 2025 · 29 min · 11 chapters
Why do we cry?Why humans cry, what tears are made of, types of tears, and whether crying provides relief or evolutionary benefits.21 Nov 2025 · 30 min · 13 chapters
Do tsunamis affect marine life?The episode answers listener Alvin’s question: do tsunamis affect marine life?14 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 13 chapters
Are near-death experiences real?Whether near-death experiences (NDEs) are real, what they typically include, and what science can explain about them.7 Nov 2025 · 26 min · 12 chapters
Why do people love horror films?Why people enjoy horror/recreational fear, and what makes it enjoyable (learning/uncertainty), plus how horror sound and jump scares work, and possible health/social effects.3 Nov 2025 · 31 min · 16 chapters