Podcast · 60 episodes
Discovery
by BBC World Service · English
Explorations in the world of science.
Latest episodes
The Ocean Within UsThe episode explains the interstitium, a fluid-filled network in the “in-between” spaces of the body.28 Sep 2026 · 27 min
The art of being a Zombie Ant FungusThe “zombie ant fungus” Cordyceps/Ophiocordyceps unilateralis and what it reveals about control, agency, individuality, and interdependence—plus how artists and scientists collaborate to communicate…21 Sep 2026 · 27 min
Women Not Included: Consumer ProductsHow consumer products are designed without women in mind, focusing on “pink tax,” poor fit/testing, and missing women’s input.14 Sep 2026 · 27 min
All episodes
The Ocean Within UsThe episode explains the interstitium, a fluid-filled network in the “in-between” spaces of the body.28 Sep 2026 · 27 min · 13 chapters
The art of being a Zombie Ant FungusThe “zombie ant fungus” Cordyceps/Ophiocordyceps unilateralis and what it reveals about control, agency, individuality, and interdependence—plus how artists and scientists collaborate to communicate…21 Sep 2026 · 27 min · 12 chapters
Women Not Included: Consumer ProductsHow consumer products are designed without women in mind, focusing on “pink tax,” poor fit/testing, and missing women’s input.14 Sep 2026 · 27 min · 12 chapters
Women not included: Medical devicesWomen’s bodies and experiences are often excluded from medical device design and testing, leading to worse outcomes for patients and strain/risk for female surgeons.7 Sep 2026 · 27 min · 12 chapters
Women not included: Artificial IntelligenceThe episode argues that AI systems reproduce and amplify gender bias because they learn from biased data and social norms, not because they’re neutral.31 Aug 2026 · 27 min · 13 chapters
Women Not Included: Urban PlanningHow cities and shared spaces fail women—office heating, pram-unfriendly pavements, unsafe/unequal public toilets (“potty parity”), and broader urban planning that assumes a male breadwinner.24 Aug 2026 · 27 min · 9 chapters
Women Not Included: Safety EquipmentSafety Equipment examines how protective gear is designed and tested using male “average” bodies, leaving women uncomfortable, less protected, or excluded across space, policing, healthcare PPE,…17 Aug 2026 · 26 min · 10 chapters
Women Not Included: Drugs and clinical trialsHow drugs and clinical trials have historically been designed around male bodies, leading to sex-specific differences in safety and effectiveness.10 Aug 2026 · 27 min · 13 chapters
The friendly virus“The friendly virus” explains bacteriophages (phages)—bacteria-killing viruses—as a potential treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections, and traces phage research from Georgia and France to…22 Jun 2026 · 26 min · 14 chapters
The Life Scientific: Dean LomaxDean Lomax’s unconventional path to becoming a leading ichthyosaur expert, plus his major fossil discoveries and what they reveal about prehistoric marine reptiles (including predator behavior and…15 Jun 2026 · 26 min · 14 chapters
The Life Scientific: Helen HastieHuman-robot interaction and public trust in everyday robots, arguing against sci-fi “all-purpose” robots and emphasizing appropriate trust, transparency, and responsible design.8 Jun 2026 · 26 min · 17 chapters
The Life Scientific: Seth BerkleyInterview with Dr Seth Berkley (Life Scientific) on vaccine science and equity, arguing that misinformation and politicization drive vaccine hesitancy and outbreaks; highlights his career building…1 Jun 2026 · 26 min · 13 chapters
The Life Scientific: Hiranya PeirisHiranya Peiris, Cambridge astrophysicist, discusses her path into precision cosmology and what cosmic microwave background data and later surveys reveal about the universe.25 May 2026 · 27 min · 16 chapters
The Life Scientific: Washington Yotto OchiengA BBC “Life Scientific” profile of Professor Washington Yotto Ochieng, focused on positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and how GNSS (GPS plus other global systems like Galileo, GLONASS and…18 May 2026 · 27 min · 18 chapters
The Life Scientific: Lucy CarpenterLucy Carpenter, an experimental atmospheric chemist, explains how ocean-emitted halogens and aerosols can destroy ozone over the tropical Atlantic, why ozone differs in the stratosphere vs…11 May 2026 · 26 min · 10 chapters
The Life Scientific: Jens Juul HolstHow GLP-1 “weight loss jabs” work and the scientific, ethical, and societal questions raised by their rapid spread from diabetes to obesity, including stigma, long-term healthcare, weight regain…4 May 2026 · 26 min · 17 chapters
The Life Scientific: Jim Ashworth-BeaumontThe Life Scientific episode with orthotist/prosthetist Jim Ashworth-Beaumont on prosthetics and orthotics, recovery after a near-fatal accident, and future tech in neurorehabilitation and bionics.27 Apr 2026 · 26 min · 10 chapters
Inside Universe 25The episode traces John B. Calhoun’s famous “rat utopia” experiments and how they were interpreted in debates about human overpopulation and crowding.20 Apr 2026 · 27 min · 12 chapters
Dark Breath“Dark Breath” investigates a reported discovery of “dark oxygen” produced at the abyssal Pacific seafloor (about 2.5 miles/4,000 m down) in complete darkness, and the ensuing scientific and political…13 Apr 2026 · 26 min · 12 chapters
Superbugs: Resistance Rising Part 3Superbugs and antibiotic resistance, focusing on why new antibiotics fail commercially and what models could fix the market (e.g., “Netflix/insurance” subscription schemes).6 Apr 2026 · 29 min · 16 chapters
Superbugs: Resistance rising, part 2Superbugs and antibiotic innovation, focusing on resistance mechanisms and new ways to keep the antibiotic pipeline alive.30 Mar 2026 · 26 min · 17 chapters
Superbugs: Resistance rising, part 1The rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and why existing antibiotics are losing power, tracing the story from penicillin’s origins at Oxford to modern mechanisms of bacterial resistance and…23 Mar 2026 · 30 min · 11 chapters
The Life Scientific: Jehane RagaiArt forgery and how modern scientific authentication works, through the life and career of chemist Jehane Ragai.16 Mar 2026 · 26 min · 16 chapters
The Life Scientific: Tony JuniperEnvironmental advocacy and policy, told through Tony Juniper’s career, from nature education and parrot fieldwork to climate campaigning and his current role chairing Natural England.9 Mar 2026 · 26 min · 19 chapters