Get the appSearch
  1. Podcasts
  2. Personal Journals
  3. The Life Scientific
The Life Scientific cover art

4 episodes

The Life Scientific

by BBC Radio 4 · English

Personal JournalsScienceSociety & Culture

Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires and motivates them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future

Ask in ClaudeAsk in ChatGPTFollow in VO

Latest episodes

All episodes

Asel Sartbaeva on protecting vaccines with a pinch of sand

The episode explains why many vaccines must be kept refrigerated (the “cold chain”) and describes Asel Satbaeva’s approach to make vaccines thermally stable at room temperature by encasing their…

10 Nov 2026 · 28m · 16 chapters

Robert Ballard on finding the Titanic and other deep-sea discoveries

Ocean exploration and scientific discoveries, centered on Robert Ballard’s search for the Titanic and his broader work on deep-sea ecosystems, shipwrecks, and new exploration technology.

3 Nov 2026 · 28m · 17 chapters

Gillian Forrester on gesturing gorillas, babbling babies and the origins of human language

Gillian Forrester explains how human language may have evolved from gesture and hand-based “syntax,” using evidence from great apes, a puzzle-box experiment, and studies of brain lateralisation,…

27 Oct 2026 · 28m · 25 chapters

Ginger Kerrick on manning Nasa's Mission Control and getting to Mars

Ginger Kerrick’s path from childhood astronaut dream to NASA Mission Control and Mars/Artemis planning, plus major shifts in human spaceflight (SpaceX reusability, ISS integration, long-duration…

6 Oct 2026 · 29m · 19 chapters

The Life Scientific audio, artwork and show notes are the property of BBC Radio 4. VO is not affiliated with or endorsed by BBC Radio 4. Episode overviews and chapters are written by AI and may contain mistakes. Audio plays from each publisher’s own feed.

Apple, Apple Podcasts, iPhone, iMessage, AirPods, EarPods, Beats, CarPlay and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. ChatGPT is a trademark of OpenAI. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic. Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB. WhatsApp is a trademark of WhatsApp LLC. Grok is a trademark of xAI. Robinhood is a trademark of Robinhood Markets, Inc. Granola is a trademark of its respective owner.

VO is an independent app and is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Apple, Spotify, OpenAI, Anthropic, WhatsApp, xAI, Robinhood, Granola or any other company named on this site. Podcast names and artwork are shown for illustration only, remain the property of their respective owners and do not imply affiliation or endorsement. © 2026 VO App Ltd.