EPISODE · Oct 16, 2025 · 28 MIN
What’s the highest a human could possibly pole vault?
from BBC Inside Science · host BBC Radio 4
Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis broke the sport’s world record again this week at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. It’s the 14th consecutive time he’s broken the record.Professor of Sports Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University, Steve Haake, joins Victoria Gill to discuss this monumental feat of athleticism, and to explain the role physics and engineering play in Duplantis’s unprecedented success.The actor, comedian and scientist Nick Mohammed explains why he and his fellow judges selected ‘Ends of the Earth’ by Professor Neil Shubin as one of this year’s finalists in the Royal Society Trivedi Book Prize. We also hear from the book’s author about what it’s like doing science at the farthest reaches of the planet.Neuroscientist Professor James Ainge from the University of St Andrews tells us how he has been mapping our internal mileage clock.And the author and mathematician Dr Katie Steckles brings us the brand new maths and science shaping our world this week.To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk, search for BBC Inside Science, and follow the links to The Open University.Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Clare Salisbury, Dan Welsh, Jonathan Blackwell and Tim Dodd Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
What this episode covers
Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis broke the sport’s world record again this week at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. It’s the 14th consecutive time he’s broken the record.Professor of Sports Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University, Steve Haake, joins Victoria Gill to discuss this monumental feat of athleticism, and to explain the role physics and engineering play in Duplantis’s unprecedented success.The actor, comedian and scientist Nick Mohammed explains why he and his fellow judges selected ‘Ends of the Earth’ by Professor Neil Shubin as one of this year’s finalists in the Royal Society Trivedi Book Prize. We also hear from the book’s author about what it’s like doing science at the farthest reaches of the planet.Neuroscientist Professor James Ainge from the University of St Andrews tells us how he has been mapping our internal mileage clock.And the author and mathematician Dr Katie Steckles brings us the brand new maths and science shaping our world this week.To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk, search for BBC Inside Science, and follow the links to The Open University.Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Clare Salisbury, Dan Welsh, Jonathan Blackwell and Tim Dodd Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
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What’s the highest a human could possibly pole vault?
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