Why Aren't You A Doctor Yet?
by Black & Nerdy
Join Hana, Suhail, Oz, and Alex for the podcast that mixes science & tech with a sprinkle of pop culture. With 2 PhDs and years of journalism between them, they dissect, discuss and dive into the most interesting stories, topics, and concepts in the world.
Episodes
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Episode 52: Spinning Electrons and Eating Cake (ft. Jess Wade)
We've got physicist/author/Wikipedia nerd Dr Jess Wade in the studio to find out how putting your hands on top of one other could hold the key to understanding more about what happens to very very very very small molecules. Plus we learn what it's like to write a coffee table science book for...
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Episode 51: Fighting The Infodemic (ft. Science Sam)
For more than 18 months, the global COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every part of society. And with more and more data being shared by the minute, we've become swamped with information - and that's not a good thing right now. So to learn more about the "infodemic", we're joined by Samantha...
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Episode 50: The Science of Heartbreak
We're back for Episode 50! Break ups can be hard for everyone but eventually, you get over them. Right? This week, we take a deep dive into the world of relationships, neuroscience and medicine as we try to find out if science can answer the question: "can heartbreak actually break your heart?"…
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Episode 49: Baked Off
This week, we find out what Suhail has been doing for all the months he's spent in lockdown. From navigating work and sex during a global health crisis to lockdown vices and Discord vaccine conspiracies, we chat about how his life has changed over the last year. A quick note: this episode talks...
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Episode 48: Down the K-Hole (ft. Suzi Gage)
This week, Dr Suzi Gage takes us on a deep dive into the misconceptions, myths, and misinformation surrounding drugs. Plus, we find out about jealous Buddhists, Suhail exposing hypocritical government officials, and re-wiring the brain. (Just a quick note: this episode was recorded in March and...
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Episode 47: Dementia
This is the final episode in our mini-series exploring health conditions. Oz sat down with Shaheen to find out about her expierences with her mum's rare form of dememntia and the journey to diagnosis. We chat about stigma, care responsibilities and gender roles in the Bangladeshi community, and...
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Episode 46: Infertility
We're on the third episode of our mini-series looking at health conditions. This week, we're chatting to Roma Agrawal (engineer/author/build-er of The Shard) about her experience with infertility and her journey through IVF. We hear about engineering a baby, overbearing aunties, and her very real...
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Episode 45: Autism
The second episode in our new series where we explore various aspects of health! This episode, we're joined by Tyla Grant - an autism advocate behind the YouTube channel "Adulting Autistic." She talks us through what it's like being a Black woman diagnosed at 17, mental health, and why people…
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Episode 44: Endometriosis
We're embarking on a new series where we explore various aspects of health! To wave goodbye to its awareness month in March, we're looking into endometriosis, a chronic condition affecting 1 in 10 women in the UK. Suhail had a chance to sit down with journalist Anita Jones (@AnitaNnekaJones) to...
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Episode 43: The Big Issue (ft. George Anderson)
This week, Suhail chats to George Anderson about his life. The 2008 Financial Crisis left George homeless and wandering the streets of London. No longer having his job working within the NHS, he began selling the Big Issue magazine outside of the BBC building in the centre of the city. With a...
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Episode 42: Coronavirus (ft. Shivani Dave)
We're joined in the studio by journalist Shivani Dave to discuss the current Coronavirus outbreak that has spread internationally from Wuhan, China. We break down the science of the virus (termed 2019-nCoV or 2019 novel coronavirus) and find out what steps the World Health Organisation has taken…
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Episode 41: No New Sperm
This week, we're talking about the male contraceptive injection. RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance) has passed clinical trials and is being touted as the first consumer available male contraceptive (capable of being effective up to 13 years). From the pill to the coil, we look…
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Episode 40: Virginity Check
For the last episode of 2019, we're talking about T.I taking his daughter for an annual "virginity check", the sociology of sex, and how white feminism has put people around the world at risk Follow us on social media and send us your questions! Follow us on twitter/instagram: @whynotadoc Email:...
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Episode 39: Elections & Social Media
This week, we're back in the studio to discuss all things political. Now that the UK is gearing up to a General Election, we've got voting on the mind. Mark Zuckerberg recently said that Facebook wouldn't be rejecting political adverts that were deemed to contain false information, with Twitter...
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Episode 38: Cocaine Eels
We're back in the studio for a flying visit and talking about the amount of cocaine found in London and how it's affecting the local animals. You can hear Oz on BBC Asian Network Network talking about Dating Disasters with Mobeen Azhar ------------------------------------------------- Music by...
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Episode 37: The Clapback (ft. Elijah Lawal)
This week, we're joined in the studio by Elijah Lawal to discuss his new book - "The Clapback: Your Guide to Calling Out Racist Stereotypes" From sex and sports to crime and drugs, Black people encounter stereotypes everyday. In his book, Elijah gives out the tools he thinks that people need to...
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Episode 36: You Live With Your Parents?
This week, we talk rent. In the UK, the minimum cost of living by yourself is anything from £18,000 - £27,000 per year. It's of little surprise that 2 out of 3 single twenty-somethings live with their parents. With multi-generational homes being common in countries around the globe - why do so…
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Episode 35: UK Black Pride
This week, Oz is joined by Cerys Bradley from The Coming Out Tapes to talk about the history of bad science involving the LGBTQ+ community. We talk about the obsession with the "gay gene", the treatment of Caster Semenya, and how Britain's colonial history is linked to protests in Birmingham…
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Episode 34: Is The Shard Finished? (ft. Roma Agrawal MBE)
This week, we've got Roma Agrawal in the studio to talk about her life in engineering and how she ended up spending 6 years of her life building the Shard - one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world. We talk about beef with the Burj Khalifa, creating something new in the centre of a huge city,...
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Episode 33: Black People Don't Need Vaccines
In a 2018 interview, Akon stated that Black people don't need to be vaccinated in order to go to Africa. This week, we discuss the role of culture in medical misinformation. Plus, we chat to Dr Furaha Asani as to why certain communities might be less likely to accept vaccinations and why labeling...
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Episode 32: Superior (ft. Angela Saini)
This week, we're live at the Royal Institution with journalist and author Angela Saini to discuss her new book Superior: The Return of Race Science. We discuss the origins of scientific racism and how, through covert adaptation, the idea that there are superior and inferior races has survived up…
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Episode 31: Black People Don't Get Depressed
This week, we discuss our journeys with mental health and what it means to seek help when your culture doesn't acknowledge mental health issues. We learn about Alex's struggles with connecting to therapists, Suhail's journals, and how coming to the UK changed Oz's views on openly talking about...
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Episode 30: Afrotech Fest (Part II)
We're still at Afrotech Fest! We speak to one of the youngest people teaching people how to code globally and chat about using machine learning to help people who communicate with sign language. Plus we chat to Chama Kay about what it's like being a non-techie at a tech festival, working on...
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Episode 29: Afrotech Fest (Part I)
This week, we're at Afrotech Fest and chatting about Fyre Festival, what it's like to be a single parent, and how designing a product is a lot harder when nobody cares about the users. Plus - do we really need an app for everything? You can contact Lydia on her site and on twitter at @lydiaonlife...
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Episode 28: Swipe Right
This week, we're diving into the world of dating as we discuss how websites and apps have changed the dating landscape. With social media platforms being pushed to have a legal duty of care to protect the most vulnerable, we ask if apps like Tinder, Hinge and Bumble need to safeguard their users....
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Episode 27: The Internet Is A Repository of Evil (ft. Alex Fefegha)
This week, we've got Alex Fefegha in the studio to chat about how he uses emerging technology to make society better. We chat human-digital interactions, AI, and why he thinks that the internet is a "Repository of Evil". With the rise of programs like the Met Gangs Matrix and other international...
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Episode 26: Viruses & Visas (ft. Furaha Asani)
This week, we chat to Dr Furaha Asani about medical misinformation, drug trials, and how we can prevent people with HIV from getting other infections. Plus, we talk mental health (while black), how to avoid people touching your hair, and what it's like to be a Nigerian who needs a visa to go…
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Episode 25: Migration Trail Revisited (ft. Alison Killing)
We're returning to Migration Trail - the immersive web experience using maps, data and audio to chronicle the journey of migrants across Europe and beyond. We chat to Alison Killing, the creator of Migration Trail, to find out more about the project and how they've used data visualisation to…
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Episode 24: Inferior
This week, we're discussing how James Watson, winner of the Nobel Prize for discovering the structure of DNA, caught heat for making comments about race, genetics, and intelligence. For our book discussion, we're diving into Inferior by Angela Saini and looking at how science and society can feed...
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Episode 23: Film Facts Don't Matter (ft. Kwasi Kwakwa)
This week, we're joined by Dr Kwasi Kwakwa to talk about microscopes, physics, and why Hana thinks scientists should stop trying to ruin films. Suhail finds out that he's not the only one who watches Sharknado and we discuss how correlation doesn't mean causation....
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Episode 22: Smart Drugs
This week, we look into the world of so-called "smart drugs" - from caffeine to modafinil. Alex makes Oz and Suhail trial cognitive enhancing supplements and we find out how online pharmacies use legal loopholes to sell prescription drugs. ------------------------------------------------- Follow…
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Episode 21: Binaural Head (ft. Nikhil Mistry & Charlie House)
This week, Alex and Suhail travel to the University of Southampton to meet with Nikhil and Charlie - two researchers at the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR). We chat about 360 audio, soundscapes, cutting-edge car stereos, and how we can use vibrations in medicine, architecture…
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Episode 20: Robot Wars
This week, Alex goes to see Robot Wars (and drags along Simon and Dan). Back in the studio we talk about real robot wars - the use of robotics in warfare. From drone strikes to Boston Dynamics, we discuss contemporary robotics and what the future of warfare could look like. You can find Simon on...
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Episode 19: Why Aren't You White? (Live in Bristol)
This is our live show in Bristol from our tour last month. In the run up to our episodes on genetic testing, we discuss ancestry tests and Alex comes up with the most unethical way to show Hana and Suhail where they're supposedly from. SORRY FOR THE AUDIO QUALITY. This is from our backup recorder...
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Episode 18: Migration Trail
Migration Trail is a project that uses maps, data and audio to chronicle the journey of migrants across Europe and beyond. Although the characters (David and Sarah) are fictional, their story is derived from real-world experiences of migrants coming to Europe. We explore the immersive interactive...
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Episode 17: Gastrophysics (ft. Jozef Youssef)
We talk to Jozef Youssef - Chef and founder of Kitchen Theory - about the psychology behind food, the importance of our senses and what the future of food might look like. Alex contemplates eating jellyfish, Suhail describes his perfect lab grown burger and Oz struggles with eating insects. And...
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Episode 16: Trapped in the Gangs Matrix & The War on Plastics
This week, Alex breaks down the Gangs Matrix. Launched in London by the Metropolitan Police in 2012, this database of suspected Gang members has come under fire recently for racial profiling. In a city where 40% of people are Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority, this database is more than three...
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Episode 15: Airport Tech
This week, we get sad that Oz is leaving us to go to Portland for a while. To commemorate this, we break down the science and tech involved in travelling by plane - from purchasing tickets to baggage reclaim. What will the future of flying look like? Why do we have to turn our phones off during...
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Episode 14: The Order of Time
This week, we review Carlo Rovelli's book - The Order of Time. Join us as we delve into the philosophy of time, quantum physics and the limitations of Benedict Cumberbatch's voice. You can find The Order of Time on Amazon Merch You can get our stickers here - these are limited run so once they're...
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Episode 13: Sunscreen & Ancient Art
This week, we talk about the latest news in science and tech. We go into how ethnic minority people have to wear sunscreen (and how the guys never do). Suhail talks about the news that ancient humans might have expressed autistic traits and how that might have led to the world's first prehistoric...
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Episode 12: Backpack Heart (ft. Rohin Francis)
We're joined by Dr Rohin Francis - a cardiologist and PhD student looking at hearts. We talk about the coolest tech in cardiology, how hearts differ across the animal kingdom and how treatment of heart disease might change in the future. Plus we find out how being dead might invalidate your right...
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Episode 11: The Dark Net (ft. Cerys Bradley)
We're joined by Cerys Bradley - a PhD student in the UCL Crime and Security Science department. We talk about the dark net and Cerys' research into the users of dark net markets and how they respond to law enforcement investigations. Alex gets to find out about dark net infrastructure. Suhail...
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Episode 10: Mine My Facebook
We're back with a brand new host - the amazing Hana Ayoob! This week, we talk about the attempted assassination of Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with the nerve agent Novichok. Why have biohackers started using stem cells to make their genitals better? And why has someone been...
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Episode 09: Black Panther & Racist Cameras
Black Panther has broken massive barriers - the most successful superhero film of 2018 and a trendsetter in diverse film-making. But it hasn't always been that way - once upon a time, cameras were kinda racist. Oz and Suhail take us back through the history of photography and film to explain how...
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Episode 08: Thirst Trapping
The crew is back and filled to the brim with more interesting science and tech stories. We look into #ReviewForScience: the hashtag where scientists repurpose everyday items for science work and then review them. Everything from collecting whale snot with paint poles to lab credit cards being…
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Episode 07: Gay Blood
This week, we get into the science behind the news that Cheddar Man - the oldest Brit - was dark-skinned. What does it mean for the concept of race and ethnicity in the UK? And why are the Daily Mail and Twitter comments about it so funny? And as the NHS is doing a massive push to get more black...
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Episode 06: January Blues
We've got a special hour long episode (to make up for the fact that we've not put anything out in January)! We talk about the idea of January Blues, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Swiss Mummies (maybe related to Boris Johnson). Plus the fact that Oz's genetic heritage is more confused than he is at…
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Episode 05: Fake Terrorism
Oz explains his coffee addiction, we talk about the fake terror attack at Oxford Circus and Suhail explains how misinformation can spread through the media.We also discuss the Irish Fright of 1688 - whatever that was. Follow us on social media and send us your questions! Facebook Instagram…
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Episode 04: Racist Gaydar
This week, Oz talks about some software that some think can predict your sexual orientation based on how you look (if you're a white male).Our discussion for this week: Is there a science behind attractiveness?Follow us on social media and send us your questions! Facebook Instagram Twitter Email:...
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Episode 03.5: Is Cake A Material? (Bonus)
In which Suhail anthropomorphises semen, Oz drinks whiskey and Anna plays Coolio on a trumpet mouthpiece. This is a special episode to say thank you for all the support we've received in the last few weeks. You can follow Anna on Twitter @AnnaPloszajski and her podcast is 'Rial Talk. If you're in...
About this show
Join Hana, Suhail, Oz, and Alex for the podcast that mixes science & tech with a sprinkle of pop culture. With 2 PhDs and years of journalism between them, they dissect, discuss and dive into the most interesting stories, topics, and concepts in the world.
Hosted by
Black & Nerdy
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