All Episodes

It’s finally raining. Will it be enough to end the drought?

The ultra rich are collecting fossils, and that’s bad for science

The immortal jellyfish and other mindblowing invertebrates

We’re reading less. And it’s making us stupid

Four types of thinker, the cyclosporiasis outbreak, and the UK’s biggest telescope threatened

The fight to save a historic English landscape

Revisited: Saunas and cold plunges, where does the evidence stand?

Revisited: The surprising science of dreams and nightmares

Revisited: A Scottish tea mystery, episode three – a bag for life

Revisited: A Scottish tea mystery, episode two – the list

Revisited: A Scottish tea mystery, episode one – green shoots

Can a world-first gene therapy reverse ageing?

Fungi: the invisible force protecting our planet

Is male testosterone in freefall?

‘A break from scrolling’: how Gen Z fell in love with birding

‘Beautiful blobs’: can scientists build life from scratch?

Reflecting pool algae: the science Trump needs to know

Nature or nurture: can genes make us behave ‘badly’?

Extreme heat: is the UK becoming a 40C country?

The audacious plan to refreeze the Arctic

Should we ban social media for under-16s?

‘The undruggable became druggable’: a gamechanging treatment for the world’s deadliest cancer

The dinosaurs who survived the asteroid

Heatstroke, sports washing and VAR psychology: the science of the World Cup

The incredible science of the sleeping brain

Are robots nearing their ChatGPT moment?

Red-light masks: can they really slow ageing?

Stateside with Kai and Carter: why the fight over abortion pills is only just beginning

Can a name change transform PCOS outcomes for women?

Ebola: how does it spread and can the outbreak be contained?

Stateside with Kai and Carter: Stacey Abrams on why gutting of the US Voting Rights Act is ‘evil’

Hantavirus update, Pentagon’s UFO files, can art slow biological ageing?

Strange trip: why Trump is backing psychedelics

100 years on Earth: celebrating David Attenborough’s birthday

Hantavirus explained: how does it spread and who is most at risk?

‘Historic breakthrough’: could the fossil fuel era be coming to an end?

Sub-two-hour marathon, spooky houses explained and why is UK health in decline?

Food intolerances: how do you know if you have one?

Muons, massive waves and restored sight: the winners at the ‘Oscars of science’

Mythos: are fears over new AI model panic or PR?

The surprising value of boring chats, ‘super El Niño’ and Alzheimer’s evidence reviewed

Helium: the invisible gas that powers AI, and why it’s in short supply

Everything you need to know about Artemis II so far

Can we eradicate a second human disease?

Sauna and cold plunge: where does the evidence stand?

Does going to the moon still matter?

Transporting the most expensive and volatile substance on Earth

What sets human consciousness apart from AI?

Off Duty: The Crime

Meningitis explained: who is most at risk?

Peptides: are they worth the hype?

Exercise and brain function, hedgehog hearing, and can AI change our minds? – podcast

Was Iran really building a nuclear weapon?

Will China own the green energy future?

Does Trump want to wage an AI-powered war?

Can degrowth save the climate?

The truth about fat, and its complex role in our health

Psychedelics for depression, dart frog poison and why do we have chins?

Should we really all be taking magnesium supplements?

What bots talk about when they think humans aren’t listening

Jeffrey Epstein and the scientists

‘Everything is quagga mussel now’: can invasive species be stopped?

Why are women turning to testosterone?

Are men being misled over testosterone?

Has the world entered an era of ‘water bankruptcy’?

How positivity affects health, the rise of scabies and bovine intelligence

Is your body really full of microplastics?

The surprising science of dreams and nightmares

How to sleep well in 2026

Our science predictions for 2026

Crude appeal: why Trump wants Venezuela’s oil

Revisited: the real science of weight loss

Revisited: do medicinal mushroom products actually work?

Revisited: is curiosity the key to ageing well?

Revisited: why do we age in dramatic bursts, and what can we do about it?

Life beyond Earth? Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock on the mysteries of space

What’s worse for us, sugar or sweeteners?

The Birth Keepers: I choose this, episode one

Social media and ADHD diagnosis, new mpox strain in England and early firestarters

Rage room or yoga class? How to beat anger

The brain’s 5 eras, the vaccine that protects against dementia, altruistic ants

Is AI making us stupid?

Is it the beginning of the end for animal testing?

Bitter rows and overnight talks: how a fragile Cop30 deal was agreed

‘Chunks of earth just disappear’: life on a collapsing island

Should the UK brace for a brutal flu season?

Why everyone’s talking about 3I/Atlas, a lupus breakthrough, James Watson’s legacy

Never forget a face? You could be a super recogniser

Revisited: How to save the Amazon episode three: ask the people that know

Revisited: How to save the Amazon episode two: the magic and mystery

Revisited: How to save the Amazon episode one: the stakes

‘We must change course’: a stark climate warning from the UN chief

A Scottish tea mystery: a bag for life – episode three

A Scottish tea mystery: the list – episode two

A Scottish tea mystery: green shoots – episode one

The ‘remarkable’ implant that can restore sight

The seed bank storing the planet’s future

Why is ‘chronic’ lyme disease so controversial?

Traitor or faithful: how to spot a liar

All the news and science from the 2025 Nobel prizes

The real science of weight loss with the US’s leading nutritional scientist

Remembering primatologist Jane Goodall

Fraud, AI slop and huge profits: is science publishing broken?

Does a bit of booze really make us better at languages?

Fact-checking Trump’s autism announcement

Is there hope on the horizon for patients with Alzheimer’s?

Is the US on the brink of a new era of political violence?

Putin’s quest for longevity

Shrinking states: a positive future with fewer people?

Shrinking states: are we on a path to depopulation?

Is curiosity the key to ageing well?

RFK Jr and the chaos at the CDC

‘AI psychosis’: could chatbots fuel delusional thinking?

A decade long mystery - why were billions of starfish turned to goo?

Can science crack the mystery of ME?

Why can’t the world get its act together on plastics?

Staying cool in Europe’s record-breaking heat

Is sunscreen really toxic?

Summer picks: Where do our early childhood memories go?

Summer picks: what is ‘mirror life’ and why are scientists sounding the alarm?

Summer picks: The science of racism, and how to fight it

Summer picks: Where did our attention spans go, and can we get them back?

Why do we age in dramatic bursts, and what can we do about it?

The babies born with DNA from three parents

Two black holes collide, lab-grown organs, world’s first climate visa

Why are parents using melatonin to help their kids sleep?

Texas floods and forecasting cuts: a sign of things to come?

What are microplastics doing to our health?

Why British women are freezing their eggs abroad

What does it take to make a nuclear weapon?

‘Huge advances in cancer and rare diseases’: 25 years of the human genome

Can a revolutionary new telescope solve the mystery of planet nine?

Do medicinal mushroom products actually work?

Does the UK need nuclear to reach net zero?

How to Save the Amazon part three: ask the people that know – podcast

How to save the Amazon part two: the magic and mystery

How to save the Amazon part one: the stakes

Missing in the Amazon: the disappearance – episode 1

Into the photic zone: does a darkening ocean threaten marine life?

The incredible world of animal medicine

Your microbiome questions answered: part two

Your microbiome questions answered: part one

The extraordinary promise of gene editing

The latest twist in a Canadian medical mystery

Is it time to try geoengineering?

Have we got the appendix all wrong?

Surviving 200 snake bites, decoding ancient scrolls and the countries ‘flourishing’

How old are we really? What a test can tell us about our biological age

Why did Spain and Portugal go dark?

Why did Just Stop Oil just stop?

Evidence of alien life, a clue about the rise of bowel cancer, and a new colour?

Is ‘de-extinction’ really possible?

RFK Jr’s mixed messages on vaccines

What 40 years as Observer science editor has taught Robin McKie

Streams of medicines: how Switzerland cleaned up its act

Streams of medicines: what’s hiding in the UK’s waterways?

‘Parasites should get more fame’: the nominees for world’s finest invertebrate

Keto: what’s the science behind the diet?

The rise and fall of DNA testing company 23andMe

Where do our early childhood memories go?

What a dark energy discovery means for the fate of the universe

A mysterious millionaire and the quest to live under the sea

Use it or lose it: how to sharpen your brain as you age

Mars-a-lago? Did the red planet once have sandy beaches?

Moon missions, Musk v scientists, sperm and longevity

Why it’s boom time for beavers in England

Drinks cans and chicken bones: will ‘technofossils’ be humanity’s lasting legacy?

How Trump unleashed chaos in science

Singing mice, constipated kids and nurture beats nature: science stories of the week

Should we ban cats?

What is ‘mirror life’ and why are scientists sounding the alarm?

Don’t look up: is an asteroid heading for Earth?

DeepSeek, weapons and climate? What’s on the table at the Paris AI summit?

Can Trump and RFK Jr make America healthy again?

Protein, weights and the best way to keep fit: your exercise questions answered

Sugar, seed oils, and avoiding sickness: your health questions answered

The science of racism, and how to fight it

Telepathy…what’s the evidence?

Our science predictions for 2025

How weather ‘whiplash’ set the stage for the LA fires

Where did our attention spans go, and can we get them back?

Are we hardwired to commit ‘deadly sins’?

Revisited: does the evidence on glucose tracking add up?

Revisited: just how bad is alcohol for us?

Revisited: the endless sexual diversity of nature

Revisited: are the world’s oldest people really that old?

‘Soft and calorie dense’: Chris van Tulleken on how ultra-processed foods keep us hooked

Is our model of the universe wrong?

Does Google’s ‘mindboggling’ new chip bring quantum computers any closer?

The science of laughing

Revisited: Secrets of the gut microbiome

What really helps with hangovers?

What’s going on with fluoride?

‘Travesty of justice’: Cop29’s controversial deal

The science behind yo-yo diets, bird flu news and which Brits can spot a fake accent

What does it take to become an astronaut?

Secrets of happiness: the happiness hacks backed up by science

Secrets of happiness: what makes a country happy?

What will Trump 2.0 mean for science?

Could we really live on Mars?

Love motels and gridlocked talks: all the news from Cop16

The US tech startup promising smarter babies

What’s at stake for the climate if Trump wins?

How the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs made ants into farmers

Is sleep perfectionism making us more exhausted?

What Milton and Helene reveal about the future of hurricanes

All the news and science from the 2024 Nobel prizes

Could AI help fight conspiracy theories?

Everything you need to know about Covid this autumn

End of an era: Britain finally says goodbye to coal

Is the ocean becoming too acidic to sustain life?

Are the world’s oldest people really that old?

Live episode: will AI make a good companion?

The sweeping reorganisation of the brain in pregnancy, and why it matters

From dementia to heart disease: could weight-loss jabs transform chronic conditions?

Transparent skin, bird flu, and why girls’ brains aged during Covid: the week in science

Into the abyss beneath Greenland’s glaciers

The race to understand mpox

The arrest of Telegram’s founder, and what it means for social media

Summer picks: the science of ‘weird shit’

Summer picks: what can our dogs teach us about obesity?

Summer picks: why are so many science papers being retracted?

Summer picks: what does the science say about birth order and personality?

What’s happened to all the butterflies?

Just how bad is alcohol for us?

How Team GB’s psychologist gets the athletes mentally ready

Secrets of ageing: making our last years count

Secrets of ageing: how long could I live?

Secrets of ageing: what makes me age?

Trophy hunting: can killing and conservation go hand in hand?

George Monbiot on the record jail terms given to Just Stop Oil activists

Is there any point in taking multivitamins?

Can the climate survive AI’s thirst for energy?

‘Lesbian’ seagulls and ‘gay’ rams: the endless sexual diversity of nature

ZOE and personalised nutrition: does the evidence on glucose tracking add up?

‘Spermageddon’: is male fertility really in crisis?

Caroline Lucas on climate, culture wars, and 14 years as the only Green MP

The surprising psychology behind extremism, and how politics is driving it

The infection that affects half of women and its link to antibiotic resistance

A black hole awakens and why some people avoid Covid: the week in science

What are the main UK parties promising on climate and is it enough?

Are cold and wet UK summers here to stay?

Slaughter-free sausages: is lab-grown meat the future?

Golden rice: why has it been banned and what happens now?

Botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer: ‘The clock is ticking but the world will teach us what we need to do’

Election risks, safety summits and Scarlett Johansson: the week in AI

Concrete without CO2: can our biggest building material go green?

Why is air turbulence getting worse?

In their prime: how trillions of cicadas pop up right on time

AI, algorithms and apps: can dating be boiled down to a science?

Backstabbing, bluffing and playing dead: has AI learned to deceive?

How much protein is too much?

Why are the world’s cities sinking?

The extraordinary promise of personalised cancer vaccines

The stream of plastic pollution: could a global treaty help us turn off the tap?

From birds, to cattle, to … us? Could bird flu be the next pandemic?

Hardwired to eat: what can our dogs teach us about obesity?

Who really wins if the Enhanced Games go ahead?

Soundscape ecology: a window into a disappearing world

The senior Swiss women who went to court over climate change, and won

Remembering physicist Peter Higgs

Horny tortoises and solar mysteries: what scientists can learn from a total eclipse

The science of ‘weird shit’: why we believe in fate, ghosts and conspiracy theories

Hypermobility: a blessing or a curse?

The virus that infects almost everyone, and its link to cancer and MS

What could a severe solar storm do to Earth, and are we prepared?

Havana syndrome: will we ever understand what happened?

Should forests have rights?

A waterworld with a boiling ocean and the end of dark matter? The week in science

Why do we lose our hair as we age, and what can we do about it? – podcast

What’s behind the rapid rise of cancer in the under-50s?

Classic older child? What the science says about birth order and personality

The debilitating impact of tinnitus, and how a new app could help

How green are electric cars?

Mistakes, fakes, and a giant rat penis: why are so many science papers being retracted?

Nitazenes and xylazine: what’s behind the rise of dangerous synthetic drugs?

What apes can tell us about the origins of teasing

Retinol, acids and serums for kids? A dermatologist’s guide to age appropriate skincare

Why are we still waiting for a male contraceptive pill?

What happens now bird flu has reached the Antarctic?

A fasting prime minister and a mind-reading billionaire: the week in science

Secrets of the microbiome: the skin

Secrets of the microbiome: the vagina

Secrets of the microbiome: the gut

How to stop doomscrolling and reclaim your brain

Is guilt-free flying on the horizon?

Our science predictions for 2024

What the science says about how to get active (and make it stick)

Revisited: Weight of the world, the climate scientists who hold out hope

Weight of the world revisited: the climate scientists who copped it

Revisited: Weight of the world – the climate scientists who saw the crisis coming

Best of 2023, Killing the Skydancer: episode three, An Open Secret

Best of 2023, Killing the Skydancer: episode two, The Perfect Crime

Best of 2023: Killing the Skydancer episode one, Susie’s chicks

All the buzz and no hangover? The next generation of alcohol-free drinks

Can machines ever be like us? Prof Michael Wooldridge on the future of AI

Cop28: what just happened?

The incredible world of animal perception, and what it can teach us

All the drama from the first week of Cop28

Why are we still struggling to get contraception right?

Everything you need to know about Cop28 as the summit begins

Weight of the world – the climate scientists who saw the crisis coming

What have we learned from the James Webb space telescope so far?

Superyachts and private jets: the carbon impact of the ‘polluter elite’

The mysteries of volcanoes: what’s going on beneath the ground in Iceland?

CBD: what’s the science behind the wellness trend?

Why is the Amazon rainforest drying up?

Understanding the science of addiction

Nuclear fusion, new drugs, better batteries: how AI will transform science

What could near-death experiences teach us about life, death and consciousness?

Black holes, but backwards: unlocking the mysteries of white holes

‘We’ve lost control’: what happens when the west Antarctic ice sheet melts?

Could AI help diagnose schizophrenia?

Scarier than lions: how fear of ‘super predator’ humans is shaping the animal kingdom

Inside the UK’s first gaming disorder clinic

What’s really going on with Paris’s bedbug crisis?

All the news and science from the Nobel Prizes

Everything you need to know about the menopause

Could we end migraines for good?

Deja vu’s lesser-known opposite: why do we experience jamais vu?

The mystery of Europe’s heat death hotspot

Will our bees survive the Asian hornet invasion?

Should American bully XLs be banned?

Teen mental health and social media: what does the evidence tell us?

First African climate summit: can development and climate action coexist?

Everything you need to know about the new Covid variant

Why are scientists so excited about the vagus nerve? – podcast

Iris scans: proof of our humanity in an AI future, or marketing gimmick?

The Y chromosome has finally been sequenced: here’s why it matters

Apple cider vinegar gummies: what’s the science behind the weight loss trend?

Killing the Skydancer: episode three, An Open Secret

Killing the Skydancer: episode two, The Perfect Crime

Killing the Skydancer: episode one, Susie’s Chicks

Summer picks: are we any closer to understanding long Covid?