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PODCAST

Instant Genius

Whether you’re curious about getting healthy, the Big Bang or the science of cooking, find out everything you need to know with Instant Genius. The team behind BBC Science Focus Magazine talk to world-leading experts to bring you a bite-sized masterclass on a new subject each week. New episodes are released every Monday and Friday and you can subscribe to Instant Genius on Apple Podcasts to access all new episodes ad-free and all old episodes of Instant Genius Extra. Watch full episodes of Instant

science

All Episodes

31:27

How some of the most fascinating discoveries in...

Instant Genius ·

2024/03/11

For those of us on the outside, scientific discoveries can often appear to be neat, tidy and well thought out in advance. Theorists come up with a hypothesis on a chalkboard and then it’s up to the experimentalists to attempt to prove their theories right or wrong through observation. But this isn’t always the case, especially when it comes to astronomy.In this episode we catch up with Chris Lintott, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford and a presenter on BBC’s Sky at Night to

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27:04

The surprising role of clouds in climate change

Instant Genius ·

2024/03/08

Clouds aren’t just the harbingers of bad weather. Turns out, they are crucial players in the climate – and so, too, in climate change. In this episode we speak to climate scientist Dr Paulo Ceppi, who contributed to Greta Thunberg’s The Climate Book, to learn about how clouds change our world.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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35:53

Why giraffes are undergoing a silent extinction

Instant Genius ·

2024/03/04

There can be few animals that are as iconic and instantly recognisable as giraffes. But despite their unique, almost mystical appearance and enduring worldwide popularity, their numbers are dwindling. According to researchers, they are undergoing something known as a silent extinction. In this episode we catch up with Dr Sam Penny, a conservationist and lecturer based at Bristol Zoological Society. He tells us about the current thinking on the existence of not one but several different giraffe

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28:14

Why we are seeing the return of infectious diseases

Instant Genius ·

2024/03/01

In the first quarter of 2024, infectious diseases including measles, plague, and cholera have all reared their ugly heads again. Are we seeing an unprecedented level of disease re-emergence? Why do they come back? And what would it take for another Black Death to happen? To find out, we spoke to Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine at UEA’s Norwich Medical School.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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36:47

How to overcome social paranoia and anxiety

Instant Genius ·

2024/02/26

Do you often find yourself worrying that people are talking about you behind your back? If so, don’t worry: according to our guest, Prof Daniel Freeman, it’s an extremely common thought pattern – and one you can easily break free from.Daniel is a Professor of Psychology at Oxford University and author of new book Paranoia: A Psychologist’s Journey Into Extreme Mistrust and Anxiety. In this episode, he explains the link between paranoia and social anxiety, exactly how to tell how paranoid you are –

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30:43

How feelings of listlessness and aimlessness has...

Instant Genius ·

2024/02/23

Are you feeling demotivated and aimless and struggling to figure out why? If so, it sounds like you might be languishing – a term used to describe the epidemic of listlessness that has spread across the globe in recent years. In this episode we speak to Dr Corey Keyes, author of Languishing: How to Feel Alive Again in a World That Wears Us Down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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27:52

Placebo: Why this miraculous experience really works

Instant Genius ·

2024/02/19

The placebo effect is a seemingly wonderful experience, healing people with no apparent cure - but how does it really work? We spoke to Jeremy Howick, an epidemiologist and author of the new book The Power of Placebos to find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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31:39

How to cope with whatever life throws at you

Instant Genius ·

2024/02/16

We all have a breaking point. But how close we come to it – and how we cope – comes down to our unique blend of genetics and life experiences. In this episode, we speak to health psychologist Prof Vincent Deary about how we’re adapted to get through with tough times, the physiological processes at work when we’re struggling, and how to build yourself back and recover from fatigue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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28:06

How understanding your boredom can improve your life

Instant Genius ·

2024/02/12

It's easy to try to ignore feelings of boredom, but it can actually be trying to tell you something. We spoke to James Danckert, a professor of cognitive neuroscience to find out more about this strange feeling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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30:39

How animals speak to each other

Instant Genius ·

2024/02/09

From birdsong to wolf howls, from dolphins’ clicks and whistles to gibbons’ whoops and wows, the natural world is filled with a myriad of animal vocalisations that are as varied as they are numerous. But what is their purpose? How did they evolve? And will we ever be able to understand them? In this episode we catch up with Dr Arik Kershenbaum, a zoologist based at the University of Cambridge and author of the new book Why Animals Talk. He tells us why some animals are chattier than others, how

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27:31

How to perfect your coffee routine

Instant Genius ·

2024/02/05

Coffee is a drink favoured by billions of people around the world, but doing it right isn't easy. We spoke to Christopher Hendon, a computational materials chemist and coffee expert from the University of Oregon. He talks us through how to make great coffee at home, where to spend your money, and debunks the myths of the coffee world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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25:28

Why humans need laughter

Instant Genius ·

2024/02/02

Laughter is a fundamental part of our lives, but why do we do it? We spoke to Sophie Scott, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University College London to better understand why and how we laugh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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26:24

Why hedgehog numbers are falling and how we can stop it

Instant Genius ·

2024/01/29

Whether it’s from reading Beatrix Potter’s Mrs Tiggy-Winkle or from encounters in our own gardens, many of us have a special place in our hearts for hedgehogs. But sadly, the charismatic mammals are having a bit of a hard time of late, with their numbers declining across the globe. So, what can we do to help them? In this episode we catch up with Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen, a research associate at WildCRU, at the University of Oxford, or as she is otherwise known Dr Hedgehog. She tells us about the

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25:07

How to lose weight the scientific way

Instant Genius ·

2024/01/26

Chances are, many of us will have tried to drop a few pounds at some point in our lives. And it’s likely that to do so we will have cut down on the amount of calories we are consuming, exercised a bit more and relied on willpower to stop ourselves reaching for the biscuit tin, bag of crisps or can of fizzy drink. But is there a more effective method? In this episode we catch up with Dr Andrew Jenkinson, a bariatric surgeon based at University College London Hospital and author of the book How to

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27:41

Avocados: Nutritional superfood or environmental...

Instant Genius ·

2024/01/22

Since their first appearance on our supermarket shelves several decades ago, avocados have gone from being a mere exotic curiosity to a regular feature on many millennials’ breakfast tables. But how has this happened and what does it mean for our diets, the food industry and the environment? In this episode we speak to Honor May Eldridge, a food and farming expert and author of the book The Avocado Debate. She tells us about the avocado’s fascinating journey from everyday staple in traditional

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29:40

How to pace yourself in an exhausting world

Instant Genius ·

2024/01/19

How can we rearrange our lives to get a bit more energy? In her new book Pace Yourself: How to have energy in an exhausting world, Amy Arthur traces the latest science that can help you find the right pace in every aspect of your life to make your day-to-day a little less exhausting. This episode, Amy talks us through surprising insights like why having toast for breakfast may not be the best start to your day, warning signs for spotting when you’re close to exhaustion, and her top tips for

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33:08

The science of the paranormal: Why we see ghosts,...

Instant Genius ·

2024/01/15

UFOs, tarot cards, and ghostly figures. The paranormal world is all around us, but how can the unexplainable be explained? We spoke to Chris French, the head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London to find out more about the world of the paranormal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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26:52

Has the Moon entered a new epoch?

Instant Genius ·

2024/01/12

In our short history of space exploration, humans have already changed the Moon significantly. From the cultural heritage of our first footprints to the damage caused by spacecraft crashes, our presence is almost frozen in time in the Moon’s dusty regolith. Now, researchers are arguing for the formalisation of a new epoch on the Moon: the lunar Anthropocene. This epoch, they argue, began in 1959 with Russia’s Luna 2 spacecraft becoming the first ever to land on the Moon. We spoke to one of the

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27:48

Email overload: How a full inbox affects your mental...

Instant Genius ·

2024/01/08

It’s a feeling most of us will have experienced at some point: you arrive at work in the morning and open your email client only to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of unread messages staring back at you. In this episode we catch up with Dr Emma Russell, a psychologist based at the University of Sussex. She tells us about the far-reaching effects dealing with a constant stream of emails can have on our mental health, why some of us are more prone to these negative effects than others, and how we

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32:52

The anti-ageing wonder drugs of the near future

Instant Genius ·

2024/01/05

Could you ever take a pill that actually prevents ageing? If we’re lucky, absolutely. In fact, such a pill might be available within the next decade. That’s according to our guest today Andrew Steele, the author of Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old. In this episode, the second and final of our anti-ageing specials, Andrew unpacks the most promising longevity drugs currently being trialled. If you haven’t done so already, check out part one of this series, where Andrew

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