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PODCAST

The Rest Is Science

Join mathematician Professor Hannah Fry and science creator Michael Stevens (Vsauce) as they dig into the weird scientific questions that often go unexplored. Welcome to The Rest Is Science, a show that sits in the fascinating space between what we think we know, and what we actually know. Why do we assume we understand things like time, randomness, or even gravity? Once you start questioning these familiar ideas, reality becomes astonishingly strange and completely fragile. Whether you"re a

science physics

All Episodes

48:46

Two Infinities (And Beyond)

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/03/30

Why were the ancient Greeks absolutely terrified of the infinite? How did a boundless mathematical concept start bitter historical feuds? And what happens to reality when you realise that some infinities are actually bigger than others? Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (VSauce) plunge back into the mind-bending history of infinity, tracking the spectacular panic it caused across the centuries. From individuals trying to mathematically contain it, to others wrestling with its endless

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56:44

How Evolution Is Shaping Cancer Research

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/03/26

In this very special episode Michael and Hannah look at some of the groundbreaking, jaw-dropping and hope inspiring projects that Cancer Research UK are supporting right now.From identifying tiny "flags" cancer cells show to using cancer's own evolution against it, they show why current research today will hopefully mean a better tomorrow for many. Cancer Research UK are the world's leading cancer charity, supporting research into the ongoing quest to better prevent, detect and treat the

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60:18

Paradoxes Of Infinity

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/03/24

Is infinity actually a real number, or just a brilliant mathematical hallucination? Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (VSauce) tumble down the numerical rabbit hole to explore the mind-bending origins of infinity. They unpick exactly how humanity managed to trap the endless void. From ancient paradoxes to endless hotel rooms, they dive into the bizarre history of our universe's most impossible idea. ------------------- For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research,

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52:38

Michael's Favourite Science Books

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/03/19

What do Bill Bryson, Daniel Wegner and J.R.R. Tolkien have in common? They are all part of Michael's reading recommendations. On this episode of Field Notes we answer one of our most frequent inbox questions... "What do you both read?" Alongside that Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens delve into whether some numbers give off "vibes" and the optimal way to use airflow to rid your car of dog hairs and unwanted smells. A handy list of Michael's books (Hannah's will come in the

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70:27

Cognitive Ghosts

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/03/17

Ever wanted to squish a puppy just because it’s impossibly cute? Or felt absolutely certain you’ve lived this exact moment before? Hannah and Michael explore the bizarre, everyday glitches of the human mind, unpacking why our brains occasionally seem to short-circuit. They dive into the weird neurology of "cute aggression", or urges like thinking of throwing your phone off a bridge, to the jarring time-bending sensation of déjà vu to reveal how our grey matter manages overwhelming feelings and

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26:33

Introducing: The Book Club - Never Let Me Go

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/03/14

What inspired Kazuo Ishiguro’s timeless story about mortality, growing up, and the human condition? How are its characters so relatable, and yet entirely unique? And, why does the dark secret at its heart challenge scientific innovation? Dominic Sanbrook joins Hannah and Michael to discuss all this and Dominic's new show, The Book Club, available now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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55:29

Why We Cry Out In Pain

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/03/12

Have you stubbed your toe and shouted an unrepeatable word? Isaac Newton and Robert Boyle were two of the greatest minds in humanity. Did their egos and competition with one another hold them back or drive them onto huge breakthroughs? Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the bizarre neurology of vocalised pain, revealing how a good yelp actually acts as a biological off-switch for suffering and unearth if Newton was the biggest crybaby in science. Plus, Hannah gives us a

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51:24

What's The Most "Vegetable" Vegetable?

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/03/10

Botanically speaking, there is no such thing as a vegetable, so what exactly is sitting on your dinner plate? And if our culinary world is built on biological lies, which plant is actually the most vegetable like?Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens tackle a chaotic intersection of linguistics, plant taxonomy, and nutrition, dismantling the arbitrary categories we use to organise our food, revealing that our supermarket aisles are a scientifically lawless wasteland. It is a strangely profound

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49:52

How Words Shape Your Body

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/03/05

Does your native language physically sculpt your face? And could a swarm of bees be trained to run computer code?Two of your questions answer in this Field Notes with Professor Hannah Fry and YouTube's Michael Stevens, plus Michael’s object of the week is a visualization of the Holocene Calendar. By simply adding ten thousand years to our current year, it transforms our perception of history from a brief modern blip into an unbroken, monumental narrative of human

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60:51

You Don't Exist For One Third Of Your Life

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/03/03

Humans have split the atom, we can stream movies from space and are working towards everlasting life.  So why in the world are we still spending a third of our lives unconscious? In this episode of The Rest Is Science, Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens ask a deceptively simple question: Can human beings cure sleep? Why do evolutionary forces cause us to lie helpless for eight hours a night when predators might lurk? Why can elephants survive on two hours but bats basically exist to nap? And

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43:57

How To Fall To Earth (Without Burning Up)

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/02/26

Rockets are built to slice cleanly through the atmosphere on the way up. Coming home, it turns out, requires... not turning into a fireball before a bellyflop When Space Shuttles reenter Earth’s atmosphere at 17,000 miles per hour, they don’t dive nose first. Instead they turn broadside to the atmosphere, deliberately creating more drag, more friction, more heat. At those speeds, oncoming air compresses into a shockwave hotter than molten lava. In this episode of Field Notes, Professor

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62:53

You (Don't) Know Where You Are

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/02/24

If someone asked you to point to yourself, where would you point? Your chest? Your head? Somewhere just behind your eyes? Where are you? In this episode, Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce’s Michael Stevens explore how the brain maps and understands out location, from the inner ear fluid that tells us which way is up, to the grid and place cells that build a kind of internal GPS. But how do London taxi drivers rewire their brains to memorise entire cities when the rest of us can’t? How does

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62:41

How Big Is A Piece Of Chocolate?

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/02/19

At what exact chemical ratio does our beloved chocolate devolve into a mere structure of fats and sugars? How far can you dilute chocolate before its fundamental identity vanishes? And what could a comically tiny novelty stool possibly reveal about Michael Stevens? Unlike a block of pure iron or a vial of chlorine, chocolate is not one single substance but a complex and heterogeneous mixture we all take for granted. Hannah and Michael explore the chemistry and nutritional boundaries of this

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53:30

There Are Four Ways To Lie

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/02/17

Is deception a uniquely human trait, or is the natural world built on a foundation of fraud? When a cuttlefish shifts its skin to mimic a female and sneak past a rival male, this may be deceptive but is it telling a lie? Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce's Michael Stevens explore the evolutionary biology of dishonesty across the animal kingdom. What is the neurological difference between a biological reflex and a calculated bluff? What kind of cognitive processing is needed for true artifice, and

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49:28

The Evolution Of The Butthole

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/02/12

Topologically speaking, a human is just a donut with seven holes. It sounds like a joke, but it is a fundamental biological reality. Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the strange geometry of the human body, tracing how we evolved from simple tubes into complex toruses. They investigate the "design flaw" at the boundary of our existence, the fragile transition where skin meets internal lining, and ask why nature built us with so many vulnerabilities to the outside world.But before

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58:09

(Finite) Numbers So Large They'd Destroy You

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/02/10

It starts as a friendly challenge: who can name the biggest number?The only rule? Infinity doesn’t count. What follows is a journey through the biggest finite numbers ever imagined. From Archimedes’ grains of sand to Graham’s Number, a sequence so vast it stretches the limits of human comprehension, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens tumble through this strange landscape of scale, tracing how mathematicians have pushed counting to its absolute edge. But beyond vast calculations,

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44:56

Michael Wrote Some Math Poetry

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/02/05

Can mathematics ever truly be proven? And can Michael's poetry help you remember some tricky equations? In this episode, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens answer your questions and take a look at what it means for something to be true in mathematics. Starting with a grand attempt to prove that one plus one equals two, and into Gödel’s theorem that no system of maths can ever fully prove itself, they explore how maths connects to the real world, from an equation that predicts antimatter

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61:49

Can We 'Solve' Sports?

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/02/03

Is it possible to make a sport too good?Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore how science, data, and optimisation are transforming modern sports improving athletes and teams, while quietly changing how games are played, watched, and understood. From the Tush Push in the NFL and defensive shifts in Major League Baseball, to dirty air in Formula 1, expected goals in Premier League football, and the statistical dominance of seven footers in the NBA, they examine how prediction,

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32:14

This Glass Was Made By Lightning

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/01/29

Could a bolt of lightning become a permanent geological relic? How small would you have to squash a hamster to turn it into a black hole?Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens dismantle our perceptions of scale and texture, moving from the glassy "fulgurites" forged in sandy soil to the mathematical threshold of the Schwarzschild radius. They explore the counter-intuitive geometry of the Earth, calculate the extreme density required to collapse domestic life into a gravitational singularity and

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47:31

Can You REALLY Be Bored To Death?

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/01/27

What is boredom really, and why does it feel so unbearable?Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the science of boredom, revealing it not as laziness or a lack of stimulation, but as a signal from the brain when prediction and learning grind to a halt. When nothing changes and everything is expected, the mind begins to push back. From dopamine experiments and waiting rooms to sensory deprivation and solitary confinement, they examine how boredom emerges from lost uncertainty and

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80 results

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