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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

43:18

Would You Kill One Person To Save Five?

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/01/22

Can we store summer’s heat to warm our homes in winter? Could humans perceive a fourth dimension? And why does light bend around gravity even though it has no mass? Small questions from YOU which open doors to enormous worlds. In this episode of Field Notes, Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens discuss underground heat batteries in Canada and Einstein’s thought experiments, from how the universe hides its secrets and how we uncover them. Later, Michael presents a story which leads to an

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45:51

Why Your Brain Sees Patterns in Randomness

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/01/20

What do we mean when we call an event random? Most people view randomness as a fundamental property of the universe, but is it just a label for our own lack of knowledge? Whether it is a weighted coin toss, a scratch card, or the digits of Pi, unpredictability usually emerges from rules and patterns that sit just beyond our perception. Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens dismantle the logic of chance, exploring how chaos is governed by strict mathematical laws and why a coin can be '50

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36:18

Why Erdős Was The Original Kevin Bacon

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/01/15

Some objects feel like they’re from another world. One of these might be the giant structure that makes up a quantum computer. Lifted straight from the TV series Devs, Professor Hannah Fry shows Michael Stevens a prop that was designed to look just like one…now it hangs from the ceiling in her house. In this episode of Field Notes, Hannah and Michael examine the extraordinary technology behind of quantum computing. They explore how qubits differ from classical bits and consider the ways this

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40:39

Why Can't You Smell The Inside Of Your Nose?

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/01/13

Right now, you’re breathing in. As you inhale, air rushes past millions of sensory receptors, activating the part of your brain responsible for smell. And yet, there’s one scent you’ll never notice: the very nose you’re breathing through, because humans are smell blind to themselves.Today, Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce's Michael Stevens explore the mechanics of perinasal chemosensation, otherwise known as smell.They explore how the Victorians sidelined the sense, why we’ve underestimated it ever

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33:35

Could Sound Make You Levitate?

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/01/08

Imagine: a series of objects floating in midair without magnets, strings or visible supports. With acoustic levitation sound waves alone can suspend droplets, beads and even small solids to seemingly defy gravity!In this episode of Field Notes, Hannah shows Michael this astonishing device, revealing how precisely tuned sound can manipulate matter. Behind the mesmerising floating objects lies a combination of physics, mathematics, and engineering that turns vibrations into invisible hands. How do

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43:59

Are Magnets The Most Familiar Mystery On Earth?

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/01/06

Deep beneath our feet, churning molten metals create an invisible shield that holds our atmosphere in place and protects all life from the Sun. Some animals can sense it directly. Take the quantum effects in a robin’s eye, whales who cross oceans using no landmarks at all, or the bacteria that line themselves up to this unseen force. Join Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens as they explore magnetism and ponder how a compass knows where to point? Where did the original source our

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37:56

Unadulterated Dice Nerding

The Rest Is Science ·

2026/01/01

From tiny six sided cubes to oversized polyhedrons with dozens of faces, Michael’s collection of dice is more than just a hobby, it’s a window into probability, design, and the strange ways we humans play with chance!Why might some dice feel luckier than others? How do they shape the games we play, the mathematics we study, and the way we've made decisions throughout history? Each die has it's uses but they all reveal the patterns, quirks, and surprises that lie in the numbers we trust and

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47:53

What Day Is It, Really?

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/12/30

What day is it, really? And who decided? What happens to time when we leave the Earth? And when might future humans be counting down to the dawn of a New Year in the middle of the day? From missing days and meddling popes to atomic clocks and vanishing centuries, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens dive headfirst into one of the slipperiest questions in science and society: what IS the time and date? On the way they trace a tiny error by Julius Caesar, a correction by Pope Gregory XIII,

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36:26

The Smell Of Christmas Is Tree Screams

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/12/25

Each December millions of homes fill with the unmistakable scent of pine. It's sharp, resinous, and strangely comforting, feeling timeless…familiar…safe. But what if that smell isn’t what we think it is at all? Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens follow the trail of the molecules that shape this seasonal scent. It turns out it didn’t evolve to delight, but to warn and repel. The smell of Christmas is the smell of fear. Welcome to The Rest Is Science: Field Notes. Each Thursday, Hannah and

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35:42

The Reality of Being Santa

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/12/23

Could Santa Clause still exist IF we stripped away the magic? If the ability to bend spacetime was gone? What conditions would Santa need to deliver a present to every human being on Earth in a single night? Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the historical, geographical, and logistical realities behind these questions using population data, longitudinal lines, mathematics AND a healthy dose of Christmas curiosity to calculate the impossible routes, speeds, and time spans involved in a 12

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26:11

The Device That Maps The Heavens

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/12/18

Tucked away in old engineering kits and museum drawers is a device whose gentle sweeping motion once captivated mathematicians and designers alike. The ellipsograph: a mechanical tool built from sliding arms and rotating joints that were tracing flawless curves long before computers made such things effortless. While they have the appearance of an ancient curiosity, the ellipsograph’s power lies in its ability to transform abstract geometry into tangible motion on a page. Its careful movement

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36:14

Are You REALLY Made Of Stars?

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/12/16

What happens when the universe throws a random curveball at one of the most precise communities on Earth? Cosmic rays high-energy particles from deep space are invisible, unpredictable, and capable of interfering with electronics in ways gamers never expect.Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore a surprising story from the speedrunning community, where split-second timings and frame-perfect precision collide with the chaos of the cosmos. How did a tiny particle from a distant supernova end up

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39:21

The Magic Math Trick That Fools Everyone

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/12/11

What makes a simple brain-teaser about two identical swords one of the most deceptively tricky logic puzzles of the last century? And why has this seemingly innocent riddle fascinated mathematicians, programmers and puzzle-solvers for decades?First shared in recreational maths circles before spreading across classrooms and online forums, the “swords of truth” puzzle asks a disarmingly straightforward question — yet its solution reveals deep ideas about reasoning, information, and the limits of

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44:43

Is Music Getting Worse?

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/12/09

Has music really been getting worse… or is it just shifting in ways we don’t always notice? And why does the soundtrack to your teenage years feel like the single greatest playlist ever made?Hannah and Michael explore music’s strange grip on our minds. They trace why certain lyrics feel simpler than they used to, and what gives our formative songs lasting emotional charge. And what exactly is the reminiscence bump, that curious memory quirk that makes certain songs feel unforgettable? Join

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35:03

The Letter That Changed Mathematics

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/12/04

How did pages of mysterious “gibberish” sent from Madras find their way to one of Cambridge University’s most respected mathematicians? Were the strange formulas the work of a deluded mind - or breakthrough insights of an unknown genius?The author of that letter was Srinivasa Ramanujan. His story inspired two Hollywood blockbusters (Goodwill Hunting, The Man Who Knew Infinity) but his mind changed the shape of mathematics forever.Welcome to The Rest Is Science: Field Notes.Every Thursday, Hannah and

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46:51

This One's a Tear Jerker

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/12/02

Are humans the only creatures that shed emotional tears? If we are, what purpose do these tears really serve? If crying is so natural, why do we so often try to hide it?A single sob sends Hannah and Michael into an unexpected journey through the science and mystery of emotional crying, from the first tearful moments of infancy to the complex social signals behind adult weeping. Why do babies cry before they can speak? How do tears strengthen - or strain - our relationships? And what is the

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37:44

What We Said To Aliens

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/11/27

What happens when humanity dares to shout a cosmic “hello”? Could it help alien civilisations decode human mathematics, our DNA, the blueprints of who we are? And why did we blast the 3-trillion-watt message into the stars in the first place…only to never try anything like it again?This is the story of the Arecibo message. Welcome to The Rest Is Science: Field Notes. Every Thursday, Hannah and Michael rummage through their personal troves of scientific treasure and source discoveries that

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41:06

We're All Being Pulled Together

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/11/25

What is gravity, really? Why do objects pull towards each other at all? And if Einstein 'fixed' Newton’s theory, why does gravity remain one of science’s biggest unsolved mysteries? A clumsy trip into a lamppost leads Michael and Hannah into a whirlwind tour of our changing understanding of gravity, from falling apples and making wormholes for ants, to the puzzles we still can’t crack. Why does time tick faster on a mountaintop than by the sea? Why are galaxies spinning in ways our equations

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37:09

How To Drink Lava

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/11/25

Is lava water, and could we have a delicious hot cup of it? Is ice really a rock, and not water? And, the age old question, is water wet? From the minerals that shape the taste of our favourite drinks, to the tiny isotopes that reveal where a person, or whale, has travelled, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens reveal the hidden life of H₂O. Along the way, they uncover why pure water can be deadly, how yesterday’s sewage might be fuelling the future, and discover that the water in your glass

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1:36

The Rest Is Science - Coming 25th November

The Rest Is Science ·

2025/11/18

Forget what you think you know about reality. The Rest Is Science is a mind-bending series that tears down familiar ideas… time, randomness, beauty, it will reveal just how bizarre the world truly is. Join Professor Hannah Fry and science creator Michael Stevens (Vsauce) twice a week to explore big, small and surprising questions as they deep dive into theories, concepts, objects and thoughts and take us on a journey into the unexpected. If you love digging into details that usually get skipped

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80 results

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