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PODCAST

IFLScience - The Big Questions

From saving the planet to understanding ourselves, this podcast sees experts discuss the major topics of our times. Hosted by IFLScience’s Dr Alfredo Carpineti, Rachael Funnell, and Eleanor Higgs.

science astronomy

All Episodes

40:41

Why Do People Believe In The Paranormal?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2025/10/23

Everyone loves a good ghost story. Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, there’s something about the eerie and the uncanny that we all enjoy. But for many people, the things that go bump in the night are not just the stuff of stories; they’re real. In fact, countless numbers of people across the world have their own stories of the strange, whether they’re ghosts, aliens, or any other spook. How do we explain that?Join host Dr Russell Moul as we discuss the psychology underpinning paranormal

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43:27

What Is Time And How Do We Measure It?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2025/10/09

Time is everything to us: in terms of physical laws, in how we experience the world, and how society works. Still, its true nature remains beyond us. As scientists search for a deeper understanding, the way humans relate to time has changed massively.To explore the questions of what time is and how we measure it, host Dr Alfredo Carpineti is joined by Dr Emily Akkermans, Curator of Time at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, which is celebrating its 350th anniversary this year.

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41:03

Is De-extinction Really Possible?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2025/09/25

De-extinction. It’s not a word many of us were thinking about just a decade ago, but it’s one that we’re getting ever more familiar with. The de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences has set its sights on de-extincting 5 key species whose extinction is thought to have either been caused, or heavily contributed to, by humans: the woolly mammoth, thylacine, dodo, moa, and dire wolf.By their definition of “functional de-extinction,” they’ve already brought back the dire wolf, and have set a goal to

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43:45

Are We In The Anthropocene?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2025/09/11

In March 2024, geologists rejected the proposal that we are in a new geological era: the Anthropocene, a time dominated by human activity on the planet. And yet, the evidence of our impact on the Earth’s ecology and climate continues to mount up around us. So how could this decision make sense given everything going on in the world today?To dig through the layers of confusion surrounding the Anthropocene, host Dr Russell Moul spoke to Professor Erle Ellis, from the Department of Geography and

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35:23

What Will The Fossils Of The Future Look Like?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2025/08/28

Today’s rubbish may well be the fossils of tomorrow. Plastic bags, old pens, cheap clothing, or even chicken bones are all examples of possible “technofossils”, rapidly accumulating debris and detritus that may come to represent the story of humanity in the geological record long after we’re gone.But it doesn’t have to be this way. Host Dr Russell Moul speaks to Professors Sarah Gabbott and Jan Zalasiewicz of the University of Leicester, authors of Discarded: How Technofossils Will be Our Ultimate

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31:02

Will We Ever Have A Universal Flu Vaccine?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2025/08/14

Lining up for your seasonal flu shot is an annual ritual, but what if it didn't have to be this way? Wouldn't it be great if we could develop a universal vaccine that could protect us against all current and future virus strains? Host Laura Simmons speaks to Dr Florian Krammer, a professor in vaccinology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, to find out just how far humanity has reached in our quest to finally conquer the flu with an all-purpose vaccine.

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30:58

How Has The Internet Changed The Way We Use Language?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2025/07/31

Language can evolve surprisingly quickly, and nothing has sped it up quite like the invention of the Internet. So, how does it affect how we communicate, not just on our devices but offline, IRL?Join host Tom Hale, senior journalist at IFLScience, as he discusses this and more with Internet linguist Dr Gretchen McCulloch, where they explore the origins of internet acronyms, interpreting tone via emojis, memes in real life, and the universal need for ironic punctuation marks.

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25:04

How Do Black Holes Shape The Universe?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2025/07/17

Of all the celestial bodies, none induce awe and fear in equal measure quite like black holes. They are incredible astrophysical objects and there are plenty of reasons why they are so iconic. In their supermassive form in particular, they have influenced the formation and evolution of galaxies, and more. Host Dr Alfredo Carpineti sat down with astrophysicist, science communicator, and author Dr Becky Smethurst, to ask: How do black holes shape the universe?

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38:07

Are We Living Through A Sixth Mass Extinction?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2025/07/03

While climate change, species extinctions, and increasing carbon dioxide levels might feel like media buzzwords at this point, they all remain very real threats to biodiversity across the globe, and by extension, the future of our planet. Some have even argued that these are warning signs that we are living through a sixth mass extinction.Host Eleanor Higgs discusses Earth’s previous mass extinctions with palaeontologist Professor Michael Benton from the University of Bristol, and how we can use

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31:23

Would You Rather Go To Space Or The Bottom Of The Sea?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2025/06/19

The expanse of space and the oceanic abyss hold a fascination for humanity; extreme environments where our bodies and technology are pushed to their limits, yet we continue to explore. We take this tongue-in-cheek question seriously and pose it to astronauts and explorers who have done both.Join co-hosts Dr Alfredo Carpineti and Katy Evans as they share insights from space travellers and deep-sea visitors Luca Parmitano, Dr Kathy Sullivan, and Victor Vescovo on the challenges and rewards of

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01:10

IFLScience The Big Questions - Season 5 Coming Soon

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2025/06/13

We're back! Here's what to expect this season, starting June 19, 2025.If you missed any previous episodes, catch up here: IFLScience The Big Questions

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25:34

Why Do Humans Love Playing Competitive Games?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2024/12/20

It’s the holiday season, and what better time to gather your loved ones together and absolutely trounce them in an hours-long board game marathon?Humans have been playing and enjoying competitive games for centuries. For this special episode of The Big Questions, host Laura Simmons sat down with Kelly Clancy, neuroscientist and physicist, and author of recent book Playing with Reality: How Games Shape Our World, to find out more about why we love competition so much, and what our long history of

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01:05:13

Britain’s Most Haunted Castle: IFLScience Takes On...

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2024/10/28

Welcome to IFLScience’s first-ever Halloween podcast special, bringing you a feature-length episode of The Big Questions as we take on the UK’s most haunted castle. We journeyed to Northumberland up by the Anglo-Scottish border to spend the night in Chillingham Castle, a place that allegedly boasts an above-average number of ghosts. We wanted to explore what attracts people to sites such as this one, even inspiring folks to gear up with a host of ghost-hunting tools and try and communicate with

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32:19

Are Octopuses Sentient?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2024/10/17

It’s no secret that octopuses are intelligent – but are they sentient? And how is that reflected in the way that they’re treated?Host Rachael Funnell is joined by Sy Montgomery, author of Secrets of the Octopus, and Sophika Kostyniuk, Managing Director at the Aquatic Life Institute, to discuss the evidence for octopuses’ sentience, and how that could impact the rights they’re afforded in science, agriculture, and the wider world.

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31:50

What Would A Human On Mars Look Like?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2024/10/03

Are humans done evolving – or could settling on an alien world with an environment unlike Earth’s take us on a different evolutionary trajectory?Host Tom Hale is joined by Scott Solomon, author and professor of bioscience at Rice University, to discuss the myriad ways Homo sapiens may continue to evolve on Earth, and how future human settlements on Mars might influence our species’ evolution.

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28:49

Are The Drugs Of The Future Coming From The Deep Ocean?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2024/09/19

Antibiotic resistance is a major health concern. We now have several harmful microbes that have evolved into versions unaffected by common treatments. To find new antibiotics scientists are looking further afield, including in the ocean.Host Dr Alfredo Carpineti speaks to Dr Sam Afoullouss, a marine scientist at the University of South Florida, about the interesting chemistry found in the deep sea and its potential to be the pharmacy of the future.

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01:58

Introducing 'We Have Questions' Our New Science Podcast

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2024/09/10

Coming soon: join IFLScience as we explore the questions nobody thought to ask but everyone wants the answers to. Get the behind-the-scenes conversations from CURIOUS magazine’s We Have Questions interviews, as we hunt down the experts to answer some of science’s stranger questions.Until then, catch up with the E-magazine here: https://www.iflscience.com/curious-magazine

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33:19

How Did Dinosaurs Have Sex?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2024/09/05

Where do baby dinosaurs come from? It’s a question that’s been burning in the collective brain of the IFLScience team for some time. In this episode, host Rachael Funnell speaks with science writer and palaeontologist Riley Black to find out what science has discovered so far about the sex lives of dinosaurs.

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26:37

How Will The Solar System End?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2024/08/22

Our Solar System is very stable. Planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets go forth in their orbit without trouble. But it won't be like this forever. The future of the solar system will have major changes in the Sun and in the planets. We spoke with astronomer Dr Jon Zink to cast our mind's eye far into the future and explore the end of the solar system.

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29:37

Can We Make Dogs Live Longer?

IFLScience - The Big Questions ·

2024/08/08

Hinging our happiness on animals known to have a significantly shorter lifespan than our own was, in hindsight, a bad idea. Saying goodbye to a pet is an incredibly painful time in a person’s life, but what if there were a way we could help our pets live longer, better lives?That’s exactly what Celine Halioua has been exploring as CEO and founder of Loyal, a biotech startup developing drugs to extend dog lifespan. Join host Rachael Funnell as she finds out if science really can help dogs live

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