Erica McAlister on the beauty of flies

Dr Erica McAlister talks to Jim Al-Khalili about the beautiful world of flies.

• 30 mins

Plastic pollution with Richard Thompson

How Richard Thompson alerted the world to the micro-plastics in the ocean.

• 27 mins

Ewine van Dishoeck on cosmic chemistry

Astrochemist Ewine van Dishoeck tells Jim Al-Khalili about the space between the stars.

• 27 mins

DNA detective Turi King

How geneticist Turi King identified the 500 yr old skeleton of Richard III.

• 28 mins

Katherine Joy on moon rock

Lunar geologist Katherine Joy tells Jim Al-Khalili why we need to go back to the moon.

• 29 mins

Robin Dunbar on why we have friends

Why do we have friends? Robin Dunbar tells Jim Al-Khalili.

• 27 mins

Jonathan Ball on his arms race against viruses

Virologist Jonathan Ball talks to Jim Al-Khalili about his quest to disarm killer viruses.

• 27 mins

Richard Wiseman on lying, luck and the paranormal

How to spot a liar. Professor Richard Wiseman tells Jim Al-Khalili

• 28 mins

Anne Magurran on how to measure biodiversity

Professor Anne Magurran on how nature is going the same way as our high streets.

• 27 mins

Martha Clokie on the viruses that could improve our health

Professor Martha Clokie on the viruses that destroy antibiotic-resistant bugs.

• 34 mins

Adrian Owen on scanning for awareness in the injured brain

Adrian Owen tells Jim Al-Khalili about his search for awareness in brain-injured patients.

• 28 mins

Saiful Islam on materials to power the 21st century

Professor Saiful Islam on the materials that make renewable energy possible.

• 28 mins

Demis Hassabis on artificial intelligence

Demis Hassabis tells Jim Al-Khalili why he wants to create artificial intelligence.

• 32 mins

Elizabeth Fisher on chromosomes in mice and men

Elizabeth Fisher on studying chromosomal abnormalities in mice and men

• 28 mins

Patricia Wiltshire on how pollen can solve crimes.

Using pollen to solve crimes. Prof Pat Wiltshire talks to Jim Al Khalili.

• 33 mins

Susannah Maidment on stegosaurs

Susannah Maidment tells Jim how she came to be a world authority on stegosaurs

• 32 mins

Peter Fonagy on a revolution in mental health care

How Peter Fonagy changed the way we treat our mental health.

• 36 mins

2019 Nobel Prize winner for Physiology or Medicine, Sir Peter Ratcliffe

The 2019 Nobel Prize-winner Sir Peter Ratcliffe on living with low oxygen.

• 28 mins

Optical communications pioneer Polina Bayvel

The invention of the optical fibres that makes ultra-fast broadband possible.

• 33 mins

Myles Allen on understanding climate change

The physicist behind net zero. Prof Myles Allen talks to Jim Al-Khalili.

• 36 mins

Anya Hurlbert on seeing colour

Anya Hurlbert tells Jim Al-Khalili how colours are made in the mind.

• 28 mins

Matthew Cobb on how we detect smells

What maggots teach us about our sense of smell. Prof Matthew Cobb tells Jim Al-Khalli

• 29 mins

Brian Greene on how the universe is made of string

Is the universe really made of string? Physicist Brian Greene talks to Jim Al Khalili.

• 34 mins

Jim McDonald on power networks

Is the National Grid fit for purpose? Jim McDonald talks to Jim Al-Khalili.

• 27 mins

Debbie Pain on conserving globally threatened bird species

Professor Debbie Pain talks to Jim Al-Khalili about conserving our endangered birdlife.

• 28 mins

Frank Kelly on air pollution

The impact of lockdown on the quality of the air we breathe.

• 27 mins

Liz Seward and the dream of spaceflight

Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to Liz Seward about designing spacecraft.

• 29 mins

Jane Goodall on living with wild chimpanzees

Jane Goodall describes her life with the wild chimpanzees of Gombe.

• 36 mins

Emma Bunce on the gas giants

Professor Emma Bunce shares her passion for Jupiter and Neptune with Jim Al-Khalili.

• 28 mins

Clifford Stott on riot prevention

How to stop peaceful protests turning into riots.

• 28 mins

Alice Roberts on bones

What can we learn from human remains? Alice Roberts talks bones with Jim Al Khalili.

• 33 mins

Andy Fabian on black holes

Professor Andy Fabian on supermassive black holes and their dramatic hold over galaxies.

• 28 mins

Dale Sanders on feeding the world

Why the world needs more plant scientists. Prof Dale Sanders talks to Jim Al-Khalili.

• 32 mins

Heather Koldewey on marine conservation

Saving seahorses and turning old fishing nets into luxury carpets.

• 28 mins

Francesca Happé on autism

Francesca Happé talks to Jim al-Khalili about the abilities of people with autism.

• 28 mins

Steve Haake on technology, sport and health

Steve Haake talks to Jim al-Khalili about how technology improves sporting ability.

• 28 mins

Sarah Gilbert on developing a vaccine for Covid-19

How did Sarah Gilbert get so far, so fast in developing a vaccine for Covid-19?

• 29 mins

Neil Ferguson on modelling Covid-19

Predicting the spread of Covid-19. Neil Ferguson talks to Jim Al-Khalili about lockdown.

• 37 mins

Scientists in the Spotlight during the Pandemic

Jim Al-Khalili finds out how The Life Scientific has changed during the pandemic.

• 38 mins

Chris Jackson on sustainable geology

Geologist Chris Jackson on the earth's past, deep salt and abseiling into a volcano.

• 27 mins

Cath Noakes on making buildings Covid-safe

How good ventilation dramatically reduces the risk of inhaling tiny airborne pathogens.

• 29 mins

Giles Yeo on how our genes can make us fat

Giles Yeo reveals the role our genes play in the obesity epidemic.

• 27 mins

Anne Johnson on the importance of public health

From HIV to influenza and Covid-19, why prevention is better than cure.

• 30 mins

Jane Hurst on the secret life of mice

Jane Hurst reveals how mice are ruled by their noses.

• 27 mins

Richard Bentall on the causes of mental ill health

Why madness is in the world not in us. Prof Richard Bentall talks about his life and work.

• 41 mins

Sarah Bridle on the carbon footprint of food

Why did a rising star in the study of dark energy turn her attention to climate change?

• 27 mins

Mark Spencer on how plants solve crimes

Inside the mind of a forensic botanist, Mark Spencer.

• 28 mins

Theresa Marteau on how to change behaviour

Prof Dame Theresa Marteau tells Jim Al-Khalili about her life and work.

• 27 mins

Professor Martin Sweeting, inventor of microsatellites

How Martin Sweeting made a satellite on his kitchen table.

• 29 mins

Jane Clarke on Protein Folding

Jane Clarke unravels her discoveries into the molecular origami of our body's proteins.

• 28 mins

Peter Goadsby on migraine

Peter Goadsby on migraine attacks and the new treatments his research has inspired.

• 28 mins

Helen Scales on marine conservation

Fish watching and the downsides of deep sea mining. Helen Scales talks to Jim Al-Khalili.

• 34 mins

Nira Chamberlain on how mathematics can solve real-world problems

Jim Al-Khalili asks Nira Chamberlain how he uses maths to solve real-world problems.

• 28 mins

Mike Tipton on how our bodies respond to extreme conditions

Mike Tipton on cold water swimming.

• 32 mins

Tamsin Edwards on the uncertainty in climate science

All climate change models are wrong. Tamsin Edwards tells Jim Al Khalili why.

• 31 mins

Hannah Fry on the power and perils of big data

Why, in the Age of the Algorithm, humans have never been more important.

• 40 mins

David Eagleman on why reality is an illusion

Can we create new senses? Prof David Eagleman talks to Jim Al-Khalili.

• 28 mins

Brenda Boardman on making our homes energy efficient.

Can we achieve carbon net zero in our homes? Brenda Boardman talks to Jim Al-Khalili.

• 27 mins

Derk-Jan Dijk on the importance of sleep

How does sleep change as we age? Derk-Jan Dijk talks to Jim Al-Khalili.

• 27 mins

Hannah Cloke and predicting floods

Hannah Cloke talks to Jim Al-Khalili about predicting this summer's serious floods.

• 27 mins

The Life Scientific at 10: What makes a scientist?

Jim Al-Khalili and distinguished guests reflect on ten years of The Life Scientific.

• 56 mins

The Patrick Vallance Interview

Science and our future

• 37 mins

Tim Spector and personalised diets for long term health

Professor Tim Spector on fuelling gut microbes for long term health.

• 32 mins

Tim Clutton-Brock on meerkats, red deer and evolution

What makes meerkats so cooperative and why do sons cost mothers more than daughters?

• 29 mins

Sharon Peacock on hunting pandemic variants of concern

Leading the UK's hunt for new and dangerous Covid-19 variants.

• 28 mins

Julia Shaw on memories that aren't true

Can we trust our memories of events? Julia Shaw talks to Jim Al-Khalili.

• 38 mins

Shankar Balasubramanian on decoding DNA

The man who found a way to decode DNA at speed.

• 29 mins

Steve Brusatte on the fall of dinosaurs and the rise of mammals

How did mammals come to dominate our planet? Prof Steve Brusatte talks to Jim Al-Khalili.

• 40 mins

Ben Garrod on conservation and extinction

What can bones tell us about evolution, behaviour and extinction?

• 35 mins

Chi Onwurah on why engineering is a caring profession.

Why politics needs more scientists and engineers.

• 37 mins

Pete Smith on why soil matters

Restore peat bogs to mitigate climate change and improve bio-diversity.

• 31 mins

Jacinta Tan on anorexia nervosa and the mind

How does a person with anorexia nervosa think? Jacinta Tan talks to Jim Al-Khalili.

• 28 mins

Adam Hart on ants, bees and insect burgers

When does a waggle dance become a tremble dance?

• 28 mins

Vlatko Vedral on the universe as quantum information

A self-confessed physics fundamentalist decodes reality.

• 37 mins

Sir Martin Landray on saving over a million lives

Sir Martin Landray on how he discovered the drugs for Covid-19 with the RECOVERY Trial.

• 39 mins