The Life Scientific Podcast
Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires and motivates them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future
Episodes to download
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Noel Fitzpatrick on becoming a supervet
Tue 30 Oct 2018
Supervet, Noel Fitzpatrick, talks to Jim Al-Khalili
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Jacqueline McGlade on monitoring the environment from space
Tue 23 Oct 2018
Jacqueline McGlade on monitoring the environment from space.
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Rachel Mills exploring the sea floor
Tue 19 Jun 2018
Rachel Mills on volcanoes under the sea and how metal deposits feed the oceans.
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Frank Close and particle physics
Tue 12 Jun 2018
Jim Al-Khalili discusses quarks and popularising particle physics with Frank Close.
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Sheena Cruickshank on the wonders of the human immune system
Tue 5 Jun 2018
DIY Faecal Transplants? Don't do this at home, immunologist Sheena Cruickshank tells Jim.
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John Taylor on being an inventor
Tue 29 May 2018
John Taylor tells Jim Al-Khalili how his inventions transformed the electric kettle.
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Cat Hobaiter on communication in apes
Tue 22 May 2018
Jim Al-Khalili talks chimp gestures with Dr Cat Hobaiter.
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Caroline Dean reveals the genetic secrets of flowering
Tue 15 May 2018
Professor Dame Caroline Dean on why some plants need cold before they can flower.
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Carlo Rovelli on why time is not what it seems
Tue 8 May 2018
Carlo Rovelli describes how he abandoned the concept of time.
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Callum Roberts on the urgent need for marine conservation
Tue 1 May 2018
Callum Roberts on coral reefs and the urgent need for marine reserves.
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Stephen Reicher on the psychology of crowds
Tue 13 Mar 2018
Psychologist Stephen Reicher talks to Jim al-Khalili about how we behave in crowds.
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Clare Grey on the Big Battery Challenge
Tue 6 Mar 2018
Jim Al-Khalili talks to Clare Grey about the batteries that could power our future.
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Ailie MacAdam on the biggest construction project in Europe
Tue 27 Feb 2018
From sewage treatment to Crossrail, engineer Ailie MacAdam talks to Jim Al-Khalili.
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John Burn and the genetics of cancer
Tue 20 Feb 2018
Jim Al-Khalili discusses the genetics of cancer with Professor Sir John Burn.
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Richard Henderson zooms in on the molecules of life
Tue 13 Feb 2018
2017 Nobel Prize-winner Richard Henderson on how he zoomed in on the molecules of life.
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Wendy Barclay and the flu virus
Tue 30 Jan 2018
Jim Al-Khalili discusses the flu virus with Professor Wendy Barclay of Imperial College.
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Eugenia Cheng on the mathematics of mathematics
Tue 23 Jan 2018
Jim talks to mathematician Eugenia Cheng about mathematics, music and baking.
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Eben Upton on Raspberry Pi
Tue 16 Jan 2018
The computer that costs little more than a toasted sandwich.
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Adrian Thomas on the mechanics of flight
Tue 31 Oct 2017
Zoologist and inventor Adrian Thomas talks to Jim Al-Khalili about the mechanics of flight
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Ellen Stofan on being NASA chief scientist
Tue 24 Oct 2017
Ellen Stofan, former chief scientist at NASA, talks to Jim Al-Khalili.
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Steve Cowley on Nuclear Fusion
Tue 10 Oct 2017
Jim Al-Khalili asks Steve Cowley if we will ever have energy from nuclear fusion.
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Lucie Green on the sun
Tue 3 Oct 2017
Jim Al-Khalili talks to astrophysicist Lucie Green about studying the sun.
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Tracey Rogers on leopard seals and Antarctica
Tue 26 Sep 2017
Singing leopard seals and other perils of research in Antarctica.
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Jennifer Doudna
Tue 19 Sep 2017
Jennifer Doudna talks to Jim Al-Khalili about her research that is transforming genetics.
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Tamsin Mather on what volcanic plumes reveal about our planet
Tue 30 May 2017
Tamsin Mather explains what volcanic plumes tell us about our planet, past and present.
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Tim O'Brien on transient stars and science and music festivals
Tue 23 May 2017
Jim Al-Khalili talks transient stars and music festivals with Tim O'Brien of Jodrell Bank.
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Ottoline Leyser on how plants decide what to do
Tue 16 May 2017
Ottoline Leyser talks to Jim Al-Khalili about how plants decide to grow the way they do.
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Fay Dowker on a new theory of space-time
Tue 9 May 2017
Fay Dowker and Jim Al-Khalili discuss the texture of space-time.
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Ann Clarke on The Frozen Ark
Tue 2 May 2017
Jim Al-Khalili talks to Dr Ann Clarke about preserving global animal DNA in The Frozen Ark
Sleep 鈥� the mystery state
What is the secret to a good nights sleep? Professor Jim Al-Khalili explores.
Is your mind a machine?
Daniel Dennett thinks so. Here is what we learned from his Life Scientific.
