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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Cathie Sudlow on data in healthcare
Tue 28 Nov 2023
Jim Al-Khalili discusses population-wide health research with Professor Cathie Sudlow.
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Sir Michael Berry on phenomena in physics' borderlands
Tue 21 Nov 2023
Professor Jim Al-Khalili meets one of Britain's greatest physicists, Sir Michael Berry
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Professor Sarah Harper on how population change is remodelling societies.
Tue 14 Nov 2023
Jim Al-Khalili talks to Professor Sarah Harper about societal ageing and falling fertility
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Sarah Blaffer Hrdy on human evolution and parenthood
Tue 7 Nov 2023
Jim Al-Khalili discusses monkey infanticide and human parenting with Sarah Hrdy.
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Edward Witten on 'the theory of everything'
Tue 31 Oct 2023
Physicist Edward Witten on M-Theory, the leading contender for a 'theory of everything'.
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Alex Antonelli on learning from nature's biodiversity to adapt to climate change
Tue 19 Sep 2023
Jim Al-Khalili meets the Kew Gardens' director using bio-geography to protect biodiversity
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Paul Murdin on the first ever identification of a black hole
Tue 12 Sep 2023
Paul Murdin shares his story of the first identification of a black hole, Cygnus X-1.
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Bahija Jallal on the biotech revolution in cancer therapies
Tue 5 Sep 2023
Bahija Jallal on the biotech revolution in cancer therapies.
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Sir Colin Humphreys on electron microscopes, and the thinnest material in the world
Tue 29 Aug 2023
Sir Colin Humphreys on LEDs, electron microscopes, and the thinnest material in the world
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Chris Barratt on head-banging sperm and a future male contraceptive pill
Tue 22 Aug 2023
Professor Chris Barratt discusses breaking new ground in male fertility research.
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Gideon Henderson on climate 鈥榗locks鈥� and dating ice ages
Tue 15 Aug 2023
Jim Al-Khalili hears how study of the past climate can help us understand our future.
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Deborah Greaves on wave power and offshore renewable energy
Tue 8 Aug 2023
Jim Al-Khalili speaks to Deborah Greaves about wave energy and her love of the sea
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Harald Haas on making waves in light communication
Tue 27 Jun 2023
Jim Al-Khalili hears how light can be used to access the internet.
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Anne Ferguson-Smith on unravelling epigenetics
Tue 20 Jun 2023
Jim Al-Khalili unravels the tangled chains of genetic (and epigenetic) inheritance.
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Anne-Marie Imafidon on fighting for diversity and equality in science
Tue 13 Jun 2023
Jim Al-Khalili speaks to Anne-Marie Imafidon about championing girls in STEM.
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Bruce Malamud on modelling risk for natural hazards
Tue 6 Jun 2023
From landslides to tornadoes, Bruce Malamud talks modelling risk and multi-hazard cascades
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Gillian Reid on making chemistry count
Tue 30 May 2023
Jim Al-Khalili hears how chemistry is connected to every part of our lives.
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Andre Geim on levitating frogs, graphene and 2D materials
Tue 23 May 2023
The Nobel prize-winning physicist talks about the world's strongest material, graphene.
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Julie Williams on Alzheimer鈥檚 disease
Tue 28 Mar 2023
Julie Williams on the genetics of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease.
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James Jackson on understanding earthquakes and building resilience
Tue 21 Mar 2023
How studying processes that shape the planet鈥檚 surface can help us become more resilient.
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Marie Johnston on health psychology and the power of behavioural shifts
Tue 14 Mar 2023
Why subtle changes in how we act can radically change our lives and our health.
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Julia King on manipulating metals and decarbonising transport
Tue 7 Mar 2023
A metals-focused engineer's route from academia to industry to the House of Lords.
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Danny Altmann on how T cells fight disease
Tue 28 Feb 2023
Jim Al-Khalili talks T cells, our immune response and Long Covid with Prof Danny Altmann.
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Adrian Smith on the power of Bayesian statistics
Tue 7 Feb 2023
How a once-derided approach to statistics paved the way for AI.
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Clifford Johnson on making sense of black holes and movie plots
Tue 31 Jan 2023
Jim Al-Khalili hears about new approaches to quantum questions and using science in films.
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Rebecca Kilner on beetle behaviours and evolution
Tue 24 Jan 2023
How corpse-based beetles can answer long-standing questions about human evolution.
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Pam Shaw on the research battle against motor neurone disease
Tue 17 Jan 2023
How new drug trials could mark a turning point in MND research.
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Chris Elliott on fighting food fraud
Tue 10 Jan 2023
How 鈥榝ingerprinting鈥� technology could help prevent another horse meat scam.
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A passion for fruit flies
Tue 18 Oct 2022
Bambos Kyriacou tells Jim Al-Khalili why he studies the behaviour of fruit flies.
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.
