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The 2020 pandemic has transformed our world, but it won’t be the last to do so. How should we prepare for the future? Along with one of the world’s leading epidemiologists, David Edmonds explores the science of pandemics – and why it is so unce
Some people are addicted to drugs, others to alcohol. Addicts often crave a substance, and yet when they inject or consume it, it doesn’t bring them any pleasure. David Edmonds finds out how humans can want something, but not like it.
Love him or loathe him, we can all agree that Donald Trump is not a ‘normal’ President. Previous presidents would never behave like President Trump. Is the abnormal becoming normal? And how can we tackle people who say uncomfortable things?
Have you ever thought that your city is too regulated? Or that the city you live in doesn’t do enough to police people who break the rules? In this episode, David Edmonds has been speaking to Michele Gelfand, a psychologist whose research on ru
We spend around a third of our lives asleep, but the reason we sleep is still something of a mystery. Could it be the biggest mistake the evolutionary process has ever made? What does sleep actually do for us? David Edmonds meets Matthew Walker
Ernst Fehr is well named: he’s an economist who writes about fairness. In fact, until his pioneering work, economists had been dismissive about whether fairness was a subject worthy of study. Now some have tipped Fehr to win a Nobel Prize. Davi
David Edmonds speaks to a leading criminologist who says we can do much better in identifying rogue cops before they act. Produced by Robbie Wojciechowski for the BBC World Service.
Watching a scary movie, you feel scared. But how do our brain and body work together to tell us about our emotions? A brilliant young scientist has been finding out why the art of interoception could help us better manage our emotions.
Every time you book a journey from an app like Uber, you’ll be providing the company with data - and making one man in Chicago very happy. He’s an economist who’s been examining the data, and his findings are fascinating.
Why is more than half the world’s population living in cities? Why are some more successful than others? And what is their future post-pandemic? David Edmonds searches for answers to these questions and more with the world’s foremost economist
There are some things - cockroaches, poo, wounds - that most of us find disgusting. But is disgust useful? Can our sense of disgust be misused? We ask an academic who describes herself as a ‘disgustologist’.Since recording this programme, Profe
Do you know why you believe what you believe? Why you are left or right wing, say, or why you find another person attractive? You probably think you do, but we’ll be explaining why you shouldn’t be so confident.
When most couples get married they’re optimistic that their union won’t end in divorce. The statistics show this to be hopelessly naive. But we’ll be talking to a philosopher who argues that irrational optimism is…well, rational. Picture: A
When most couples get married they’re optimistic that their union won’t end in divorce. The statistics show this to be hopelessly naive. But we’ll be talking to a philosopher who argues that irrational optimism is…well, rational.
Suppose a country is ruled by a dictator. Suppose many people want to topple the dictator. What’s the best way of doing it – a campaign of violence or non-violence? There’s an academic from Harvard who has the answer. Picture: Romanian waving
Suppose a country is ruled by a dictator. Suppose many people want to topple the dictator. What’s the best way of doing it – a campaign of violence or non-violence? There’s an academic from Harvard who has the answer. Picture: Romanian waving f
There are thousands of academic papers about depression. There are, in comparison, virtually none about laughter. We’ve been talking to a leading expert on laughter – who argues that we should take it more seriously.Picture Credit: Tim Robber
There are thousands of academic papers about depression. There are, in comparison, virtually none about laughter. We’ve been talking to a leading expert on laughter, who argues that we should take it more seriously.
Suppose you knew that after your natural death the human race would die out – perhaps, for some reason, humans had become infertile. How would that alter how you live your life? How would it change your attitude to the ideas and projects to whi
Some countries, like Norway, are rich. Other countries, like Niger, are poor. Why? Why do some countries succeed whilst others fail? There are various possible theories. Some say that certain countries have geographical or resource advantages.
Humans are a unique species in many ways, but an important one is that we communicate with sophisticated language, using words and grammar. So how does language work? Is there a single mechanism in the brain, or multiple mechanisms? Is it usefu
Can you imagine a future without doctors? We’re in the midst of a robotics and Artificial Intelligence revolution. Many jobs humans currently do will in future be carried out by machine? But what about those in the medical profession? AI will b
Are trees intelligent? We think of humans as intelligent – maybe animals too. But vegetation? Well, one of the world’s leading tree researchers, Suzanne Simard, insists that trees should be seen as intelligent. They communicate with each oth
Is consciousness everywhere? Human consciousness - our subjective experience - remains a mystery. How is it that we can smell coffee and feel the touch of a flower? How does the brain produce consciousness? Well, one of the world’s top philosop
Teenagers are an alien species. Well, that’s not exactly the conclusion of Sarah-Jayne Blakemore’s research, but it’s a crude summary. Professor Blakemore is a leading neuroscientist who studies the teenage brain. When humans enter adolescen
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