CrowdScience Podcast
We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.
Episodes to download
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Why do my armpits smell?
Friday
Deodorant hasn’t been around forever, so is there any evolutionary reason for body odour?
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Why don’t sunflowers fall over?
Fri 4 Oct 2024
With huge heads on spindly stalks, how do sunflowers defy gravity to stay standing?
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How did the Moon affect the dinosaurs?
Fri 27 Sep 2024
The Moon was once much closer to Earth. How did its gravity affect a dinosaur’s weight?
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Are we mature by 18?
Fri 20 Sep 2024
Why is 18 considered the start of adulthood in many places? Does science back this up?
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Is the car an apex predator?
Fri 13 Sep 2024
The car is a killer but does that make it top of the food chain?
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What is the voice inside my head?
Fri 6 Sep 2024
What’s the science behind the silent inner voice many of us experience?
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Why am I symmetrical?
Fri 23 Aug 2024
Why is one side of the human body pretty much a mirror image of the other side?
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Can we improve the shipping container?
Fri 16 Aug 2024
This simple metal box enables so much global trade. But could we make it more efficient?
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How do fish survive in the deep ocean?
Fri 9 Aug 2024
What allows fish to cope with the immense water pressure of the ocean depths?
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Why is my handwriting so messy?
Fri 2 Aug 2024
Alex Lathbridge explores the genetics, culture and neuroscience of handwriting
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Why is a ship a ‘she’?
Fri 26 Jul 2024
Why are nouns coded as male or female in some languages but not others?
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Why am I afraid of this building?
Fri 19 Jul 2024
How do buildings affect our emotions – whether fear or sadness, wonder or joy?
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What is the weight of the internet?
Fri 12 Jul 2024
Simple question, tricky answer. To weigh the internet, what should we put on the scales?
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How does a snake climb a tree?
Fri 5 Jul 2024
What gives snakes their gravity-defying climbing skills?
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How many flies have ever existed?
Fri 28 Jun 2024
Flies are everywhere. But just how many have ever lived?
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Is every atom unique?
Fri 21 Jun 2024
Are atoms as individual as snowflakes – and if not, where does uniqueness begin?
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Why are the seas salty?
Fri 14 Jun 2024
How does salt get into the world's oceans, and is melting ice making them any fresher?
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How fast can a raindrop cross the globe?
Fri 7 Jun 2024
Could a raindrop from the UK travel all the way to New Zealand?
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Why does wine taste better over time?
Fri 31 May 2024
What chemistry makes some wines age well, while others turn to vinegar?
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Will mountains shrink as sea levels rise?
Fri 24 May 2024
Should we re-calculate the height of mountains to account for sea levels rising?
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What does prayer do to my brain?
Fri 17 May 2024
Can science explain the effects of prayer on our brains and wellbeing?
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Why are people still dying from malaria?
Fri 10 May 2024
We visit Malawi to discuss malaria, mosquitoes and a world-leading vaccination programme
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How should we protect our coastlines?
Fri 26 Apr 2024
What’s the best way to combat coastal erosion?
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Are our coastlines being washed away?
Fri 19 Apr 2024
What is coastal erosion and why is it a problem?
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How do my ears sense direction?
Fri 12 Apr 2024
How can we hear a sound and immediately know where it’s coming from?
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How many people have ever existed?
Fri 5 Apr 2024
Listener Alpha in Sierra Leone asks us to count all the humans who have ever lived
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Could climate change lead to more volcanic eruptions?
Fri 29 Mar 2024
We head to New Zealand to ask how a hotter planet will affect volcanoes.