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Antonio Muñoz Molina answers questions from around the world on his novel In the Night of Time. The panoramic portrait of Spain on the brink of civil war follows the life of Ignacio Abel, master builder and architect, as he navigates an illicit love affair with an American woman as the darkness of war surrounds him.
Recorded in the prestigious Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid.
(Photo: Antonio Muñoz Molina. Credit: Elena Blanco)
Welcome to Part 2 of our year-end extravaganza and the final episode of 2023!
We’ve had a brilliant year hunting down the answers to your science questions - on everything from food and phobias to friction and flying - and in this episode presenter Anand Jagatia is revisiting some of the best stories we covered. We’re bringing you some extra juicy bonus content that we couldn’t fit in to those shows first time round.
Hannah Fisher joins Anand to revisit an episode she produced about the microbiome, the community of tiny organisms living both on and inside us. During that show Hannah took presenter Caroline Steel to a microbiome museum in the Netherlands called Micropia. And one thing from Micropia that never got aired was the kiss-o-meter, a device that measures how many microbes you exchange when you kiss! Micropia curator Jasper Buikx explains the science behind the kiss-o-meter, and then Caroline Steel tries it for herself!
Microbes aren’t just living on and in humans and animals - they’re pretty much everywhere in our environment. And to illustrate this CrowdScience producer Marijke Peters brings Anand a bonus interview with a professional surfer who’s also a bioscientist.
Cliff Kapono undertook a scientific project travelling around the world to take microbiome samples from surfers in different countries. He discovered a fascinating global connection. Surfers are linked together by microbes on their skin that they get from the water around them. Intriguingly, he describes how this might affect our perception of who we are as humans.
Caroline Steel updates us on an interview she did with indigenous Australian astronomer Peter Swanton. Peter appeared on CrowdScience telling an ancient Australian folktale about a man who sacrificed himself to save his brother. The story, which has been handed down through several generations, provides possible evidence for an early observation of a supernova. You can hear that story in the episode “Why is the sun at the centre?”
Today we hear two extra stories that originally got cut from the broadcast due to time constraints. They are beautiful and poignant tales that reveal the depth of indigenous scientific achievement and the extraordinary significance of the night sky.
Presenter: Anand Jagatia Producer: Phil Sansom Editor: Richard Collings Production Co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris Studio Managers: Tim Heffer and Cath McGee
Featuring:
Jasper Buikx, scientific curator & spokesperson, ARTIS-Micropia Prof. Cliff Kapono, surfer & molecular bioscientist, School of Ocean Futures at Arizona State University Peter Swanton, indigenous research associate, Australian National University
The fighting that erupted in Sudan on 15 April this year between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), continues unabated. We hear from the BBC's Mohanad Hashim who has been covering the conflict from the start. It is more than a story to him. It involves his homeland, his family, and his compatriots.
Also, we meet Idiat Shiole, the 3D virtual fashion designer and creator of multiple AI models, representing a broader range of African women on the virtual catwalk.
And a look back at Africa's sporting triumphs in 2023!
In this special episode of Science in Action, Roland Pease travels to South Africa to gain a deeper understanding of human origins.
Along the way, he speaks to ichnologist Charles Helm and national parks ecologist Mike Fabricius, who take him to a special – and extremely windy – location, where early human footprints are permanently preserved in the rock. At the University of Cape Town, Roland speaks to Rieneke Weij and Georgina Luti. They are studying the geochemistry of rocks that existed in caves alongside our ancient relatives.
Across the city, in the Iziko South African Museum, Wendy Black and Amy Sephton discuss the ways in which we think about our deep past and how we can decolonise the human story.
Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Ella Hubber Editor: Martin Smith Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth (Image: Human fossilized footprint in hardened mud or clay. Credit: Waltkopp/Getty Images)
The Internationally acclaimed South African playwright, producer and composer Mbongeni Ngema has died in a car accident at the age of 68. He was best known for writing the award-winning musical Sarafina, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Miriam Makeba. It was nominated for both the Tony and Grammy Awards. We look back at the legacy of Mbongeni Ngema.
Also, part two of the discussion on coups and democracies on the continent with the Director of the Africa Programme of the International Crisis Group, Murithi Mutiga.
And in the run up to the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast early next year, is the set piece 'Club versus Country' still being debated?
Usually Unexpected Elements looks at the science behind the news, but this week Marnie Chesterton and Caroline Steel are looking back at some of the best bits from our first few months.
We’ve got the best from our team of panellists across the globe, including what’s going on in your brain when you speak more than one language, the horrific mating ritual of the bedbug and the science behind our panellist Camilla’s terrible haircut decision.
We look back at some of the brilliant scientists we’ve spoken to, with subjects as diverse as whale song, how the entire universe was once the size of a marble, why an archaeologist hasn’t run off with all the gold he’s found and how the jewel wasp turn a cockroach into a zombie.
We have ‘Under the Radar’ stories about power outages in South Africa, human ancestors from China, bringing Rhinos back to life in Kenya and how to keep everyone safe from Polar Bears in a place where there’s no phone signal.
We reflect on our attempts to find the Coolest Science in the World, and whether it’s possible to pit a hurricane machine against an alternative to antibiotics.
And it wouldn’t be a ‘best of’ show without a digest of all the fruit chat from throughout the year.
All that plus eating glue for science, our best (or worst?) puns and some singing cows.
Presented by Marnie Chesterton & Caroline Steel Produced by Ben Motley, with Tom Bonnett
The Nigerian government is providing free train rides and a 50% reduction in public bus fares over the festive period. So, what's been the reaction from Nigerians?
Also with a series of coups and major civil unrests across Africa, we are asking if democratic gains made over the last few decades are being reversed.
And a look back at the horrific fire that killed up to 80 people in Johannesburg last August.
Northern herders launch a deadly attack on farmers in Plateau State, Nigeria, leaving over 140 people dead and hundreds more injured. What's behind this cycle of violence?
Also we follow the stories of migrants from North Africa, across the Mediterranean Sea, to Lampedusa, an island off the Italian Coast. It's one of the deadliest known crossings in the world. Not everyone makes it across safely.
And we meet the award winning Ethiopian scientist, creating drought resistant and weed resistant African grains!
The price of chocolate has risen, that's as the cost of cocoa rises. After the Ivory Coast, Ghana is one of the world's largest producers of cocoa. We'll look at the importance of ethical cocoa production and ask if local farmers benefit or not?
Also, as the cost of living crisis continues to bite in many parts of Africa, how can households make the most of the festive season, despite the squeeze on their budgets?
And the Nigerian chef and world record breaker Hilda Baci, shares her Christmas day menu!
Welcome to Part 1 of CrowdScience’s year-end extravaganza! It’s an extra-festive episode this week. For those who celebrate it, Christmas is the perfect time to pause and look back at the year just gone. Here on CrowdScience we’ve had a great 2023: we answered dozens of listener questions, ranging from climbing plants and ostriches to panic attacks and the weight of the internet.
This week presenter Anand Jagatia magically appears with a Santa’s sack full of special features. We’re catching up with some of our favourite guests from the past year and answering some of the extra questions that we never got the chance to cover.
First up we hear from presenter Tim Clare who we first heard in the episode “Why do some people have panic attacks?” He takes Anand through his new book – it's about board games: why we play them, how they’ve existed throughout history and what he’s learned about himself in the process of writing it.
Then it’s time for a bonus question. The CrowdScience team often get questions about noise pollution. One listener got in touch to ask whether the transition to electric vehicles will reduce this noise. Acoustic scientist Kurt Fristrup and epidemiologist Erica Walker give their perspectives on this question, and how sound and noise can sometimes be very different things. CrowdScience listener Marie - who originally starred in an episode about why she doesn’t have any sense of time - returns. Since the programme she has been speaking to psychologists about her problem and tells Anand what more she’s learnt.
We received another bonus question after a show in 2023 about AI: why can’t artificial intelligence be designed to explain it’s decisions? Producer Phil returns to data scientist Briana Brownell from the original episode to ask her why AI decision making is so very complex.
Finally, as it’s the season for holiday music, we’re asking what makes the genre so distinctive? Composer Jane Watkins - who originally created the sound of a panic attack for a CrowdScience episode - brings in her musical keyboard to demonstrate what makes a Christmas song so specifically ‘a Christmas song’.
It’s all topped-off with the premiere of a happy and heart-warming song performed by the CrowdScience Christmas Choir – a little gift for our loyal listeners.
Presenter: Anand Jagatia Producer: Phil Sansom Editor: Richard Collings Production Co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris Studio Managers: Tim Heffer and Cath McGhee
Featuring:
Tim Clare, author/poet/podcaster Dr. Kurt Fristrup, acoustic scientist, Colorado State University Prof. Erica Walker, RGSS Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health Marie Bergholtz Briana Brownell, data scientist Jane Watkins, composer