Ri Science Podcast
By Ri Science Podcast
Ri Science PodcastAug 02, 2021
Eggs, Evolution, and life on Earth - with Jules Howard
What came first, the chicken, the egg, or...the jellyfish? Zoologist and author Jules Howard joins us this month to explore evolution through a new lens - the egg. Eggs play a fundamental role in the reproduction and development of most species, yet they have been relatively overlooked in the narrative of evolution and the progression of life on Earth.
Jules takes us on a journey back through the history of eggs, their surprisingly fundamental role in everything from the extinction of dinosaurs to the evolution of the human brain.
Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released!
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: https://www.rigb.org/whats-on
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- X: https://twitter.com/Ri_Science
Producer: Lia Hale
Interviewer: Lia Hale
Music: Joseph Sandy
The neuroscience of memory - with Charan Ranganath
Why is it that we can vividly remember a particular smell from years ago, but can’t remember where we put our keys a mere few hours prior? This month, we’re joined by renowned neuroscientist and author Dr Charan Ranganath to discuss how and why we remember.
Charan is a Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology, and Director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at UC Davis, and has recently released his first book ‘Why We Remember’. Charan takes us on a journey through our own minds, and a forward look at the future of memory research.
Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released!
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help other people discover the podcast.
Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: https://www.rigb.org/whats-on
Producer: Lia Hale
Assistant producer: Freddie Rodgers
Interviewer: Lisa Derry
Music: Joseph Sandy
Ri on AI: The healthcare revolution – with Dr James Kinross
In the second episode of this miniseries, we’re exploring how AI is impacting different areas of scientific research, and in this episode we discuss the applications of AI in healthcare. Lisa Derry is joined by Dr James Kinross, a colorectal surgeon and medical researcher at Imperial College London, to discuss everything from the impact of AI on medical publishing to robotic surgery.Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to be notified as soon as the next episode is released!Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help other people discover the podcast.
- Ri on AI episode 1: https://youtu.be/lxgaILSZEbU?si=T3INFIFJy9Zkx1wZ
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: https://www.rigb.org/whats-on
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- X: https://twitter.com/Ri_Science
Lead producer: Lia Hale
Assistant producer: Freddie Rodgers
Interviewer: Lisa Derry
Music: Joseph Sandy
Geometry in Everyday Life - with the London Institute of Mathematical Sciences (LIMS)
Following on from his Discourse, Yang-Hui He is joined by LIMS science writer Madeleine Hall to discuss the past, present and future of Geometry. From Euclid’s postulates to how flower petals are arranged, explore how our modern understanding of geometry has come to be. LIMS is based here at the Ri, and you can find out more about their research by following the link below.
New Ri Science Podcast episodes will be released on the last Wednesday of every month, so make sure to tune in for the next episode at the end of March!
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.
- LIMS: https://lims.ac.uk/
- Watch Yang’s Discourse here: https://youtu.be/z8jdndd-x7w?si=N6WIndinnec3HMwA
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: https://www.rigb.org/whats-on
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- X: https://twitter.com/Ri_Science
Producer: Jeremy Monblat
Assistant producer: Lia Hale, Freddie Rodgers
Editor: Freddie Rodgers
Interviewer: Jeremy Monblat
Music: Joseph Sandy
Ri on AI: Understanding AlphaFold with Dame Janet Thornton
We’re exploring how AI is impacting different areas of scientific research, and in this episode we discuss AlphaFold, the machine learning programme from DeepMind that can determine a protein structure from its amino acids alone. Lisa Derry is joined by Dame Janet Thornton, an oracle of bioinformatics and former Director of the European Bioinformatics Institute, to discuss how AlphaFold has revolutionised its field, and what it could do in the future.
Thank you to our Christmas Lectures supporters and our title partner, CGI.
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think of the new video format, and to help more people discover the podcast.
- Search the AlphaFold database: https://alphafold.ebi.ac.uk/
- Find out more about the 2023 CHRISTMAS LECTURES: https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/truth-about-ai
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: www.rigb.org/whats-on
- YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
Producer: Lia Hale
Production assistants: Sarah Dick and James Kavanagh
Interviewer: Lisa Derry
Music: Joseph Sandy
Tales from my PhD: Algorithms for energy efficiency – with Karan Mukhi
How can we improve the use of renewable energy in the power grid? In the final episode of the series 'Tales from my PhD', Charlotte Collingwood talks to Karan Mukhi about his work in computer science, creating algorithms to improve the efficiency of the national grid.
Follow Charlotte on Twitter: @NeuroCharlotte
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
- Watch videos on YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Follow us on social media: @Ri_Science
Produced by: Charlotte Collingwood
Music by: Joseph Sandy
Tales from my PhD: Fighting rice blast fungus – with Camilla Molinari
How do you fight a fungus? In this episode of ‘Tales from my PhD’, Charlotte Collingwood talks to Camilla Molinari about her work in plant pathology, studying the mechanisms and genetics of the rice blast fungus in order to limit its impact on food crops.
- Follow Camilla on Twitter: @CamilaMolinari3
- Follow Charlotte on Twitter: @NeuroCharlotte
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
- Watch videos on YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Follow us on social media: @Ri_Science
Produced by: Charlotte Collingwood Music by: Joseph Sandy
Tales from my PhD: Researching anxiety and depression through computational models – with Sophie Shang
How can maths and computational models help us treat anxiety and depression? In this episode of 'Tales from my PhD', Charlotte Collingwood talks to Sophie Shang about her research in the field of computational psychiatry. A hallmark symptom of anxiety and depression is an intolerance of uncertainty. Sophie's work involves designing studies to test people's response to changes in their environment, analysing the data mathematically and then coding computational models in order to reveal patterns in human behaviour and mental health that are otherwise invisible.
- Follow Sophie on Twitter: @Sophie_Shang
- Follow Charlotte on Twitter: @NeuroCharlotte
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
- Watch videos on YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Follow us on social media: twitter.com/Ri_Science
Produced by: Charlotte Collingwood
Music by: Joseph Sandy
Tales from my PhD: Saving manta rays – with Jessica Savage
There are an estimated 5 trillion plastic particles in the oceans, spelling trouble for marine ecosystems. Manta rays are one group of species at risk – how can we protect these animals? In this episode of 'Tales from my PhD', Charlotte Collingwood talks to Jessica Savage about her work analysing the species distribution of manta rays and global plastic pollution maps to aid marine science and conservation.
- Follow Jessica on Twitter: @Jessicasavage29
- Follow Charlotte on Twitter: @NeuroCharlotte
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
- Watch videos on YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Follow us on social media: twitter.com/Ri_Science
Produced by: Charlotte Collingwood
Music by: Joseph Sandy
How to hear gravitational waves – with Tessa Baker
How can we detect massive objects in space when we can't see them by light?
On 14 September 2015, scientists opened a new window to observing the Universe when, for the first time, they directly detected gravitational waves, rippled out through spacetime from the merger of two black holes.
In this episode, astronomer Tessa Baker explores how Einstein’s theory of gravity predicted the existence of gravitational waves, how delicate experiments eventually confirmed their existence, and how we can translate this experimental data into sounds, allowing us to hear the Universe.
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 19 May 2023.
- Watch the talk on YouTube: youtu.be/U_J_uJcjQ0I
- Follow Tessa Baker on Twitter: @Tessa_M_Baker
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
- Watch videos on YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Follow us on social media: twitter.com/Ri_Science
Produced by: Sarah Dick
Music by: Joseph Sandy
Tales from my PhD: What is galaxy evolution? – with Rohan Varadaraj
Astrophysicists grapple with the Universe's big questions, but what does their day-to-day research actually entail? In the first of our new mini-series, 'Tales from my PhD', Charlotte Collingwood sits down with Rohan Varadaraj to discuss his work discovering new galaxies billions of light years away.
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
- Watch videos on YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Follow us on social media: twitter.com/Ri_Science
Produced by: Charlotte Collingwood
Music by: Joseph Sandy
How did patriarchy develop across the world? – with Angela Saini and Julia Gillard
How did societies develop across the globe and how did gender become so enmeshed in them? In this episode we join award-winning science journalist, Angela Saini, in conversation with former Australian prime-minister, Julia Gillard, as they go in search of the roots of gendered oppression. By looking at cultures throughout human history and in the modern day, they overturn simplistic universal theories to show that what patriarchy is and how far back it goes really depends on where you live.
Get Angela Saini's book: The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 2 March 2023.
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
- YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
Produced by: Sarah Dick
Music by: Joseph Sandy
Can science explain emotions? – with Dean Burnett
Did you know that there is no widely agreed upon definition of what emotions actually are? After losing his dad to Covid-19 in the early days of the pandemic lockdown, neuroscientist Dean Burnett found himself wondering what life would be like without emotions. In today’s episode, Dean combines his personal story with expert analysis, humour and powerful insights into the grieving process, to uncover how emotions make us who we are.
Get Dean's book: 'Emotional Ignorance: Lost and Found in the Science of Emotion'
Subscribe to Dean's podcast: 'Why does this thing exist?'
Follow Dean on Twitter: twitter.com/garwboy
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 30 January 2023.
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
- YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
Produced by: Sarah Dick
Music by: Joseph Sandy
Tackling climate change with innovation – with Alyssa Gilbert and Katherine Mathieson
How could we use shower wastewater to clean our clothes? To celebrate Earth Day and its specific focus on investing in the planet, we wanted to introduce you to ‘Undaunted’ - our partnership with Imperial College London that supports climate-positive startups tackling the climate crisis head on. We hear from Alyssa Gilbert, Director of Undaunted, and Katherine Mathieson, Director of the Ri, about the exciting work Undaunted is doing, alongside a sneak peek into some of the innovations.
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.
Contact Katherine: kmathieson@ri.ac.uk
Contact Alyssa: a.gilbert@imperial.ac.uk
Learn more about Undaunted: imperial.ac.uk/climate-change-innovation/about-us/
Learn more about Greenhouse startup accelerator: climateinnovators.uk/startup-accelerator/
Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
Produced by: Lia Hale
Music by: Joseph Sandy
Existential physics: Exploring life's big questions – with Sabine Hossenfelder
Are particles conscious? Can information be destroyed? Do we live in a computer simulation? Are we part of a multiverse? In this episode, theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder draws on research in quantum mechanics, black holes and particle physics to explore what modern physics can tell us about life's big, existential questions.
Watch the video version of this episode: youtu.be/fl9oDJzfg58
Sabine's book "Existential Physics: A Scientists Guide to Life's Biggest Questions", is available to purchase now: https://geni.us/oBMXZv
Subscribe to Sabine's YouTube channel: youtube.com/SabineHossenfelder
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 19 August 2022. Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.
Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Produced by: Charlotte Collingwood
Music by: Joseph Sandy
Bad statistics: How not to be misled – with Jennifer Rogers
You might have heard that vending machines are more likely to kill you than a shark, but they aren’t the only deadly object out there. You’re also more likely to be killed by falling coconuts, lightning strikes, bathtubs and your own bed. Swimming in shark-infested waters might actually be safer than hiding in your own house.
In this episode, statistician Jennifer Rogers delves into the numbers to show you how statistics can help you to make better decisions about risky activities.
- Follow Jennifer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/StatsJen
- Find out more on Jennifer's website: www.jenniferrogers.co.uk
- Watch the video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/OfVaOqLUbZA
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 11 March 2019.
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
- YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
- Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Produced by: Charlotte Collingwood
Music by: Joseph Sandy
Thumbnail image credit: Javaistan via Pixabay
How Peter Higgs proposed the Higgs boson – with Frank Close
On 4 July 2012, one of the longest-running mysteries in physics was finally clarified. The ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider announced that they had produced and observed the elusive Higgs boson. This unstable elementary particle was theorised back in 1964 by 6 scientists – one of them was the particle’s namesake, Peter Higgs.
In this episode, physicist and former Ri Christmas Lecturer, Frank Close, explores the life of Peter Higgs, a Nobel prize-winning scientist and the only person in history to have an existing single particle named after them.
- Get Frank Close's book 'Elusive: How Peter Higgs Solved the Mystery of Mass': https://geni.us/KI6As1C
- Watch Frank Close's CHRISTMAS LECTURES: rigb.org/explore-science/explore/video/cosmic-onion-atoms-1993
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 7 July 2022.
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
- YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
- Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Produced by: Sarah Dick
Music by: Joseph Sandy
Thumbnail image credit: Garik Barseghyan via Pixabay
How to handle heart disease – with Samer Nashef
Do Diet Coke and salt cause heart disease? How do you transport a heart to be transplanted? How can you learn to live with angina? In this month's talk, we hear from world-renowned cardiac surgeon Samer Nashef. Samer discusses his book, ‘The Angina Monologues: Stories of Surgery for Broken Hearts’, with journalist Sathnam Sanghera.
Together they explore a collection of Samer’s stories that are sure to get your heart racing – from driving a donor heart up the motorway to Samer's personal experience with angina.
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 8 May 2019.
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: www.rigb.org/whats-on
- YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
- Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Produced by: Lia Hale
Music by: Joseph Sandy
Thumbnail image credit: Fran Malley via Scribe Publications
CHRISTMAS LECTURES special: Inside forensic science – with Dame Sue Black & Katherine Mathieson
In this Christmas-special we go behind-the-scenes of our 2022 CHRISTMAS LECTURES, presented by Professor Dame Sue Black. Katherine Mathieson, Director of the Ri, managed to steal Sue away from rehearsals for a quick chat about her CHRISTMAS LECTURES memories, science communication and what we can expect to learn about forensic science.
The CHRISTMAS LECTURES will be broadcast on BBC Four on 26, 27 and 28 December 2022.
- Find out more about the CHRISTMAS LECTURES: rigb.org/christmas-lectures
- Watch Prof Dame Sue Black's Discourse: youtu.be/9Jrd5kJ-vTU
- Listen to the podcast version: spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/I6iEvR14Nvb
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.
Produced by: Sarah Dick
Music by: Joseph Sandy
Thumbnail image credit: Paul Wilkinson Photography
How does proton beam therapy treat cancer? – with Simon Jolly
An advanced form of radiotherapy, proton beam therapy enables tumours to be targeted with greater precision, reducing the collateral damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Physicist Simon Jolly sheds light on this leading-edge technique and the technology needed to deliver it.
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 12 October 2018. Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8YnQkUWTS64
Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.
- Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: www.rigb.org/whats-on
- Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
- YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
- Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Music by: Joseph Sandy
Thumbnail image credit: Howard Vindin via Wikimedia Commons | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Depth_Coded_Phalloidin_Stained_Actin_Filaments_Cancer_Cell.png
How did females evolve? – with Lucy Cooke
Did you know that zoologists have only found 5 species of mammals that go through the menopause? That's 4 species of toothed whale, plus us humans. The animal kingdom reveals a lot about female evolution and this month, Lucy Cooke explores evolutionary biology through an array of animal examples and research stemming from Darwin's time.
Get Lucy Cooke's book 'Bitch: A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal': www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/111196…80857524133.html
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 8 March 2022. Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast.
Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: www.rigb.org/whats-on
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Thumbnail image credit: Sebastian Pena Lambarri via Unsplash | unsplash.com/photos/poly_hmhwJs
Is the multiverse possible? – with Sean M Carroll
If you're a fan of multiverse movies, this episode is for you. The many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics says that an infinite number of universes exist in parallel to eachother, each having branched off in a moment of divergence before following its own unique timeline.
Theoretical physicist Sean M Carroll guides us through the strange and sometimes daunting topic of quantum mechanics – from Einstein and Bohr to Schrödinger's cat and the many-worlds interpretation.
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 22 January 2020.
Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: www.rigb.org/whats-on
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Thumbnail image credit: Israel Piña via Unsplash | unsplash.com/photos/3DzrAXPTp2c
How we got to the climate crisis – with Alice Bell
Our exploration of the Earth’s fluctuating environment is an extraordinary story of human perception and scientific endeavour, which began much earlier than you might think.
This month we hear from Alice Bell as she explores climate change science’s earliest steps in the 18th and 19th centuries, through the point when concern started to rise in the 1950s, right up to the modern day. You can learn more in Alice’s latest book 'Our Biggest Experiment: A History of the Climate Crisis’.
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 22 July 2021.
Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: www.rigb.org/whats-on
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Thumbnail image credit: Andrey Metelev via Unsplash | unsplash.com/photos/qpAOxji4dAo
How to design a rollercoaster – with Brendan Walker
Do you consider yourself a ‘thrill-seeker’? If so, you may have a variation in the DRD4 dopamine receptor gene which makes you less able to process dopamine, a neurotransmitter that's responsible for how we feel pleasure.
This month we hear from thrill-engineer Brendan Walker as he explains how he designs rollercoasters to induce thrill, priming our bodies’ innate responses through sounds, visual cues, virtual reality and much more.
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 28 February, 2020. Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/edT9bUbKId4
Get tickets for upcoming talks: www.rigb.org
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Thumbnail image credit: Jonny Gios via Unsplash | unsplash.com/photos/ljN0zTXf7tQ
What is love? – with Laura Mucha & Kate Devlin
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 14 February 2019.
Website: www.rigb.org
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Thumbnail image credit: Alexandru Acea via Unsplash | unsplash.com/photos/RQgKM1h2agA
How to make a universe – with Harry Cliff
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on the 10 August 2021. Watch the video version on YouTube: youtu.be/bzV4O85n2y8
Learn more in Harry Cliff’s book, ‘How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch’: geni.us/harrycliff
Website: www.rigb.org
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Thumbnail image credit: Lucas Taylor/CERN via Wikimedia Commons | cdsweb.cern.ch/record/628469
Solving crimes with forensic anthropology – with Sue Black
This month, we hear from Sue Black, a forensic anthropologist who has led teams across the world to identify the victims and perpetrators of various conflicts and cases. Sue shares examples of her breakthrough work on real-life events, and examines how our life’s history is written into our anatomy.
The talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 22 February, 2019. Watch the video version on YouTube: youtu.be/9Jrd5kJ-vTU
Website: www.rigb.org
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Thumbnail image credit: Immo Wegmann via Unsplash | unsplash.com/photos/5PqBCWUtYbo
Handprints on Hubble – with Kathryn D Sullivan
The Hubble Telescope has revolutionised our understanding of the Universe. It has, among many other achievements, revealed thousands of galaxies in what seemed to be empty patches of sky and measured precisely how fast the universe is expanding.
In this talk, the first American woman to walk in space, Kathryn D Sullivan, recounts how the team of astronauts, engineers and flight controllers helped launch, rescue and maintain Hubble, the most productive observatory ever built. Her book, 'Handprints on Hubble: An Astronaut's Story of Invention' is available now.
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on the 6th of March, 2020.
Website: www.rigb.org
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Thumbnail image credit: NASA
How advertising works – with Rory Sutherland
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 10 May 2019.
Website: www.rigb.org
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Thumbnail image credit: Franck Michel via Flickr
flic.kr/p/2ewNd8t
Medical cannabis – with Mike Barnes, Hannah Deacon, Peter Carroll and Susie Mesure
What makes up a cannabis medicinal product? How do the active ingredients work in our bodies? What conditions can it treat, and how can doctors prescribe it? We’re joined by neurologist and medical cannabis expert Mike Barnes, and ‘End our Pain’ campaigners, Peter Carroll and Hannah Deacon. Hannah fought to obtain cannabis oil to treat her son Alfie’s epileptic seizures, and the campaign succeeded in changing UK law – as of November 2018, NHS doctors can legally prescribe cannabis. So why is it still hard for doctors to do so? Mike, Peter and Hannah discuss these issues with journalist, Susie Mesure.
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 21 January 2019
Website: www.rigb.org
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Einstein on the run – with Andrew Robinson
Andrew Robinson tells the story of how Britain became the a refuge for Einstein from rumoured assassination by Nazi agents.
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution, on 29 October 2019. If you want to hear more like this, head over to rigb.org to sign up for our upcoming talks.
Website: www.rigb.org
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Conspiracy theories – with Miriam Frankel, Türkay Salim Nefes, Aleksandra Cichocka and Harry T Dyer
This month a panel of psychologists and sociologists discuss why conspiracy theories arise, how they can affect people’s political beliefs, and how we might better communicate with the people who believe in conspiracies. Conspiracy theories have been around for a long time, but in recent years they appear more frequently in public discourse. From increasing attention to anti-vaccine misinformation, to growing communities of conspiracy theorists, like the ‘flat earth’ community, who held their first large scale UK convention in 2018.
Join Miriam Frankel, science editor at The Conversation, alongside Türkay Salim Nefes, Aleksandra Cichocka and Harry T Dyer.
We held this event at the Ri on 24 October 2018, in partnership with independent news website, The Conversation: https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2018/october/public-the-conversation-conspiracy-theories
Website: www.rigb.org
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: www.youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Can we trust maths? – with Kit Yates
This month we hear from Kit Yates about the maths of medicine, crime and the media, exploring real-world data from his book, ‘The Maths of Life and Death’.
This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution, on 21 January 2020. If you want to hear more like this, head over to our website to sign up for our upcoming livestreams.
Website: www.rigb.org
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
Life in a mars simulation – with Kate Greene
sat down for a chat with our Public Programme Producer, Lisa Derry. They talk about Kate’s experience living as second-in-command on NASA’s first simulated Mars mission, ‘HI-SEAS’.
Living in an isolated geodesic dome for 4 months with her crew-mates,
Kate gained incredible insight into human behaviour in tight quarters. Lisa and Kate cover food taste experiments, how human bodies cope in space, how NASA and SpaceX work together, and how the isolation that astronauts experience relates to the isolation we’ve all felt during Covid lockdowns.
This conversation was recorded over Zoom on 18 February 2021, as part of our programme of livestreams. To see more like this, head to rigb.org to check out our upcoming talks.
Website: www.rigb.org
Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalInstitution
Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
The art of rest – with Claudia Hammond
Award-winning broadcaster, author and psychology lecturer, Claudia Hammond, joins us to talk about her book 'The Art of Rest'. Drawing on results from 'The Rest Test' – the largest global study ever undertaken on the subject – Claudia explores how we can all learn to lead a more restful and balanced life.
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Recipe for a Skyscraper – with Roma Agrawal
Structural engineer Roma Agrawal delves into the history of the materials that enable immense construction and the developments that have made our structures what they are today. All while noting the accomplishments of key visionary engineers of the past.
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Endometriosis: Myths, Symptoms and Future Treatments - with PhD researcher Magda Mareckova, Dr Krina Zondervan and Dr Christian Becker
A Generalist AI - with Expert Panel
Reports of the ever-increasing power of AI systems have never been far from the headlines, from AlphaGo to self-driving cars. However, these are examples of ‘weak’ or ‘narrow’ AI; that is, systems that excel at one particular task, be it playing a game or understanding speech. But how far are we from creating Artificial General Intelligence? Join a panel of experts for a glimpse into the future of intelligence, in association with The Conversation.
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The Evolution of Truth - with Richard Byrne, Evan Davis and comedian Rachel Wheeley
Bringing together the fields of human evolution and current affairs, Richard Byrne and Evan Davis, together with comedian Rachel Wheeley, discuss whether the ability to communicate evolved to pass on facts or to deceive, why deception is so widespread in the era of 'post-truth' politics, and what we can do about it.
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Make, Think, Imagine: Engineering a Brighter Future - with Lord Browne and Vivienne Parry
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The Gene Machine - with Venki Ramakrishnan
This month, the Nobel Prize winner Venki Ramakrishnan in conversation with Vivienne Parry, tells the story of the race to uncover the structure of the ribosome - a fundamental discovery that resolves an ancient mystery of life itself and could lead to the development of better antibiotics to fight the most deadly diseases.
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The Science of Stress – with Joe Herbert, Julie Turner Cobb, and Shane O’Mara
This month, Vincent Walsh hosts an expert panel of Joe Herbert, Julie Turner Cobb, and Shane O’Mara, to explore the science of stress.
Image credit: Lewis Ronald/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0
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How Does Science Actually Work? – with Jeremy Baumberg
Jeremy Baumberg is a leader in nanoscience and nanotechnology, working for much of his career at the interface between academia and industry. He has led interdisciplinary nano-centres at the Universities of Cambridge and Southampton, and developed novel devices within Hitachi, IBM, his spin-offs Mesophotonics and Base4.
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Whats Next? Predictions About Our Future - with Expert Panel
Jim Al-Khalili OBE (https://twitter.com/jimalkhalili) is a theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster. He is the host of the Life Scientific on BBC Four and was awarded the inaugural Stephen Hawking medal for science communication. Find out from science writer Phil Ball (https://twitter.com/philipcball)about the demographics of the future. Learn about how the climate will continue to change from former Chief Scientist of the Met Office, Julia Slingo. Hear more about where genomics and genome engineering is going from biologist and broadcaster Aarathi Prasad (https://twitter.com/aarathiprasad) and discover smart materials with materials scientist Anna Ploszajski (https://twitter.com/AnnaPloszajski).
Image credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss
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The Story of Life – with Matthew Cobb and Nick Lane
Nick Lane is an evolutionary biochemist in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London. His work focuses on the origin of life, and the origin and evolution of eukaryotes. He is also author of prize-winning popular science books, including 'Life ascending'.
Matthew Cobb is Professor of Zoology and a senior lecturer in animal behaviour at the University of Manchester. After spending some time researching humans at the institute of psychiatry, a lot of his work now investigates insect behaviour and its evolutionary and genetic basis, particularly smell.
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Moon, Mars and Beyond - with Astronaut Al Worden and Experts Chris Welch and Stuart Eves
Al Worden is an American astronaut and engineer who was the Command Module Pilot for the fourth lunar landing mission in 1971, Apollo 15. After his time in space, he was Senior Aerospace Scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center, and then the chief of the Systems Study Division at Ames.
Chris Welch is Professor of Space Engineering at the International Space University in Strasbourg, France. Chris is a Vice-President of the International Astronautical Federation, a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society (BIS), the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Royal Astronomical Society. Chris has written what he believes to be the first ever paper on the design of extraterrestrial gardens and a poem that he hopes to send to space soon.
Stuart Eves is currently a technical consultant for Vaeros Ltd. He began his career working for the MOD on a variety of satellites, and from 2004 he was Lead Mission Concepts Engineer at Surrey Satellite Technology Limited. Stuart is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, a Council Member of the British Interplanetary Society, and he currently chairs the government/industry Space Information Exchange forum.
Image credit: NASA
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The Science of Success (and Failure) – with Matthew Syed
Matthew Syed is a British journalist, broadcaster and author. He has won numerous prizes for his writing including Feature Writer of the Year at the SJA Awards and Sports Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards. He is also a three-time Commonwealth table tennis champion and a two-time Olympian.
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Monsters, Science and Society - with Expert Panel
This month, Phil Ball chairs a panel of experts discussing how monsters survive in our culture, how they reflect gender and power dynamics, and what happens in our brains when we see monsters on screen.
Liz Gloyn is a lecturer in Classics at Royal Holloway. Her research focuses on the intersections between Latin literature, ancient philosophy and gender studies.
Evan Hayles Gledhill is currently doing a PhD at the University of Reading. Their PhD thesis examines the liminal figures of the monster and the child in the Gothic imagination, and the 'deviant subjectivities' these representations make space for in otherwise seemingly conventional genre texts.
Jeremy Skipper is Director of the Language, Action, and Brain Lab (LAB Lab) at University College London. He studies the neurobiology of natural language use and oversees the Neurocinematics database.
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Anatomy of a Conversation - with Elizabeth Stokoe
This month, Elizabeth Stokoe explains how conversation analysis can produce a scientific understanding of talk. Rather than being messy and disorderly, talk is in fact organised systematically, and small changes in words or phrases can have a big impact on the outcome.
Elizabeth Stokoe is Professor of Social Interaction at Loughborough University, analysing the science of interaction in settings including police interrogations, sales calls, and initial inquiries to services including mediation and doctors’ surgeries. twitter.com/LizStokoe
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The Order Of Time - with Carlo Rovelli
Carlo Rovelli is a theoretical physicist who has made significant contributions to the physics of space and time. He has worked in Italy and the US, and is currently directing the quantum gravity research group of the Centre de physique théorique in Marseille, France. His books 'Seven Brief Lessons on Physics' and 'Reality Is Not What It Seems' are international bestsellers translated into forty-one languages. twitter.com/carlorovelli?lang=en
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