The Life Scientific

4.6 (1.2K)
SCIENCE
UPDATED WEEKLY

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

8 HR AGO

Jonathan Shepherd on a career as a crime-fighting surgeon

Surgeons often have to deal with the consequences of violent attacks - becoming all too familiar with patterns of public violence, and peaks around weekends, alcohol-infused events and occasions that bring together groups with conflicting ideals. Professor Jonathan Shepherd not only recognised the link between public violence and emergency hospital admissions, he actually did something about it. As a senior lecturer in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in the early 1980s, Jonathan started looking into this trend - and his research revealed that most violent assaults resulting in emergency hospital treatment are not reported to police. As a result, he devised the ‘Cardiff Model for Violence Prevention’: a programme where hospitals share data about admissions relating to violent attacks with local authorities. He also went on to study various aspects of violent assault and deliver evidence-based solutions - from alcohol restrictions in hotspots, to less breakable beer glasses in pubs. The impacts have been significant, delivering reductions in hospital admissions and in violent attacks recorded by police; not only in Cardiff, but in cities around the world where the model is used. Today, as an Emeritus Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Cardiff University - where he’s also Director of their Crime, Security and Intelligence Innovation Institute - Jonathan continues to bring together the medical sector with local authorities, finding practical ways to make cities and their residents safer. But his career, straddling the worlds of practise, science and policy, is an unusual one; here he talks to Professor Jim Al-Khalili about what drove him to make a difference. Presentedby Jim Al-Khalili Produced by Lucy Taylor

29 min
1 APR

Doyne Farmer on making sense of chaos for a better world

Doyne Farmer is something of a rebel. Back in the seventies, when he was a student, he walked into a casino in Las Vegas, sat down at a roulette table and beat the house. To anyone watching the wheel spin and the ball clatter to its final resting place, his choice of number would’ve looked like a lucky guess. But knowing the physics of the game and armed with the world’s first wearable computer, which he’d designed, a seemingly random win was actually somewhat predictable. Doyne is an American scientist and entrepreneur who pioneered many of the fields that define the scientific agenda of our time, from chaos theory and complex systems to wearable computing. He uses big data and evermore powerful computers to apply complex systems science to the economy, to better predict our future. Much like roulette, economics can appear random but, with the right tools and understanding, it is anything but. Now Director of the Complexity Economics Programme at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at Oxford, Doyne says there’s a real need to act, to use these powers of prediction to help resolve one of the most pressing questions of our time - how best to prevent climate change. Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Produced by Beth Eastwood

29 min
25 MAR

Tori Herridge on ancient dwarf elephants and frozen mammoths

Elephants are the largest living land mammal and today our plant is home to three species: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. But a hundred thousand years ago, in the chilly depths of the Ice Age, multiple species of elephant roamed the earth: from dog-sized dwarf elephants to towering woolly mammoths. These gentle giants' evolutionary story and its parallels with that of humankind has long fascinated Dr Tori Herridge, a senior lecturer in evolutionary biology at the University of Sheffield, where - as a seasoned science broadcaster - she's also responsible for their Masters course in Science Communication. Tori has spent much of her life studying fossil elephants and the sites where they were excavated; trying to establish facts behind relics that are far beyond the reach of Radio Carbon Dating. To date she's discovered dwarf mammoths on Mediterranean islands, retraced the groundbreaking Greek expedition of a female palaeontologist in the early 1900s, and even held an ancient woolly mammoth’s liver. (Verdict: stinky.) But as she tells Profesor Jim Al-Khalili, this passion for fossil-hunting is not just about understanding the past: this information is what will help us protect present-day elephants and the world around them for future generations. Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Produced for BBC Studios by Lucy Taylor

29 min
18 MAR

Sir Magdi Yacoub on pioneering heart transplant surgery

What does it take to earn the nickname, ‘The Leonardo da Vinci of heart surgery’? That's the moniker given to today's guest - a man who pioneered high-profile and often controversial procedures, but also helped drive huge medical progress; carrying out around 2,000 heart transplants and 400 dual heart-lung transplants during his 60-year career. Sir Magdi Yacoub is Emeritus Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Imperial College London, and Director of Research at Harefield Hospital’s Magdi Yacoub Institute. Inspired by a surgeon father and impacted by the tragic early death of his aunt from a heart condition, his medical career includes various surgical firsts alongside numerous research projects, to further our understanding of and ability to treat heart disease. He headed up the teams that discovered it is possible to reverse heart failure, and that successfully grew part of a human heart valve from stem cells for the first time. But it hasn't always been plain sailing. At times, his work – such as early, unsuccessful transplant attempts, or using a baboon as a life-support system for a baby – attracted serious public criticism. Speaking to Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Sir Magdi reflects on the highs and lows of his cardio career, and offers his advice to the next generation of surgeons and researchers hoping to make their mark in heart medicine. Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Produced by Lucy Taylor

29 min
31/12/2024

Tim Peake on his journey to becoming an astronaut and science in space

What's it like living underwater for two weeks? What's the trickiest part of training to be an astronaut? What are the most memorable sights you see from space? Several extreme questions, all of which can be answered by one man: Major Tim Peake. After a childhood packed with outdoor adventures, via the Cub Scouts and school Cadet Force, Tim joined the British Army Air Corps and became a military flying instructor then a test pilot; before eventually being selected as a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut. In 2015, Tim became the first British ESA astronaut to visit the International Space Station. Over the course of a six-month mission, he took part in more than 250 scientific experiments and worked with more than two million schoolchildren across Europe. In a special New Year’s episode recorded in front of an audience at London’s Royal Society, Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to Tim about his lifelong passion for adventure, the thrill of flight and why scientific experiments in space are so important. Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Produced by Lucy Taylor

1 hr
24/09/2024

Anna Korre on capturing carbon dioxide and defying expectations

As the famous frog once said, it's not easy being green. And when it comes to decarbonising industry, indeed, reducing emissions of all sorts, the task is a complex one. Fossil fuels are used to manufacture some of mankind’s most ubiquitous products, from plastics to cement to steel; and even in areas where we’re trying to improve our footprint, there are repercussions. Mining lithium for electric car batteries isn’t exactly without impact. Add to the mix stories of corporations prioritising profits, and governments focusing on short-term popular policies – and it would be easy to feel disheartened. Professor Anna Korre says her role is to be the champion of science in this debate: providing clear evidence to help reduce environmental impacts, while allowing vital production processes to continue. Anna is an environmental engineer at Imperial College London and Co-Director of the university’s Energy Futures Lab. Her work has led to a risk model that's now used in mining operations around the world – and her current research into sub-surface CO2 storage could hold the key to decarbonising British industry. But as she tells Jim Al-Khalili, social and familial expectations when she was growing up in her native Greece meant her succesful career in engineering very nearly didn't happen... Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Producer by Lucy Taylor

28 min
17/09/2024

Rosalie David on the science of Egyptian mummies

Rosalie David is a pioneer in the study of ancient Egypt. In the early 1970s, she launched a unique project to study Egyptian mummified bodies using the techniques of modern medicine. Back then, the vast majority of Egyptologists regarded mummies as unimportant sources of information about life in ancient Egypt. Instead they focussed on interpreting hieroglyphic inscriptions, the written record in papyrus documents and archaeological remains and artefacts. Rosalie David proved that the traditionalists were quite wrong. Professor David’s mummy research started at the Manchester Museum when she began to collaborate with radiologists at the nearby Manchester Royal Infirmary, taking the museum’s mummies for x-rays at the hospital. Her multi-disciplinary team later moved to a dedicated institute at the University of Manchester, the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology. Over the decades, the team there has made remarkable discoveries about disease and medicine in ancient Egyptian society, providing a new perspective on the history of medicine and giving extraordinary insights into the lives of individuals all those years ago. Rosalie tells Jim Al-Khalili about her journey from classics and ancient history to biomedicine, including some of her adventures in Egypt in the 1960s. She talks about some of her most significant research projects, and the 21st Century forensic detective work on the mummy of a young woman which revealed a gruesome murder 3,000 years ago... Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Produced by Andrew Luck-Baker

28 min
10/09/2024

Peter Stott on climate change deniers and Italian inspiration

In the summer of 2003, Europe experienced its most intense heatwave on record - one that saw more than 70,000 people lose their lives. Experiencing the effects whilst on holiday in Tuscany, climate scientist Peter Stott was struck by the idea that just maybe, he could use a modelling system developed by his team at the UK’s Met Office Hadley Centre, to study extreme weather events such as this very heatwave mathematically; and figure out the extent to which human influences were increasing their probability. That’s exactly what he went on to do - and, through this work and more, Peter has helped to shine a light on the causes and effects of climate change. His career, predominantly at the Met Office Hadley Centre, has seen him take on climate change sceptics and explain the intricacies of greenhouse gas emissions to global leaders. His work with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change even earned him a share of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. But the biggest challenge remains: Peter talks to Jim Al-Khalili about whether humanity can adapt quickly enough to deal with the increasingly dangerous effects of our warming world... Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Produced by Lucy Taylor

28 min

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Jim Al-Khalili

Host

4.6

out of 5

1,183 Ratings

Very good

2 days ago

99bubble12

I love this podcast it’s so fun and interesting also all the experts are so fascinating.
Top science podcast

6 days ago

RockDJJ

Great subjects, top guests and the interviewer interaction is spot on.
So interesting

19 Mar

JulietFS

Fascinating interviews with leading scientists making their work accessible to non-specialists and giving an insight into the roots of their scientific inquiry by combining exploration of their work with the story of their life. The interviewer, a physicist himself, brings courtesy and insight to the interview process.
Great interviews

3 Jan

Evie.lynne60

My favourite is without doubt , Tim Peake .
Reliably fascinating and thought-provoking

28/11/2024

ACR2727

Jim Al-Khalili is an excellent interviewer - knowledgable, well-prepared and warm - and communicates with apparent effortless ease with both the interviewee and audience. The guests’ work is always fascinating. This series is such a great way to learn about scientific developments.
Puts a smile on my face

05/01/2024

Rog Moonraker

Puts a smile on my face every time a new episode comes.
Too biased

23/09/2024

KB2105

It’s very sad to see this show go downhill. It used to be about scientific facts and was really interesting, but lately it’s gone down a one-sided path. To take just a couple of recent episodes, we have Peter Stott on Climate Change deniers - but no balancing discussion from any of the literally thousands of scientists who say that clime change is a nonsense, or we have Bill Gates on conspiracy theory, but nothing from the mountain of evidence and ‘coincidences’ that need challenged - and there were countless episodes on Covid and the nature of the ‘pandemic’, but not a single minute of airtime given to the thousands of respected scientists who agree it was nothing but a strain of the common cold and no more worrisome than that. Science should be balanced and factual. Could you please give some airtime to opposing scientists, their training, research and knowledge is equally credible and should be heard too.
My favourite podcast

20/09/2023

Cordeliahenrietta

Fascinating stuff. Thanks for producing it
Everyone's a gem

24/05/2023

Joff England

Love the vibe JAK creates here on The Life Scientific and what a treat to get such a consistency of awe inspiring and inspirational guests. Wish they were twice as long.
Misleading

26/08/2023

TPKiln

Agree with some earlier reviews that the titles suggest an informative insight into a scientific subject, but instead you get 25 mins on the life and times of the guest. I don’t want to hear their life stories so have give up listening to anymore of these podcasts.

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