Naturebang

BBC Radio 4
  • 4.9 (11)
  • NATURE

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight make sense of what it means to be human by looking to the natural world... Science meets storytelling with a philosophical twist.

  1. 11H AGO

    African Wild Dogs and Democracy

    For African Wild Dogs in the Okovango Delta, living with the pack has its ups and downs. You get help with the hunting, and there's safety in numbers, but there's also a lot of compromise. When the pack leaves, you leave, even if you were in the middle of a nap. All social-living animals from ants to zebras (and humans) have to figure out how to make decisions as a group, and the dogs have a particularly interesting strategy. They vote. By sneezing. Of course, humans have much more sophisticated ways of collaborating in group decision-making, but sometimes we're not very succesful at doing what's genuinely best for everyone. Even the most sophisticated systems of modern democracy have a hard time discovering, and enacting, the actual Will of the People. Becky Ripley and Emily Knight wonder if the dogs might do it better. Featuring Andrew King, Professor of Animal Behaviour at Swansea University, and Helen Margetts, Professor of Internet and Society at the University of Oxford. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

    14 min

  2. 1D AGO

    Rats, Risk and Reward

    Jackpot! Lights are flashing, bells are ringing, and you collect your big reward. No, this isn't Vegas, but it might as well be. We're in a specially designed casino for rats, where they gamble in pursuit of the Big Win: delicious sugar pellets. For both rats and humans, a finely tuned ability to assess risk against reward is essential for navigating an unpredictable world. We're pretty good at it. But why are we so easily derailed by the toxic allure of the Big Win, the roll-over Jackpot, the risk-it-all-on-black strategy which makes no rational sense? The answer may surprise you, and may also give you some insight into why you can't stop late-night doom-scrolling on your phone. Featuring Catharine Winstanley, Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, and Natasha Schull, cultural anthropologist and associate professor at New York University. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

    14 min

  3. 2D AGO

    Riverbeds and the Sedimentation of Ideas

    What if all the ideas and values surrounding our lives are like pieces of sediment in a river? Some never quite settle and get swept away, lost to the currents of time. But some take hold, solidify, become part of the cultural bedrock that underpin our lives. With the help of a geologist and a philosopher, Becky Ripley and Emily Knight dig deeper into this metaphor, to unearth the sedimented histories shape our lives. Featuring geologist Chris Jackson, Professor of Basin Analysis at Imperial College London, and philosopher Julian Baginni, author of 'How the World Thinks'. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

    14 min

  4. 3D AGO

    Giant Anteaters and Power Posing

    Becky Ripley and Emily Knight look to the animal world to question why we "power pose". Anteaters are masters of it. When feeling threatened, they rear up on their hind legs and extend their arms out wide to show off their huge claws. It is a posture that is designed to make them look more intimidating to predators or competing rivals. Does it work like this for us? If we take up more space in a power pose, are we perceived to be more powerful in the eyes of others? Featuring Arnaud Desbiez, president and founder of ICAS (The Wild Animal Conservation Institute), and Dr Daniel Gurney, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

    14 min

  5. 08/29/2025

    Grooming Apes and the Origins of Kissing

    Becky Ripley and Emily Knight discover the hairy history of the human kiss. Where did it come from? Why do we like doing it? And how is it good for us? Featuring Dr Adriano Lameira, primatologist turned evolutionary psychologist from the University of Warwick, and Dr Dean Burnett, neuroscientist, lecturer, and author of The Idiot Brain and The Happy Brain, among others. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

    15 min

  6. 08/28/2025

    Photosynthetic Clams and the Problem of Power

    How do we extract the maximum amount of power from the sun? Becky Ripley and Emily Knight enlist the help of a giant, thousand-year old clam. And end up in the depths of space... Featuring Professor Alison Sweeney at Yale University, and Mike Garrett from the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley

    14 min

  7. 08/27/2025

    Running Wild and the Science of Endurance

    Why do animals move the way they do? And why do we humans love to run? Becky Ripley and Emily Knight enlist dogs, horses, armadillos, and some uncooperative rabbits to find out. Featuring Professor Lewis Halsey from the University of Roehampton, and Dr Andrew Yegian from Harvard University. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

    15 min

  8. 08/26/2025

    Red Deer and Authority of Voice

    Do lower voices demand more power? Do we take them more seriously? And is this a bias that needs to be challenged more in today’s world? Becky Ripley and Emily Knight compare the bellowing roars of red deer stags to dig deeper into the psychology of human and animal voice. Featuring David Reby, Professor of Ethology at Jean Monnet University, and David Puts, Professor of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

    14 min
See All (40)

Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight make sense of what it means to be human by looking to the natural world... Science meets storytelling with a philosophical twist.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    40
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    Naturebang

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