BBC Inside Science

By BBC Radio 4

What's BBC Inside Science about?

A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.

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BBC Inside Science episodes:

04.18.2024
Our Accidental Universe
Professor and presenter, Chris Lintott, talks about his new book Our Accidental Universe; a tour of chance encounters and human error in pursuit of asteroids, pulsars, radio waves, new stars and alien life. Even with incredible technological developments, the major...
04.11.2024
World’s oldest forest fossils
The world’s oldest fossilised forest was uncovered in Somerset last week. We head to palaeobotanist, Dr Christopher Berry’s, lab at Cardiff University to learn about these cladoxylopsids. They lived 390 million years ago and although they are not the ancestors...
04.04.2024
How pure is the water from your tap?
A recent study on how to get rid of microplastics in water sparked presenter Marnie Chesterton’s curiosity. When she turns on the tap in her kitchen each day, what comes out is drinkable, clean water. But where did it come...
03.28.2024
Dimming the Sun
Switzerland has submitted a proposal to create a United Nations expert group on solar geoengineering to inform governments and stakeholders. The idea was discussed at the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, this week. Professor Aarti Gupta shares how, after...
03.21.2024
Laboratory-Grown Meat
Professor Ben Garrod guest presents. As a new 'meaty rice' is created and Fortnum & Mason launch a scotch egg made with cultivated meat that they hope to have on sale as early as next year, we investigate the...
03.14.2024
The Gulf Stream’s tipping point
The Gulf Stream, also known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is essential to stable global climate, and the reason we have moderate temperatures in Northern Europe. Now, a new modelling study suggests that this circulation could, at some...
03.07.2024
Ancient Roman writings revealed
As part of the Vesuvius Challenge, computer scientists have used machine learning to successfully reveal 2,000 characters from the Herculaneum scrolls. These artefacts were charred to a crisp following the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Papyrologist Federica Nicolardi has...
02.29.2024
When brains and computers meet
Are cyborgs now reality? Elon Musk certainly thinks so. His company, Neuralink, has successfully implanted one of its wireless brain chips in a human. Although billed as a breakthrough, they’re not the first to do it. In fact, similar devices...
02.22.2024
Hydrogen and the race to net zero
Hydrogen has long been touted as a potential wonder gas that could play a significant role in our race to net zero. Now, planning permission has been granted for the UK’s largest production hub of its kind, and one of...
02.15.2024
A New Volcanic Era?
As lava consumes homes on the Reykjavik Peninsula in Iceland, evacuated communities have been witnessing eruptions shifting and intensifying. We take a look at the latest science that’s helping teams on the ground accurately predict where the danger is coming...
02.08.2024
Understanding Flood Forecasting
When Lois Pryce arrived at her boat in Berkshire, the area was already completely flooded. The only way to get to it was via a small pontoon. She is one of many across the UK that have been affected by...
02.01.2024
Space Exploration
2024 is an exciting year for lunar exploration. For Inside Science this week Marnie Chesterton investigates the planned missions to the Moon over the next twelve months. It’s been more than fifty years since the last manned mission to...
01.25.2024
12 days of Christmas - science version
Marnie Chesterton & Victoria Gill embark on a science-themed version of the classic Christmas song ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ in this festive edition of BBC Inside Science. Twelve of the biggest moments of the year in science...
01.18.2024
The Science of the South Pole
We’re on board the RSS Sir David Attenborough for the vessel’s first big science season in the Antarctic, since it launched in 2020. It’s crewed by scientists involved in Project Biopole, a 5-year mission attempting to better understand carbon cycle...
01.11.2024
Biggest COP in history
COP 28, the largest climate summit in history, has drawn to a close. Marnie Chesterton examines some of the main stories to emerge from this lengthy conference. The way we look after our oceans, measures needed to ensure food...
01.04.2024
Vagrant Birds
Vagrant birds are those that appear in locations where they are not usually found. They might have been blown off course by a storm or have been affected by changing weather patterns due to climate change. Although a treat for...
12.28.2023
Finding Tunnels
Tunnels have been the focus of much attention this week as the war in Gaza continues and 41 workers were rescued in India, after 17 days trapped underground. Forensic geoscientists Jamie Pringle and Ruth Morgan explain the science behind identifying...
12.21.2023
UK Covid-19 Inquiry
Key scientific witnesses including former Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance and Chief Medical Officer for England Chris Whitty are called to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. The BBC’s Jim Reed brings us his three key moments from the evidence heard over...
12.14.2023
Iceland Volcano
An underground river of magma and thousands of tremors have been observed across the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland. We speak to the scientists monitoring the Fagradalsfjall volcano who explain how this might be ushering in a new era of huge...
12.07.2023
Loss and damages for vulnerable countries
Professor Saleemul Huq, director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh, has died. He was instrumental in pushing for a loss and damages fund for vulnerable countries affected by climate change. Last year’s COP27 climate conference...
11.30.2023
Metal Mines
Long abandoned metal mines are having a huge impact on rivers across the UK. BBC Inside Science reporter Patrick Hughes visits Cwmystwyth in Wales, where he finds lead, zinc and cadmium seeping into waterways. It’s the costly legacy left after...
11.23.2023
Forever chemicals
PFAS chemicals, also known as forever chemicals, don’t break down in the environment. They can accumulate in the body and are found to have an array of harmful effects on human health. A major mapping project has revealed...
11.16.2023
White phosphorus
White phosphorous is an incendiary material and if it were to be used in any built-up civilian areas, the practice would violate international law. We find out what makes white phosphorus so dangerous, and we ask how easy is it...
11.09.2023
Tumbling down the rabbit hole of assembly theory
A paper recently published in the journal Nature claimed that assembly theory could help explain and quantify selection and evolution. But what exactly is assembly theory? In this episode Marnie Chesterton speaks to science writer Philip Ball and zoologist and...
11.02.2023
Life beyond Earth
Under the mighty radio Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank, Victoria Gill brings together some of the UK’s leading experts who were visiting the recent ‘bluedot’ science and music festival. They discussed the ongoing hunt for extraterrestrial life. We hear...
10.26.2023
The state of nature in the UK
In this week’s episode Victoria Gill speaks to Nida al-Fulaij, conservation research manager at the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, about the UK’s new State of Nature report. Climate change, habitat loss and intensive agricultural practices have been blamed for...
10.19.2023
Why is Prime Minister Rishi Sunak rowing back on climate pledges?
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave a hastily arranged press conference this week in which he confirmed he would be rowing back on some previously made government commitments regarding net zero - the point at which we remove as much...
10.12.2023
The halfway point for sustainable development
In 2015 the UN adopted 17 sustainable development goals aiming to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure people everywhere enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Ahead of a summit next week in New York marking the half way point,...
10.05.2023
What’s the cost of invasive species?
Humans have introduced more than 37,000 alien species to places they do not naturally occur. A report launched this week by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services revealed the shocking extent of the damage. Gaia Vince speaks to...
09.28.2023
How will climate change affect where we can live?
Extreme weather is forcing communities to leave their homes and it's becoming a bigger and bigger issue. What can we do about it? In this edition of BBC Inside Science, Gaia Vince and her guests discuss what climate displacement...
09.21.2023
What makes a healthy river?
River health has captured the public imagination, particularly as overspills from sewers have been getting more attention in the media. But the condition of a river is so much more complicated than what flows into it from our water treatment...
09.14.2023
Why do we want to go back to the Moon?
Two plucky spacecraft, one Russian and one Indian, are currently blasting towards the Moon’s South Pole. Both Russia’s Luna-25 and India’s Chandrayaan-3 are due to touch down next week. They’re heading to that particular region of the Moon in order...
09.07.2023
Time is still ticking for the Amazon
After decades of exploitation, time is running out for the Amazon rainforest. Eight South American nations came together this week for the first time in 14 years in an attempt to draw up a plan for a more sustainable future....
08.31.2023
Reality check: carbon capture and storage
This week the UK government announced that around 100 new oil and gas licences for the North Sea will be issued. At the same time the Prime Minister said the government would back two new carbon capture and storage plants,...
08.24.2023
Battles with flames
We're in the heart of summer in Europe, where extreme heat has spiralled into out-of-control wildfires across the Mediterranean, leading thousands to flee their homes. Previously on Inside Science we've looked at how and why temperatures are soaring...
08.17.2023
The wide-ranging effects of climate change
This week China hit a record high temperature, a scorching 52.2°C, while Death Valley in California measured 53.9°C. Elsewhere, Europe has been battling searing heat and raging wildfires. In previous editions of Inside Science we’ve explored the effects...
08.10.2023
How social media can affect the health of teenagers
The Threads social media app launched on 5th July. Instagram users were able to sign up with just a few clicks. It joins a plethora of other social media apps like Snapchat, Twitter and TikTok, all of which are readily...
08.02.2023
Mapping the universe
A rocket launch, super-massive black holes and ghost particles! This past week’s scientific findings are testament to how hard-at-work cosmologists and physicists have been seeking out the fundamental building blocks of our universe and the rules that govern it. ...
07.27.2023
Heat and health
Last summer saw intense heatwaves across the world. And already this year, global air, surface and sea temperatures have hit the highest levels on record. China, India and the US are currently experiencing heatwaves. In June, the UK’s Met Office...
07.19.2023
The science of sound
Scientists, conservationists and other researchers are using audio soundscapes in innovative ways to record the natural world in rich detail and help develop strategies to preserve it. Gaia Vince visits the Dear Earth exhibition at London’s Southbank...
07.13.2023
The Kakhovka dam and global food security
On Tuesday, the United Nations reported that the breach of the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River in Ukraine will impact heavily on global food security, causing a rise in food prices and leaving many without access to clean...
07.05.2023
An ocean of opportunities
For World Ocean Day, Gaia Vince finds out how the planet’s seas could help us to generate clean power, capture CO2 and feed the world. Gaia is joined in the studio by science journalist and marine biologist Olive Heffernan....
06.29.2023
AI and human extinction
In the headlines this week eminent tech experts and public figures signed an open letter that read “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” One...
06.21.2023
The benefits and problems of eDNA
This week, we hear from the University of Florida’s Dr David Duffy. He heads up a team of researchers who are studying sea turtles. In order to track the animals and their diseases, the scientists devised a method of collecting...
06.14.2023
Science in the making
The Royal Society is the oldest scientific academy in the world. Since being established in 1660, it has painstakingly archived thousands of papers, letters, manuscripts and illustrations from some of science’s most enquiring minds. In this episode, Victoria Gill takes...
06.07.2023
Can we prevent natural disasters?
Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and hurricanes all have the power to cause deadly destruction. One event can lead to another, causing a chain reaction of devastation that can take years to rebuild from. But do all...
05.31.2023
Wild Britain
In 2020, the UK government committed to protecting at least 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. Step seven years into the future with Gaia. The UK has achieved its biodiversity goal, but what does wild Britain...
05.24.2023
70th anniversary of the discovery of DNA’s structure
James Watson and Francis Crick, who detailed the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953, are perhaps two of the most iconic scientists of the 20th Century. Yet the story of how they made their incredible discovery is perhaps equally famous,...
05.17.2023
Rocket Launch Pollution
Whilst the globe struggles to shift to green sustainable energy sources, one industry has its sights set solely on the stars. Space X just launched the biggest rocket the world’s ever seen, and it won’t be their last even if...
05.11.2023
Negotiation
When was the last time you had to use your negotiating skills? Did you walk away satisfied? This week junior doctors are half way through their 4 day walkout, with senior NHS figures suggesting the cancellation of between 250,000...

What's BBC Inside Science about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

BBC Inside Science episodes:

Our Accidental Universe

World’s oldest forest fossils

How pure is the water from your tap?

Dimming the Sun

Laboratory-Grown Meat

The Gulf Stream’s tipping point

Ancient Roman writings revealed

When brains and computers meet

Hydrogen and the race to net zero

A New Volcanic Era?

Understanding Flood Forecasting

Space Exploration

12 days of Christmas - science version

The Science of the South Pole

Biggest COP in history

Vagrant Birds

Finding Tunnels

UK Covid-19 Inquiry

Iceland Volcano

Loss and damages for vulnerable countries

Metal Mines

Forever chemicals

White phosphorus

Tumbling down the rabbit hole of assembly theory

Life beyond Earth

The state of nature in the UK

Why is Prime Minister Rishi Sunak rowing back on climate pledges?

The halfway point for sustainable development

What’s the cost of invasive species?

How will climate change affect where we can live?

What makes a healthy river?

Why do we want to go back to the Moon?

Time is still ticking for the Amazon

Reality check: carbon capture and storage

Battles with flames

The wide-ranging effects of climate change

How social media can affect the health of teenagers

Mapping the universe

Heat and health

The science of sound

The Kakhovka dam and global food security

An ocean of opportunities

AI and human extinction

The benefits and problems of eDNA

Science in the making

Can we prevent natural disasters?

Wild Britain

70th anniversary of the discovery of DNA’s structure

Rocket Launch Pollution

Negotiation