You might think materials are a bit boring and inconsequential but without them we would still be living in the stone age. Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined on stage by material scientists Mark Miodownik and Anna Ploszajski and comedian Ed Byrne to discover the life changing materials that are hidden in plain sight. Which materials have made us human? Which materials do we completely depend on? And how will materials shape our future?Producer: Caroline Steel Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

Anna Ploszajski, Scott Manley and Bill Sunderland face questions about cheffy shortcuts, red ropes and pricey papers.LATERAL is a comedy panel game podcast about weird questions with wonderful answers, hosted by Tom Scott. For business enquiries, contestant appearances or question submissions, visit https://www.lateralcast.com.HOST: Tom Scott. QUESTION PRODUCER: David Bodycombe. RECORDED AT: The Podcast Studios, Dublin. EDITED BY: Julie Hassett. MUSIC: Karl-Ola Kjellholm ('Private Detective'/'Agrumes', courtesy of epidemicsound.com). ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS: Leo, Mike Salter, Miriam Cronberg, Marcus Kontiokari. FORMAT: Pad 26 Limited/Labyrinth Games Ltd. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: David Bodycombe and Tom Scott. © Pad 26 Limited (https://www.pad26.com) / Labyrinth Games Ltd. 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices