Ri Science Podcast

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

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 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

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 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

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

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

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/fl9oDJzfg58⁠Sabine's book "Existential Physics: A Scientists Guide to Life's Biggest Questions", is available to purchase now: ⁠https://geni.us/oBMXZv⁠Subscribe 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-onYouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitutionTwitter: twitter.com/Ri_SciencePatreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution Produced by: Charlotte CollingwoodMusic by: Joseph Sandy

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

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