Ri Science Podcast

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

Do Diet Coke and salt cause heart disease? How do you transport a heart to be transplanted? How can you learn to live with angina? In this month's talk, we hear from world-renowned cardiac surgeon Samer Nashef. Samer discusses his book, ‘The Angina Monologues: Stories of Surgery for Broken Hearts’, with journalist Sathnam Sanghera. Together they explore a collection of Samer’s stories that are sure to get your heart racing – from driving a donor heart up the motorway to Samer's personal experience with angina. This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 8 May 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: www.rigb.org/whats-on YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution Produced by: Lia Hale Music by: Joseph Sandy Thumbnail image credit: Fran Malley via Scribe Publications

In this Christmas-special we go behind-the-scenes of our 2022 CHRISTMAS LECTURES, presented by Professor Dame Sue Black. Katherine Mathieson, Director of the Ri, managed to steal Sue away from rehearsals for a quick chat about her CHRISTMAS LECTURES memories, science communication and what we can expect to learn about forensic science. The CHRISTMAS LECTURES will be broadcast on BBC Four on 26, 27 and 28 December 2022. Find out more about the CHRISTMAS LECTURES: rigb.org/christmas-lectures Watch Prof Dame Sue Black's Discourse: youtu.be/9Jrd5kJ-vTU Listen to the podcast version: spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/I6iEvR14Nvb Get tickets for upcoming talks and livestreams: rigb.org/whats-on Please leave this episode a rating and a review to let us know what you think, and to help more people discover the podcast. Produced by: Sarah Dick Music by: Joseph Sandy Thumbnail image credit: Paul Wilkinson Photography

An advanced form of radiotherapy, proton beam therapy enables tumours to be targeted with greater precision, reducing the collateral damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Physicist Simon Jolly sheds light on this leading-edge technique and the technology needed to deliver it. This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on 12 October 2018. Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8YnQkUWTS64 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: www.rigb.org/whats-on Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science YouTube: youtube.com/TheRoyalInstitution Patreon: patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution Music by: Joseph Sandy Thumbnail image credit: Howard Vindin via Wikimedia Commons | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Depth_Coded_Phalloidin_Stained_Actin_Filaments_Cancer_Cell.png