The Why Factor

Gold - what is it about this rare, inert metal which has captivated us for thousands of years? The answers may not be what you might think. Mike Williams explores our obsession with gold. He looks at chemistry, Einstein's theory of relativity and the many myths and mystery of glorious gold.(Image of gold bars. Credit AFP/Getty Images)

It’s something that all individuals and societies have done for millions of years. But why do we sing? Today singing is a way of bringing people together, expressing joy, sadness and almost every emotion. Is there an evolutionary reason why and how humans developed the complex vocal structures involved in singing? Mike Williams talks to biologists, voice coaches and vocalists to find out.(Image of Chinese women singing in a choir in Chongqing, China. Credit Getty Images)

Why do humans kiss? You might think it is a universal trait, something that we all do. But when European explorers travelled the world, they met tribes that didn’t kiss. So is it a learnt response after all? ? It can be as a greeting, or a sign of reverence or supplication - but we will be talking about the romantic kiss - face to face, lips to lips. We examine the biochemistry, psychology, anthropology and history of kissing. Where does it come from? (Image of two women kissing at a festival, credit AFP/Getty Images)

Why are attitudes towards older people often so negative? Traditional definitions used to mark old age at around retirement, 60–65 but with many of us expected to live well into our eighties and beyond, that now seems absurd. Mike Williams talks to the old and the young, and asks how might we re-think of this period of our lives?(Image of a woman holding hands with a relative. Credit: AFP/Getty Images )

The idea of retirement is historically new. But with widespread demographic changes now meaning that many of us are expected to live into our eighties and beyond, how much sense does it make to stop people working when they reach their mid-sixties? Mike Williams looks at retirement asks how we might re-think this period of our lives.(Image of a carpenter working in his workshop. Credit AFP/Getty Images)

Around 10% of the global population suffers from insomnia. Contrary to popular belief, it is not more prevalent in bustling, noisy cities nor in workaholics. While we might think of insomnia as a modern malaise, people have always had trouble sleeping but are some of us more susceptible to it than others? If so, why? Where did the idea that we all need seven or eight hours sleep come from? Is it true? Can insomnia really affect our genes and shorten our lives? What really works to cure it? The experts tell us what they think works and why. And we hear from insomniacs around the world about their search for a good night’s sleep.

The first of two programmes which looks at human behaviour and sleep Why do we Sleep? At first glance, it seems a silly question but actually it is one that’s been baffling scientists for decades. We spend a third of our lives asleep, but sleep science hasn’t got much further than being sure that we sleep because we get sleepy. As Mike falls into a deep slumber to the sound of his own recording voice, we will find out exactly what happens when we sleep, from circadian clocks to sleep spindles to the famous REM, and how we have thought about this dark and private side of our lives across ages and cultures. We explore conflicting theories about the purpose of sleep. One theory is that we developed our sleep patterns to allow our body and mind to repair itself at night. While we know our body grows and heals while we sleep, we know much less about what our brain is doing and a century after Freud and Jung’s explanations, we’re still far from scientific consensus on what dreams are for. Are we consolidating memories? Are we rehearsing our responses to threatening situations? Or is it all random imagery created by an organ that is designed to be awake and can never fully shut down? Another theory is that while our bodies use the opportunity while we are asleep for restoration, it is not why we evolved to sleep around eight hours a day. Could it be as simple as we sleep because our ancestors didn’t need to be awake any longer?(Photo of actress Joan Gardner asleep in November 1933. Credit: Getty Images)

What role does silence play in our increasingly noisy lives? Why can silences be so poignant or so awkward? Strangely for radio, the programme will contain lots of silence… and the thoughts of musicians, scientists, religious thinkers and others.(Image: The inside of the anechoic chamber room, one of the quietest rooms on earth. Credit: BBC Copyright)

This week we’ll explore Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD. What is it? And why is it so controversial? Many people in the world are exposed to extraordinary, traumatic events- wars, earthquakes, accidents and crime. Most recover in time but, for some, the trauma takes over their lives, leaving them unable to function. Mike Williams talks to a war veteran and a tsunami survivor, who tell their stories of how they came to be diagnosed with PTSD. But do the public know what this diagnosis really is? Or has it been confused with a broader term for anyone who has suffered a trauma? Is it a useful diagnosis across cultures?(Image of French soldiers in vietnam. Credit:STAFF/AFP/Getty Images)

We all have memories but do we share some of those, socially or collectively? If so, why? Most countries have things in the past which they’d rather forget but how successful or otherwise are elites at coercing our “collective” memories or manipulating national narratives? Mike Williams looks at the concept of cultural and collective memory and asks if after wars, or a period of intense trauma, is it best to confront our memories or is a period of silence the best way to come to terms with the realities of the past?(Image of Vorochilov, Molotov, Stalin posing at the shore of the the Moscow - Volga Canal in 1937 in this manipulated picture. In the original picture Nikolai Yezhov was standing on the right. Yezhov was the senior figure in the NKVD (the Soviet secret police) under Joseph Stalin during the period of the Great Purge. After Yezhov was tried and executed his likeness was removed from this image between 1939-1991. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)