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The Infinite Monkey Cage
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BBC Radio 4
Brian Cox and Robin Ince host a witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists' eyes.
Brian Cox and Robin Ince host a witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists' eyes.
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Duration
Release Date
Alien Life - Russell Kane, Lisa Kaltenegger and Chris Lintott
Are we alone in the universe? Brian Cox and Robin Ince venture to Glastonbury in the search for alien life and are joined in their galactic quest by comedian Russell Kane and astronomers Lisa Kaltenegger and Chris Lintott. They imagine the sorts of worlds that might best host alien life, how some of the biological and technological signatures of alien life might appear as well as how evolution might shape this life. They discuss some of the mysterious signatures that have appeared as well as how hard it is to really know what you're looking for and how objects like faulty microwaves have muddied the alien-finding waters.
Producer: Melanie Brown Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem BBC Studios Audio production
21 Aug 2024
42 MINS
42:22
21 Aug 2024
An Unexpected History of Science - Rufus Hound, Matthew Cobb, Victoria Herridge and Keith Moore
Brian Cox and Robin Ince raid the archives of the Royal Society to reveal an unexpected history of science with guests Rufus Hound, Tori Herridge, Matthew Cobb and Keith Moore. Together they explore some of the surprising and wackiest scientific endeavours undertaken by early members of the Royal Society from the discovery of sperm to testing the insect repelling properties of unicorn horn. They hear how a beautiful book on fish almost scuppered Newton's Principia Mathematica and why a guide to the fauna of Switzerland ended up including depictions of dragons.
Producer: Melanie Brown Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem BBC Studios Audio production
14 Aug 2024
42 MINS
42:32
14 Aug 2024
What a Gas! - Dave Gorman, Mark Miodownik and Lucy Carpenter
Brian Cox and Robin Ince talk hot air as they explore the pivotal role of gasses in our lives. Joining them to add some CO2 to the mix is material scientist Mark Miodownik, chemist Lucy Carpenter and comedian Dave Gorman. They discuss how humans came to even understand it existed in the first place as well as how many of the innovations in modern society have been underpinned by this mostly invisible and odourless substance. We laud the humble (or is it noble?) gas and its key role in technological innovation - from using laughing gas in anaesthesia to the combustion engine and of course the most important of all, the power source behind squirty cream.
Producer: Melanie Brown Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem BBC Studios Audio production
07 Aug 2024
42 MINS
42:56
07 Aug 2024
Extreme Exploration - Anneka Rice, Mike Massimino, Britney Schmidt and Jess Phoenix
Brian Cox and Robin Ince venture to the home place of exploration in Porto, Portugal at the Explorers Club as they discuss science at the extremes of exploration. Joining them is volcanologist Jess Phoenix, astronaut Mike Massimino, astrobiologist and oceanographer Britney Schmidt as well as adventurer and broadcaster Anneka Rice. They discuss breaking robots under the Antarctic ice shelf, chasing after narco-traffickers to retrieve a rock hammer and how viewing the earth from the vantage point of space can profoundly influence how you feel about humanity.
Producer: Melanie Brown Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem BBC Studios Audio Production
31 Jul 2024
43 MINS
43:00
31 Jul 2024
'Beastly Bodies' Kids Special - Steve Backshall, Jess French and Adam Kay
Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by adventurer and naturalist Steve Backshall, veterinarian Jess French, and comedian and former doctor Adam Kay, as they are put to the test by an audience of curious children at Cheltenham Science Festival. We find out who would win in a battle between a shark and a crocodile (the answer involves a tennis court), why dogs don’t sweat like humans, whether macrophages might help us overcome antibiotic resistance and if AI might one day enable us to understand and directly communicate with animals.
Producer: Melanie Brown Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem BBC Studios Audio Production
24 Jul 2024
42 MINS
42:39
24 Jul 2024
Science of Board Games - Jess Fostekew, Marcus du Sautoy and Dave Neale
Brian Cox and Robin Ince go past jail, climb a ladder and build a civilisation as they explore the science behind our favourite board games. Joining them in the library (or was it the conservatory?) is mathematician Marcus du Sautoy, who discusses the global history of games as well as his tips for winning at Monopoly. Joining him is games designer and play researcher Dave Neale who explains how key games are to developing a theory of mind, alongside Jessica Fostekew, comedian and gaming enthusiast who admits to becoming a more ruthless gamer as time goes by.
Producer: Melanie Brown Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem BBC Studios Audio Production
17 Jul 2024
43 MINS
43:11
17 Jul 2024
The Wonder of Trees - Dame Judi Dench, Tony Kirkham and Tristan Gooley
Brian Cox and Robin Ince leaf through the latest tree science with Dame Judi Dench, Tony Kirkham and Tristan Gooley. Dame Judi Dench shares her great love for treekind and describes how over time she has come to create a small woodland in her garden and how meaningful that is for her. Tony Kirkham, former head of Kew Arboretum and Gardens, shares some of the amazing journeys he's been on to find unusual and rare trees around the world. Navigator Tristan Gooley has spent a lifetime learning how to read trees, he explains how nearly everything on a tree can provide clues into the environment around it and how elements like leaf shape and colour can help us to use trees as a compass to navigate our way.
Producer: Melanie Brown Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem BBC Studios Audio production
10 Jul 2024
42 MINS
42:29
10 Jul 2024
The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… Audience Favourites (Pt 2)
`This week it's over to you the listeners, as we hear some of your favourite moments from The Infinite Monkey Cage. Comedian Claire Hooper hears about the mating rituals of spiders, which use several of their legs in this complex process. But she discovers the females of the species get their own back by eating the males once the deed is done. Comedian Noel Fielding explains how he made a plasticine figure of singer Joey Ramone, prompting Robin to wonder about the pitfalls of building a real-life Frankenstein. And writer Alan Moore tells Jonathan Ross how he used string theory as inspiration for a comic strip... about a virtuoso violinist.
New episodes are released weekly on Wednesdays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the full series on BBC Sounds
Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Episodes Featured: Series 26: Australia's Scariest Spiders Series 14: 200 Years of Frankenstein Series 2: Science Fiction, Science Fact Series 22: Space Archaeology Series 5: The Science of Sound
29 May 2024
22 MINS
22:16
29 May 2024
The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… Tiny Things
Brian Cox and Robin Ince shuffle through the archive to find the smallest things in the world of science, from a particle so tiny nobody has ever actually seen it, to the millions of microbes we’re all made up of. They ask the short-of-stature comedian Andy Hamilton how he’d feel about being three times bigger, which he admits could come in handy if he ever met a mammoth, leading to an unexpected discussion about a potential new TV gameshow format. Entomologist Erica McAlister is back to tell the team about her favourite fly, which can burrow into a human head to lay its eggs, and we learn about a project to make ants glow in the dark using nano-gold which went a little bit wrong.
New episodes will be released on Wednesdays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the full series on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF
Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Episodes featured: Series 16: What particles remain to be discovered? Series 19: Microbes: Secret rulers of the world? Series 6: Does size matter? Series 23: In praise of flies Series 24: Astronauts
22 May 2024
22 MINS
22:08
22 May 2024
The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… The Future
We know the universe is rapidly expanding but what happens if other galaxies disappear from view? That’s what Eric Idle wants to know as he ponders the future and what it holds in store. Solar scientist Lucie Green says this is not worth dwelling on because we’ll all be wiped out by an asteroid at some point anyway, which leads to a discussion about whether anywhere is still safe. Away from physics, Brian Cox and Robin Ince learn that one of the major contributors to global warming is the urinal cooling industry, which raises important questions about human stupidity. Should we let another species have a go? Chris Addison reckons dolphins might do a better job than we have but admits there are some major logistical issues.
New episodes will be released on Wednesdays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the full series on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF
Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Episodes featured: Series 22: The end of the universe Series 3: Apocalypse Series 13: Climate Change Series 19: The future of humanity Series 15: The human story: How we got here and how we survived
15 May 2024
19 MINS
19:43
15 May 2024
The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… Failure
Brian Cox and Robin Ince embrace failure in its many forms, with a frank look at the importance of making mistakes. They examine the flaws in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution with the anthropologist Alice Roberts, as she tells them no idea is totally watertight. And sometimes scientific error even leads to important discoveries – just ask the heart patients who took a pill that did nothing for their medical condition but did boost their libido and which we now know as Viagra. But other failures in the field of medicine have had more serious consequences, and Dr Chris van Tulleken questions why we’re not better at drug development for the poorest parts of the world.
New episodes will be released on Wednesdays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the full series on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF
Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Episodes featured: Series 15: Science’s Epic Fails Series 11: Serendipity Series 25: What Have We Learnt From Covid?
08 May 2024
16 MINS
16:54
08 May 2024
The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… Gambling
Robin Ince and Brian Cox ask why some people always seem to win as they investigate the science of gambling. They hear how playing monopoly is no way to make friends, but don’t worry, because psychologist Richard Wiseman claims that it’s never really good fun anyway. In fact, games are mainly a form of social bonding and studies show deception could even be essential to human behaviour, which may just explain why so many people cheat. So should we even bother playing them? Well, it just so happens that solving maths problems can help us in other areas of life, so the team tackle a conundrum involving a goat, a cabbage and very hungry wolf, before becoming side-tracked by a debate over why the three were ever on a trip together in the first place, let alone trying to cross a river.
New episodes will be released on Wednesdays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the full series on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF
Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Episodes featured: Series 15: How to Beat the House and Win Series 3: Randomness Series 11: Deception
01 May 2024
19 MINS
19:16
01 May 2024