Biology podcasts

Evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers joins Steven Strogatz to explore how mycorrhizal fungi exchange nutrients with plants and influence soil carbon storage. The conversation examines decentralized resource allocation, partnerships between fungi and roots, and experiments using fluorescent tracers and imaging robots to observe underground networks. Kiers also describes efforts to map fungal biodiversity and protect these ecosystems.

Hosted by Steven Strogatz, Janna Levin

Andrew Huberman joins Patrick O’Shaughnessy to discuss the frontier of neurotechnology and sustained human performance. Their conversation considers the convergence of AI and biotechnology, gene-based methods for changing neural activity and motivation, and the relationships between visual behaviour, arousal and sleep. Huberman is a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University.

Hosted by Patrick O’Shaughnessy

Anna Truzzi and Luca Pellegrino discuss experiments on a historical antibacterial preparation and the sources of bias in AI systems. An external segment with Ian Scott and Ilaria Zanardi explores elephant communication, including low-frequency sound, long-distance signalling and the evidence for individually distinctive calls.

Hosted by Anna Truzzi, Luca Pellegrino

Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen discuss siRNA medicines that suppress production of harmful proteins without changing DNA. They examine the long path from discovery to treatment, why existing drugs concentrate on liver diseases, programmable and long-lasting effects, and prospects and limitations for treating infection, cardiovascular disease, rare disorders and cancer.

Hosted by Saloni Dattani, Jacob Trefethen

Cell researcher and author Katharina Vestre joins Gaute Einevoll for a Norwegian-language conversation about the cells that build the human body. They explore how diverse cells, from muscle fibres to red blood cells, cooperate while sharing a common organisation of membranes and organelles. The discussion considers how that internal machinery allows cells to survive, perform specialised functions and divide, drawing on Vestre’s book about cellular life.

Hosted by Gaute Einevoll

David Lodge discusses environmental DNA as a tool for detecting invasive species and the challenges of translating ecological evidence into policy. The conversation follows invasive-carp detection in river water, scrutiny in legal proceedings, long-term crayfish observations, and the respective roles of researchers and decision-makers.

Hosted by Marty Martin, John Drake

The episode examines what happens chemically when cooked starch cools and is reheated. Melissa and Jam discuss glucose polymers, insulin, digestion, crystallization, resistant starch, and interactions with gut microbes. They review studies involving foods such as bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes, and explore the proposed effects of repeated reheating. The discussion connects everyday cooking questions to food chemistry and the evidence behind claims about leftovers.

Hosted by Melissa, Jam

Madeleine Finlay interviews Boston University neuroscientist Steve Ramirez about locating, activating and removing rodent memories, and possible applications in humans.

Hosted by Madeleine Finlay

Andrew Glester explores how drones, robotics and machine learning support wildlife research and conservation. Blair Costelloe discusses the WildDrone and WildBotics networks and the Mara Elephant Project; Camille Rondeau Saint-Jean describes real-time animal monitoring; William Njoroge explains how Ol Pejeta Conservancy combines drones with established conservation methods. The episode considers population data, field constraints, regulation and collaboration across disciplines.

Hosted by Andrew Glester

This episode examines the history of genetics and the Genetics Society’s relationship with the eugenics movement. The discussion draws on an article investigating how ideas about heredity became entangled with the discredited programme of applying selective breeding to human populations. It invites listeners to consider the scientific community’s own history and the responsibilities attached to genetic research.

Hosted by Mike Pointer

Francesca and Ilaria discuss taste-receptor research, mitochondrial biology and a reported ALS case study involving an antisense oligonucleotide treatment. Giuliana Galati interviews University of Padua physicist Francesco Recchia about nuclear phenomenology. The episode links these discussions to the underlying research papers and distinguishes a clinical case report from established treatment evidence.

Hosted by Francesca Cecilia Lauta, Ilaria Zanardi

Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove and Brianne Barker discuss a newly identified mechanism for RNA-guided DNA recognition and genetic control that may predate CRISPR pathways. They also examine research proposing that features of Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology could have originated as a host response to infection in the brain, including evidence concerning phosphorylated tau and herpesvirus activity. The episode connects ancient molecular recognition mechanisms with questions about antiviral defence.

Hosted by Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove

The Science Show examines mineral nodules formed around fossil shark teeth on the deep-sea floor and the ecological risks of exploiting them. The programme also considers plant responses to climate change, debates over introduced species, and the contributions and limitations of three influential scientists.

Hosted by Robyn Williams, Belinda Smith

Neurobiologist Tom Clandinin joins Nicholas Weiler to explore how interacting genetic, cellular and metabolic systems maintain brain health over a lifetime, and how their breakdown contributes to neurodegeneration. The discussion moves beyond single explanations such as inflammation or waste clearance to a systems-level study of brain resilience. Clandinin describes a collaborative programme combining large-scale genetic perturbations in flies and mice with molecular, circuit and behavioural measurements. Computational models will connect these observations across cell types, predict interactions and guide experiments toward potential ways to strengthen the aging brain’s maintenance systems.

Hosted by Nicholas Weiler

Chris Smith presents research on individual differences in fruit flies, colour-linked pupil responses in synaesthesia, and how mating patterns broaden cognitive variation in chickadees. The episode also examines which species succeed in cities and how DNA organisation changes in cancer. The publisher provides a full episode player and individual interview transcripts.

Hosted by Chris Smith

Vincent Racaniello speaks with Roberto Cattaneo and Kalpana Yadav at the 2026 American Society for Virology meeting about measles persistence in the brain. They discuss selection for highly fusogenic viral variants when usual measles receptors are absent, neuron-to-neuron spread, and the development of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a rare, fatal delayed complication of measles infection.

Hosted by Vincent Racaniello

This edition of The Science Show covers extinct big cats and early humans, the material properties behind durable Roman concrete, the history of technological disruption by space weather, and methane-consuming microorganisms living in tree bark.

Hosted by Robyn Williams, Belinda Smith

Adrian Hill discusses the scientific challenges behind developing the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine, its path from research to use, and efforts to make vaccination accessible in Africa. The conversation explores the complexity of the malaria parasite and the practical demands of vaccine production and delivery. The publisher credits Marushka Soobben and Chris Smith as presenters and provides the episode audio and interview transcript.

Hosted by Marushka Soobben, Chris Smith

Chris Smith presents a science-news episode examining how artificial intelligence could be misused to develop biological weapons and how researchers and regulators are responding. The programme also covers long-lasting genetic scars after childhood chemotherapy, ultra-strong ice as a possible construction material, and methods for tracking weather patterns on distant planets.

Hosted by Chris Smith

Neuroscientist George Paxinos speaks with Thanos Chatziandreou about brain mapping, consciousness and the questions that remain open in neuroscience. The Greek-language conversation also considers neurodegenerative disease, prevention, AI and the relationship between scientific knowledge, human behaviour and responsibility for the future.

Hosted by Θάνος Χατζηανδρέου