Flu season starts early, and staving off hungry seagulls

This week - we're pondering periods. With about 800 million people menstruating each day around the globe, we're re-visiting the biology, musing over menstruation and mental wellbeing, and asking why, in 2020, period poverty is such a problem. Plus in the news - Lockdown, or let rip? Are our efforts to try to stop the spread of coronavirus taking us in the wrong direction? An update on England and Wales' NHS Covid app. And with England's ban on some single use plastics now in force, why do we have so much of it in the first place? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

6 Okt 202055min

With an eye on World Vegetarian Day we're looking at the feasibility of a reduced meat diet: What can cutting down calories from meat do for our health, and the health of the planet? Plus, in the news, a new 20 minute test for COVID, why hybrid cars turn out to be worse for the environment than their official performance figures claim, and after hundreds of elephants mysteriously died in Botswana, researchers now think they know why... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

29 Sep 202053min

Do algorithms run the world? Nowadays we measure the amount of data we generate in zettabytes - that's 1 followed by 21 zeroes. This data, in turn, powers algorithms that are getting more and more sophisticated at predicting our behaviour, and are making ever more decisions for us. What does this mean for our society, privacy, and even our inner selves? Plus, in the news, the science - or lack of it - behind the latest COVID "rule of six" guidelines; the Arctic ice shelf that's lost a Manchester-sized chunk of itself; and the whales that ended up tens of kilometres up an inland river... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

22 Sep 202059min

This week - a show with a difference! Space journalist Richard Hollingham and space scientist Katie Mack join Chris to probe the science behind the headlines, talk to other guests along the way, and answer questions that you've been sending in. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

15 Sep 202057min

This week, the story of how humankind has gazed into space, from the first basic telescopes to what gravitational waves are now revealing about the workings of black holes. Plus, in the news, evidence that people are catching COVID again, what's the risk of coronavirus infection on an aeroplane, and bee venom to treat breast cancer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

8 Sep 202055min

Where did the coronavirus come from? The story we've been told is that it started off in bats, and then jumped into humans some time late last year at a seafood market in the city of Wuhan. It's a neat tale - but the problem is, nobody actually knows whether it's completely accurate. In this programme, we're exploring the possibilities, the evidence, and the gaps in the evidence... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

1 Sep 202058min

This week, with our climate changing, will the traditional "English country garden" become a thing of the past? Will pests and diseases surge? And how will flowers and food crops, and the pollinators that make them productive, be affected? Plus, news of how dust and dandruff can spread flu and other viruses. The chemical fingerprint that COVID-19 leaves on the body; and self-driving cars look set to take to the road... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

25 Aug 202059min

This week, How do we understand each other, from infants to adults how do we go about relating to one another. Plus, in the news, A Russian COVID vaccine, the perks of prosecco, and stopping swarming locusts. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

18 Aug 202053min