CrowdScience

BBC World Service

We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.

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504 episodes
Updated Friday

Episodes504

Newest first

Aug 2, 2019 · 30 min
How many fossils are there?
Have we already found the last T. rex? Or are there many more to be discovered?
Jul 26, 2019 · 33 min
Why do we pull faces when we concentrate?
We tackle the science of scowling, gesturing, and counting
Jul 19, 2019 · 42 min
Where’s my time machine?
When will sci fi’s favourite technologies become reality?
Jul 12, 2019 · 28 min
Who were the first farmers?
The story of how our ancestors tamed plants and animals
Jul 5, 2019 · 33 min
Why do some people eat soil?
What drives the body to crave something that isn’t real food?
Jun 28, 2019 · 34 min
Can we prevent traffic jams?
Should our cities cater less for cars and what are the alternatives?
Jun 21, 2019 · 30 min
What’s the best way to breathe?
Can certain breathing techniques improve your exercise performance?
Jun 14, 2019 · 26 min
Are there new ways to beat depression?
We investigate how science is uncovering new ways to help beat long-term depression
Jun 7, 2019 · 32 min
Can singing improve our health?
Could this much-loved musical pastime improve our mental and physical strength?
May 31, 2019 · 33 min
How are we evolving?
How are we changing genetically to adapt to modern lifestyles and our environment
May 24, 2019 · 32 min
Could our household microbes help or harm us?
We revisit our episode on dust to decide what we should do with our invisible housemates
May 17, 2019 · 31 min
Could dark matter harbour dark life?
Marnie Chesterton answers Indian listener Gautam’s question about dark life
May 10, 2019 · 27 min
How does a single cell become me?
How do trillions of individual cells work together to build bodies?
May 4, 2019 · 30 min
Did cooking make us human?
When did we switch from eating our food raw, to heating it?
Apr 26, 2019 · 30 min
Could viruses help fight super-bugs?
CrowdScience travels to Georgia in search of solutions to antibiotic resistance
Apr 19, 2019 · 35 min
Will we ever know what the universe is made of?
CrowdScience finds out if there’s a limit to what physicists at CERN can discover
Apr 12, 2019 · 30 min
Why do we find things beautiful?
Humans seem programmed to appreciate beauty – but why?
Apr 5, 2019 · 29 min
What are dreams for?
Do we actually need to dream? Is there an evolutionary reason for it?
Mar 29, 2019 · 32 min
Which milk is best for me and the planet?
Is switching from dairy milk to plant-based milks a healthier choice?
Mar 22, 2019 · 31 min
Why do we like some animals and hate others?
What makes us fawn over a puppy, but run away from rats?