Science(ish)

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Flâneur and irrepressible commentator, Rick Edwards, and "Indiana Jones in a lab coat" Dr. Michael Brooks, delve into the science behind popular culture.

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102 episodes
Updated Mar 6, 2020

Episodes102

Newest first

Mar 6, 2020 · 43 min
8: Episode 100: The Invisible Man
Will we ever be able to turn invisible? The idea of magically disappearing has fascinated humanity for centuries. Once dismissed as impossible, a promising new wave of technologies could bring this dream one step closer to reality. Rick and Michael wra...
Feb 28, 2020 · 44 min
7: Dark Waters
Have we all been poisoned? PFAS chemicals are all around us and almost certainly in your blood. But just how worried should we be? Michael sits down with Mark Ruffalo and Rob Bilott to talk about the shocking true story behind Dark Waters.Link to Rob B...
Feb 21, 2020 · 43 min
6: Robocop
Will we inevitably all become Cyborgs? More than ever, we’re hearing from Silicon Valley types that humans are going to need to merge with machines. But just what would our augmented future look like? Rick and Michael plug in to the techno-dystopian cl...
Feb 14, 2020 · 39 min
5: Silence of The Lambs
Why aren’t there more cannibals? Through the unforgettable horror of Silence Of The Lambs, Rick and Michael discover that eating your own has all sorts of surprising evolutionary benefits. So why have humans (for the most part) given it up? Time to set...
Dec 20, 2019 · 41 min
4: Star Wars
Is the Force a real thing? Michael takes Rick on a mind bending tour through a galaxy far, far away in Star Wars! Crucial questions will be answered: did Luke Skywalker get his powers from a parasite? Can we use quantum entanglement to summon a lightsa...
Dec 13, 2019 · 40 min
3: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Looking to escape to another reality? Why not try a virtual one? In this episode Rick and Michael get sucked into the world of Jumanji, as they pose the question on everybody's mind's right now, "could we ever live in a game?" Wheth...
Dec 6, 2019 · 49 min
2: Game Of Thrones (Live)
Rick and Michael go full Westeros at a special live show from the Underbelly comedy festival. So, could you really build an Ice Wall that big without using magic? Could a Dragon really fly and breathe fire? And the big one - just how bad is incest real...
Nov 29, 2019 · 40 min
1: Jaws
Is there such a thing as a perfect predator? Rick and Michael kick off Season 5 with the mother of all blockbusters, Steven Spielberg’s 1975 masterpiece Jaws. From a deep dive into the evolution of predation, to a nasty encounter with Free Willy, the b...
Mar 21, 2019 · 40 min
12: History of the World: Part 1
How much does Geography inform History? Why did humanity first emerge where it did? What influence do ancient rock formations have on U.S politics? In the final episode of the season, Rick and Michael try to answer all this and more, diving into Mel Br...
Mar 14, 2019 · 40 min
11: Deadpool
Will we ever be able to regrow limbs? The more we learn about the incredible regenerative abilities of salamanders and planarian worms, the closer we come to coaxing our bodies into repairing any injury. Through Marvel’s Deadpool, Rick and Michael tack...
Mar 8, 2019 · 39 min
10: Inside Out
Personality testing is a multi-billion dollar industry. But how reliable are assessments like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? Can we really find out which Lord of the Rings character Michael is? Rounding off our animated classics trilogy of animated c...
Feb 28, 2019 · 36 min
9: Antz
Does nature prefer hierarchy? When we look out into nature, we see hierarchical systems everywhere. Is it inevitable that humans follow suit? The lads dive into the 1998 animation Antz to find out why these systems evolved and more importantly, how wro...
Feb 22, 2019 · 40 min
8: WALL-E
Every year we produce over 2 billion tonnes of waste. That figure is only going up. Never before has the question been more pressing: what should we do with all our stuff? From atop a giant pile of broken printers, Rick and Michael discuss Pixar’s 2008...
Feb 14, 2019 · 40 min
7: Geostorm
What if we could control the weather? Inspired by the futuristic disaster film Geostorm, the boys delve into the contentious field of geoengineering. Can or should we tinker with the Earth’s climate to mitigate the risks of runaway climate change? What...
Feb 7, 2019 · 34 min
6: Icarus
When Bryan Fogel’s 2017 docu-thriller Icarus exposed Russia's Olympic doping programme, it sent shockwaves through the sports community. This week the boys explore the long and bizarre history of doping in sport and the perpetual arms race between...
Jan 31, 2019 · 36 min
5: Dante's Peak
Without volcanoes there would be no life on Earth. But just how afraid of supervolcanoes - like the one in Yellowstone National Park - should we be? Inspired by 90s disaster movie Dante’s Peak, the boys explore just how bad it could get for humanity an...
Dec 20, 2018 · 35 min
4: Westworld
What better way to kick off Christmas than a deep dive into the ethics of sex robots? Exploring the science and pitfalls of dystopian drama Westworld, the boys sit down with renowned computer scientist Kate Devlin to discuss her new book ‘Turned On: Sc...
Dec 14, 2018 · 37 min
3: Blindness
Could we be on the cusp of eradicating vision loss? Through the 2008 epidemic thriller ‘Blindness’, the boys explore the mind-boggling complexity of the eye and the conditions that led to its evolution in the animal kingdom. With tens of millions of pe...
Dec 6, 2018 · 35 min
2: Moonraker
With the declaration of Trump’s ‘Space Force’, the domain of space is ever closer to becoming a new and potentially terrifying theatre of war. Through the Roger Moore classic Moonraker, the boys examine our reliance on vulnerable satellites and the ram...
Nov 29, 2018 · 35 min
1: Fight Club
To kick off Series 4, Michael asked Rick to hit him as hard as he can… with knowledge! Through the Brad Pitt/Ed Norton classic Fight Club, the boys dive headfirst into the uncomfortable world of pain research. From the world’s most painful ailments, to...