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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
  • May 10, 2018 · 36 min

    13: Contagion

    Science(ish) marks the 100-year anniversary of the devastating Spanish Flu outbreak by exploring the real threat behind the film Contagion: How vulnerable are we to the next deadly pandemic? Are we ready for it? And will you stop touching your face so ...

  • May 3, 2018 · 35 min

    12: Altered Carbon

    Inspired by Netflix series Altered Carbon, Rick and Michael tackle the science behind Silicon Valley’s ultimate wet dream: uploading our minds to a computer. Isn’t it time you moved beyond your pathetic human biology and treated yourself to an upgrade?...

  • Apr 26, 2018 · 36 min

    11: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

    Could we reverse ageing and live forever? Science(ish) confronts our own mortality and explores the growing field of research which is bringing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button closer to reality. Might immortality be possible? And what would you be ...

  • Apr 19, 2018 · 36 min

    10: The Machine Stops

    Inspired by the 109-year-old novel ‘The Machine Stops’ which remarkably predicted the internet as we know it today, Rick and Michael explore whether someone could ever switch our machine off - and if the internet might someday ‘wake up’?Featuring: Pr...

  • Apr 12, 2018 · 38 min

    9: Dr Strangelove

    With the Doomsday Clock now at two minutes to midnight, the boys go nuclear and explore the legendary political satire Dr. Strangelove. Could Trump fire off a nuke like he fires off a tweet? And how close are we to complete annihilation? The questions ...

  • Apr 5, 2018 · 29 min

    8: The Cell

    Through the sci-fi horror ‘The Cell’, Rick and Michael delve into the murky ‘grey zone of consciousness’ which separates life from death. Their quest: to discover if we could communicate with someone in a coma.Featuring: Prof Adrian Owen

  • Mar 29, 2018 · 31 min

    7: The Day of the Triffids

    A treat for all the vegans out there. Rick and Michael tackle John Wyndham’s ‘The Day of the Triffids’, exploring whether plants can think, feel, and learn. And of course, the most fundamental question of all: who’s the real master of the earth - human...

  • Mar 22, 2018 · 35 min

    6: Hackers

    With the help of a real-life hacker, Rick and Michael go worldwide(web) by asking 'how vulnerable are we to hackers?'. We're talking Stuxnet, the internet of things, and baby monitors that talk back.Featuring: Jake Davis (formerly; Top...

  • Mar 15, 2018 · 31 min

    5: Limitless

    Michael decides it’s time to get cerebral and opts for Neil Burger’s ‘Limitless’. We’re talking brain myths, we’re talking nootropics, and of course, we’re talking/taking modafinil.Featuring: Professor Barbara Sahakian

  • Mar 8, 2018 · 28 min

    4: Flatliners

    The boys go deadly serious with 1990 sci-fi classic ‘Flatliners’. Brain death, consciousness, and everything in between.Featuring: Professor Leslie WhetstineProduced By: Max SandersonSound Designer: Ivor Manley

  • Mar 1, 2018 · 31 min

    3: Children of Men

    Michael continues the dystopia with Alfonso Cuarón’s fertility thriller ‘Children of Men’ by asking ‘could humans go infertile?’ (Includes hints of a mid-life crisis from a certain Rick Edwards - not to be missed).Featuring: Professor Shanna Swan

  • Feb 22, 2018 · 38 min

    2: Never Let Me Go

    After 3 years of asking, Rick finally gets his dream episode with Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘Never Let Me Go’ (apparently; also a film). Ghost hearts, chimeras, and sentient pigs - what more could you want?Featuring: Dr Jun Wu

  • Feb 15, 2018 · 34 min

    1: Arrival

    The boys start the new series with a bang. And a new format. One question, one scientist, plenty of relatively well-informed chat. To kick off, Rick and Michael go extra-terrestrial with 2016’s linguistic thriller ‘Arrival’. We’re talking a hundred wor...

  • Feb 1, 2018 · 5 min

    Science(ish) Season Three Trailer

    Science(ish) is back! As of Thursday 15th February 2018, Rick Edwards and Dr Michael Brooks will be beaming into your ears every week and tackling the biggest scientific questions behind popular fiction. From holding conversations with aliens, to wheth...

  • Dec 21, 2017 · 38 min

    Science(ish) Christmas Special, Series 2 Episode 8

    Rick and Michael decide to get nostalgic with a festive wrap of Season 2 by revisiting their favourite questions. We're talking fringe theories, we're talking spider goats, and we're talking simulated universes. Happy Christmas everyone!...

  • Jul 26, 2017 · 53 min

    Armageddon, Series 2 Episode 6

    Rick and Michael cast their eyes to space and go asteroid-hunting as per Michael Bay’s 1998 disaster classic ‘Armageddon’. How can we spot ‘em? How can we destroy ‘em? And how can an army of painter-decorators potentially save the day?https://radiowo...

  • Jul 14, 2017 · 53 min

    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Series 2 Episode 5

    Rick and Michael take a trip down memory lane, as told through the romantic science fiction comedy-drama (yes; that’s a thing) ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’. What is a memory? How reliable are they? Can we selectively erase them? And, of cour...

  • May 17, 2017 · 55 min

    The Fly, Series 2 Episode 4

    The Brooks-Edwards hybrid delves into the world of chimeras, as seen in David Cronenberg’s classic ‘The Fly’. We’re talking teleportation. We’re talking spider-goats. We’re talking the “Brundlefly.” Be afraid, be very afraid.https://radiowolfgang.com...

  • Apr 24, 2017 · 53 min

    Perfume, Series 2 Episode 3

    Rick and Michael delve into the world of olfaction, as seen through the lens of Patrick Süskind’s psychopathic thriller ‘Perfume’. How do we smell? How can it affect us? And is Lynx Africa the world’s most perfect scent?https://radiowolfgang.com/s/sc...