Whether you’re curious about getting healthy, the Big Bang or the science of cooking, find out everything you need to know with Instant Genius. The team behind ...
Why OCD is a serious, debilitating mental condition, not just a need for cleanliness or order
We all experience distressing or intrusive thoughts at some point in our lives but for around two to three per cent of us these can be incredibly difficult to ignore and can begin to have a significant debilitating effect on our lives. Clinically this is known as obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD – a condition that many of us will have heard of but few understand.
In this episode, we speak to Dr Marjan Biria, a psychologist and neuroscientist based at University College London.
She tells us about some common obsessions and compulsions experienced by those with OCD, why thoughts are not actions and why people who say they are ‘a little bit OCD’ because they like cleanliness or order are significantly misunderstanding the condition.
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29:22
How truth and honesty are key to tackling the climate crisis
Despite decades of international climate summits, the ongoing work of various campaign groups and open letters signed by some of the world’s most prominent scientists highlighting the crucial need for action, carbon emissions, biodiversity loss and sea level rises are still going up across the globe. So, what are we getting wrong?
In this episode, we speak to leading researcher and author Mike Berners-Lee about his latest book A Climate of Truth, Why We Need it and How to Get It.
He argues that truth and honesty are key if we are to avert what he refers to as the climate polycrisis. Facts and data need to be reported frankly and clearly, policymakers and business leaders need to be held to higher standards of honesty and when it comes down to it, we can all make a difference by educating ourselves, questioning the information we’re presented with and, ultimately, voting with our wallets.
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34:09
How to combat uncertainty in a post-truth world
These days we’re bombarded with information and claims that purport to explain almost every conceivable aspect of our lives, be it down to the bold assertions made by policymakers, the confidence of anonymity afforded by social media or just our natural human inclination to be fooled by a well-spoken know-it-all. But exactly who are the people making these claims, how do they reach their conclusions, and really, can anyone ever actually be certain about anything?
In this episode, we catch up with the statistician, epidemiologist and author Adam Kucharski to take about his latest book Proof, The Uncertain Science of Uncertainty.
He tells us how Abraham Lincoln’s background as lawyer led him to study the nature of proof beyond reasonable doubt and how it helped him to win his presidency, how picking holes in previous logical thinking enabled Albert Einstein to discover some of his greatest theories, and what the COVID pandemic taught us all about the value of scientific rigour and evidence-based conclusions.
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29:31
How AI is helping us to understand how our brains learn
The human brain is surely one of the most complex and fascinating creations in all of nature. It’s through them that we experience the world around us, develop knowledge and skills, and carry within us memories of events and experiences that occurred decades in the past, which we can later draw on to face new challenges.
But when it comes to understanding exactly what is going on between our ears, we’re only just starting to scratch the surface. Could artificial intelligence technology help us in this quest?
In this episode, we’re joined by Prof Andrew Saxe, a computational neuroscientist based at University College London.
He tells us about the work his lab is carrying out on modelling the function of our brains using artificial intelligence, what this research has already uncovered about how our brains learn and what we can look forward to discovering in the coming decade or so.
Andrew is a finalist for the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists.
https://blavatnikawards.org/news/items/finalists-announced-2025-uk-blavatnik-awards-young-scientists/
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26:55
What our coastlines can tell us about the planet’s past and future
From the dramatic caves that bring to mind the pirates and smugglers of yore to the rolling sand dunes many of us likely played in as children, our coastlines are home to all manner of fascinating features, forged over centuries by crashing waves and harsh, unforgiving weather. But far from simply being picturesque, these landmarks can teach us about our planet’s past and ultimately, its future.
In this episode, we speak to writer and author Matthew Yeomans about his latest book Seascape: Notes from a Changing Coastline.
He speaks to us about the observations he made of the many and varied effects of climate change while walking along the Welsh coastline, how the threat of coastal flooding is very real and how nature-based solutions may well be the most effective way of protecting our precious coastlines.
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Whether you’re curious about getting healthy, the Big Bang or the science of cooking, find out everything you need to know with Instant Genius. The team behind BBC Science Focus Magazine talk to world-leading experts to bring you a bite-sized masterclass on a new subject each week.
New episodes are released every Monday and Friday and you can subscribe to Instant Genius on Apple Podcasts to access all new episodes ad-free and all old episodes of Instant Genius Extra.
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