BBC Inside Science

A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.

Radio 4,682 episodes

Episodes

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How is AI going to change science?
What role will humans play in the future of scientific research?
04 Jun 2026,28 mins
Plankton's untapped potential
From Hay Festival 2026, a dive into a big year for our oceans.
28 May 2026,28 mins
El Niño is nigh, but so what?
El Niño is stirring in the Pacific Ocean and may well be one of the strongest yet.
21 May 2026,28 mins
The science behind hantavirus
What do we know about the disease following its outbreak on a cruise ship this month?
14 May 2026,28 mins
Should Pluto become a planet again?
We explore whether Pluto should regain its title as the solar system’s ninth planet
07 May 2026,28 mins
Why is Europe the fastest-warming continent?
We explore the mechanisms causing Europe's warming twice as fast as the global average.
30 Apr 2026,28 mins
Can we prevent the next pandemic?
Creating and manufacturing a novel vaccine capable of combatting bird flu.
23 Apr 2026,28 mins
Forty years on from nuclear disaster
What was learnt from the Chernobyl disaster and how has it shaped UK energy production?
16 Apr 2026,28 mins
Return to the moon
What have we learnt from Artemis II?
09 Apr 2026,28 mins
Responding to your science questions
Why men have nipples and how gravity slingshots work; your science questions answered.
02 Apr 2026,28 mins
The future of space travel
A nuclear-powered spacecraft promises deeper and more explorative space travel.
26 Mar 2026,28 mins
Is quantum computing having its moment?
The UK government announces a £2billion investment in quantum computing.
19 Mar 2026,28 mins
Is the Earth warming faster than we expected?
New research on what three very hot years can tell us about climate change.
12 Mar 2026,28 mins
How is war being fought in space?
Space warfare, space manufacturing and satellite data at Space Comm Expo
05 Mar 2026,28 mins
Does new science get us closer to finding out how life on earth began?
Molecular biologists find tiny self-replicating molecules which may be key to life origins
26 Feb 2026,28 mins
How to bury radioactive waste
And how can future civilisations remember where we put it?
19 Feb 2026,26 mins
Wood, Smoke and Science: Cooking over fire
The science of barbecue recorded at Abergavenny Food Festival 2025.
19 Feb 2026,28 mins
Will there be a city on the moon in ten years?
What would it really take to build a city on the moon?
12 Feb 2026,28 mins
Where do forever chemicals come from?
New research on how forever chemicals get into our environment.
05 Feb 2026,28 mins
Should we rethink navigating by GPS?
GPS is vulnerable to interference, so how can we make navigating at sea safer?
29 Jan 2026,28 mins
How is air travel returning to supersonic speeds?
50 years since Concorde’s first commercial flight, is aviation going supersonic again?
22 Jan 2026,28 mins
Why is Nasa sending people around the moon?
Nasa’s Artemis II rocket is about to be rolled out. What is the mission hoping to achieve?
15 Jan 2026,28 mins
How rare are Greenland’s rare earth elements?
What rare earths have been found in Greenland, and why do we want them?
08 Jan 2026,28 mins
Answering Celebrity Science Questions
From what came before the big bang to why snowflakes are six sided.
01 Jan 2026,28 mins
How did President Trump transform science in 2025?
President Trump continues to shake up science. We look at the impact it’s already having.
18 Dec 2025,28 mins
Would our ancestors have benefited from early neanderthals making fire?
New evidence shows that early neanderthals made fire 350 thousand years before we thought.
11 Dec 2025,28 mins
A 'functional' cure for HIV?
Almost four decades after the first HIV treatment, is there finally a ‘functional’ cure?
04 Dec 2025,28 mins
Why aren’t gene therapies more common?
Three decades since the first successful gene therapy, why aren’t we using them more?
27 Nov 2025,28 mins
What’s in the wording of the COP 30 negotiations?
As COP 30 draws to close in Brazil, we speak to a former negotiator.
20 Nov 2025,28 mins