Whether you’re curious about getting healthy, the Big Bang or the science of cooking, find out everything you need to know in under 30 minutes 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.Then when you’ve mastered the basics with Instant Genius. Dive deeper with Instant Genius Extra, where you’ll find longer, richer discussions about the most exciting ideas in the world of science and technology. Only available on Apple Podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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Helping you become a more effective information designer. You want to create effective data visualizations. That’s hard work. There are so many decisions to make, like chart type, annotations, and color! Will this podcast help? Host and fellow data viz designer Alli Torban is in the trenches with you. She shares the latest tools and methods that she’s discovered while on the job and interviewing top designers. If you’re an analyst, journalist, or designer who wants to hone your skills with specific tactics, then this show could be just what you need.

To become Prime Minister, change your voice

May 23, 2018 42:59 41.28 MB Downloads: 0

Your voice – its pitch, intonation and accent – is a huge part of your personal identity. Trevor Cox is talking to us about the full range of human speech, and how technology’s changing the conversation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The neuroscience of happiness

May 10, 2018 46:36 44.75 MB Downloads: 0

Everyone wants to be happy, it’s an inbuilt part of being human, but what exactly is going on in our brains when we feel happy and what can we do to ensure we live as happy a life as possible? We talk to neuroscientist, comedian and science writer Dean Burnett to find out. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Changing our behaviour with virtual reality

May 03, 2018 31:02 29.79 MB Downloads: 0

VR can be used for so much more than cheap thrills and casual gaming. Jeremy Bailenson tells us how he is using VR to change the way we perceive racism, highlight the impact of climate change, and help us step into the shoes of our sporting heroes.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What it’s really like to die

April 25, 2018 32:43 31.42 MB Downloads: 0

People used to die at home and everybody recognised the process, and now people die in hospital largely with doctors and nurses trying to stop it from happening. So we don’t see how gentle the normal process of a life winding to an end can be. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How to push the limits of human endurance

April 18, 2018 33:52 32.52 MB Downloads: 0

Ahead of the London Marathon, we talk to Alex Hutchinson, author and former long-distance athlete about what it takes to push the human body to its limits. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Transhumanism - using technology to live forever

April 11, 2018 28:30 27.36 MB Downloads: 0

We talk to Mark O’Connell about transhumanism, a movement whose aim is to use technology to control the future evolution of our species – to improve our flawed biology, and to enable us to live forever. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nudge theory

April 04, 2018 29:25 28.25 MB Downloads: 0

How much difference can a small change make? When it comes to changing habits, convincing someone to do something or affecting the behaviour of people without them even knowing about it, quite a lot, as we have seen with the recent Facebook scandal, where data firm Cambridge Analytica used personal data influence the way people vote.  In this week's Science Focus Podcast, BBC Focus commissioning editor Jason Goodyer speaks to David Halpern, Chief Executive of the Behavioural Insights team, about nudge theory – a psychological tool used in behavioural science to subtly influence peoples’ decisions. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Project Discovery and its search for exoplanets

March 29, 2018 25:17 24.28 MB Downloads: 0

We talk to Bergur Finnbogason, Development Manager for Project Discovery, which uses players of the Massively Multiplayer Online game EVE Online to help search for exoplanets. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Remembering Stephen Hawking - the Galaxy's best known scientist

March 21, 2018 54:57 52.77 MB Downloads: 0

In this episode, we chat to four scientists who spent time with Professor Stephen Hawking, to find out more about his life, his work, and his legacy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Exploding Head Syndrome

March 14, 2018 23:12 22.28 MB Downloads: 0

We talk to professor Brian Sharpless about a little-known sleep disorder called Exploding Head Syndrome and the research that hopes find a treatment. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Adventures in brain enhancement

March 07, 2018 44:50 43.04 MB Downloads: 0

This week, we chat to author David Adam about his adventures in brain enhancement, finding out whether smart drugs and electrical brain stimulation could really be a shortcut to a sharper, more focused mind. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The future of humanity

February 28, 2018 38:30 36.97 MB Downloads: 0

This week, we chat to theoretical physicist Michio Kaku about the future of humanity, how we're going to terraform Mars, why the modern space race will change life on Earth, and why aliens probably won't bother to destroy us. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How emotions are made

February 21, 2018 40:05 38.49 MB Downloads: 0

This week, we chat to neuroscientist Lisa Feldmann Barrett about what happens in our brains when we create emotions, how to control them, and what this means for the future of artificial intelligence. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The London Fatberg + Why you should break up with your phone

February 14, 2018 41:00 39.36 MB Downloads: 0

This month, we’re talking about how the Museum of London acquired a piece of the London Fatberg as their new exhibit, and asked them how they’ll keep it “fresh”. We also talk to author Catherine Price about the science that inspired her to break up with her phone. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How plants can survive space missions and Chernobyl

February 01, 2018 23:11 22.26 MB Downloads: 0

The world seems to be going ever more nuclear, but what effect could radiation – from bombs or nuclear meltdowns – have on animals and plants? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.