Instant Genius
Episodes
Why ADHD is so challenging to diagnose
07 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is currently thought to affect around one in 20 of the world’s population, making it one of the m...
Inside the project helping the hearing-impaired listen to music
03 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The vast majority of us take listening to and appreciating music for granted. But for those of us living with hearing loss, continuing to enjoy our fa...
Why your Neanderthal genes may be affecting your health
30 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
There’s so much we don’t know about Neanderthals. Our stocky, muscular relatives went extinct around 40,000 years ago, leaving a trail of mystery ...
Don't miss the upcoming Science of Sound Miniseries!
28 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Would you like to hear about the fascinating new discoveries astronomers are making by listening to distant stars? Learn about the cutting edge tech s...
How to help your brain thrive in a rapidly changing world
26 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For thousands of years, the evolution of the human race has been driven by natural selection and the passing on of genes that have helped us to thrive...
How to break free from imposter syndrome
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
No matter our level of ability, talent or achievement, at times some of us feel like we’re a fraud and have simply been blagging our way to success....
The dawn chorus – why birds sing at the break of day
19 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In springtime, as the Sun rises, the early morning air is filled with the glorious sound of birdsong. This is known as the dawn chorus. But why exactl...
How to save the planet’s forests
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Forests cover around one-third of all landmass on Earth and, as such, play a key role in the ecological health of the entire planet. However, thanks t...
How flowers played a key role of the evolution of life on Earth
12 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For most of us, our experience of flowers is limited to sending a bouquet to our loved ones on special occasions or perhaps picking up some pretty pla...
How chemistry underpins every area of our lives
09 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
While we may not always be consciously aware of it, chemical processes are busy whirring away every second of every day, no matter what we’re doing ...
How to engage more deeply with the natural world
05 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps due to poor weather, the COVID pandemic, or a simple lack of motivation, these days many of us spend a lot of our time indoors. However, where...
You’ve been pooping wrong, but here’s how to fix it
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Smelly, dirty and a bit embarrassing – we tend to treat our poo as a private matter, to be dealt with in the bathroom and then stringently ignored. ...
Why it’s not too late to reverse Earth’s extinction crisis
29 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Planet Earth is currently facing its sixth mass extinction event, with hundreds of species of plants and animals being lost for good every single day....
Why gout is on the rise, and how to lower your risk
27 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If you were to mention the term gout, the chances are that most of us would think of the gluttonous sovereigns of yesteryear who ended up with the con...
How our intimate relationship with animals shaped human evolution
23 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to our highly developed brains, sophisticated ability to communicate and use of advanced technology, it can be easy to think that we humans are...
Why our brains struggle to keep up with a rapidly changing world
20 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The human brain is undoubtedly one of the true marvels of nature. But many of the neural mechanisms that evolved to keep our ancestors alive over thou...
Why we need to save ugly, creepy, scary and misunderstood animals
16 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The natural world is filled with a rich tapestry of creatures, each occupying a unique evolutionary niche that helps to keep the ecosystems they live ...
How we look at the Universe with a radio
13 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
There’s an entire cosmos hidden from our human eyes. The only way to see it is by looking at the Universe with a radio. We talk to Dr Emma Chapman a...
How to spot the telltale signs of lying using linguistics
09 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How can we tell if someone we’re speaking to is being economical with the truth? Oftentimes, we’re told that the primary telltale signs lie in the...
Why understanding what makes us hungry is key to weight loss
06 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Chances are that if any of us are looking to drop a bit of excess weight, the first thing we’ll attempt is to cut down the number of calories we’r...
How to slash your dementia risk in 12 weeks
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Around the world, more than 50 million people are living with some form of dementia – a number expected to triple by 2050 as populations age. But th...
Why connecting with others is vital for our mental health
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Statistics show that half of us will experience a mental health condition of some kind by the time we turn forty. Could this be due to the increasing ...
How metabolism really affects your health, weight and wellbeing
23 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Whether we’re working at a desk in an office, running a marathon or even asleep in bed, our bodies are host to thousands of chemical processes that ...
What faces reveal about us and the societies we live in
20 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The human face contains more than 40 muscles, giving us an ability to visually express our thoughts and emotions that is unique in the animal kingdom....
How our planet connects to the Solar System around it
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We often think of our planet as an isolated island, solitary and cut off from the cosmic ocean it resides in. But the truth is, Earth is intimately co...
How AI could help us create life from scratch
13 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For the last several billion years, all life on Earth has progressed according to the rules of evolution by natural selection – a step-by-step proce...
What happens in our brains and bodies when we fall in love
09 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The chances are that if any of us were asked to describe what it feels like to be in love we’d turn to art, poetry or music to help give us the answ...
Why gradual change is the true driving force of innovation
06 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past several decades, many technologists and policy makers have sought out huge, disruptive shifts in thinking in almost every area of scienc...
Why we need to rethink our concept of evil
02 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If most of us are put on the spot and asked to name acts that we think would define a person as evil, it’s likely our minds would turn to murderers,...
The hidden ways the Internet and social media are shaping healthcare
30 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
From famous actors and pop stars to the legions of social media influencers with millions of views, it seems almost everyone has something to say abou...
How to break free from the negative cycle of overthinking
26 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
While the human mind is capable of great insight, original thoughts and acts of tender kindness towards others, it can also, at times, act like our ow...
How paleoartists bring dinosaurs to life
23 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
From the terrifying, hulking beasts portrayed in blockbuster movies to the friendly, charismatic characters often found in children’s cartoons, dino...
Why mental resilience is a skill we can all learn
19 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
At some points in our lives, we all face challenges or setbacks or find ourselves in difficult situations that can ultimately have a profound effect o...
The hidden scoring systems running our lives
16 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In the world of games, scoring systems establish a framework that provides us with clear challenges, motivation, and ultimately delivers a huge amount...
How to beat burnout in an increasingly fast-paced world
12 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
These days, it can be easy to feel like we have too much to do and too little time to do it in. This can lead to many of us feeling overwhelmed, or in...
Why your next best friend may be an AI
09 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last several decades, the world has seen artificial intelligence undergo a rapid transformation. Since its beginnings in the 1950s as specula...
How the arts can keep our bodies and brains healthier for longer
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For many of us, consuming or making art – be it listening to music, playing an instrument, reading a book, painting a watercolour or attending a dan...
Why social connection is vital for our health and well-being
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There’s little doubt that we humans are a deeply social species; in many ways, our interactions with others define the very essence of who we are. B...
Why the new era of life-saving drugs starts with plants
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chances are that if you open your bathroom cabinet, many of the medicines you find there were first discovered by studying the chemical processes of t...
How to beat the alarming increase in childhood allergies
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Currently, around 40 per cent of children in the UK have been diagnosed with an allergy of some form or another – the most common being food allergi...
Our Universe could be trapped inside a black hole with no way out
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It sounds like a theory plucked from the page of a science fiction novel, but according to Enrique Gaztañaga from the University of Portsmouth, our e...
The real story behind Jurassic Park’s most controversial dinosaur
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chances are that when most of us think of spinosaurs our minds will turn to the hulking, predatory sail-backed dinosaur that famously took down a T. R...
What neuroscience can tell us about our decisions, destinies and the nature of free will
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How much control do we have over our actions and decisions? For most of us, it’s likely that the answer is that, of course, all of the choices we ma...
Why we should all be listening to animals more closely
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s likely that if any of us step and of our front doors and take a moment to listen to what’s going on around us, we’ll hear the vocalisations...
How widening our palettes can help feed, and save, the planet
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s currently thought that around one billion people worldwide aren’t getting enough protein to meet their daily needs. Alongside this, it’s be...
Why not getting enough sleep plays havoc with our emotions
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us will have experienced changes in our emotional states after failing to get a good night’s sleep. Maybe we find that we lose our temper mo...
How to combat the planet’s growing issue of food waste
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
According to the United Nations, around one-third of all the food currently produced across the planet is being lost or wasted, oftentimes before it e...
The hidden forces driving the AI bubble
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode was recorded on November 6th 2025. Artificial intelligence has been the movement of the moment in recent years. Since it burst to promin...
Earth is heading for a food emergency. Can we stop it?
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Recent UN data tells us that currently 670 million people around the world are going hungry. There’s little doubt that food security is one of the m...
How whales may be using their haunting songs as a navigation system
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Along with their vast size and habit of jumping playfully out of the water, whales are renowned for their haunting melodic vocalisations. However, aft...
How personalised nutrition is transforming our understanding of diet and health
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past several decades nutritional advice from doctors and expert researchers has largely relied on one-size-fits-all approach – eat five por...
What we all need to know about menopause
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout our lives we all go through several significant periods of change – puberty, young adulthood, middle age, retirement. Each comes with its...
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales on what AI and Elon Musk mean for the site's future
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wikipedia. It needs almost no introduction. Few websites are more well-known, more commonly used and more foundational to the web as we know it than t...
How psychedelics could kickstart the next mental health revolution
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hippies, the Beatles, flower power, magic mushrooms, raves and festivals – that’s what most of us associate with psychedelics. But there is mounti...
Don't miss the upcoming Future of Food miniseries!
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What will we all be eating in 2050? How will it be produced? And how can our diets keep us healthier for longer? If these are questions you'd like ans...
How our bodies are host to mysterious cells that came from other people
19 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The commonly held story goes that we all begin life as a single cell in our mother’s womb and go on from there to develop into fully formed adult hu...
How human consciousness emerged from the fundamental processes of nature
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to hundreds of years of scientific progress we now know, that like every other living thing on Earth, human beings are simply assemblages of at...
The hunt for the first stars in the Universe
12 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Stars feel like a fundamental feature of the Universe – as essential as planets, galaxies and space itself. But since we know the Universe had a beg...
The weird and wonderful science behind why humans are different
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Humanity is beautifully diverse. Some of that diversity is visible, but hidden beneath the surface, there is also a hidden web of genetic variation th...
The key role psychologists can play in the fight against ecological crime
05 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chances are that when most of us think about the notion of crime our minds turn to acts committed against an individual – be it theft, fraud or even...
The psychology of paranormal experiences
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Be it a cold, drafty room in a creaky old country house or a still, quiet forest on a dark night, chances are that at one point or another we’ll all...
Inside the hunt for life-changing medicines
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chances are when we’re treated with medicines in hospital or pick up our prescriptions at the pharmacy, we don’t give much thought about how the d...
From asteroids to aliens - how space is threatening our planet
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is our planet under threat from the depths of space? In this episode, we talk to solar physicist Dr Ryan French. Normally, Ryan is busy unravelling th...
Why we treat our pets and possessions like human beings
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us treat our pet dogs or cats with the same love and attention that with give to our human babies, some of us give our cars or other prized po...
How bats became one of the planet’s most successful animals
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a little-known fact that bats are one of the most successful animals on Earth, with almost 1,500 different species currently identified. Their ...
Why penguins are one of the planet’s most unique bird species
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to their comical waddle-like way of walking, striking tuxedo-patterned plumage or graceful ability to seemingly ‘fly’ beneath the water, pe...
Busting the biggest myths in neuroscience
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Relatively speaking neuroscience and psychology are young fields of scientific research that only really got going over the last hundred years or so. ...
The positive tipping points that can help us solve the climate crisis
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to climate change, we often think of tipping points as having a huge negative effect. Be it the loss of ice sheets in the Arctic, the de...
How cats became one of our most-loved domestic pets
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From Lewis Carrol’s mysterious grinning Cheshire Cat and Jim Davis’s lazy, lasagne-loving comic strip tabby Garfield to the depictions of big cats...
How the health of the oceans is vital for the health of the planet
31 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Despite being a land-based species, the fact is that we humans live on a planet that is largely covered by oceans. The oceans play a key role in regul...
The tiny molecules tackling the planet’s biggest challenges
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Omar Yaghi – a pioneer of materials chemistry whose inventions are shaping the future of clean energy, ...
How to build a healthier, longer-living society
24 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The most commonly held narrative states that we’re all ultimately responsible for our own health and wellbeing. While there’s undoubtedly truth in...
The psychology of making the most of your time
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Be it due to an increasingly demanding workload or responsibilities that need fulfilling at home, these days many of feel that there isn’t enough ti...
How to overcome fear, according to a neuroscientist
17 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We all know the feeling: thoughts racing through your mind, nervous flutters in your belly, your heart beating hard in your chest. When your whole bod...
How connecting with nature can help neurodivergent lives
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s estimated that as many as one in five of the world’s population are neurodivergent. Be it ADHD, autism or dyslexia, these differences in brai...
The science behind PMS, and how to beat it
10 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The luteal phase of the menstrual cycle has a really bad reputation. It’s known for premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, when many menstruating people exp...
How the world needs to adapt to a changing climate
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’re no longer living in a world before climate change. Its impacts – from rising sea levels to more extreme weather – are already upon us, and...
How humans learned to speak and why
03 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Humans’ unique ability to communicate through complex systems of language is one of the key attributes that separates us from the rest of the animal...
The biggest unsolved mysteries in cosmology
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For thousands of years humans have looked out into the night sky and pondered on the mysteries of the vast cosmos that we find ourselves part of. From...
The hidden ways money has shaped human civilisation
27 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If most of us were asked what we thought was meant by the word ‘technology’ chances are the first thing that would come to mind are inventions suc...
A neuroscientist’s guide to living with dementia
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dementia doesn’t have to be terrifying. We tend to think of neurocognitive decline as something to be feared and avoided, but as the population ages...
The hidden life in the air we breathe
20 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every day we all breathe in thousands of litres of air, it is, of course essential for our continued existence. But did you know that the air that sur...
How future tech will help you stay healthier for longer
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rapid advances in technology over the past several decades have impacted almost every area of our lives. It could be argued that innovations in medici...
Why your brain might be wired for extremism
13 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do some people become radicalised, while others remain resistant to extreme ideas? What makes one mind more vulnerable to harsh doctrines than ano...
How working too hard is damaging your health and productivity
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Be it at school or in the workplace, many of us are under more and more pressure to work harder for longer to ensure that we’re performing at our be...
How the maths of sameness and difference can change the way you view the world
06 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Anyone who has studied maths even briefly will no doubt be familiar with the ‘equals’ sign. But there’s much more to this seemingly simple symbo...
Busting the biggest weight loss myths
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Currently, 60 per cent of people in the UK are overweight or obese. It’s likely that many of us would like to drop a few pounds if possible but with...
Better Sleep: The hidden power of napping
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Be it a brief power nap to help perk us up, a Sunday afternoon kip after a big lunch, or a traditional daily Spanish siesta, many of us put our heads ...
The new science of music as medicine
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us listen to music or play an instrument for pleasure thanks to the unique effect it has on our emotions. But what exactly is going on in our ...
Better Sleep: How psychology can help you beat insomnia
22 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past several decades it’s become abundantly clear that getting a good night’s sleep is essential for our health and wellbeing. However, c...
How your brain builds your picture of reality
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do our brains help us build up a picture of the world around us? It’s a question that has both beguiled and fascinated scientists for centuries....
Better Sleep: How snoring affects our health
15 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More than four in ten of us in the UK are snorers. Far from being a trivial condition, snoring can have a significant impact on our ability to sleep, ...
The science behind Agatha Christie’s poisons
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Humans are enthralled by stories about murder. And the mysteries we tell these days – like in the Glass Onion films or TV shows like The Residence –...
Better Sleep: The deep connection between sleep and memory
08 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We humans spend roughly one third of our time sleeping. For the average person this adds up to around 26 years over our lifetimes. And though to the o...
How to harness the healing power of the body’s largest nerve
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a little-known fact that we all have two long networks of nerves that run down either side of our necks that pass signals from our brains to al...
The evolution of music, its impact on human culture and its future
01 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There’s little doubt that music is an integral part of what it means to be human. But how did it first arise, how did musical instruments and compos...
Why we should rethink our relationship with alcohol
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The shocking fact is that alcohol is responsible for around three times more deaths globally than any other drug combined, save for tobacco. However, ...
Don't miss the upcoming Better Sleep miniseries!
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Studies show that around one in three of us aren't getting enough sleep, and this is having a huge impact on our ability to perform at our best, bo...
How humans may soon become an interplanetary species
25 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s now been more than 50 years since any human being has set foot on the Moon, but the ambition to do so again has been gathering pace over the la...
The listening hacks that can transform your health
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our everyday lives are filled with sounds of all kinds – birdsong, traffic noise, the music we choose to listen to or is played in shops and restaur...