The Rest Is Science
Episodes
Michael's Favourite Science Books
19 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What do Bill Bryson, Daniel Wegner and J.R.R. Tolkien have in common? They are all part of Michael's reading recommendations. On this episode of Field...
Cognitive Ghosts
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wanted to squish a puppy just because it’s impossibly cute? Or felt absolutely certain you’ve lived this exact moment before? Hannah and ...
Introducing: The Book Club - Never Let Me Go
14 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What inspired Kazuo Ishiguro’s timeless story about mortality, growing up, and the human condition? How are its characters so relatable, and yet ent...
Michael's Favourite Science Books
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
------------------- For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit https://...
What's The Most "Vegetable" Vegetable?
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Botanically speaking, there is no such thing as a vegetable, so what exactly is sitting on your dinner plate? And if our culinary world is built on bi...
How Words Shape Your Body
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Does your native language physically sculpt your face? And could a swarm of bees be trained to run computer code? Two of your questions answer in t...
You Don't Exist For One Third Of Your Life
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Humans have split the atom, we can stream movies from space and are working towards everlasting life. So why in the world are we still spending...
How To Fall To Earth (Without Burning Up)
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Rockets are built to slice cleanly through the atmosphere on the way up. Coming home, it turns out, requires... not turning into a fireball before a b...
You (Don't) Know Where You Are
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If someone asked you to point to yourself, where would you point? Your chest? Your head? Somewhere just behind your eyes? Where are you? In thi...
How Big Is A Piece Of Chocolate?
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
At what exact chemical ratio does our beloved chocolate devolve into a mere structure of fats and sugars? How far can you dilute chocolate before its ...
Do animals know they’re lying?
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Is deception a uniquely human trait, or is the natural world built on a foundation of fraud? When a cuttlefish shifts its skin to mimic a female and s...
The Evolution Of The Butthole
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Topologically speaking, a human is just a donut with seven holes. It sounds like a joke, but it is a fundamental biological reality. Professor Hannah ...
(Finite) Numbers So Large They'd Destroy You
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It starts as a friendly challenge: who can name the biggest number? The only rule? Infinity doesn’t count. What follows is a journey through t...
Michael Wrote Some Math Poetry
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Can mathematics ever truly be proven? And can Michael's poetry help you remember some tricky equations? In this episode, Professor Hannah Fry and ...
Can We 'Solve' Sports?
03 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Is it possible to make a sport too good? Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore how science, data, and optimisation are transforming mode...
This Glass Was Made By Lightening
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Could a bolt of lightning become a permanent geological relic? How small would you have to squash a hamster to turn it into a black hole? Professor H...
Can You REALLY Be Bored To Death?
27 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What is boredom really, and why does it feel so unbearable? Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the science of boredom, revealing it n...
Why We Follow Orders We Know Are Wrong
22 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Can we store summer’s heat to warm our homes in winter? Could humans perceive a fourth dimension? And why does light bend around gravity even though...
Why Your Brain Sees Patterns in Chaos
19 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What do we mean when we call an event random? Most people view randomness as a fundamental property of the universe, but is it just a label for ou...
Why Erdős Was The Original Kevin Bacon
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Some objects feel like they’re from another world. One of these might be the giant structure that makes up a quantum computer. Lifted straight from ...
Why Can't You Smell The Inside Of Your Nose?
13 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Right now, you’re breathing in. As you inhale, air rushes past millions of sensory receptors, activating the part of your brain responsible for smel...
Could Sound Make You Levitate?
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine: a series of objects floating in midair without magnets, strings or visible supports. With an acoustic levitation sound waves alone can suspen...
Are Magnets The Most Familiar Mystery On Earth?
06 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Deep beneath our feet, churning molten metals create an invisible shield that holds our atmosphere in place and protects all life from the Sun. So...
Unadulterated Dice Nerding
01 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
From tiny six sided cubes to oversized polyhedrons with dozens of faces, Michael’s collection of dice is more than just a hobby, it’s a window int...
What Day Is It, Really?
30 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What day is it, really? And who decided? What happens to time when we leave the Earth? And when might future humans be counting down to the dawn of a ...
The Smell Of Christmas Is Tree Screams
25 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Each December millions of homes fill with the unmistakable scent of pine. It's sharp, resinous, and strangely comforting, feeling timeless…familiar…...
The Reality of Being Santa
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Could Santa Claus still existed IF we stripped away the magic? If the ability to bend space time was gone? What conditions would Santa need to deliver...
The Device That Maps The Heavens
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tucked away in old engineering kits and museum drawers is a device whose gentle sweeping motion once captivated mathematicians and designers alike. ...
Are You REALLY Made Of Stars?
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when the universe throws a random curveball at one of the most precise communities on Earth? Cosmic rays high-energy particles from deep ...
The Magic Math Trick That Fools Everyone
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What makes a simple brain-teaser about two identical swords one of the most deceptively tricky logic puzzles of the last century? And why has this see...
Is Music Getting Worse?
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Has music really been getting worse… or is it just shifting in ways we don’t always notice? And why does the soundtrack to your teenage years feel...
The Letter That Changed Mathematics
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How did pages of mysterious “gibberish” sent from Madras find their way to one of Cambridge University’s most respected mathematicians? Were the...
This One's a Tear Jerker
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are humans the only creatures that shed emotional tears? If we are, what purpose do these tears really serve? If crying is so natural, why do we so of...
What We Said To Aliens
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when humanity dares to shout a cosmic “hello”? Could it help alien civilisations decode human mathematics, our DNA, the blueprints of...
We're All Being Pulled Together
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is gravity, really? Why do objects pull towards each other at all? And if Einstein 'fixed' Newton’s theory, why does gravity remain one of scie...
How To Drink Lava
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is lava water, and could we have a delicious hot cup of it? Is ice really a rock, and not water? And, the age old question, is water wet? From the mi...
The Rest Is Science - Coming 25th November
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Forget what you think you know about reality. The Rest Is Science is a mind-bending series that tears down familiar ideas… time, randomness, beauty,...