BBC Inside Science Podcast
A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.
Episodes to download
-
![]()
How is war being fought in space?
Thu 5 Mar 2026
Space warfare, space manufacturing and satellite data at Space Comm Expo
-
![]()
Does new science get us closer to finding out how life on earth began?
Thu 26 Feb 2026
Molecular biologists find tiny self-replicating molecules which may be key to life origins
-
![]()
How to bury radioactive waste
Thu 19 Feb 2026
And how can future civilisations remember where we put it?
-
![]()
Will there be a city on the moon in ten years?
Thu 12 Feb 2026
What would it really take to build a city on the moon?
-
![]()
Where do forever chemicals come from?
Thu 5 Feb 2026
New research on how forever chemicals get into our environment.
-
![]()
Should we rethink navigating by GPS?
Thu 29 Jan 2026
GPS is vulnerable to interference, so how can we make navigating at sea safer?
-
![]()
How is air travel returning to supersonic speeds?
Thu 22 Jan 2026
50 years since Concorde’s first commercial flight, is aviation going supersonic again?
-
![]()
Why is Nasa sending people around the moon?
Thu 15 Jan 2026
Nasa’s Artemis II rocket is about to be rolled out. What is the mission hoping to achieve?
-
![]()
How rare are Greenland’s rare earth elements?
Thu 8 Jan 2026
What rare earths have been found in Greenland, and why do we want them?
-
![]()
How did President Trump transform science in 2025?
Thu 18 Dec 2025
President Trump continues to shake up science. We look at the impact it’s already having.
-
![]()
Would our ancestors have benefited from early neanderthals making fire?
Thu 11 Dec 2025
New evidence shows that early neanderthals made fire 350 thousand years before we thought.
-
![]()
A 'functional' cure for HIV?
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Almost four decades after the first HIV treatment, is there finally a ‘functional’ cure?
-
![]()
Why aren’t gene therapies more common?
Thu 27 Nov 2025
Three decades since the first successful gene therapy, why aren’t we using them more?
-
![]()
What’s in the wording of the COP 30 negotiations?
Thu 20 Nov 2025
As COP 30 draws to close in Brazil, we speak to a former negotiator.
-
![]()
Could technology replace animal testing in science?
Thu 13 Nov 2025
The UK government plans to phase out animal experiments. What are the alternatives?
-
![]()
Is Dark Energy Getting Weaker?
Thu 6 Nov 2025
New evidence that the expansion of the universe is slowing. And the Godfather of AI.
-
![]()
Is climate change to blame for Hurricane Melissa?
Thu 30 Oct 2025
The science of what makes hurricanes so deadly.
-
![]()
Have scientists created a bionic eye?
Thu 23 Oct 2025
The bionic microchip implant which allows registered blind people to see again.
-
![]()
Why do we love to play games?
Thu 16 Oct 2025
The science and maths of playing The Traitors recorded at Green Man Festival.
-
![]()
What can the UK learn from China on renewable energy?
Thu 9 Oct 2025
Renewables overtake coal as the world’s biggest source of electricity.
-
![]()
Are embryos made from skin cells the future of fertility treatment?
Thu 2 Oct 2025
Scientists have made early-stage human embryos using skin cell DNA fertilised with sperm
-
![]()
-
![]()
What’s the highest a human could possibly pole vault?
Thu 18 Sep 2025
The science, engineering and maths behind Armand Duplantis’s latest world record.
-
![]()
Could we have evidence of life on Mars?
Thu 11 Sep 2025
Results from Nasa's Perseverance rover may show signs left in rocks by living organisms.
-
![]()
What does caffeine do to our bodies?
Thu 4 Sep 2025
The evidence on whether high caffeine energy drinks affect our health.
-
![]()
Does warm weather mean more rats in UK towns and cities?
Thu 28 Aug 2025
What’s the evidence behind rat infestation warnings? And farewell to wet wipe island
-
![]()
Could solar panels in space be the energy source of the future?
Thu 21 Aug 2025
The science of extraterrestrial solar panels and whether they can power our energy needs.
-
![]()
What will we be wearing in the future?
Thu 14 Aug 2025
Fashion meets science. An expert panel discuss the clothing of the future.
-
![]()
What’s the evidence for vaccines?
Thu 7 Aug 2025
Cuts of $500 million to vaccines research have been announced by the US government.
-
![]()
Why wasn’t the Russia mega earthquake as damaging as previous ones?
Thu 31 Jul 2025
The 8.8 magnitude quake sent tsunami waves into Japan, Hawaii and the US west coast.
Explore further with The Open University
Discover more fascinating science content with The Open University
