Podcast appearances and mentions of emily knight

How do we make our communities more resilient to extreme weather events? How do we become smarter about using and recycling water, one of the most precious resources on our planet? And how can we turn the textile industry into a more circular and sustainable economy that reduces waste and develops new fibers and materials?Welcome to season seven of Ecosystems for Change, where I'll be talking with the innovators and changemakers tackling these kinds of complex issues, not just within their own communities, but for the world at large.Throughout this season, I'm going to introduce you to the Regional Innovation Engines Program, a program funded by the US National Science Foundation. In partnership with the Builder Platform I will highlight nine so-called Engines, and their place-based strategies to these wicked problems.To start us off, I sat down with three key players in the implementation of this nationwide program: Ben Downing, Patricia Grospiron, and Emily Knight.Ben Downing is Vice President of Public Affairs at The Engine. Before joining The Engine, Ben was Vice President for New Market Development at Nexamp, a veteran-founded, Boston-based clean energy company. Prior to this, Ben represented the state's largest Senate district while serving as State Senator for 52 communities in Western Massachusetts. Patricia Grospiron is the Executive Director of The Builder Platform, where she is responsible for leading the strategic direction to foster the development of the NSF Regional Innovation Engines. Patricia has several decades of experience in innovation ecosystem building thanks to her roles at Avery Dennison, JumpStart, Inc and Ohio Aerospace Institute. Emily Knight is the President of The Engine, where she is responsible for shaping the organization's strategic direction and building partnerships with industry leaders and educational institutions to foster an environment where Tough Tech teams can thrive and innovate. Listen to the full episode to hear:How the NSF funding is acting as a catalyst for innovative, place-based economic development while tackling some of our thorniest problemsWhy the program is committed to innovation that supports communities from withinHow The Builder Platform developed a human-centered approach to engaging with the NSF Engines and providing ongoing partnership and supportHow The Engine's experience and history helps them collaborate with the regional EnginesWhy learning together, collaboration, and flexibility are key to developing in-place innovationLearn more about Ben Downing:Connect on LinkedInLearn more about Patricia Grospiron:Connect on LinkedInLearn more about Emily Knight:Connect on LinkedInLearn more about Anika Horn:Social VenturersSign up for Impact CuratorInstagram: @socialventurersResources:The EngineThe Builder PlatformInsisting on the Impossible: The Life of Edwin Land, Viktor K. McElhenyLean Launchpad, Steve BlankWatt It Takes with Emily KirschThe Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places Are Building the New American Dream, Steve Case

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Dr. Emily Williams Knight, the President and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association and Foundation, to talk about what it really takes to lead through crisis, build influence in male-dominated industries, and create opportunities for others to rise.With over 20 years of global leadership experience, Emily played a pivotal role in saving thousands of restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. She shares her personal journey from dreaming of a career in hospitality as a third grader to navigating one of the most challenging leadership moments of our time.Tune in to hear:How Emily led through the chaos of the pandemic and fought for the restaurant industryWhy influence isn't about fitting in—but about being the expert at the tableThe key mindset shift that helped her step into leadership with confidenceWhy women need to stop striving for "balance" and embrace blending work and life insteadThe biggest lesson she'd tell her younger self about leadership, resilience, and self-careEmily's story is one of grit, heart, and impact. If you're ready to lead with confidence and step into your full potential, this episode is a must-listen!

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Dr. Emily Williams Knight, the President and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association and Foundation, to talk about what it really takes to lead through crisis, build influence in male-dominated industries, and create opportunities for others to rise.With over 20 years of global leadership experience, Emily played a pivotal role in saving thousands of restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. She shares her personal journey from dreaming of a career in hospitality as a third grader to navigating one of the most challenging leadership moments of our time.Tune in to hear:How Emily led through the chaos of the pandemic and fought for the restaurant industryWhy influence isn't about fitting in—but about being the expert at the tableThe key mindset shift that helped her step into leadership with confidenceWhy women need to stop striving for "balance" and embrace blending work and life insteadThe biggest lesson she'd tell her younger self about leadership, resilience, and self-careEmily's story is one of grit, heart, and impact. If you're ready to lead with confidence and step into your full potential, this episode is a must-listen!

Today, I welcome Emily Knight from Knight Fit back to the show! Emily was on my podcast one year ago, and she has undergone tremendous changes and growth in her life that inspired her to share. She has taken a step back from running to heal hypothalamic amenorrhea and an eating disorder relapse and has found the most growth, purpose, and meaning she has ever had in her life. Her story is extremely inspiring - she details all of the important elements of HA recovery, from noticing something is wrong to taking actionable steps to find peace in her new identity and purpose. Emily is passionate about inspiring others to prioritize HEALTH over the culture of overtraining and underfueling promoted on social media. She is so knowledgeable and shares incredible points of wisdom. If you are struggling with HA, an eating disorder, or underfueling, please first reach out to a professional. But this episode can serve as a source of inspiration for you if you are feeling stuck.  Emily's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knight__fit/ Emily's Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Zf0eXJ8ql9ruMfN4vKBEe My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatpsychedrunner Dynamic Runner Discount: https://tr.ee/OV4F0NDvSp Save 15% on Inito Fertility Monitor: https://www.inito.com/en-us?disc_code=KNIGHT15&utm_source=social_media&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=affiliate&utm_content=KNIGHT15 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sabrina30353/support

Get ready for an inspiring and entertaining conversation as the Writing Community Chat Show welcomes the incredible Abiola Bello to the stage! Born and raised in Stoke Newington, North London, Abiola is a Nigerian-British author who has been captivating readers since she started writing at just 12 years old. From her acclaimed middle-grade Emily Knight series to her chart-topping YA novels, Abiola's journey is a testament to perseverance, creativity, and passion for storytelling.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thewccs.substack.comWatch the trailer for this show here. We share our thoughts on the episode and that is then followed by a clip of Abiola from the show.In our latest episode of the Writing Community Chat Show, we had the privilege of sitting down with the remarkable Abiola Bello—an author whose journey is nothing short of inspiring. For those of you who are paid subscribers, the full episode is available right here for you to watch and listen. If you're not yet a paid member, don't worry! The full episode will be released to the public in two weeks.Abiola's story is one of resilience, grit, and undeniable talent. From writing her first novel at just eight years old to creating the groundbreaking Emily Knight series as a teenager, she has always been a trailblazer. But her success didn't come without its challenges.In our conversation, Abiola shared how she faced countless rejections, battled self-doubt, and navigated an industry that wasn't always open to her voice. As a Nigerian-British author writing stories that celebrate diverse characters and narratives, she was told repeatedly that publishers weren't ready for her vision.But instead of giving up, Abiola took matters into her own hands. She self-published the first Emily Knight book, built a fanbase, and eventually co-founded Hashtag Press to champion diverse stories. Her determination paid off in a big way—when her YA rom-com Love in Winter Wonderland went to auction, it sparked a bidding war between two major publishers. Abiola ultimately landed a six-figure deal with Simon & Schuster, cementing her place as a leading voice in contemporary YA fiction.During the episode, Abiola opened up about:* Overcoming rejection and the self-belief it takes to keep going.* The importance of creating diverse, inclusive stories where everyone can see themselves.* Her process of writing across multiple genres, from middle-grade fantasy to YA romance.* The highs and lows of her publishing journey—from self-publishing to winning major awards.* Her advice for aspiring authors and anyone facing setbacks in their creative journey.We also got a sneak peek into her latest release, The Love Dare—a summer romance filled with humor, heart, and the vibrant energy of Notting Hill Carnival. Abiola's ability to create unforgettable characters and emotionally rich stories is on full display in this book, and we can't wait for you to hear what she has to say about it.Abiola's journey is a powerful reminder that success is rarely a straight line. It's filled with obstacles, rejections, and moments of doubt. But as Abiola proves, if you stay true to your vision, keep working hard, and refuse to give up, the rewards can be life-changing.Watch the Full Episode NowPaid subscribers can enjoy the full episode right here. If you're not a paid member yet, consider subscribing to get early access to this and all our episodes, plus exclusive content. Otherwise, the episode will be available to all in two weeks.Thank you for supporting the Writing Community Chat Show! Let Abiola's story inspire you to keep chasing your creative dreams, no matter how many roadblocks you face.Paid members can see and watch the full video below this paid line.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-writing-community-chat-show--5445493/support.

This week, Apple releases the new iPhone 16. It's new, it's shiny, and tech-nerds will be queueing round the block for a chance to snap it up. But why? Here on Unexpected Elements, we're looking at the science behind why we get so dazzled with new and shiny things.We hear about the psychology behind our magpie tendencies, and find out it might all be connected to one of our deepest evolutionary drives: for clean, fresh, sparkling water.And we find out what the shiniest thing in the natural world is. An extraordinary blue berry with some mesmerising visual qualities.We find out about diamonds made from your dead pets...And we dissect the science behind the first flush of love. Why do we get so obsessed with a new partner? And why doesn't the feeling last?That and loads more unexpected elements in this week's show.Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Kai Kupferschmidt and Phyllis Mwatee Producer: Harrison Lewis, with Emily Knight, Noa Dowling and Elizabeth Barsotti Studio Manager: Searle Whittney

Following anti-tourism protests across popular Spanish cities and towns, we are looking for the world's most unwelcome visitor. Our panellists (and producers) are pitching their terrible tourists to see who really is the worst of them all. Some of our contenders include... The wild boars who's unanticipated vacay to Rome has gone on for so long and caused so much carnage that researchers are putting them on birth control.The microbes potentially hitching a ride to the moon via space probes and astronauts' pooThe multi-destination parasite who wreaks havoc as it interrails through snails (castrating them on the way), frogs (making them spout multiple limbs) and birds.But there are some instances when tourists can be a good thing - and this is especially the case in the human body when we want to grow a baby. How is in that we are able to protect what should be an 'unwelcome visitor' from a hyperalert, hostile immune system? Our expert Edward Chuong explains. Plus, we uncover the DNA origins of the world's most popular coffee bean, hear the freeloading activities of the male angular fish, and read out a selection of your wonderful emails. Presenter: Caroline Steel Panellists: Phillys Mwatee & Christine Yohannes Producer: Julia Ravey Production team: Emily Knight, Noa Dowling Studio manager: Emma Harth

Host Lisa W. Miller is joined by Emily Knight, President and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association. In this episode, you'll hear how Emily's early experiences, from mucking stables to excelling in sports, shaped her into the fearless advocate she is today, giving her the grit and love of teamwork to make a real difference.Discover Emily's plans to continue fighting for the industry through key legislative initiatives. This conversation is a testament to the power of passion, integrity, and a relentless commitment to serving others, even in the face of adversity.

It's time for an unexpected celebration and we look to science for advice on clothes, cake and how presenter Marnie and panellists Christine and Candice can improve their singing. We also hear about the sleuths who have tracked down an animal that's been presumed extinct for almost a century, we help a listener find the answer to whether using sunscreen is stopping him from getting vitamin d and Marnie talks to the Dog Aging Project to ask why studying healthy ageing in our canine companions can lead to better health for people too. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Panellists: Christine Yohannes and Candice Bailey Guests: Bryan Nichols, Pennsylvania State University and Matt Kaberline, founder of the Dog Aging Project. Producer: Tom Bonnett with Dan Welsh, Emily Knight, Julia Ravey and Noa Dowling

In our latest podcast episode, Emily Knight, Managing Associate in the Employment Team is joined by Charlotte Yonge, who is a Fund Manager at Troy Asset Management.  Charlotte is also the Founder of a charity called GAIN which stands for ‘Girls Are Investors'. GAIN was set up to promote and inspire girls to pursue a career in investing. Emily and Charlotte consider why women historically invest less than men, what is being done to change it and some of the myths and stereotypes around gender and investing. 

Get ready to snuggle up for another thrilling episode of Pillow Talk! Join your host, Ryan Pownall, alongside the dynamic co-host Viking Barbie ass they embark on an exciting conversation with the beautiful Emily Knight. From hilarious stories to witty banter, this episode is a rollercoaster of entertainment and playful discussions. Tune in for a generous dose of laughter, revealing tales, and a whole lot of fun with Ryan, Viking Barbie and Emily Knight on Pillow Talk!PILLOWTALK UNCENSORED:https://linktr.ee/pillowtalkwithryanCheck out our sponsors for some goodies and to support the show!IF YOU'RE TRYNA STAY ROCK HARD:https://www.mangorx.com/SOCIALS:Emily Knight:https://www.instagram.com/emily_knight.tv/@emily_knight.tvViking Barbie:https://www.instagram.com/viking.barbie/?hl=en @viking.barbieRyan Pownall:https://www.instagram.com/itsryanpownall/?hl=en @itsryanpownallEPISODE 136- Producer Terry

Dr Chris van Tulleken is on a mission to find out what we're eating, why, and who or what might be influencing our decisions. And he's starting his quest to uncover food truths with the most eaten meat in the world, and one of the most numerous animals on our planet: chicken He's recently been forced to confront a serious gap in his food knowledge - what happens before it gets to our plates - and has decided this, the world's most popular meat, is an ideal starting point. Chris' initial investigations reveal the vast scale of modern chicken consumption; and how a once revered jungle fowl was manipulated to become a modern food success story, a fast-growing heavy-breasted beast to feed the masses. Now, he's torn: is this a triumph of human ingenuity – or the creation of a monster? Produced by Lucy Taylor and Emily Knight. Archive audio: 'Chicken of Tomorrow' (1948) from the Prelinger Archive. 'Fanny Cradock Cooks for Christmas' (1975) from the BBC.

Welcome back to the show! On today's episode, I have the honor of having Emily Knight as a guest. Emily is a coach, former D1 runner, fitness enthusiast, and advocate for a healthy relationship with running and food. Emily shares her running journey, as well as her journey with food and how she overcame her eating disorder. We have important discussions surrounding the topic of eating disorders in competitive runners, particularly college athletes. She then discusses ways to break the cycle of disordered eating and heal your relationship with food and exercise. This is an important, meaningful conversation you will not want to miss! Disclaimer: This episode discusses the topic of eating disorders. If this topic is sensitive or triggering to any listener, please kindly skip this episode and stay tuned for the next episode! Emily's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knight__fit/ My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatpsychedrunner/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sabrina30353/support

We're a planet addicted to chicken - and our appetites fuel a massive global industry... but is it one we should support?As Chris wrestles with how he personally feels about this weird and wonderful bird, he decides to take a look at the business as a whole: a global industry that's cited by some as a shining example of a super-efficient food production system, one that could help drive food security around the world. But others say it's a cruel, destructive and outdated structure that makes a few people richer while exploiting others – along with animals and the environment.In Brazil, one of the world's biggest chicken and soya producers, our reporter Leonardo Milano hears accusations of threats and pollution relating to the feed sector; while in Africa, Chris learns about poultry-farming initiatives helping to make struggling nations more food-secure.And then there are the other challenges that the industry is wrestling with: from antimicrobial resistance to the threat of another major global pandemic, potentially stemming from chicken farms…So is there a ‘big business bad guy' to blame – or does responsibility lie closer to home, with unquestioning consumers like Chris?Produced by Lucy Taylor and Emily Knight. Additional reporting, editing and translation by Fernando Otto, BBC News Brasil.

Chris has learned how to make better chicken choices, and what those choices really mean.So why is he STILL eating CRAP?Like many of us, Chris is always trying to eat better food: healthy, high welfare, good for the environment. This kind of consumer demand is making the chicken industry better, in tiny increments. So why do so many of us give ourselves a pass when it comes to the food we KNOW we shouldn't be eating, yet we do in absolutely vast amounts… fast food?Chicken is at the very heart of this industry. As a cheap meat that doesn't have a strong taste, can easily take on other flavours and doesn't have any religious restrictions, it's the ideal takeaway ingredient; from nuggets to chow mein to tikka masala.And although we might be careful about chicken choices when buying it raw to prepare at home, somehow we don't seem to mind turning a blind eye to the origins and nutritional content of our fast food favourites, especially if we're hungry…Chris discovers just how bad this food can be for both us and the planet, and why we're powerless to resist it.Produced by Emily Knight and Lucy Taylor

Do YOU know what you're eating? Are you sure?Dr Chris van Tulleken is keen to make good food choices, and buy the best chicken possible for his dinner. High welfare, tasty, and good for the environment, ideally. But it's not as easy as that. How CAN he make good food choices if he has no idea what he's buying?Chris explores what we actually know about the food we buy, and to what extent we can trust what's on a label. He also uncovers the startling truth about two very different ways that we buy chicken - lifting the lid on why sometimes, even the most moral meat shoppers turn a blind eye...Produced by Lucy Taylor and Emily Knight.

We've heard about the potential problems around chicken welfare. But how does that square with their impact on the environment? Dr Chris van Tulleken finds out what it takes to produce the most eco-friendly chicken meat possible. And makes a devastating discovery. Welfare concerns, and environmental credentials, often pull in OPPOSITE directions. Does he want to eat the happiest birds, or the ones kindest to the planet? Halfway through his poultry quest, Chris remains massively conflicted: he loves chicken, but some of what he's discovered makes him question how much he eats it. Will he still be able to look at it the same way as he goes deeper down the rabbit hole? And more importantly, should he keep serving it up to the family? Produced by Emily Knight and Lucy Taylor.

We eat chicken. A LOT of it. We might love the taste, but what about how we're treating those birds? After witnessing first-hand the reality of indoor chicken farming - how most of the chicken we eat is raised - Dr Chris van Tulleken wants to know: are the birds happy enough, or is our method of rearing cheap chicken actually cruel? If so, what's the ‘happier' alternative – and do carnivores like Chris care enough to pay the price for that, or does a love of meat ultimately trump ethics? Chris battles with his conscience, and finds the answer hard to stomach. Produced by Lucy Taylor and Emily Knight. Archive audio: - VIVA broiler investigation video (2021) - BBC and Channel 4 news reports on battery cage ban (2012)

So we started farming this bird called chicken, and it spread around the world. But what does it actually TAKE to feed us the amount of chicken we want to consume? 100 years ago this was a scrawny, egg-laying bird, only good for a stew once her eggs ran out – no one ate chicken meat. Fast forward to today and it's the most consumed protein on the planet. How did we come to eat it in the first place, and what are the consequences of producing chicken meat on the vast, industrial scales we now consume it? Dr Chris van Tulleken uncovers the extraordinary accident of history that birthed a new industry, and changed the way we eat – and think about – meat forever. Produced by Emily Knight and Lucy Taylor.

Dr Chris van Tulleken is on a mission to find out what we're eating, why, and who or what might be influencing our decisions. And he's starting his quest to uncover food truths with the most eaten meat in the world, and one of the most numerous animals on our planet: chicken He's recently been forced to confront a serious gap in his food knowledge - what happens before it gets to our plates - and has decided this, the world's most popular meat, is an ideal starting point. Chris' initial investigations reveal the vast scale of modern chicken consumption; and how a once revered jungle fowl was manipulated to become a modern food success story, a fast-growing heavy-breasted beast to feed the masses. Now, he's torn: is this a triumph of human ingenuity – or the creation of a monster? Produced by Lucy Taylor and Emily Knight. Archive audio: 'Chicken of Tomorrow' (1948) from the Prelinger Archive. 'Fanny Cradock Cooks for Christmas' (1975) from the BBC.

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight tackle a serious question. One of supreme scientific importance: do animals get wasted?From drunk moose stuck in trees, to wasted wallabies asleep in opium fields, to dippy dolphins puffing on toxic pufferfish; stories abound about animals who seem to be using their free time to get sloshed. But do these stories, delightful as they are, stand up to scrutiny? In the natural world, when your survival relies on keeping your wits about you, what could be the evolutionary purpose of dulling your wits with psychoactive drugs? Come to think of it, why do we do it? And what's the connection between getting high, seeing God, and learning to love your neighbour?Produced by Becky Ripley and Emily Knight. Featuring zoologist Lucy Cooke, and Professor Richard Miller at Northwestern University.

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight find out what it takes to learn the language of your people, with the help of some extremely chatty little birds.The song of the zebra finch has been compared to a 90's dial-up modem running triple-speed, or an alien fax machine. But to a female zebra finch, it's a song of irresistible seduction. The males learn their song in a very similar way to the way we learn language, and it all starts with the babies. Through babbling, then copying, then innovating motifs of their own, the zebra finches take their language and then put their own distinctive stamp on it.But if they don't learn it at just the right time, as a chick, they can't learn it as an adult.How does human language acquisition work, and what would happen if you denied a baby the opportunity to learn to speak? The surprising answer takes us to 1970s Nicaragua, and the extraordinary story of the birth of a language...Produced by Becky Ripley and Emily Knight. Featuring Professor Ofer Tchernichovski from Hunter College at CUNY, and Dr Judy Shepard-Kegl from the University of Southern Maine.

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight investigate physical fitness in the animal kingdom, and ask why animals never seem to have to go to the gym.Consider the Barnacle Goose, getting ready for one of the most phenomenal physical challenges of the animal world: the annual migration. They leave their sedentary summer life, floating about eating reeds, and take off to fly 2,700 miles. And what do they do to prepare for this incredible feat? Absolutely nothing. They just sit around, eating as much as they can.The physical fitness of so many animals is hard-wired into their biology. But not ours. If we want to gain muscle, we don't just wait for the seasons to change, we have to work for it. No pain no gain! And if we slack off and laze about, our muscles melt away. Why are we so different? And do I really have to go to the gym?Produced by Becky Ripley and Emily Knight. Featuring Professor Lewis Halsey from the University of Roehampton, and Professor Dan Lieberman at Harvard University.

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight dive into the underwater world of killer whales, where tight-knit family pods are led by the eldest post-reproductive matriarch, to better understand why we have a menopause. Matriarchal killer whales usually stop being able to reproduce in their thirties or forties, but continue to live for decades longer. This phenomenon of having a long post-reproductive life is known only to exist in 5 species: killer whales, narwhals, beluga whales, short-finned pilot whales, and humans. That's it. Females across the rest of the animal kingdom can keep reproducing into old age, many until their dying days. So why? If the success of a species lies in its ability to breed and pass on its genes, why have we – and a few species of whale – evolved this seemingly counter-productive thing that stops us being able to do that? What's the point of it? And what does it say about our need for grandmas?Featuring Prof. Darren Croft, Professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Exeter, and Dr. Brenna Hassett, Biological Anthropologist at UCL and author of Growing Up Human. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight look to the giggles and guffaws of the animal kingdom to ask where human laughter has come from. At least 65 species have been identified as making 'play vocalisations', a sort of animal version of laughter, according to a recent UCLA paper studying animals at play. Rats giggle in ultrasound, elephants have a play-specific trumpet, and kia parrots cackle from the treetops. These sounds are auditory cues that have come from breathing during play, and they signal to fellow playmates that their rough-and-tumble is in jest.But us humans have taken laughing to new levels. Our laughter has evolved from a play-specific vocalisation into a highly sophisticated tool of communication, sometimes spontaneous, other times performed. It is a powerful spell that affects our brains and bodies, playing so many important roles in our close relationships and wider social networks. And the best thing about it: it's good for you.Featuring biological anthropologist Sasha Winkler, co-author of the UCLA paper 'Play vocalisations and human laughter: a comparative review' (2021), and Professor Sophie Scott, Director of the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.Animal recording credits: The chimpanzee laughter clip is courtesy of Dr. Robert Provine. The rat clip (slowed down so that our ears can detect the ultrasound) is courtesy of Dr. Jaak Panksepp. The kea parrot play vocalisation is from Schwing et al. (2017)

How much more of our world could we understand, if we could take stock of it, one atom at a time? If we could see the structure of individual molecules, understand the complex ways they interact with one another, and witness first-hand how they move? These are questions for electron microscopy, and more broadly, for Materials Science. Materials scientists peer into the atomic structure of the stuff that makes up our world, to figure out the relationships between the structure of a material, and its resulting properties. They study how to change materials at the molecular level, to improve the way they function in the real world. It's an interdisciplinary field that spans the physics and chemistry of matter, engineering, and industrial manufacturing. It's led to an enormous number of advances, from nanotechnology to aerospace engineering, pioneering medical innovations to quantum computing. And SOME of these advances are thanks to the work of Professor Colin Humphreys. As Professor of Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London, and Distinguished Research Fellow at the Department of Materials Science at the University of Cambridge, Colin works on materials with fascinating properties that would be hard to understand without delving into their atomic structure: semiconductors, superconductors, nanoparticles, and ultra-high temperature aerospace materials. He's also a committed student of Christianity and applies his scientific mind to questions of biblical scholarship: calculating the exact date of the crucifixion for example, or naturalistic explanations for miracles. Produced by Emily Knight

Emily Knight lives with five housemates. One of them is her partner. But this isn't a student house-share. They are all in their 30s, have no plans to break up the group, and Emily can't imagine life without them all. So could the rest of her life be built on these friendships? Traditionally life's big chapters - housebuying, raising kids, retiring - are seen as things you probably do with a romantic partner. In BFFs, Emily meets people from across the UK doing things differently, and asks if a life built on friendship can really work. In Greater Manchester she meets Sam and Sean, renovating the three-bedroom house they bought together last year. Sandra and Lisa reflect on raising their daughters as two single mums together in Hull. In Colchester, Andy, Anne and Barbara are three members of a bigger group of friends living in a co-housing settlement. For them, friendship is a way of guarding against loneliness as they get older. And from the United States, Emily hears about the developing concept of "platonic co-parenting", while writer Rhaina Cohen explains why she feels deep friendships can be unappreciated and misunderstood. Producers: Paul Martin & Emily Knight A BBC Audio Wales Production for Radio 4

Our genes can tell us so much about us, from why we look the way we look, think the way we think, even what kind of diseases we might be likely to suffer from. But our genes aren't the whole story. There are other, complex and intriguing systems within every cell in our bodies which control which of our tens-of-thousands of genes are switched on, or off, in different parts of the body, and under different circumstances. Welcome to the fascinating world of 'epigenetics', which our guest, the molecular geneticist Anne Ferguson-Smith, describes as 'genetics with knobs on'. Anne, now Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics and Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Cambridge, tells Jim about her life and work. She's spent her professional life at the cutting edge: from a degree in a brand new field of Molecular Biology, to post-grad working on brand new genetic structures, through to a lifetime of discoveries and breakthroughs which have changed our understanding of the genome. Yet she wasn't always destined to be a scientist. She says she was a 'bad student' for a lot of her early life, and believes that embracing failure is an essential part of being a working scientist. Produced by Emily Knight

Conversation with the Beeson Admissions Team, Kyle Young, Emily Knight, and Caleb Craft

DDI On Autism 5-27-23 DR. EMILY KNIGHT by JVC Broadcasting

DDI On Autism 5-20-23 DR. EMILY KNIGHT by JVC Broadcasting

Rhythm is everywhere in the biological world. The rhythm of heartbeat, the rhythm of breathing, the rhythm of gait and walking. In fact, in 'The Descent of Man', Charles Darwin wrote that the perception of rhythm is "probably common to all animals and no doubt depends on the common physiological nature of their nervous system.” And yet, recent studies have shown that even our closest living relatives, the great apes, can't seem to keep a beat. Becky Ripley and Emily Knight investigate.Enter YouTube sensation Snowball the Cockatoo. Much to the intrigue of evolutionary biologists, Snowball loves to dance to anything with a strong beat. Especially The Backstreet Boys. How is it that chimpanzees can't keep a beat and yet this parrot - which is more closely related to a dinosaur than a human - clearly loves to groove? What's going on in the brain of this bird? And how does that link to our own beat-keeping brains? Back in the human world, there's serious neurological benefit to this beat-based research. The more we understand how and why people move to a beat, the more we can appreciate its powerful therapeutic effects. It unites our brains with our bodies, which can help to relieve symptoms of movement-based neurological disorders like Parkinson's, and it unites us to each other. Featuring cognitive neuroscientist Aniruddh Patel and dance psychologist Peter Lovatt.

In this week's Health Check we're talking about the protective effects of vaccines – but it's not quite what you think… We're delving into the science of how some vaccines could have unexpected effects beyond their intended target. They're called “non-specific effects” and we're only just at the beginning of our understanding despite scientists documenting this curious biological phenomenon more than 100 years ago. One of the earliest vaccines to be studied was the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine for Tuberculosis, better known as the BCG. Professor Christine Stabell-Benn gives us a history lesson and brings us up to date with her team's research at the Bandim Health Project in Guinea-Bissau, Western Africa. Also in the programme we hear about a new device for fixing bones being trialled in Gaza and Sri Lanka – and already in use in Ukraine. We hear from surgeons about what kind of patients they are treating and from UK researchers on hopes it will offer a low-cost, easy-to-make alternative in countries where there are shortages of these fixators. Our studio guest this week is BBC News health and science journalist Philippa Roxby who'll talk us through the latest after an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu and we'll discuss new studies on long Covid and how much exercise we should be aiming to do each day. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Gerry Holt & Emily Knight

Gird your loins, podcast listeners: Bailey and Emily are back with another installment of Sweet and Spicy Reads!!! This time, they're discussing the 1989 time-traveling romance Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux. This verrrrryyyyy dated title, recommended by resident-and-long-time-romance-reader Sam has Emily and Bailey's heads spinning with the 80's-style misogyny smattered throughout the plot and character development (or lack thereof). Strap in (or on, whatever your fancy) because this one's tagged EXPLICIT for a reason. Not for little ears, my friends. Other topics discussed: - Relationship red flags - Family system theory - Dating and settling and not expecting better treatment from our partners - Is sex actually a time portal? TBD - Sex positivity - Why the "enemies to lovers" trope is fire - What we would say to our teenage selves Theme music by Wolves Incidental music by Colorfilm --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/book-prose/message

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight look to the freeze-thaw abilities of the North American wood frog to ask whether we can freeze ourselves in order to return to a future world...Early March is breeding season for the North American wood frog. They are frisky because they've just thawed out having spent the winter not just in hibernation, but frozen at -18°C. How do they do it, and still survive? And what can we learn from their frozen ways? Enter the growing field in medicine called cryo-preservation: the process of preserving cells, tissues, or organs by cooling them to very low, or freezing, temperatures. This can grant more time for medical procedures and operations, and help to preserve things like organs during a transplant. And if you take cryopreservation to the extreme, you get to the slightly sci-fi world of cryonics. The practice of cryo-preserving the whole body – immediately upon point of death - in the hope that future medicine can bring it back to life. Maybe in the future, we will crack the code on how to bring bodies back from the cold. And maybe some of the science lies in the freeze-thaw abilities of the wood frog. Or maybe cryopreserved bodies will remain frozen forever… Featuring Dr Allison Sacerdote-Velat, Curator of Herpetology at Chicago Academy of Sciences, and Dr Anders Sandberg, senior research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

You may think 'culture' is one of those peculiar things unique to humans, like dancing to pop music or yelling at the TV. But you'd be wrong. Animals may not flock to the Opera, but they absolutely do have 'culture'; habits; traditions; ways of doing things that are passed down from one generation to the next. Animal culture has been studied in fish, mammals and even insects, and one of the longest-running studies is on a bird you might have spotted flitting around your garden, the humble Great Tit.Becky Ripley and Emily Knight head into the woods, armed with delicious peanuts, to find out more about Great Tit culture. It turns out that these enigmatic birds have long traditions which are shared among the community, and once formed, they can be hard to break, even if they're not serving the birds needs any more. Innovative experiments with puzzle-boxes show that old habits die hard. The one thing that can break the deadlock of tradition and bring back innovative thinking is the arrival of new birds - ones which aren't beholden to the prevailing culture.In the human world, it's well known that an influx of immigrants can have a profound effect on the prevailing culture, often bringing new ways of thinking and innovations in technology, or brand new cuisines. Becky and Emily explore one extraordinary example of this that emerged from the horrors of the Second World War. As German-Jewish scientists fled the anti-Semitic persecution of the Third Reich, they arrived on American shores with plenty to offer the established scientific culture.Featuring Michael Chimento, post-doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, and Professor Petra Moser, professor of Economics at NYU Stern. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

We've all seen the Attenborough documentaries, full of the hurrying and scurrying of life on earth, the drama constantly unfolding. The natural world is a BUSY place... Or is it?The surprising truth is, away from the cameras, most animals spend most of the time doing absolutely nothing at all. It's not just the sleepy sloths and the cat-napping cats, even the critters with reputations for being the most industrious animals on the planet have an astonishing amount of down-time. Peer into the dark warmth of an ant's nest, for example, and you might be surprised to note that just under half of them... don't DO anything. Not a jot. They sit, still and silent, apparently contributing nothing to the colony. Evolution abhors wasted energy so... what's going on? Becky Ripley and Emily Knight search for answers among our insect friends.On the human side of the equation, we're astonishingly bad at doing nothing. We fuss and fidget, we tap our fingers and twiddle our thumbs, trying to escape the horrible fate of being BORED. When animals are so good at efficiently conserving energy, why do so many of us find it so uncomfortable? Perhaps the answer lies in not trying to escape boredom at all, but embracing it, and its creative potential. Becky and Emily discover that it's only through boredom that we can tap in to an extraordinary set of neural processes known as 'The Default Mode Network', and access the most creative parts of our brains. Perhaps doing nothing is more exciting than we first thought.Featuring Professor Dan Charbonneau, behavioral ecologist studying social insect behaviour at the University of Arizona, and Dr Sandi Mann, senior psychology lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight ask whether giving legal rights to things like rivers and forests changes how we think about the world that lives around us.The Whanganui River, in New Zealand, is a legal person in the eyes of the law. It is legally defined as a living whole, from the mountains to the sea, and two local Maori tribe members speak on its behalf as its legal representatives. Other nations have had similar thinking: the Amazon rainforest in Columbia, one of the Great Lakes in the US, and the River Ganges in India all have legal personhood, as does land in Ecuador and Bolivia, where Mother Earth is recognised as a legal person. Assigning personhood to non-human things is not a new idea. Since the late 1800s, corporations have been granted legal personhood, giving them the rights to hold property, enter into contracts, and to sue or be sued. Then in 1972, Christopher Stone, himself a Professor of Law, published the essay ‘Should Trees Have Standing?', arguing that if corporations can have personhood, why can't natural entities?Does the act of doing this reframe our relationship to the natural world, as something which lives not just for us, but alongside us in its own right? And as the law extents rights to nature, does that - in turn - extend our empathy towards the more-than-human world? Featuring Dr Rāwiri Tinirau, advisor on Māori and Indigenous human rights, and Anna Grear, Professor of Law and Theory at Cardiff University and founder of the Journal of Human Rights and the Environment. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

Why are some sounds more frightening than others? Are there evolutionary origins behind the things we find scary? And is there anything more blood-curdling than a full throated scream?Becky Ripley and Emily Knight tune in to the sounds that send the shivers down our spines, via a frightened Marmot in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and a brand new kind of musical instrument known as the 'apprehension engine'. Beware listeners, you may be in for a fright....Featuring professor Daniel Blumstein, Chair of the Department of Ecology at UCLA, and film score composer Mark Korven. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.

Starling murmurations, those swirling, shifting sky-patterns made by hundreds of birds moving in synchrony, are one of nature's greatest spectacles. How do they avoid crashing into each other? Becky Ripley and Emily Knight delve into the maths behind the movement with some computer modelling to help them chart the flight patterns, and discover the secret.As for us humans, sadly we don't fly together through the sky in swirling clouds. But there are patterns to how we interact with one another. Like a ripple of movement, travelling through a cloud of starlings, ideas can spread through social media with blistering speed. Here too, computer modelling can help us chart how opinions morph as we react to those around us. Do we have more in common with the birds than we think?Featuring Jamie Wood from the University of York, and Dr Jennifer Golbeck from the University of Maryland.

Strange things dwell out in the open ocean. Bobbing atop the waves, Becky Ripley and Emily Knight meet one such creature, the Portuguese Man O'War. With its bulbous air-sacs and trailing tentacles you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a jellyfish, but you'd be wrong. It's a colony, a society of tiny individual animals, who work together to eat, hunt and reproduce as one.In the Age of the Individual, we humans like to think of ourselves as self-sufficient little nodes who don't need nobody. But that perspective gets called into question when you consider where we live. Thanks to some complex maths and some incredible data-crunching, we're beginning to see the cities we inhabit in a different light. They grow, move, breathe, and die, just like a living organism, according to strict mathematical principles. Just like polyps in a Man O' War, are we really any more than cogs in a machine?Featuring Marine Biologist Dr John Copley from the University of Southampton, and Geoffrey West, Theoretical Physicist from the Santa Fe Institute.

If you think you're in control, think again.What invisible forces might be guiding your behaviour, your decisions, your most intimate emotions? Becky Ripley and Emily Knight take a trip into the bizarre nightmare world of the undergrowth, and watch ‘zombie ants' stumble forward, blindly following the orders of the deadly fungi controlling their brains. Parasites often get the upper hand of their hosts, manipulating their behaviour in sometimes horrifying ways. But is that true of humans too? Could we be unknowingly subservient to creatures that live inside us? Do they wish us well, or might they be plotting our downfall?Featuring entomologist Dr David Hughes from Penn State University, and neuroscientist John Cryan from University College Cork.

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight find out what ants teach us about surviving a pandemic. As social animals, we're particularly susceptible to disease, so perhaps there are lessons to be learned from other sociable species in how we manage this. Ants are one of the most social species on the planet, and it turns out they know a thing or two about self-isolation and social distancing.The story of how we protect each other (and ourselves) is a story that takes us from the complex maze of an anthill to the equally complex maze of human etiquette. If you think social distancing is a new invention - or even a human invention - think again.Featuring Dr Nathalie Stroeymeyt, Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol, and Michael de Barra, Lecturer in Psychology at Brunel University London.

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight examine the naked mole rat, a saber-toothed sausage of a rodent, which seems to defy the mammalian laws of aging. It lives way longer than what is expected of a rodent and is now the focus for much medical research as scientists try to understand more about their aging process in the name of human life extension. Of course, we all want to age slower and live longer, but does that mean we should continually strive to extend human life expectancy forever and always? Beyond the ethics, there's also some big philosophical questions. How does a longer life span affect our sense of 'self'? And does living longer solve the problem of death? Featuring Dr Rochelle Buffenstein, Senior Principal Investigator at Calico Life Sciences, and Julian Baggini, philosopher, journalist and author.

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight celebrate the intelligence of a brainless slime mould. As single-cell protists, with no brain and no nervous system, slime moulds do not 'think' in human terms, but they can calculate and navigate complex systems with incredible efficiency and objectivity. With some help from a few oat flakes, because slime mould loves oats. One species in particular, Physarum Polycephalum, has proven itself to outwit us time and time again, from solving complex urban transport problems to mapping the structures of the cosmic web. In doing so, it totally overthrows our human definition of intelligence, where we have positioned ourselves at the top of a big biological hierarchy. From the bottom up, slime mould is starting to uproot the whole system.Featuring Merlin Sheldrake, writer of 'Entangled Life', and experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats.

Sex is simple. Or so we're taught; animals can be male or female. But even the briefest glance at the animal kingdom tells us that this simply isn't true. Some creatures have only one sex; some have three; some have none at all. Some animals are two sexes at the same time; some flip flop between them when the time is right. When evolution came to solve the problem of procreation, she did it in a myriad of mind-blowing ways.When it comes to humans, it's even more complicated - we have this thing called Gender, too. It's often defined as the social and cultural side of sex, distinct from the biological. But that's not the full story. Becky Ripley and Emily Knight travel back to the dawn of human culture, and into the tangled depths of our genetic code, to try and unravel why we are the way we are, and why it matters so much that we understand it all properly.Featuring Professor Jenny Graves, geneticist at La Trobe University, and the writer and scholar Meg-John Barker.

Emily Knight uncovers an unexpectedly radical story, hidden in the Essex countryside. In the 1940s, men and women horrified by the violence of war, disconnected, disillusioned and despondent, began to turn to the land - and each other - for healing. A new way of life was needed, and a new movement sprang up. Part pacifist philosophy, part radical Christianity, part utopian idealism, the Back-to-the-Land movement of the '40s and '50s saw groups of people coming together to take over pockets of farmland, working collectively, sharing the hardships and the joys of communal living. But this isn't just a farming movement. It's a story in which pacifist philosophy overlaps with new forms of Christianity, where the literature of DH Lawrence and George Orwell meets a working-class intellectualism, fired up by the possibility of real social change. It's a world of big dreams, hard graft, close communities, and a flowering of music, poetry and theatre, all under the arched roof of a crumbling Essex barn. In a world ravaged by climate change and Covid-19, could we see a similar movement springing up today? Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol : Emily Knight

This week's Open Country is a journey along a stretch of familiar coastline, but also back in time, to a far less familiar landscape. Emily Knight explores the Deep History Coast of North Norfolk, where the crumbling shoreline has given up some of the most impressive fossil remains ever discovered. To help her get a sense of the landscape that came before this one, she meets palaeontologist and author of "Otherlands", Dr Thomas Halliday, who explains what this ancient place would have looked like, how it might have felt to walk through it, and who you might have met along the way. One of our companions on this stroll through time might have been a true giant of the past - four metres tall and weighing in at ten tonnes - the West Runton Mammoth. It's the most complete mammoth skeleton ever found, buried in the shifting sands of the beach for hundreds of thousands of years, before being discovered after a storm in 1990. While we stroll along a sandy beach, the West Runton Mammoth would have strolled instead along a muddy river-bed through a dense forest, surrounded by sights both familiar to us, and extraordinary: seven-foot tall deer, rhinos and hyaenas. Dr Tori Herridge, evolutionary biologist and elephant expert from the Natural History Museum, is on hand to talk about the life and death of this impressive creature, while local fossil-hunter Michelle Smith gives Emily a lesson in safe and sustainable fossil-hunting. Alongside these extraordinary animals were people too - of a kind. Not quite our ancestors, more like our very distant cousins, Homo Heidelbergensis and Homo Antecessor both made their mark along this stretch of coastline. Dr David Waterhouse from Norfolk Museum explains how we think they might have lived, and what that tells us about our own origins.

Helen Mark travels to the rolling hills of Aberdeenshire, home of the Cairngorms National Park. Popular with walkers, hikers, nature-lovers and 'munro-baggers' alike, these hills are undoubtedly a beautiful place to visit. But you can ditch your hiking boots for this episode of Open Country, because Helen's exploring in a different way: from the back of a husky-pulled sled! At the reins is Wattie McDonald, husky-lover, musher, and a veteran of the extraordinary 'Iditarod': the gruelling thousand-mile sled-race across the frozen wastes of Alaska. With his team of sixteen dogs, Wattie navigated treacherous frozen lakes, snow-covered forests, and his own exhaustion to make it across Alaska in one piece: one of very few Scots ever to do so. Back in his home country, the trails are a little shorter and a lot less snowy, but Wattie's up for the challenge nevertheless. As long as his dogs are happy, so is he. But the real stars of the show are the dogs themselves: Siberian Huskies - a whole kennel-full of them. Krash, Krazy, sweet uncle Kaspar, the veteran one-eyed Keely, and the Pandemic Pups, Kovid and Korona. They're a cuddly bunch, always up for a head-scratch or a tummy-rub, but more than anything these working dogs simply love to run. With their help, Helen speeds through the landscape. Here's hoping the brakes work! Produced by Emily Knight