Podcasts about Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

This special episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Royal Institution on 14th April 2025. Kate and Alex are joined by a panel of guests to talk about the TV years of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. With David Dugan, David Coleman, Helen Czerski, Hugh Montgomery and Andy Marmery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the news pod, Chris van Tulleken tells us what he's got planned for this years Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Then we hear about the innovation to harness energy from radioactive carbon-14 atoms, and learn more about when humans and Neanderthals got to know each other. Then, we look skyward, where astronomers have described a series of mysterious near-Earth objects similar to the famous Oumuamua... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Professor Sophie Scott CBE is the Director of the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, as well as the Head of their Speech Communications Group.Her research interests include the neural basis of vocal communication - how our brains process the information in speech and voices, and how our brains control the production of our voice. She is also interested in the expression of emotion in the voice, especially laughter.She is very active in the public communication of science and presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2017, has appeared on loads of TV and radio shows in the UK, she regularly performs standup comedy.Faculty page: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/icn/people/sophie-scottTwitter: https://twitter.com/sophiescottWikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_ScottRoyal Institution profile: https://www.rigb.org/explore-science/explore/person/sophie-scottTED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/sophie_scott_why_we_laugh?language=enNOTES: Parasocial relationships https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasocial_interactionThe Cluster F Theory Podcast is edited by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada.Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cluster-f-theory-podcast/id1736982916Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5V4bBn54hiImeoyDNmTcIr?si=729367e48b0940d9Thank you for reading The Cluster F Theory Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theclusterftheory.substack.com

Professor Sophie Scott is a neuroscientist and the Director of the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience. Her research investigates the cognitive neuroscience of voices, speech and laughter, particularly speech perception, production, vocal emotions and human communication Sophie started her research career in Cambridge at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit She was awarded a Wellcome Trust Fellowship in 2001 and has been funded by them since. As of 2017 she holds a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship. She is a member of the British Psychological Society, the Society for Neuroscience, the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, and the Experimental Psychology Society. She's a Fellow of the British Academy. Sophie is known for her public engagement work, including performing standup comedy. She's been a panel guest several times on BBC Radio 4 programme The Infinite Monkey Cage and appeared on the BBC TV series Horizon, The Science of Laughter with Jimmy Carr. Sophie presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2017 entitled The Language of Life which explored the topic of communication. She's published several books including, The Brain: 10 Things You Should Know. She's a Fellow of the British Academy and was awarded a CBE in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to neuroscience .Professor Sophie Scott is guest number 368 on My Time Capsule and chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things she'd like to put in a time capsule; four she'd like to preserve and one she'd like to bury and never have to think about again .The Brain: 10 Things You Should Know is available here - https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-brain/sophie-scott/9781399602921 Follow Sophie Scott on Twitter & Instagram: @sophiescott . Follow My Time Capsule on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter: @fentonstevens and Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by matthewboxall.com .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people . Get bonus episodes and ad-free listening by becoming a team member with Acast+! Your support will help us to keep making My Time Capsule. Join our team now! https://plus.acast.com/s/mytimecapsule. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Artificial Intelligence will be the focus of this year's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures by the Oxford Professor of Computer Science, Mike Wooldridge. In his series of lectures (broadcast on BBC Four in late December) he will attempt to disentangle the realities from the myths, but will also demonstrate the huge impact AI is already having in fields ranging from medicine to football to astrophysics, as well as on the creative arts. The bestselling novelist Naomi Alderman has fun with AI and its tech trillionaire-creators in her latest thriller The Future. While the wealthy corporate heads are effectively decapitated by an end-of-the-world scenario, the story explores whether the technology that could presage the apocalypse can also be used for the good of society.The Professor of Politics at Cambridge, David Runciman, wants to change the way people think about a future in which artificial intelligence has taken control. In The Handover he looks back to the formation of states and corporations, arguing that these are the precursors to AI: powerful artificial entities that have come to rule our world. While thy have made us richer and safer, he questions what will happen to human existence if these two machines – states and AI – join forces.Producer: Katy Hickman

In Episode 73, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Professor Sophie Scott, who is the Director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London and a Fellow of the British Academy.    Sophie is an expert in cognitive neuroscience studying human vocal communication, from speech and sound to social interactions and nonverbal emotional expressions, and has become very well known for her work on laughter. As a pioneering researcher in the science of laughter, she's made some unexpected discoveries -- including my favourite, that rats are ticklish, and that the one tactic that's almost guaranteed to get someone to laugh is to show them someone else laughing. She has appeared on UK TV many times, including The One Show (BBC1), Sunday Brunch (C4), Horizon (BBC2) - AND has presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. She also represented the Polytechnic of Central London in University Challenge (BBC2).  In podcasting she co-hosts The Neuromantics (Great pun!), and is a series regular on the wonderful Infinite Monkey Cage. She is an accomplished public speaker, her TED talks have amassed millions of views online, and she has presented at the World Economic Forum, The Royal Institute, and the Wired UK conference. She has performed science-based stand-up comedy and has appeared at the Hammersmith Apollo, the Bloomsbury Theatre and the Latitude Festival. And to top it off, also an author or many books!  In this episode, they explore: How laughter is contagious and social What words are genuinely funny…'Flank' is one…! Why brains are so fascinating these days How laughter is the ‘gateway drug' to play What happens in the brain when we are creative Why organisations need to build social spaces where laughter can live Who is Brian Helverston? And in this episode, they are lucky enough to have their listener's questions to share with Sophie.    Learn more about Sophie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Scott https://www.ted.com/talks/sophie_scott_why_we_laugh https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brain-Things-You-Should-Know-ebook/dp/B09RF221H8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= References https://inews.co.uk/opinion/susie-dent-slips-tongue-english-language-2431363 https://hbr.org/2014/12/innovation-leadership-lessons-from-the-marshmallow-challenge

Richard Dawkins talked to David Freeman just after delivering the 1991 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Professor Dawkins has numerous friends in the comedy fraternity, particularly the late Douglas Adams who wrote The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. As scientists go he is a very approachable and entertaining lecturer.

Andrew Marr talks to two of the leading scientists who were at the forefront of research into fighting the spread of Covid-19. Professor Teresa Lambe was one of the Principal Investigators overseeing the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine programme. She co-designed the vaccine and led the pre-clinical studies, as well overseeing the impact on immunity. She will be taking part in this year's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (to be aired on BBC 4 at 8pm on 28th, 29th and 30th December), alongside Professor Catherine Noakes. As an engineer Noakes is one of a tiny number of specialists worldwide who study ventilation and the spread of airborne diseases. From the beginning of the pandemic she has been instrumental in providing advice on how the virus transmits and the best strategies to control its spread. Covid-19 is a respiratory disease and one of the books on this year's Royal Society prize shortlist is at the centre of revived interest in how we breathe. James Nestor argues, in his book Breath, that humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with damaging consequences that reach beyond snoring, asthma and allergies. Drawing on ancient wisdom and the latest scientific studies Nestor highlights the huge benefits from breathing through your nose, rather than your mouth. Producer: Katy Hickman Photo: Professor Catherine Noakes doing a demonstration at the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2021

First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on December 12th 2021 This week I've got SANDY McGREGOR with me for our now traditional pre-Christmas mildly festive natter (Well, we did one of these last year so it counts, and that's how traditions start), even though we're a bit earlier with this year because I'll be doing another Christmas show next week as well, you lucky people. So, as we don our festive jumpers to sweat through another July afternoon, we are transported back to a typical Christmas at McGregor Towers back in the days of three-channel television with push-button tuning. Amongst other things, we discuss Christmas movies on TV (including the terrors of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG), various attitudes towards watching the Queen's Speech, the strange transformation of Christmas Day news reports, the abundance of circuses, television shows bothering folk in hospital, TOP OF THE POPS (including a rather surprising first music purchase), the popular science of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, and the strange and mysterious world of the Christmastime football fixture list. In addition, as a preview of next week's longer chat with him, there's also an extra segment featuring BEN BAKER talking about his new book "BEN BAKER'S CHRISTMAS BOX" another in his fascinating series of publications celebrating all things Christmas TV related. PLEASE NOTE - For Copyright reasons, musical content sometimes has to be removed for the podcast edition. All the spoken word content remains (mostly) as it was in the broadcast version. Hopefully this won't spoil your enjoyment of the show.

Professor Scott is the Director of the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, and Head of the Speech Communications Group. Her research studies the neural basis of vocal communication - how our brains process the information in speech and voices, and how our brains control the production of our voice. Professor Scott also researches the expression of emotion in the voice, especially laughter. In this episode, we spend some time discussion why we laugh and how this might change with mental illness, what makes something funny, and why our voices are so relevant in understanding our mental state. Professor Scott is also well known for her public engagement work, including performing stand-up comedy, featuring on radio (The Life Scientific, The Infinite Monkey Cage) and TV (Horizon, Inside Culture) and the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Professor Scott hosts a podcast with a poet - 'The Neuromantics' available on https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-neuromantics/id1455641494Interviewed by Dr. Anya Borissova with Dr. Alex Curmi - Give feedback here - podcast@maudsleylearning.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @maudsleypodcast Instagram @maudsleylearningpodcast

This podcast talks with Dr Tara Shine. Tara was formerly an international climate change negotiator and adviser to governments & world leaders on environment & development policy. During our conversation, Tara shares how business can ensure people are at the centre of climate action. Tara was a Special Adviser to the Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice and Climate Adviser to The Elders. Tara is co-founder and Director of Change by Degrees, which provides global sustainability and climate expertise to businesses and organisations to help them maximise their benefits to society. She is also Chair of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED) and delivered the 2020 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. She is also author of ‘How to Save Your Planet One Object At A Time’ hailed as a 'an unpreachy guide’ to sustainability by The Times. During our conversation, Tara covers the reasons why we should be thinking about climate change and social impact at the same time, before sharing practical ways business can make good decisions and take positive action. Tara tackles the tricky question of social and environmental trade-offs before highlighting the leading-edge trends she thinks we should all be aware of. Tara has been working with us here at Business Fights Poverty. Joining up with Jane Nelson from Harvard Kennedy School and our own CEO and co-Founder Zahid Torres-Rahman. Together they have launched: Business and Climate Justice. We would love to invite you to be a part of this too. Please do check out the link below for more information and to sign up to be a part of this. Links: Business and Climate Justice: https://businessfightspoverty.org/climatejustice/

With the first year in the most decisive decade in history coming to a close, we wrap up Season 2 of Outrage and Optimism by being visited by 3 Christmas Ghos...ahem...Scientists. ...That’s a Charles Dickens joke. But all joking aside, you are in for a real treat this episode. The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures have taken place every Christmas since 1825 in the UK. Started as a way to educate the public about science, it has become an annual tradition loved by families across the globe, both adults and children alike. So in this episode, Christiana Figueres and Paul Dickinson sit down with the three Christmas Lecturers this year, Dr. Helen Czerski, Professor Chris Jackson, and Dr. Tara Shine, all expert scientists from different fields who will be addressing the unique challenge of climate change by unravelling our astonishing global systems and remarkable natural wonders that combine to keep life on Earth alive. This year the program is titled, “Planet Earth: A User’s Guide And don’t be fooled. “Lecture” might be a bit dull of a term to describe what happens at this annual event. Explosions, experiments, and demonstrations abound in this exciting and engaging program. So grab your popcorn and hot chocolate, and listen in as we are visited by 3 different scientists this Christmas - Each guiding us to see a perspective on how we can each protect our climate from changing and create a more equitable and sustainable world.   —   Please fill out our listener survey! - Thank you!   Don’t forget to join ‘Count Us In’ with your practical steps towards protecting our planet against climate change!   —   The 2020 Christmas Lecturers:   Dr. Helen Czerski Twitter | Website   Professor Chris Jackson Twitter   Dr. Tara Shine Twitter | Instagram | Website   —   Read More about this year’s Christmas Lectures   Learn more about how you can support The Royal Institution HERE   Check out our previous episode with Dr. Tara Shine! —   Keep up with Christiana Figueres here: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook   —   Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn   —   Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   —   Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism!

Started by Michael Faraday in 1825, and now broadcast on national television, the Christmas lectures bring a science topic to our screens over three nights every year. The series of lectures has always been held within the Royal Institution in London, but this year, of course, is going to be slightly different.In this week's episode, editorial assistant Amy Barrett is joined today by three expert scientists, Tara Shine, Chris Jackson and Helen Czerski, who are going to be presenting the 2020 Christmas lectures, titled Planet Earth: A User's Guide.In lecture one, geologist Chris Jackson will reveal our Earth's climate story through the rocks and the fossil record. In lecture two, physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski will talk about the part our oceans play in the climate crisis. And in lecture three, environmental scientist Tara Shine will talk about carbon emissions and what we're really breathing in.Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, OvercastRead the full transcription [this will open in a new window]Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:Hannah Fry: How much of our lives is secretly underpinned by maths?Royal Institution Christmas Lectures past and presentSir David Attenborough: How can we save our planet?Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac: Has climate change determined our future?Everything you ever wanted to know about... the deep sea with Dr Jon CopleyMark Miodownik: Are biodegradable plastics really better than traditional plastic? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join legendary chemist Dr Peter Wothers MBE to discover the magical, explosive world of chemistry!Why study chemistryApplying for chemistry at university levelThe gap between (high) school level science and university levelHow to succeed when studying chemistry* * * * * * *Special offer for Exam Study Expert podcast listeners: for expert preparation + mock interviews to maximise your chances of getting an offer to study science at British Universities (including tailored options for Oxbridge prep), contact UniAdmissions.co.uk.Mention to the team that you're an Exam Study Expert podcast listener, and receive an additional free mock interview in your preparation programme, absolutely free!* * * * * * *Dr Wothers is Teaching Fellow in the Department of Chemistry, and is something of a campus legend thanks to his passion for the subject and incredible flair while lecturing. He's been featured on TV, including the Discovery Channel's The Big Experiment and the BBC's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, which are available on-demand here: https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/watch/2012/the-modern-alchemist (aimed at a young audience, but worth clicking to enjoy the first 40 seconds alone in my opinion - fantastic!!)He has also authored a number of books, including:Why Chemical Reactions Happen - a great read for (high) school students considering studying chemistry, brilliant interview prep. Available at: https://geni.us/reactionsAntimony, Gold and Jupiter's Wolf, a fascinating read for a general audience, all about how the elements got their names. Available at https://geni.us/antimony Organic Chemistry - (first edition) - THE go-to undergrad textbook for organic chemistry (Dr W did the 1st edition - the 2nd edition which he was less involved in available at https://geni.us/organicchemistry *As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases on suggested books at no extra cost to you. I only recommend awesome stuff.

In the twenty-second episode of the Just Checking In Podcast, we spoke to freelance Science Journalist and Audio Producer, Izzie Clarke. After completing a Masters degree in Physics, Izzie worked as an assistant producer for BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 1, returning to science content a few years later as a producer and presenter for The Naked Scientists on BBC Radio 5 Live, ABC's Radio National in Australia and their eponymous podcast. In addition to reporting on the latest science news, creating space documentaries or throwing herself into an captivating location recording or experiment for radio, Izzie is motivated to bring science to a younger audience. She has presented a video series for BBC Radio 1 on genetics with Dev Griffin and was a researcher for the 2016 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. In this pod we discussed Izzie's media journey and how she got to where she is today, the challenges of going freelance and the financial and social pressures that come with it, sexism in science, her experiences of living with imposter syndrome, her love of knitting and of course a mental health chat! Izzie's latest project is producing and presenting the Royal Astronomical Society's new podcast, 'The Supermassive Podcast' which you can listen to here: https://audioboom.com/channels/5014098 Find out more about Izzie's work and how to commission her on her website here: https://www.izzieclarke.com/ You can also follow her on social media below: Twitter: https://twitter.com/IzzieClarke Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/izzie__c/ As always, #itsokaytovent Music: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

Hopefully by now the last crumbs of mince pie will be wiped clean and Grandad has woken up from his Christmas day nap.If you’re anything like us, that period between Christmas and New Year means only one thing – lazing in front of the TV and watching the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. This institution has been sharing the wonders of science and entertaining children and adults alike for generations, and this year’s host hopes this year will be no different.Our editorial assistant Amy Barret sat down with Hannah Fry, only the fourth mathematician to deliver one of the lectures, who’ll be showing the audience how maths secretly underpins much of the world around us in her lecture series called Secrets and Lies, broadcast on BBC Four on 26-28 December at 20:00.Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, OvercastLet us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:Aoife McLysaght: What makes me 'me'?Adam Kay: Is Christmas really the most wonderful time of the year on labour ward?Chris Lintott: Can members of the public do real science?Jim Al-Khalili: Why should we care about science and scientists?Robert Elliott Smith: Are algorithms inherently biased?Hannah Fry: What's the deal with algorithms? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | Stitcher | Apple Episode 8 - Professor Saiful Islam The world is facing an energy crisis – our current energy storage and conversion technologies must continue to evolve to cope with an ever-growing population, but to avert a climate catastrophe science needs to meet those demands in a green and sustainable way. Well, thanks goodness then for people like Saiful Islam, Professor of Materials Chemistry at the University of Bath and our guest for episode 8! We caught up with Saiful at The Assembly Inn, Bath, to hear about his upbringing in Crouch End (apparently not as cool in the 70s as it is today), his optimistic outlook, his penchant for 3D glasses and how he likes to model... We also got to hear some behind-the-scenes stories from Saiful’s excellent Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (see below for videos), including tales of baking with GBBO star Selasi Gbormittah and nearly taking Richard Dawkins' head clean off with a cannon ball. Be sure to listen right to the end to hear Saiful’s extremely impressive performance in our inaugural ‘Periodic Table Music Quiz’. Welcome back to the Pint of Science podcast. Each week, we meet scientists in pubs around the UK to find out about their lives, their universe, and everything. From *how* fruit flies love to *why* humans love, via jumping into volcanoes, winning Olympic medals, where we came from and more! Like what we do? Let us know using the hashtag #pintcast19. And be sure to subscribe to us and rate us on your favourite podcasting platform! The Pint of Science podcast is a part of the Pint of Science Festival, the world's largest science communication festival. Thousands of guests and speakers descend on pubs in hundreds of cities worldwide to introduce science in a fun, engaging, and usually pint-fuelled way. This podcast is made possible with the help of our sponsors Brilliant.org. Do check them out, and visit www.brilliant.org/pintofscience/ where the first 200 people who sign up will get 20% off a Premium plan!  About Saiful Islam, this week's guest: After a youth sound-tracked by The Stranglers, The Jam and of course The Smiths, Saiful Islam decided to further his scientific education, and bagged himself a BSc and PhD from University College London, under the supervision of Professor Richard Catlow. An exciting post-doc in New York, investigating oxide superconductors, cemented Saiful’s passion for research and he returned to the UK in 1990 to become a lecturer and later reader at the University of Surrey, before eventually making his way to Bath to take up his current position in 2006. He now researches new classes of compounds for rechargeable lithium batteries and next-generation solar cells, with a view to meeting our growing energy demands in a green and sustainable way. His academic work and his public engagement work have earned him a health list of accolades. Perhaps his highest profile public engagement work was delivering the Royal Institution Christmas Lecturer in 2016, a clip from which you can view right here: You can also follow Saiful on Twitter (@SaifulChemistry) and contribute to his impressive page of albums and hit singles with chemistry references.  Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | Stitcher | Apple

Evolutionary geneticist Aoife McLysaght is joining Alice Roberts as a guest at this year’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Together, they’re exploring where we come from, what makes us human, and what makes each of us unique. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

behind the scenes at the iconic Royal Institution Christmas Lectures with Professors Alice Roberts and Aoife McLysaght - plus the fire-obsessed demonstration expert Fran Scott - to find the answer to the question “Who am I?”

Big news! Genetics Unzipped is a new podcast from the Genetics Society, taking a look at the world of genes, genomes and DNA. Here's a quick teaser from our first episode, featuring Alice Roberts, Aoife McLysaght and Fran Scott, taking a sneak peek behind the scenes at the 2018 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures.More info online at geneticsunzipped.com

Historian and author Max Adams discusses the famed Anglo-Saxon king and considers whether he deserves his stellar reputation. Meanwhile, we team up with our friends from the Science Focus podcast to explore the history of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in the company of the writer and marine biologist Helen Scales See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kirsty Young's castaway is Dr. Kevin Fong. He is a consultant anaesthetist at University College Hospital London, and an expert on space medicine. He is a senior lecturer in Physiology at UCL and the co-director of the Centre for Aviation, Space and Extreme Environment Medicine. Born to parents who had come to the UK from Mauritius, he grew up in London. His parents put great emphasis on education - which they had both missed out on in their youth. Kevin's first degree was in astrophysics and he went on to study medicine. He has combined his love of space with medicine and has spent time working at the Johnson Space Centre in the US. He has been a consultant anaesthetist since 2010, but has kept pursuing his interests in extreme environments from space to altitude and depth. He has made many television documentaries about his field of interest and gave the 2015 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures.Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Kirsty Young's castaway is Dr. Kevin Fong. He is a consultant anaesthetist at University College Hospital London, and an expert on space medicine. He is a senior lecturer in Physiology at UCL and the co-director of the Centre for Aviation, Space and Extreme Environment Medicine. Born to parents who had come to the UK from Mauritius, he grew up in London. His parents put great emphasis on education - which they had both missed out on in their youth. Kevin's first degree was in astrophysics and he went on to study medicine. He has combined his love of space with medicine and has spent time working at the Johnson Space Centre in the US. He has been a consultant anaesthetist since 2010, but has kept pursuing his interests in extreme environments from space to altitude and depth. He has made many television documentaries about his field of interest and gave the 2015 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Marcus Du Sautoy is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. In 2008 he was appointed to Oxford University’s prestigious professorship as the Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science, a post previously held by Richard Dawkins. In 2009 the Royal Society awarded him the Faraday Prize for excellence in communicating science to the public, and in 2010 he received an OBE from the Queen for his services to science. He’s also recently been made a fellow of the Royal Society. Marcus is the author of The Music of The Primes, Finding Moonshine and The Number Mysteries; He’s presented numerous programs on TV and radio including the internationally acclaimed BBC series The Story of Maths and in 2006 gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. His latest book is What We Cannot Know. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today's episode of the CS@Manchester podcast features an extended interview Prof Danielle George from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. We talk about her experiences doing the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2014, why she thinks the term Engineer is wrongly reflected in society and her thoughts on the crossover between Computer Science and Engineering, and what they can learn from each other. You can follow us on twitter @csmcr @EngineerDG

On Start the Week, as the first Briton heads into space for two decades, Andrew Marr explores the future of space travel. Kevin Fong is an expert in space medicine and in this year's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures looks at how to survive in outer space. The Astronomer Royal Martin Rees questions whether human space travel is worth the money or the risk, while the astrophysicist Carole Haswell searches distant galaxies for habitable exoplanets. Stephen Baxter is a writer of hard science fiction who, as a member of the British Interplanetary Society, investigates star ship design and extra-terrestrial liberty. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Danielle George is a radio frequency engineer from the University of Manchester. She designs amplifiers that have travelled everywhere, from outer space to underground. Becoming a professor aged just 38, she talks to Jim about the challenges of age discrimination and working in a male dominated field. As presenter of last year's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, she's passionate about DIY electronics and coding, and how to inspire the UK's next generation of inventors.

Andrew Marr talks to the conductor Semyon Bychkov about Tannhauser, Wagner's tortured artist, out of place in conventional society. While the scientist Mark Miodownik takes a measure of the world, and asks 'Does size matter?' in this year's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Author Susan Hill ponders kindness, grief and miracles and the television screenwriter Tony Jordan forsakes EastEnders to take on 'the greatest story ever told', the Nativity. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Transcript -- Baroness Susan Greenfield discusses her experience of delivering the first Christmas lecture to be given by a woman, in 1994.

Baroness Susan Greenfield discusses her experience of delivering the first Christmas lecture to be given by a woman, in 1994.

Transcript -- Baroness Susan Greenfield discusses her experience of delivering the first Christmas lecture to be given by a woman, in 1994.

Baroness Susan Greenfield discusses her experience of delivering the first Christmas lecture to be given by a woman, in 1994.