In part two, we dive ever deeper into the science of sleep, from the chemistry of caffeine, to the ticking cellular clock, to the meaningless lives of cave catfish.

Don't forget to leave us a review! We actively take feedback into future episodes.

"On this sciencey show, we answer the questions you never thought to ask, did not want to ask and did not ask."

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Step through the looking-glass and into the strange world of molecular handedness, where sugars twist light into rainbows, amino acids choose sides, and life itself leans decisively in one direction.

Alongside a reimagined journey with Alice, we follow the clues hidden in chirality and homochirality, uncovering how a tiny asymmetry shaped every cell on Earth. And then we turn the mirror around: what would a world of opposite-handed life look like, and what risks might it bring?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grey Whales are migrating across the pacific. Some do not return.

It's 1945, war planes are flying into battle. Some do not return.

This episode is the first of a series of facts where we tried experimenting with video.

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Join us on a journey from a campfire at night in the Arizona desert to the moon, the mind, the electron and beyond.

Why does water behave the same at 1 degree and 99 degrees when it is so close to being either solid or gas?

What is true about the universe at every level?

What if nothing changes the more you zoom in?Are we stuck in a perpetual fractal maze?

Topics: Percolation, The Ising Model, Fractals, Renormalisation Invariance, Magnetism.

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On the 10th of September 2025, a paper was published in Nature that may one day be thought of as the most significant scientific discovery in our lifetimes (according to Sam). What on earth is he on about?

NOTE (spoiler alert): The Alien Interludes in this episode are based on real concepts for extra-terrestrial life in science fiction, particularly the Neosquilla which are very similar to the Keracks from the novel Camelot30K by Robert Forward.

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Venus, Earth and Mars, the solar system's most tragic love triangle. In this story of luck and loss, we explore the physics that drove their destinies apart, and speculate on alien life that may have clung on in the meantime.

NOTE (spoiler alert): The Alien Interludes in this episode are based on real concepts for extra-terrestrial life in science fiction: the Picknia are based on the Cheela from the novel Dragon's Egg by Robert Forward, Mariplasma resembles the Amoebic Sea from the Discovery Channel special Alien Planet, and the Harmonia are pretty much exactly as described by Kurt Vonnegut in his fantastic sci-fi novel Sirens of Titan (please just put down your phone and go and read this book).

Don't forget to leave us a review! We actively take feedback into future episodes.

"On this sciencey show, we answer the questions you never thought to ask, did not want to ask and did not ask."

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.