Why? with Emma Kennedy

It’s been 52 years since humans last stepped onto the moon, and NASA is determined to set up a permanent base there. But there are huge challenges to overcome - not least surviving brain-damaging solar radiation and bone-wasting partial gravity.  

Today on Why?, Luke Turner speaks to Clive Neal, Professor of Planetary Geology at Notre Dame University currently working with NASA on their next moon mission and find out exactly how they plan to build a long-lasting habitat.  

• “What we’ve learned during and since Apollo, is that the moon is a very hostile environment, but now we understand the nature of that hostility. And that understanding is key to being able to keep humans alive on the surface of the moon – not only to survive, but to thrive.” - Clive Neal 

• “Radiation and humans don’t miss in the long term. Radiation is much more intense in the lunar environment. So a human habitat on the moon would have to be buried beneath about two meters of regolith to protect them.” - Clive Neal 

Written and presented by Luke Turner. Produced by Anne-Marie Luff and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production. 

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Most of us would like to live for as long as possible, given we’re in good health. But the definition of a long life is changing, and the rapid advancement of anti-ageing technologies could transform the idea of immortality from fantasy to reality. So the question isn’t so much can we live forever, but should we?

Anna Machin talks to Dr Stephen Cave, Director of the Institute for Technology and Humanity at the University of Cambridge, and co-author of Should You Choose To Live Forever? A Debate, to find out.

• “If we’re serious about pursuing longer lives, we have to get really, really serious about making those lives sustainable”.

• “With life-extension and anti-ageing technologies, the effects will be enormous. Many of them will be beyond what we can imagine right now. If we’re going to pursue them, we need to think of what we can do to maximise the benefits, and manage the risks.”

WHY? is written and presented by Anna Machin. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard and Anne-Marie Luff. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Humanity has always been fascinated by the prospect of living on another planet – and our nearest neighbour is the prime candidate. Could we create livable space on Mars? What would we take with us? How would our lives be different? And how would human society change? As climate change and war make the question more urgent, we ask: Could humans really live on Mars? Anna Machin talks to Why?’s first husband-wife duo, A City on Mars authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, about life for the first Martian settlers.  

• “People talk about Mars as a backup for humanity. But if it means taking so many steps back on human rights, I don’t want that backup. Let’s wait until we can support everyone who is up there.” - Kelly Weinersmith 

• “If we do send humans to Mars, it needs to be done very slowly. It probably won’t happen in my lifetime.” - Kelly Weinersmith 

Buy A City On Mars through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

Written and presented by Anna Machin. Produced by Anne-Marie Luff and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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With the news full of war, terror and natural disasters, it’s increasingly looking like the so-called Doomsday Preppers were on to something after all. But most of us still don’t have a clue what – or how – we’d do in a disaster scenario. So when catastrophe does strike, is there a science behind who is more likely to cope? And what can we do to increase our chances?  

Luke Turner talks to Dr Sarita Robinson, Associate Dean at the University of Central Lancashire and an expert in survival psychology, to find out what it takes to survive when disaster strikes.  

• “Our brain is very switched on to the idea of threats in our environment. Once we’ve established there’s something that will cause us harm, our bodies and brains are very quick to mitigate the risk.” - Dr Sarita Robinson 

• “Cognitive flexibility and optimism are both really helpful to survival in emergency situations.” - Dr Sarita Robinson 

WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard and Anne-Marie Luff. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production. 

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Everything goes extinct eventually. When will it be our turn? And will humans disappear because of shifting tectonic plates, catastrophic natural disasters, the earth being engulfed by the sun… or our own ruinous activities? Basically, how long have we got? 

Dr. Henry Gee, senior editor at Nature and author of A Very Short History of Life on Earth, tells Olly Mann that it isn’t so much a question of if we will go extinct, but when and why.  

• “My feeling is that humans will become extinct within the next 10,000 years or so.” – Dr. Henry Gee

• “For most of human history, people have been living at a subsistence level. Populations of humans would become extinct quite regularly. Near-extinction is a feature of human evolution." – Dr. Henry Gee

Buy A Very Short History of Life on Earth through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

WHY? is written and presented by Olly Mann. Produced by Anne-Marie Luff and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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You can trust what’s in front of your eyes, right? Turns out… not really. Everything we see is processed through a filter of our prior expectations. Our brains fill the gaps in the data they receive to create a “reality” that we can understand. If everything we see and hear is just a construct, are we all living in our own hallucinations? 

Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex and author of Being You: A New Science of Consciousness, explains our world of illusions to Olly Mann. 

• “There is a real world out there – but we experience it as a construction. We never experience things as they really are. We experience the world as WE are, not as IT is.” – Anil Seth

• “We think our brains are ‘reading out’ the world but it is totally the other way around… The brain is continually making predictions about what is out there.” – Anil Seth

Buy Being You: A New Science of Consciousness through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

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WHY? is written and presented by Olly Mann. Produced by Anne-Marie Luff and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Music is a universal language, a connecting force during all of life’s highs and lows. But why does music make us emotional? From feelings of elation and melancholy, to unease and motivation - why and how does music play with not only our emotions, but our brains themselves?

Catherine Loveday, Professor of Neuropsychology at the University of Westminster, joins Luke Turner to discuss the psychology of music, its impact on our memory and why our teenage music loves stay with us forever.

• "Music is in masses of different areas of the brain, and when we look in brain scanners when people are improvising, performing, or listening to music we see huge amounts of activation” - Prof Catherine Loveday

• “There is research that shows longer-term musical memories are robust, and are less likely to be impacted by conditions such as dementia than other memories” - Prof Catherine Loveday

• "There is a theory that music was our communication tool from before we developed language” - Prof Catherine Loveday

• "There is no consistency in what people choose as their favourite genre of music, everyone develops their own taste and love of particular types of music” - Prof Catherine Loveday

WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Produced by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters production.

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Your dog is really clever, right? You understand one another. Every pet owner thinks this. But can our pets really communicate with us beyond the basic demands for food, walks and play? How is its mind constructed? What’s going on inside that furry head?

Dr Juliane Kaminski, Associate Professor in Comparative Psychology and director of the Dog Cognition Centre at the University of Portsmouth, tells Emma Kennedy how we’re only just beginning to understand how dogs see and understand the world they’re living in. 

• “Dogs have a huge motivation to look into our eyes, to maintain eye contact, which is not a trivial thing, because in the wild, a wolf would perceive this as a threat.”- Dr Juliane Kaminski

• “We’ve created a creature that understands us in ways that no other animal does. Dogs are really good at making sense of our communication.” - Dr Juliane Kaminski

WHY? is written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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They shine as brightly as a trillion stars, they’re powered by supermassive black holes… and until 2023 we had no idea how they came into existence. These are quasars, awesomely powerful cosmic objects at the centre of some of the most violent events in the universe. What exactly are quasars, and just how powerful can they be? Dr Vicky Fawcett, Research Associate in Astrophysics at Newcastle University, explains the power of the quasar to amazed space cadet Luke Turner. 

•“A Quasar can be about a thousand times more powerful than the Milky Way Galaxy itself.” - Dr Vicky Fawcett 

•“Quasar stands for quasi stellar radio source, because back in the 1960s when they were first discovered, they thought they were radio bright stars.” - Dr Vicky Fawcett

•"The central point of a quasar is so bright that they outshine all the stars in the galaxy.” - Dr Vicky Fawcett

WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Produced by Anne-Marie Luff with Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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If you could control your dreams, what would you do while you slept? Fly? Get romantic with some unattainable object of desire? Or embark on a fantasy odyssey with no equivalent in reality? Lucid dreams – where we know we’re dreaming and we can control what we do – come to many of us  at some point in our lives. But can we learn how to do it? And does lucid dreaming have real-world benefits beyond just being loads of fun? 

Olly Mann talks to Mark Blagrove, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Sleep Lab at Swansea University, all about the science of lucid dreaming. 

• “Lucid dreaming gives you something quite extraordinary to think about. It can increase your level of awe at what is possible in the world.” - Mark Blagrove

• "People who frequently lucid dream have an ‘internal locus of control’, meaning that they feel in charge of their own life, as opposed to feeling that their life is under the control of chance.” - Mark Blagrove

WHY? is written and presented by Olly Mann. Produced by Anne-Marie Luff and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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You’ve probably eaten something so spicy it hurt before. But, across the globe, people still love eating spicy food – despite the discomfort. Why?

Bob Holmes, author of FLAVOR: The Science of Our Most Neglected Sense, tells Olly Mann what attracts us to this taste sensation. 

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Olly Mann Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.  WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Without warning a 7.6 magnitude earthquake shook Japan on New Year’s Day, raising the sea floor above the water and causing devastating damage and death. Even with all humanity’s deep scientific knowledge and discoveries, we still cannot predict when an earthquake will strike. Why is that? What mysteries do the earth’s tectonic plates hold, and are we getting closer to solving them?

Professor Tim Wright tells Emma Kennedy how scientists are working to relieve the seismic strain on the earth’s mantle – and new discoveries about the shifting world beneath our feet.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.  WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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If you’ve ever watched Jurassic Park, you’ve probably wondered how you’d fare against a dinosaur. If these prehistoric beasts did exist alongside us, would we really stand a chance? 

Today on Why? Dr. David Hone separates dinosaur fact from fiction with Emma Kennedy, including the secrets held in dino-dandruff.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow us on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.  WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Your eyes are your window to the world – but is what they’re seeing actually happening? 

When you’re driving at speed, being alert to the traffic around you will save your life. When a truck in front brakes sharply you have milliseconds to respond, but what if you’re seeing the past? Can your brain process the information it’s receiving quickly enough to avoid catastrophe? Or does it do something completely different and take a leap of faith to predict reality?

Professor Hinze Hogendoorn tells Anna Machin how real-time perception is an illusion and how our brains compensate for living in the past.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Anna Machin. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.  WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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If you could take a pill that would make you fall deeply in love with someone, would you do it? And if you could give someone a pill that would make them love you… would that be right? Therapists have been giving couples psychedelic drugs for over 50 years to help build emotional bridges – but can a mere chemical create something as complex as love, from nothing?

Dr. Brian D.Earp tells Luke Turner how therapists could use serotonin-inducing drugs to reroute neural pathways, and why a chemically-based relationship would be ethically messy to say the least. 

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.  WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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The antibiotics that have saved humanity from extinction again and again are about to stop working. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are multiplying faster than science can keep up. It’s estimated that these pathogens will kill 10 million of us a year by 2050 if we don’t come up with effective treatment.

Enter Dr Ana L. Santos of Rice University, Texas. Her team of microbiologists have developed microscopic robots which kill the bacteria that medicine can’t. She tells Olly Mann about their groundbreaking research into nanobiotics and how drilling nanobots could turn the tide in the fight against aggressive infections.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Olly Mann. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.  WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Our brains process over 35,000 conscious decisions every day – and let’s face it, they can’t all be good choices. So why do we make bad decisions? Which part of our brain is in control when we decide what to do? How do we decide what’s risky but worth a try? How do we process all this vast information? And why do different people make wildly different choices when faced with the same situations?

Professor Moran Cerf takes Luke Turner through the neuroscience of decision-making and the hidden mechanisms that drive our psychology and behaviour.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.  WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Brain implants have moved from science fiction to science fact thanks to innovative research into treatments for neurological illnesses. But could you physically join your brain with an artificial intelligence? What would having a part-machine mind do to your thoughts and your sense of self? Who would be in control? And if a private company owned hardware in your brain, what happens when they want it back?

Dr Frederic Gilbert of University of Tasmania talks to Luke Turner about the reality of the mind-machine interface. 

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow us on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.  WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Our bodies are astonishing in all their beautiful, biological complexity – but do you ever wonder if this is as far as the human form can develop? Millions of years of evolution have created a four-limbed, bipedal mammal with opposable thumbs and a powerful, versatile brain. But have we stopped evolving? Are we still subject to natural selection in the unnatural, man-made world we’ve created? And which genetic mutations will thrive, ensuring the continued survival of our species?

Evolutionary biologist Dr. Nicholas Longrich joins Anna Machin to predict how and why humans will evolve in the future… and whether we will eventually transform into an entirely new species.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Anna Machin. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.  WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Every CSI fan knows that forensic analysis is crucial to criminal investigations. But it’s not just microscopic blood spatter or clothing fibres that can help nail a perpetrator. Botanical forensics – identifying how long a fungus has grown on a dead body, or which species of pollen a victim has inhaled – can blow a case wide open too. We’re stepping into True Crime territory today as Professor David Gibson, author of Planting Clues, shares gruesome details of incredible real life criminal cases where forensic botany has nailed the killer.

Buy Planting Clues through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Does your cat meow in Geordie? Does your dog have a Yorkshire accent? Is “animal linguistics” a thing? Incredibly, it is – and the science of animal “voices” is revealing a wealth of information about how wild and domestic creatures think and communicate. 

Elodie Floriane Mandel-Briefer, Associate Professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Copenhagen joins Emma Kennedy to explain the unique and startling world of animal linguistics… plus how dolphins give each other names… how we’re on the verge of translating what starlings sing about… and which accents Emma’s dogs have.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow us on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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It’s the fantasy we revisit obsessively in movies and TV from Her to Humans to Blade Runner to, well, A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Could a thinking machine develop a personality sufficiently human-like that we could share a relationship with it? Could an A.I. become our friend or even our lover? We’re social animals, wired to understand the world through personal interactions. What does that mean when it comes to A.I.?

Simple Chatbot apps can help people to cope with loneliness, but do the technical limitations mean it can only ever be a one-way relationship? Will Siri and Alexa ever evolve into something you want to share a pint and a laugh with?

Dr Kate Devlin joins Luke Turner to share cutting-edge research on whether AI will ever be more than a digital diary to hold our innermost thoughts and feelings.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Dads will often say that fatherhood changes you – but did you realise those changes happen at a physical, biological level as well as in fathers’ perspectives and values? We often assume that biologically mens’ bodies are unaffected by the arrival of a child. But huge hormonal changes take place at the point of the child’s birth, and research shows that when fathers interact with their children incredible neural activations take place. How do these changes prepare children for the world? And what is fatherhood doing to men’s brains?

Dr Pascal Vrticka discusses astonishing research into paternal neural synchrony with Anna Machin and find out how fatherhood changes you more than you could ever imagine.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Anna Machin. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Multiverse theory inspired movie blockbusters like Marvel’s Dr Strange and Everything Everywhere All At Once – but the “Many Worlds” theory of multiple realities isn’t just science fiction. If the science is right, could there be another version of me out there somewhere? The Cosmological Inflating Multiverse, for instance, says that ours is but one universe among billions and no scenario, no matter how bizarre, can be ruled out. Can we prove that the Multiverse is science fact?

Theoretical Physicist Dr. Sabine Hossenfelder joins us again on Why? to explain new areas of research in quantum physics – and ask if the Multiverse is real.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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As YouTube videos of bopping parrots and breakdancing baboons show, humans aren’t the only species with rhythm and musicality built in. Even dogs wag their tails to a fixed tempo. But why, and what does it tell us? Plus, research shows us that a sense of rhythm isn’t the rule across the entire animal kingdom. Are different species born with it or can it be learned? Is music and rhythm a precursor to language? 

Professor Andrea Ravignani of Sapienza University of Rome introduces Ananyo Bhattacharya to the toe-tapping world of animal rhythm and the neurocognitive patterns that make it happen.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Ananyo Bhattacharya. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Science usually rejects the existence of the soul, or any conscious entity that’s separate from our biology. But there’s increasing evidence that plants, air and even inanimate matter exhibit some properties of consciousness. Could everything in the universe be linked by some invisible force, like Yoda taught Luke in Star Wars? This is not just science fiction but the study of panpsychism, the idea that everything in the universe is conscious and interacts.

Today on Why? we’re stepping into the world between particles to discover how consciousness and the physical fit together beyond human experience. It seems absurd… but not too long ago philosophers and scientists were convinced that babies weren’t conscious beings. What else have we got wrong?

Professor Philip Goff of Durham University blows Luke Turner’s mind as they explore whether science can find our souls.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on a wild adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Artificial Intelligence already controls complex systems that humans depend on, from keeping thousands of planes safe in the sky to autocorrect saving our blushes when we mis-spell ‘Wednesday’. But are we in danger of handing AI too much control? Could machine learning outgrow its human masters? Researchers recently had to turn off two AI chatbots when they invented their own language that humans couldn’t decipher – and that won’t be the last time AI runs ahead of us. Can we really trust Artificial Intelligence to look after us and not destroy us?

Writer and futurologist  Alexandra Whittington explains it all to Emma Kennedy.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Why do we always remember the worst things that happened to us and never the best? Excruciating memories of past mistakes have a tendency to haunt us, popping up uninvited to make us cringe and sweat the way good memories just don’t. Why? If every new experience creates new neural pathways in our brain, could we disconnect the ones we don’t want to revisit? 

Neuroscientist Dr Dean Burnett joins Luke Turner to find out whether these toe-curling memories serve a biological purpose beyond basic survival.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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We like to think we’re the pinnacle of intelligent life, but were humans really the first to evolve conceptual, self-aware, logical consciousness on Earth? Could an advanced technological civilisation have emerged before? If so, what happened to it? And if our planet produces many kinds of intelligence – octopuses have nine brains! – what is it about Earth that makes intelligent life likely to evolve here? 

Evolutionary biologist and writer Dr. Henry Gee joins Ananyo Bhattacharya to talk about the so-called Silurian Hypothesis and whether humans really are Earth’s first intelligent inhabitants.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? was written and presented by Ananyo Bhattacharya. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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We hear a lot about the technology of space travel, but what about the psychology of leaving Earth for the loneliness of space? If you were strapped inside a rocket hurtling through space, what would it do to your state of mind? Could you still collaborate, concentrate and carry out your vital work? Or would you give in to rising panic as the only home you’ve ever known becomes a tiny blue speck that would take years to return to – if ever?

Space psychologist Dr Nick Kanas joins Anna Machin to discuss his work with NASA astronauts and what lessons we need to learn before venturing further into space.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Anna Machin. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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At the very centre of the earth, scientists have just discovered a new, previously unknown geological layer inside our world’s dense inner core. What is this strange new fifth layer composed of? How could we not know what’s beneath our feet, albeit very far down? And could we use it somehow?

Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić tells Luke Turner how his research group made this discovery and how the inner inner core may be small, but it plays a mighty mighty role in all our lives.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow us on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Could you be forever young? Humans have fantasised about stopping or even reversing the ravages of age for as long as we’ve told stories – but now science is coming closer to making it happen. The global anti-ageing market is worth over $62 billion and the super-rich like Jeff Bezos are pouring billions into research against ageing. Will science soon be able to literally turn back the bodyclock?

Dr Andrew Steele tells Olly Mann about the science of ageing, how biologists are reaching down to the cellular level to stop our bodies from degrading… and how we’re close to finding the Off switch for ageing.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow us on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Olly Mann. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Faster-than-light space travel has been a staple of science fiction since before the Starship Enterprise first went warp-speed. But could it ever really happen? Are we discovering potential ways to get round Einstein’s iron rule about spacetime’s speed limit? And could the secret to travelling at the speed of light be hidden within the underground tunnels at CERN?

Theoretical physicist Dr Sabine Hossenfelder explains the latest thinking on ‘FTL’ to Anna Machin. Please fasten your seatbelts.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Anna Machin. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Humans now have more control over our long-term evolution than ever before. Developments in DNA research could mean we can by-pass natural selection and dictate our own biological destiny. But where is it leading? We time-travel forward a million years and check in on our (very) distant cousins to see if they resemble us at all. Will they even be recognisably human?

Dr Anders Sandberg of Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute discusses the future of our species with Ananyo Bhattacharya.

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an episode.

WHY? is written and presented by Ananyo Bhattacharya. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Time seems pretty reliable in our everyday lives – but is it as dependable as we think? According to Einstein, both gravity and speed can warp time. Some think time is just a product of our consciousness. Is it even real… whatever “real” is? 

Sam Baron, Professor of Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University and co-author of Out Of Time, tells Anna Machin how we all have our own ‘clock’ which doesn’t tick at the same pace as anyone else’s… and whether time is just a construct after all. 

Guest: Professor Sam Baron

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an edition.

WHY? is written and presented by Anna Machin. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Who hasn’t looked up at the stars at some point and thought maybe there are other intelligent creatures out there? Astronomers scan the cosmos and they’ve found plenty of intriguing but inconclusive signals so far. Are they no more than magnetic waves from far off dead planets, or something more?

Dr. Franck Marchis, Senior Planetary Astronomer at the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), tells Luke Turner about the groundbreaking research the institute is doing and how you can play your part in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Guest: Dr Franck Marchis

Resources: SETI, A Sign In Space

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an edition.

WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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We’re a sex-obsessed species, and now we’re building humanoid sex robots. But is there something psychologically, physically and even morally wrong in knocking boots with our metal-and-plastic creations? Dr. Kate Devlin, an expert in artificial intelligence and author of Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots tells Anna Machin about the ethical ups and downs (ahem) of turning one’s desire away from ‘alive’ partners and towards artificial intelligence. Is it wrong? Who are we hurting? Who’s benefiting? It may not be who you think. 

Guest: Dr. Kate Devlin is author of Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an edition.

WHY? is written and presented by Anna Machin. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Memory is critical to human function. We simply can’t do anything without it. Yet most of us have memories of events that never occurred. How can that be? Where do these false memories come from and what do they mean? Psychologist Dr Sarita Robinson walks Emma Kennedy down the avenues of the mind to find answers to this strange and disturbing phenomenon. If we can’t trust our own memory, can we trust ourselves?

Guest: Dr Sarita Robinson

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an edition.

WHY? is written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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While the human race’s ploughs, tunnels and cities have rewritten the face of the planet, an even more fundamental force has been shaping our story: the single-minded focus of our DNA. Research scientist and author of Being Human Professor Lewis Dartnell tells Olly Mann how the hidden flaws and idiosyncrasies of our own bodies produced some of human civilisation’s most influential phenomena – from royalty to the Mafia. 

Guest: Professor Lewis Dartnell, author of Being Human; How our biology shaped world history

Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge, asking the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. Follow on your favourite app so you never miss an edition.

WHY? is written and presented by Olly Mann. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. Exec Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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