Instant Genius

Whether it’s due to deadlines at work, an upcoming exam or a rocky personal relationship, we’ve no doubt all felt stress at some point in our lives. And while a certain amount of stress can help to motivate us and make us more productive, if things get too much, stress can have a significant effect on both our mental and physical health. In this episode, we speak to Despina Djama, a psychologist and stress researcher based at the University of Plymouth. She tells us what happens in our brains and bodies when we experience stress, explains how the reaction stems from our evolutionary fight or flight response and shares some tips and techniques we can all use to help us get through stressful times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many of us listen to music every day, perhaps to help us relax in the evening after a hard day’s work, get us through a tough workout or maybe even to allow us to feel closer to absent loved ones. There can be no doubt that music plays a huge part in what it means to be human. In this episode, we catch up with neuroscientist and musician Daniel Levitin to talk about his latest book Music as Medicine: How We Can Harness Its Therapeutic Power. He tells us what happens in our bodies and brains when we listen to music or play an instrument, explains the unique relationship between music and memory, and details how music can be used as a powerful therapeutic tool to help patients struggling from everything from Alzheimer’s disease to post traumatic stress disorder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whether it’s a sport, painting or spending hours buried in puzzles, there is a clear link between our experience of hobbies and our mental health. Part of our Healthy Start series, we spoke to Karen Mak, a senior research fellow at UCL about how hobbies can bolster our mental health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most of us like to think we live in an equal society that offers the same opportunities to all. But unfortunately, hundreds of scientific studies say otherwise. Racial bias is essentially everywhere, often hiding in plain sight. For example, did you know that black people are as much as 50 per cent less likely to be called in for a job interview than a similarly qualified white person? Or that children of colour are more likely to be viewed as troublemakers at school? In this episode, we speak to Prof Keon West about his latest book The Science of Racism – Everything You Need to Know but Probably Don’t – Yet. He tells us how racism is so deeply baked into many of our societal systems, explains the issues surrounding the concept of ‘colour blindness’ and how we can all benefit from simply interacting with more people from different ethnicities and backgrounds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With a smartphone in our pockets at all times, social media is only ever a few clicks away. With this, problematic social media use is easy to fall into. As part of our Healthy Start series, we spoke to Niklas Ihssen, an associate professor at Durham University about what this means and how to avoid it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s commonly thought that when compared to other members of the animal kingdom we humans have a particularly poor sense of smell. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Modern research has proven that human beings are surprisingly sophisticated sniffers, at least on par with the vast majority of other animals. In this episode, we catch up with Prof Jonas Olofsson, a psychologist based at Stockholm University, to talk about his latest book The Forgotten Sense – The New Science of Smell. He explains what happens when odour molecules enter our nasal passages and are processed by our brains, tells us how our sense of smell is intimately linked to our memories and emotions and answers the question that has been debated across countless dinner tables all over the world: can some people really identify wines just by smelling them? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This time of the year lots of us will be setting new goals for the future. Be it getting fitter, reading more or even writing that novel we always suspected we had in us. But why do so many of us fail to see these plans through? In this episode, we catch up Dr Ian Taylor a reader in motivational science based at Loughborough University. He tells us why we are prone to setting goals that are too ambitious and why starting small is usually the best approach, why we shouldn’t worry if our routine drops off now and again, and why simply having willpower isn’t the be all and end all of reaching your targets, whatever they are. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Be it the recent outbreak of wars around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic or the unfortunate personal events that will undoubtedly befall us at some points in our lives, it can sometimes be difficult to look on the bright side. But is doing so even helpful? Science writer Sumit Paul-Choudhury certainly thinks so. In this episode, we catch up with him to talk about his latest book The Bright Side: Why Optimists Have the Power to Change the World. He tells us how the term was coined based on the theory that we live in the best of all possible worlds, or the optimal world if you like, why far from being unique to humans, many animals such as chickens and bumblebees also show signs of optimism, and how optimistic thinking will play a crucial role in helping us overcome the problems of the 21st Century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Would you like to learn how to set goals and stick to them? How about cutting down the time you spend on social media? Or how about learning to cope better with stress? Why not tune in to the Instant Genius Healthy Start miniseries, brought to you from the team behind BBC Science Focus. It's still the same show, with the same great guests. We’ll just be spending a little extra time to go deeper into the science of getting the new year off to the best possible start. Starting on Monday 6th January, this four-part special series will feature interviews with leading researchers, to give you everything you need to boost your health and wellbeing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What’s your favourite food? A hamburger, a slice of cake, a pizza? Eating is something we all do every day but most of us rarely think about what actually happens in our bodies after we put food into our mouths. In this episode, we catch up with Dr Chris Van Tulleken to speak about his forthcoming Royal Institution Christmas Lecture series telling us everything we need to know about what’s happening in our bodies when we eat. He tells us what actually happens when we put food into our mouths, what’s going on in our bodies once food is in there, and why farting is just part of the process. BBC Four and iPlayer, 9pm, on 29, 30 and 31 December. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anyone who has switched on the news even briefly this year will no doubt have seen scenes of extreme flooding occurring in all corners of the globe. But are these events getting more frequent and more severe or are we just becoming more aware of them? In this episode, we catch up with Prof Trevor Hoey, a hydrologist based at Brunel University, London. He tells us about the various climate mechanisms driving these extreme weather events, how counterintuitively severe droughts are being caused by the same processes and he also details some of the measures we can take to minimise the damage these events cause. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Be it down to our professions, taste in music or favourite sports teams we all belong to several different tribes. But what drives this instinct and what purpose does it serve? In this episode, we speak to cultural psychologist Prof Michael Morris about his latest book: Tribal – How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together. He breaks down the influence our peers have on us, explains why we look up to hero figures and why tradition has such a huge impact on our beliefs, lifestyles and identities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why do we humans seem to be so easily influenced or even fooled? On one hand this can be done for entertainment, in a Las Vegas stage magic show for example, but on another it can be used for more nefarious purposes such as con artists tricking people into sharing their bank account details. In this episode, we speak to science writer and BBC Science Focus contributor Brian Clegg to talk about his latest book: Brainjacking – The Science of Influence and Manipulation. He tells us how our emotions can make us susceptible to being tricked, the role advances in technology such as AI are increasingly playing in our ability to manipulate others and how the whole phenomenon stems from our love of a good story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Through emojis, memes, acronyms and inside jokes, the internet has forever changed how we communicate. But what is the result of that and what does it mean for how we’ll speak in the future? We spoke to linguist and author of the book Because Internet, Gretchen McCulloch, to find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Earth’s population currently stands at more than 8 billion and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. There’s little doubt that these staggering numbers are placing a huge strain on global food supplies, so what can be done for the human race to thrive and survive long into the future? In this episode, we catch up with multidisciplinary researcher and author Prof Vaclav Smil to talk about his latest book – How to Feed the World. He tells us how evolution has determined the staple foods we now rely on for nourishment, how this influences our chances of continued survival and why technology is yet to find a viable solution to the urgent issue of feeding the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices