Science on the BBC World Service

Rajan Datar hears from listeners of science news and programming. Science has frequently made headline news this year – landmark moments for both European and Indian space missions and the Ebola outbreak continues to bring urgency to health coverage. Even this year’s seminal BBC series of talks, the Reith Lectures, are about science - specifically medicine. This year’s Reith Lecturer is the esteemed surgeon and public health researcher Dr Atul Gawande. Rajan speaks to BBC Science Unit producer Julian Siddle to find out whether audiences are hungrier than ever for science programmes. Julian explains how the BBC Science Unit brings science to its global audience and avoids picking from a narrow pool of Western-based scientists. And, they discuss how global politics, culture and practices affect science broadcasting.

Also, Rajan hears about the BBC Türkçe programmes breathing new life into the voices of the past. A new video series called the Archive Room, hosted on the BBC Türkçe YouTube channel, brings a voice from the BBC Turkish service's 75-year history, each week, to Turkish audiences. Producer Cenk Erdil joins Over to You to explain how these voices speak to today’s Turkish audience and whether the censorship they encountered in the past resonates today.