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The Big IdeaEpisodes

  1. Big ideas: The way we think

    Five ideas challenging how we think about the world

  2. Fighting pandemics

    The 2020 pandemic has transformed our world, but it won’t be the last to do so

  3. Big ideas: The city

    Five big ideas that could change the way we think about cities

  4. The science of addiction

    Why drug addicts want drugs – even when they don’t

  5. The new normal

    How Donald Trump is reshaping our ideas of normal behaviour

  6. Do cities need rules?

    How does the way a city is run change its inhabitants' lives?

  7. The science of sleep

    What does sleep do for us, and what can go wrong if we don't get enough?

  8. The importance of fairness

    Why it pays to be fair, and why people are less selfish than you think

  9. How do we spot rogue cops?

    Within every police force there are bad cops, but could there be a trick to spotting them

  10. Big ideas: The body

    David Edmonds discovers fascinating research on the human body

  11. Understanding emotions: Should we follow our hearts?

    How noticing things in our bodies can help us read our feelings

  12. Ubernomics

    Does behaviour tracking help tech companies become better at saying sorry?

  13. Why living in the city could make you happier

    What makes some cities more successful than others?

  14. Why do we find things disgusting?

    Meet a ‘disgustologist’ who has been uncovering answers to our uneasy feelings

  15. The fragility of choice

    Where do our opinions come from and how easy is it for people to change them?

  16. The truth about marriage

    And how your relationship may be less stable than you think.

  17. How to topple a dictator

    Is violent or non-violent protest more effective?

  18. Why do we laugh?

    And why a cognitive neuroscientist says laughter deserves more research.

  19. The afterlife

    Suppose you knew that after your natural death the human race would die out…

  20. Why are some nations rich?

    Why are some nations richer than others?

  21. How does language work?

    How do we process language? We speak to a neuroscientist who specialises in language

  22. A future without doctors?

    AI will be of assistance, but surely we’ll always need surgeons, doctors, and nurses?

  23. The intelligent tree

    Are trees intelligent?

  24. Consciousness: A strange theory

    Humans are conscious, but is consciousness also in tables and chairs?

  25. The teenage brain

    Why can’t teenagers get out of bed in the morning?

  26. How to stop murder

    How can we reduce murder rates?

  27. Democracy and famine

    What is the cause of famine? It’s not the obvious answer

  28. Dimensions of discrimination

    Do black women face more prejudice than black men or white women?

  29. Inequality makes us anxious

    Inequality makes people anxious. How?

  30. Are we all racist?

    Are we all racist? Mahzarin Banaji puts this to the test with Implicit Association Test

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