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Science Stories

Surprising stories from the history of science told by Naomi Alderman and Philip Ball.

Radio 4,50 episodes

Episodes

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Isaac Newton and the story of the apple
Did Newton's theory of gravity really come to him after seeing an apple fall?
25 Dec 2019,28 mins
Sophia Jex-Blake, first woman doctor in Scotland
Naomi Alderman tells the story of Sophia Jex-Blake, first woman doctor in Scotland.
18 Dec 2019,28 mins
Mary Somerville, pioneer of popular science writing
Naomi Alderman tells the story of Mary Somerville, pioneer of popular science writing
11 Dec 2019,28 mins
Series 9
Alexis Carrel and the immortal chicken heart
Philip Ball tells the tale of Alexis Carrel's immortal chicken heart.
10 Sep 2019,28 mins
Series 9
Ramon Llull: the medieval prophet of computer science
Philip Ball tells the story of Ramon Llull, the medieval prophet of computer science.
03 Sep 2019,28 mins
Series 9
Ignaz Semmelweiss: The Hand Washer
Lindsey Fitzharris tells the story of Ignaz Semmelweiss, the hand washer.
27 Aug 2019,28 mins
Series 9
Madame Lavoisier's Translation of Oxygen
Philip Ball tells the story of Madame Lavoisier, the translator of oxygen.
20 Aug 2019,28 mins
Galileo's lost letter
Galileo's lost letter questions how he challenged the Church. With Philip Ball.
13 Aug 2019,28 mins
Ibn al-Haytham and How We See
Philip Ball's story is of Ibn al-Haytham, the first scientist, and how we see.
09 Jan 2019,28 mins
Lady Mary Montagu's Smallpox Experiment
Naomi Alderman on how Lady Mary Montagu used her own child to prove smallpox inoculation.
02 Jan 2019,28 mins
Kepler's Snowflakes
Philip Ball's tale is of Kepler's Snowflakes, a New Year's gift and of crystallography.
26 Dec 2018,28 mins
Lucretius, Sheep and Atoms
Naomi Alderman's story is of Lucretius, sheep and atoms
19 Dec 2018,28 mins
Eddington's Eclipse and Einstein's Celebrity
Philip Ball tells the story of Arthur Eddington's confirmation of general relativity.
12 Dec 2018,28 mins
Mary Anning and Fossil Hunting
Naomi Alderman tells the story of Mary Anning, who discovered many important fossils.
11 Jul 2018,28 mins
Hypatia: The Murdered Mathematician
Naomi Alderman's story is of Hypatia - the mathematician murdered by a mob in Alexandria.
04 Jul 2018,28 mins
Descartes' Daughter
Philip Ball goes back to the 17th century to tell the story of Descartes' 'daughter'.
27 Jun 2018,28 mins
Urea and the Wohler Myth
Philip Ball tells the story of German chemist Friedrich Wöhler's creation of urea.
20 Jun 2018,28 mins
17th-Century Space Flight: The Real Cyrano de Bergerac
Philip Ball reveals the real Cyrano de Bergerac and his 17th-century spaceship.
13 Jun 2018,28 mins
Michael Faraday and his 'instructess' in chemistry
Philip Ball tells the story of Michael Faraday and his 'first instructess' in chemistry.
20 Dec 2017,28 mins
How Humphry Davy discovered laughing gas
Naomi Alderman describes how Humphry Davy discovered laughing gas.
13 Dec 2017,28 mins
Lise Meitner: Humanitarian physicist who unlocked the science of the atom bomb
Lise Meitner, the humanitarian physicist who unlocked the science of the atom bomb.
06 Dec 2017,28 mins
The Wondrous Transformation of Caterpillars
How a 13-year-old girl mapped metamorphosis in the 1600s. Naomi Alderman presents.
29 Nov 2017,30 mins
A wolf, a goat and some cabbages
Philip Ball dives into the Dark Ages to reveal the author of the river crossing riddle.
22 Nov 2017,28 mins
Caroline Herschel and the Comets
Naomi Alderman tells the story of 18th-century comet spotter and singer Caroline Herschel.
05 Jul 2017,28 mins
The Man Who Found Physics in Shells, Seeds and Bees
The man who put maths into biology and saw physics in shells, seeds and bees 100 years ago
28 Jun 2017,28 mins
The Anglo-Saxon remedy that kills MRSA
Naomi Alderman opens the pages of medieval recipe books to find antimicrobial salves.
21 Jun 2017,28 mins
The Medieval Bishop's Big Bang Theory
Philip Ball on a very modern medieval Big Bang Theory forged by a 13th-century bishop.
14 Jun 2017,28 mins
Pavlov and his Dogs
Naomi Alderman tells the story of Pavlov and his selectively drooling dogs.
07 Jun 2017,28 mins
The Birth of Photography
How William Fox Talbot captured a moment in time.
11 Jan 2017,28 mins
Jumping Genes
Philip Ball tells the story of US geneticist and 1983 Nobel prize-winner Barbara McLintock
04 Jan 2017,28 mins