Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

The Cows Are Mad

Science has still failed to definitively answer two major questions about mad cow disease - where did it come from and how did humans get it?

Radio 4,11 episodes

Episodes

ListGrid

10. Zombie Deer
A new animal madness emerges in North America as history repeats.
23 Oct 2023,15 mins
9. Cow Eats Man
One of the most disturbing BSE theories so far causes an international incident.
23 Oct 2023,14 mins
8. Reaction
Campaigners claim cows have been unfairly blamed for BSE.
23 Oct 2023,14 mins
7. Factor X
An organic farmer turned self-taught scientist investigates his own BSE theories.
23 Oct 2023,15 mins
6. Stray Burger
A mother embarks on a quest for answers.
23 Oct 2023,15 mins
5. D-Day
The truth finally comes out, as the government confirms a new brain disease in humans.
23 Oct 2023,14 mins
4. Bad News
A grieving mother makes a list of culprits who she blames for her son’s death.
23 Oct 2023,15 mins
3. Dissidents
Dissident researchers are convinced the scientific establishment is wrong on BSE.
23 Oct 2023,14 mins
2. Hypothesis
A group of vets battle to stop a deadly new disease.
23 Oct 2023,14 mins
1. Zombie Apocalypse
Suspicion surrounds a meat rendering plant in Kent, sparking paranoia.
23 Oct 2023,14 mins
Introducing The Cows Are Mad
Lucy Proctor investigates the strange tale of the 1990s BSE epidemic.
16 Oct 2023,2 mins