logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2022
47m 50s

How To Kill A Vampire... With GCSE Scien...

Bbc Radio 5 Live
About this episode

Award-winning Miss Jethmalani recruits Greg and Bella to her vampire slaying research team! What's the best way to kill a vampire - with a string of garlic, or with a GCSE Science textbook?

Outstanding New Teacher of the Year 2021, Miss Jethmalani is perfectly placed to put the nail in the coffin of the vampire myth. With new recruits Greg and Bella by her side, she'll use the science of enzymes to take apart the myth of the vampire piece by piece. Why is it impossible to be immortal? Enzymes. Why do bodies decompose? Enzymes. What makes garlic smell? Enzymes! After investigating vampire bats, and just how possible it would be for a human to turn into a bat, Miss Jethmalani will discuss the most plausible root of the myth - a condition called porphyria - which is caused by malfunctioning enzymes (of course!).

Bad students of all ages are welcome. Expect brilliant teachers, captivating subjects but absolutely no homework.

Get in touch with your pictures - email us at teachme@bbc.co.uk

Up next
Nov 2022
Can We Make Fast Fashion Guilt Free?
Greg and Bella get a lesson in ethical consumerism from Design and Technology teacher Mr Brandy.They'll start by looking at their own purchasing decisions: what's the last item they bought and why? They'll look at the oldest items in their wardrobes to see what that might tell us ... Show More
52m 15s
Nov 2022
Is Taylor Swift Our Greatest Living Poet?
Following the release of her latest album, 'Midnights', Greg and Bella find out if Taylor Swift is a great poet, as well as a great songwriter.English teacher Miss Tiddy is a Taylor Swift superfan, with an encyclopedic knowledge of Taylor Swift's music (and dating history!). In t ... Show More
42m 50s
Oct 2022
Halloween Special: How To Grow A Skeleton
It's a Halloween special as Forensic Anthropologist and now secondary school science teacher Miss Robinson gives Greg and Bella a lesson about how to grow a human skeleton.Miss Robinson will welcome Greg and Bella into her Forensics lab, to show them a host of props and remains t ... Show More
51m 37s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2022
#310 | A History of Vampires | Fangs, Fear and Fiction
  For hundreds of years, people have been afraid of blood-sucking creatures that rise from the dead.But where does the vampire myth actually come from, what happened to the people accused of being a vampire, and what if there was a simple, biological explanation for it all?The st ... Show More
21m 30s
Feb 2018
How do vampire bats survive on blood?
Scientists have discovered how vampire bats can survive on a blood-only diet. Neil and Catherine teach you the language the world's media is using to discuss this story 
8m 40s
Apr 2016
Vampire Physics, Mathematics & Evolution
The human obsession with vampires runs deep, so deep that it survives our consistent attempts to squeeze all the mystery and fun out of the topic. Inject a little science, however, and the patient returns once more to a state of fabulous un-life. Join Robert and Christian as they ... Show More
50 m
Oct 2022
Vampirology (VAMPIRES) Part 1 with Jeff Holdeman
Fangs! Capes! Undead bloodlust! Are vampires soul-draining ghouls or a hot prom date? No better person to ask than Indiana University professor of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures," Dr. Jeff Holdeman, who teaches the course “The Vampire in European and American Cul ... Show More
1h 8m
Oct 2023
Eerie Episode: Vampires, Twihards, and The Gothic
The girlies venture into Vampire Lore™  in Part I of a series of Eerie Episodes. They explore the shocking disease that turned people into vampires, the impact of vampiric literature, how Stephanie Meyer bastardized Gothic traditions via Mormonism, and more! Digressions include a ... Show More
1h 9m
Aug 2020
Vampires in Gothic Literature
Host Greg Jenner is joined by Dr Corin Throsby and Comedian Ed Gamble to look at the role and development of vampire characters throughout 19th century Gothic literature and its continuing effect on pop culture today. Which vampire character is based on infamous bad boy Lord Byro ... Show More
47m 40s
Oct 2022
Vampirology (VAMPIRES) Part 2 with Jeff Holdeman
Start with Part 1 for all the folkloric history, superstition, and Dracula basics. And then this Part 2 has vampire finches, fang straws, vegan bloodsuckers, threshold invites, horniness, grain alcohol, garlic breath, psychic vampires and all our questions answered by Dr. Jeff Ho ... Show More
1 h
Oct 2023
The True Story of Dracula
Robert sits down with Jack O'Brien to talk about how the life of a Transylvanian prince turned into the story of Dracula. (1 part) Sources: https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-origins-of-dracula-vlad-the-impaler/ https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-andcivilisat ... Show More
1h 44m
Jan 2023
Boyhood Nickname, Vampire Grave, Wrecked By Success
Today we discuss how nicknames for young boys can help them socialize better, how archaeologists in Poland have unearthed the grave of a woman people feared might return from the dead, and a new study that disproves Freud’s theory that more successful people are unhealthier than ... Show More
17m 19s
Nov 2022
Why do mosquitos bite people?
#051 RebroadcastThis week, Melissa and Jam begin a multi-faceted topic: mosquitos. Now of course mosquitos are insects, so studying them would mostly fall into biology. But there's a lot of chemistry here too. The first question, why do mosquitos bite humans at all? How do they f ... Show More
27m 46s