logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
14m 10s

9. Access Denied

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

A young researcher gains access to a secretive data set and discovers something shocking. What happens when a system designed to help people harms them instead?

Hannah Fry tells a tale about the mysterious realm of artificial intelligence.

Episode Producers: Lauren Armstrong-Carter and Clem Hitchcock Sound Design: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke

A series for Radio 4 by BBC Science in Cardiff.

Up next
Sep 2024
11. Love Bytes
At thirty-one, mathematician Chris McKinlay is looking for love. But if it’s all a numbers game, his are not adding up. Could he be the problem? Or is something else getting in the way? Producer: Lauren Armstrong Carter Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke 
17m 35s
Jan 2025
Introducing... Sideways
Best-selling author Matthew Syed explores the ideas that shape our lives with stories of seeing the world differently.In this taster from the series, Matthew explores the beauty that can be found in the process of decay.Search for Sideways on BBC Sounds to hear more. 
10m 6s
Sep 2024
20. The Confidence Trick
An ambitious portfolio manager stumbles upon a perfect graph. It outlines eye watering profits. But something doesn't quite add up - could this graph be accurate? Or does it hide a far more sinister truth? Producer Lauren Armstrong Carter Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor ... Show More
17m 39s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
The Year in Science
We look back on 2024 in science, from billionaires in space, to record-breaking heat here on Earth, and the meteoric rise of new weight-loss drugs. From the biggest stories to the unsung and the plain fun, Inside Science presenter Victoria Gill hosts a special panel, featuring: - ... Show More
28m 18s
Aug 15
Dinner with King Tut Explores the Wild World of Experimental Archaeology
Science writer Sam Kean joins Science Quickly to explore the hands-on world of experimental archaeology—where researchers don’t just study the past; they rebuild it. From launching medieval catapults to performing ancient brain surgery with stone tools, Kean shares his firsthand ... Show More
14m 49s
Jul 2024
Every bite is a story
You might not think much about the sticky bottle of vanilla sitting in the back of your pantry. But that flavor – one of the most common in the world – has a fascinating history, involving a fickle orchid and a 12-year-old enslaved boy who made the discovery of a lifetime. That’s ... Show More
25m 51s
Sep 26
The Dead Composer Whose ‘Brain’ Still Makes Music
In a hauntingly innovative exhibit, brain cells grown from the late composer Alvin Lucier’s blood generate sound. Set in a museum in Perth, Australia, the installation blurs the line between art and neuroscience. Host Rachel Feltman and associate editor Allison Parshall explore t ... Show More
25m 25s
Nov 2024
Spooky Science
It’s our Halloween special from a rain-soaked Jodrell Bank in Cheshire. We find out what you can see in a dark, dark Halloween night sky with space-watcher and Professor of astrophysics Tim O’Brien. Also this week, we meet some blood-sucking leeches, the horrors of pumpkin waste ... Show More
28m 11s
Oct 2
What does caffeine do to our bodies?
Sweet, caffeinated energy drinks are in the headlines again as the UK Government says it wants to ban under 16s from buying them. Some can contain the equivalent caffeine as 2 to 4 espressos. James Betts, Professor of Metabolic Physiology at the University of Bath, explains the s ... Show More
28m 21s
Feb 2025
Exploring the Hidden Life in the Air around Us with Carl Zimmer
Scientists now agree that COVID spreads via airborne transmission. But during the early days of the disease, public health officials suggested that it mainly did so via close contact. The subsequent back-and-forth over how COVID spread brought science journalist Carl Zimmer into ... Show More
16m 47s
Jan 2025
Unlocking green hydrogen, and oxygen deprivation as medicine
First up this week, although long touted as a green fuel, the traditional approach to hydrogen production is not very sustainable. Staff writer Robert F. Service joins producer Meagan Cantwell to discuss how researchers are aiming to improve electrolyzers—devices that split water ... Show More
34m 12s
Jun 2025
Will the Hole in the Ozone Layer Close?
40 years ago scientists in Antarctica discovered a hole in the Ozone layer. The world acted quickly, phasing out harmful CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons. Evidence suggests the hole has been getting smaller. But in 2025, there are new pollutants threatening to slow progress. Eloise Ma ... Show More
28m 17s
Sep 18
Could solar panels in space be the energy source of the future?
As new research looks at the financial and environmental case for solar panels in space, we explore how likely the technology could be to power our future energy needs back on Earth. Marnie Chesterton hears from the author of a new study into the topic, Dr Wei He from King’s Coll ... Show More
28m 7s