logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2014
39m 42s

Does Science Need War?

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Does Science Need War?

Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined on stage by comedian Katy Brand, science writer Philip Ball and medic, author and broadcaster Kevin Fong. They'll be asking whether scientific progress needs the pressures and casualties of war to drive it, or whether some of our biggest scientific breakthroughs, that have resulted from periods of conflict, would have happened anyway? It's a serious topic, but never fear, on the way the intergalactic battles faced in Star Wars, and why only the French could come up with onions as a cure for burns, are all equally seriously investigated.

Up next
Dec 2025
The North Pole Unwrapped - Russell Kane, Felicity Aston and Lloyd Peck
In this Christmas episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage, Brian Cox and Robin Ince head to the North Pole to explore the dazzling science behind the northern lights, the extreme adaptations that help animals - and even Santa Claus - survive the Arctic cold, and how the Earth’s magne ... Show More
42m 22s
Dec 2025
Monkey Business - Robin Dunbar, Dave Gorman and Jo Setchell
In perhaps the monkiest Infinite Monkey Cage episode there’s ever been, Brian Cox and Robin Ince attempt to uncover the secrets of love, lust and friendship in primates. Swinging by to offer a hand (or tail) are evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar, anthropologist Jo Setchell, ... Show More
42m 30s
Dec 2025
Head in the Clouds - Owain Wyn Evans, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, Amanda Maycock
Robin Ince and Brian Cox look up to the heavens as they try to ‘de-mistify’ the foggy science of clouds. They’re joined by Cloud Appreciation Society founder Gavin Pretor-Pinney, climate scientist Amanda Maycock, and former weather presenter and drummer Owain Wyn Evans, for a whi ... Show More
42m 24s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2025
The science of modern warfare
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, how is science helping to shape the future of warfare? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists 
30m 8s
Jan 2024
Cosmic Queries – Science Epiphany
<p>What would a wormhole actually look like? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice break down a grab bag of questions about nothingness, the nature of miracles, the role of AI in scientific discovery and more!</p><p>NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode ... Show More
52m 34s
Mar 2019
Q&A: Atoms, Avalanches & Armpits
This week, could we colonise a planet beyond our own galaxy? What's the greenest way to heat my home? And why do bright lights make some people sneeze? It's QA time! Chris Smith is joined by a panel of scientists to take on the questions YOU'VE been sending in. Joining him are ch ... Show More
54m 41s
Mar 2020
Science Shambles Tech Run
Welcome to a live QnA edition of our Science Shambles podcast. Please keep in mind that today is a tech run for the show so there may be a few little glitches here and there, bear with us! Science Shambles is hosted by comedian Robin Ince and physicist Dr Helen Czerski. Guests on ... Show More
1h 13m
Jun 2020
5. What Do Tom Sawyer and the Founder of Duolingo Have in Common?
<p>Also: is there such a thing as too much science? With special guest Luis von Ahn.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p> 
29m 21s
Nov 2023
Cosmic Queries - Cosmic Cauldron (Re-release)
<p>What would Isaac Newton think of today’s science? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice answer a cosmic cauldron of Cosmic Queries. From dark matter, to what aliens look like, the size of the universe, we answer a multiverse of questions. </p><p>This episode originally a ... Show More
45m 57s
Jul 2024
Are implanted brain chips the future?
Elon Musk’s implanted brain chip, Neuralink, is coming to the UK for clinical trials. Is controlling computers with our minds a future reality or is it all hype? Neuroscientists Dean Burnett and Christina Maher weigh in.Zoologist Jules Howard ponders the strange effects drugs in ... Show More
28m 2s
Dec 2006
Naked Science Question and Answer and Polonium Poisoning
Dr Chris, Dr Dave and Dr Phil answer all your questions on science, technology and medicine, including why spiders do not run out of silk, what the universe is expanding into, what a flame looks like in space, and what happens when the brain is cut off from a supply of oxygen. We ... Show More
57m 44s
Feb 2021
The Atom
Taking science seriously is vital right now and that’s why on The Pop Test we ask Shaun Micallef, molecular Biologist Upulie Divisekera and Sami Shah the big questions ... like what’s your favourite atom? 
24m 46s
May 2023
Is Time Travel Even Possible?
Two SciAm editors duke it out to see if wormholes and multiverses could in fact exist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 
8m 41s