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
Jul 9
201st Birthday Bonanza - Mel Giedroyc, Deborah Meaden and Nish Kumar
Get ready for a landmark episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage as we celebrate our 201st show! Brian Cox and Robin Ince invite a lively panel of celebrity guests to pose their burning scientific questions to a top-tier team of scientists. Mel Giedroyc is tunnelling into the world o ... Show More
42m 35s
Mar 2025
Nature's Shapes - Dave Gorman, Sarah Hart and Thomas Woolley
Brian Cox and Robin Ince unpick the hidden codes behind the shapes we see in nature with mathematicians Sarah Hart & Thomas Woolley and comedian Dave Gorman.The panel marvel at how evolution so often beats mathematicians to finding the most elegant solutions, after all, it’s had ... Show More
42m 27s
Mar 2025
The Sound of Music - Brian Eno, Sam Bennett and Trevor Cox
Brian Cox and Robin Ince explore the history of music recording, joined by acoustics professor Trevor Cox, music professor Sam Bennett and musician and producer Brian Eno. Together they guide us through the evolution of sound recording, a space in which technology hasn’t stood st ... Show More
42m 43s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2020
Episode 3: can we trust science to police itself?
In our third and final episode, we talk about trust in science. In particular, how historical cases of abuse led many in our groups to question gene editing, science and medicine. If we focus on the past, will we ever move forward? 
38m 27s
Aug 2020
Led by the Science
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic the UK government has stated that its decisions have been “led by the science”. This pithy phrase implies there is a fixed body of knowledge from a consensus of scientists that provides a road map of what to do to stop the pandemic. But there isn’ ... Show More
37m 30s
Mar 2017
Science Fiction
Science fiction has perhaps been unfairly dismissed by many critics and academics; seen by some as a niche genre, not befitting the elite group of literary works deemed to be 'high art'. While some examples of science fiction could be criticised for perpetuating fantasy clichés, ... Show More
28m 12s
Sep 2021
The psychology of science denial, doubt and disbelief, with Gale Sinatra, PhD, and Barbara Hofer, PhD
On hot-button topics such as climate change, vaccines and genetically modified foods, science denial is rampant – and it crosses party and ideological lines. What are the psychological forces that lead people to disbelieve scientific consensus? Is science denial worse than it’s e ... Show More
36m 52s
Dec 2021
Happy Science Fiction Week, Earthlings!
It's Science Fiction Week on Short Wave, earthlings! So strap on your zero gravity suits and polish your light sabers because we're about to get nerdy ... starting with today's episode. It's one of our science fiction myth busting favorites from earlier this year. Contrary to sci ... Show More
13m 20s
Jan 2021
Fareed Zakaria on Life After the Pandemic
The author and CNN host Fareed Zakaria calls the coronavirus pandemic “the most transformative event of our lifetimes.” He says: “What has happened over the last 50 years is, we have gotten increasingly confident about the power of science and medicine, so we’ve kind of lost sigh ... Show More
58m 15s
Oct 2015
Episode Three
This is Episode Three of PsychCrunch, the new podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest. In this episode we explore whether psychology can help you to win an argument. After our presenter Christian Jarrett tries his luck with an argument about Michael Jacks ... Show More
12m 56s
May 2024
Donald Stoker, "Why America Loses Wars: Limited War and US Strategy from the Korean War to the Present" (Cambridge UP, 2019)
In this provocative challenge to United States policy and strategy, former Professor of Strategy & Policy at the US Naval War College, and author or editor of eleven books, Dr. Donald Stoker argues that America endures endless wars because its leaders no longer know how to think ... Show More
46m 15s
Sep 2023
Spinal cord injury treatments, red fire ants and asteroid samples.
Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs.In this week's episode... A breakthrough in treating spinal cord injuries, worrying news about red fire ants in Sicily, we look at what it means for us in the UK and NASA is se ... Show More
27m 41s