logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2019
27m 56s

Why do birds sing?

Bbc World Service
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Sep 14
Women Not Included: Consumer Products
Design is never neutral and small choices can have a big impact. Dr Ella Hubber and journalist Katie Silver explore how consumer products marketed to women are frequently developed without fully understanding their needs. Along with expert insight, they look at everything from fo ... Show More
26m 30s
Sep 7
Women not included: Medical devices
CPR mannequins, medical implants and surgical tools. These are life changing and lifesaving medical devices. But when they are built around male bodies, what does that mean for everyone else?Through expert insight, Dr Ella Hubber and journalist Candice Bailey uncover how gaps in ... Show More
26m 31s
Aug 31
Women not included: Artificial Intelligence
Dr Ella Hubber and journalist Katie Silver unpack how artificial intelligence is far from neutral, and why that matters. They speak to experts who reveal how some AI is trained with bad data and how this means it can often reflect the same inequalities found in society be that in ... Show More
26m 31s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2017
How Does Vocal Fry Work?
<p>You’ve probably heard people complaining about vocal fry, and you’ve certainly heard it used in conversation, but what causes it? Christian explains the science of fry and creak in this episode of BrainStuff.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www ... Show More
6m 1s
Aug 2018
The Human Voice
The Human VoiceBrian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by comedian and beatboxer Beardyman, acoustic engineer Prof Trevor Cox and neuroscientist Prof Sophie Scott to explore the amazing capabilities of the human voice. They chat about chatting, vocalise about voices and explore the e ... Show More
38m 29s
May 2023
How do birds communicate?
Chirp chirp, y’all! Ever wondered what birds mean when they’re singing their little birdy hearts out? This week, Molly and cohost Bessie explore the kinds of sounds birds can make, and how those sounds are used. Birdsong researcher Kristin Brunk breaks down some sweet tweet scien ... Show More
28m 35s
Jul 2025
Why Do We Sing? Musicologists and Neuroscientists Seek an Answer
Last year Science Quickly looked across disciplines to piece apart the science of singing. To understand why humans sing, musicologists collaborated on an international study of folk music. To understand how we sing, neuroscientists differentiated how our brain processes speech a ... Show More
24m 49s
Jul 2025
Why Do We Sing? Musicologists and Neuroscientists Seek an Answer
Last year Science Quickly looked across disciplines to piece apart the science of singing. To understand why humans sing, musicologists collaborated on an international study of folk music. To understand how we sing, neuroscientists differentiated how our brain processes speech a ... Show More
24m 49s
Mar 2011
Have you heard about the bird?
How do birds hear if they have a hole through their heads? Where does matter come from? Just some of the questions put to Dr Karl this week for the Up All Night science phone in. 
49m 42s
Jul 2024
Singing: the how and the wow of voices
Whether you hum in the shower or yodel on stage, you can make music with your voice! But what’s going on inside of your body when you do it? And are there ways to change how your voice sounds? Molly and co-host Kate will explore these questions and more in this episode all about ... Show More
33m 51s
Sep 2011
What is your voice saying about you?
<p>Why do men have Adam's apples? What determines the pitch of your voice? What deepens men's voices? Tune in as Caroline and Cristen get to the bottom of what makes your voice sound the way it does -- and what it says about you -- in this episode.</p><p> </p> Learn more about yo ... Show More
24m 31s
Oct 2024
Is Singing an Evolutionary Accident or a Critical Way to Connect?
Scientific American associate news editor and music enthusiast Allison Parshall takes Science Quickly through what we know about how singing came to be. Scientists aren’t sure why humans evolved to sing, but commonalities in traditional music offer clues to how the practice evolv ... Show More
25m 26s
Apr 2023
What's That Bird Song?
Have you ever wondered what bird you’re hearing? We’re going to discover how to recognize birds by their sound - and what that means for science. Trevor Attenberg is an environmental scientist and science communicator who learned to identify birds without sight, by their sound al ... Show More
22m 26s