Episode notes
Brian Cox and Robin Ince head to Bletchley Park with comedian Alan Davies, and cyber experts Victoria Baines and Richard Benham to decode cyberwarfare and discuss its future. As computers have shrunk from the size of rooms to fitting in our jacket pockets, our cyber sleuths explore the changing nature of cyber-attacks and defence. They decipher the fancy jargon abounding in cyber land, from trojan horses to phishing scams and reveal how prolific these attacks are on nation states, businesses and the public. From digital army battalions to teenage freelance hackers, the cyber-villains are…
The Infinite Monkey Cage
by BBC Radio 4 · English · Tech & Science
A witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists' eyes, guest hosted by Prof. Adam Rutherford and Jess Fostekew.
More from The Infinite Monkey Cage
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4 Dec 2024 · 42 min
The Science of Baby Making
Brian Cox and Robin Ince investigate the science of baby making - don’t worry, all theory, no practice! They are joined by Professor Joyce Harper, Dr Ben Steventon and comedian Sara Pascoe to discuss how just two cells can turn into trillions, or in other words, how an embryo can turn into an embryologist. The embryo-building processes across species are remarkably similar, yet there is still so much we don’t know about the beginning of life. Our panel discuss these unknowns, the latest in fertility treatments and what new capabilities might be available to future parents. It seems that…
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27 Nov 2024 · 42 min
Starless World
Brian Cox and Robin Ince consider how different our understanding of the universe would be without the stars. They are joined by Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Roberto Trotta and comedian John Bishop who illuminate all that we have learnt from the stars and how different life would be without them. Every culture has looked up at the night sky, but why are we so drawn to the pin pricks of light in the sky above us all and how have they helped shape human civilisation? Roberto Trotta takes us back to the origins of astronomy, to women who he believes were the first astronomers, linking the orbital…
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20 Nov 2024 · 43 min
Hedgehogs
Brian Cox and Robin Ince emerge from the hedge row waking up their guests from hibernation to discuss the fascinating lives of Britain’s favourite mammal, the hedgehog. They are joined by hedgehog experts Hugh Warwick and Sophie Lund Rasmussen (also know as Dr Hedgehog), and by broadcaster and poet Pam Ayres. Sophie Lund Rasmussen has crowd sourced 14 freezers worth of dead hedgehogs for her research and has brought one of her more unique samples with her, the penis of the oldest known hedgehog who reached a stupendous 16 years of age! Together our panel snuffle their way through the…
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21 Aug 2024 · 42 min
Alien Life - Russell Kane, Lisa Kaltenegger and Chris Lintott
Are we alone in the universe? Brian Cox and Robin Ince venture to Glastonbury in the search for alien life and are joined in their galactic quest by comedian Russell Kane and astronomers Lisa Kaltenegger and Chris Lintott. They imagine the sorts of worlds that might best host alien life, how some of the biological and technological signatures of alien life might appear as well as how evolution might shape this life. They discuss some of the mysterious signatures that have appeared as well as how hard it is to really know what you're looking for and how objects like faulty microwaves have…
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14 Aug 2024 · 43 min
An Unexpected History of Science - Rufus Hound, Matthew Cobb, Victoria Herridge and Keith Moore
Brian Cox and Robin Ince raid the archives of the Royal Society to reveal an unexpected history of science with guests Rufus Hound, Tori Herridge, Matthew Cobb and Keith Moore. Together they explore some of the surprising and wackiest scientific endeavours undertaken by early members of the Royal Society from the discovery of sperm to testing the insect repelling properties of unicorn horn. They hear how a beautiful book on fish almost scuppered Newton's Principia Mathematica and why a guide to the fauna of Switzerland ended up including depictions of dragons. Producer: Melanie Brown Exec…
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7 Aug 2024 · 43 min
What a Gas! - Dave Gorman, Mark Miodownik and Lucy Carpenter
Brian Cox and Robin Ince talk hot air as they explore the pivotal role of gasses in our lives. Joining them to add some CO2 to the mix is material scientist Mark Miodownik, chemist Lucy Carpenter and comedian Dave Gorman. They discuss how humans came to even understand it existed in the first place as well as how many of the innovations in modern society have been underpinned by this mostly invisible and odourless substance. We laud the humble (or is it noble?) gas and its key role in technological innovation - from using laughing gas in anaesthesia to the combustion engine and of course the…
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24 Dec 2025 · 42 min
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 magnetic field might just guide him home. Joining the monkeys are comedian Russell Kane, Arctic explorer Felicity Aston and Polar biologist Lloyd Peck, as they brave the chill to uncover the wonders of one of Earth’s most remote and magical frontiers. Series Producer: Mel Brown Researcher: Alex Rodway Executive Producer:…
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17 Dec 2025 · 43 min
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, and comedian Dave Gorman. Together the panel explores Dunbar’s number in monkeys – the idea that the number of friendships an individual can maintain correlates with brain size – with the very creator of the theory! They ask whether monkeys feel love the way we do, why some species remain strictly monogamous but…
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10 Dec 2025 · 42 min
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 whirlwind tour of our too often-overlooked aerial realm. The panel explores how clouds form, why they take such extraordinary shapes, and how satellites and weather balloons help us keep track of them. They discover why low clouds cool the planet but high clouds warm it and why a cloud that weighs as much as a jumbo jet…
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3 Dec 2025 · 42 min
Fusion – Ria Lina, Yasmin Andrew and Howard Wilson
Robin Ince and Brian Cox get all fired up, overcome their natural repulsion and come together for this stellar episode on nuclear fusion. They’re joined by plasma physicist Yasmin Andrew, fusion scientist Howard Wilson and comedian Ria Lina to uncover the secrets of star-making here on our planet. Together the panel discovers how the sun fuses atoms to release energy and why misbehaving, jiggling plasma makes this tricky to recreate on Earth. They explore the competing technological approaches — from giant magnets to the world’s biggest lasers — and find out that the hottest place in the…
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