Episode notes
Welcome to What's Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the ideas shaping our health and wellbeing. In this episode, recorded live at Crossed Wires Festival in Sheffield, they are joined by Professor Robin Condliffe, Consultant Respiratory Physician at Royal Hallamshire Hospital. Together, they explore the extraordinary science of the lungs: how they work, how they keep us alive, and what happens when they start to go wrong. From asthma, COPD and lung cancer to air pollution, smoking and respiratory infections, they discuss some of the…
Podcast
What's Up Docs?
BBC Radio 4 · Tech & Science · English
In this BBC Radio 4 podcast, Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken are on a mission to help us take better care of ourselves. Although they are identical twins, Chris and Xand are very different and they never stop thinking and arguing about science and health. They want to lead healthy, happy lives and
More from What's Up Docs? All episodes →
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E160 · 21 Jul 2026 · 21 min
Doctors' Notes: Eyes
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about eyes with Mr Raj Das-Bhaumik. The doctors want to know what particular things we should be doing to look after our eyes in the summer, including how to protect them while swimming or spending time outdoors. They're also curious about dry eye, a common condition that could affect over half of the UK population, and how to manage it, as well as other eye conditions like glaucoma and cataracts and how they are particularly affected in the summer months. If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic covered on the podcast, you…
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E159 · 21 Jul 2026 · 29 min
How can you look after your eyes?
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where identical twin doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode, Chris and Xand van Tulleken discuss eyes and how to check and protect them. From finding a proper pair of sunglasses to mythbusting common beliefs about eyes, the twins explore the intricacies of an organ that can often be overlooked, especially if you’ve never needed glasses. To help navigate the maze of online advice, Chris and Xand are joined by Mr Raj Das-Bhaumik, a consultant ophthalmic and…
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E158 · 14 Jul 2026 · 20 min
Doctors' Notes: AI Medicine
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about AI medicine with Dr Emma Karoune. The docs explore how AI has been used in cutting edge medical research, such as to create digital models of the heart to enable instant alerts to a doctor. They want to know about AI for pattern recognition and how this can be used in determining changes in scans or predicting pandemic. They also want to know more about how ambient AI can be useful to doctors and how data science enables the development of AI technologies. If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic covered on the podcast,…
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E157 · 14 Jul 2026 · 29 min
What can AI medicine do for you?
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where identical twin doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. Can AI empower better self-care and clinical practice, or is it just more health noise? Most of us have fallen down a search engine rabbit hole only to emerge more confused about our symptoms than when we started. But as we enter the era of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, the landscape of medical information is shifting. In this episode, Chris and Xand van Tulleken debate whether these AI…
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E156 · 7 Jul 2026 · 59 min
Doctors' Notes: Lungs Special at Crossed Wires Festival
In this extended episode of What's Up Docs?, Chris and Xand van Tulleken continue their conversation with Professor Robin Condliffe. Together, they explore how our understanding of the lungs has evolved over time, from early theories about breathing to the breakthroughs that transformed modern respiratory medicine. They also examine why lung health is shaped by more than biology alone. From air pollution and housing quality to poverty and access to healthcare, they discuss the social and environmental factors that continue to influence who develops lung disease and who receives treatment.…
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E154 · 30 Jun 2026 · 21 min
Doctors’ Notes: Heart Palpitations
Chris and Xand van Tulleken take a deeper dive into heart palpitations and the rise of wearable technology. With devices like smartwatches now able to detect irregular heart rhythms, more people are being alerted to potential problems, often without any symptoms. But is this early detection saving lives, or creating new challenges? Joined again by Consultant Cardiologist Dr Pranev Sharma, the docs explore how wearables actually work, how accurate they are, and what happens when they flag something abnormal. They unpack the balance between prevention and overdiagnosis, and ask whether we risk…
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E153 · 30 Jun 2026 · 29 min
What are your heart palpitations telling you?
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the ideas shaping our health and wellbeing. In this episode, they turn their attention to heart palpitations. That sudden flutter, skipped beat or racing heart can feel alarming, but what’s actually going on, and when should you be concerned? They break down what palpitations are, what causes them, and what’s happening in the heart when you feel them. From everyday triggers like stress and caffeine to more serious rhythm problems, they explore the full spectrum, from completely…
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E152 · 23 Jun 2026 · 31 min
Doctors’ Notes: Body Odour
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about body odour with Matthew Cobb, Professor Emeritus of Zoology at the University of Manchester. They explore whether it’s possible to predict how someone experiences an odour based on their DNA, and how our sense of smell compares to that of other animals. Many people lost their sense of smell during the Covid-19 pandemic, bringing greater awareness to just how central this sense is to our everyday lives. They discuss the role that smelling ourselves and each other plays in everyday life, what happens when that sense is lost, and what support is…
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E151 · 23 Jun 2026 · 29 min
What does my body odour say about my health?
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the ideas shaping our health and wellbeing. In this episode, they explore something that affects every one of us - body odour. Body odour plays a significant role in our emotional and social lives, and even in our health. Chris and Xand explore what body odour actually is, where it comes from, and why it varies so much from person to person. They also examine the many ways we try to mask our natural scent and separate fact from fiction when it comes to what our body odour can tell us…
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E150 · 16 Jun 2026 · 49 min
Doctors’ Notes: Healthy Longevity Special at Hay Festival
This extended episode of What's Up Docs? features Chris and Xand van Tulleken's full live conversation with Professor Devi Sridhar at Hay Festival. Going deeper than the main episode, they explore the tension between individual responsibility and structural change, and why asking "how do I stay healthy?" might be the wrong question altogether. Devi draws on her work across governments and health systems worldwide to examine what genuinely moves the needle on population health. Chris and Xand also ask how Devi's work shapes the way she lives, and what single policy change she'd make tomorrow…
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