Episode notes
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…
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
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E157 · 14 Jul 2026 · 29 min
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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
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E155 · 7 Jul 2026 · 28 min
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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…
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E154 · 30 Jun 2026 · 21 min
Doctors’ Notes: Heart Palpitations
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E153 · 30 Jun 2026 · 29 min
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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
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E149 · 16 Jun 2026 · 28 min
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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 Hay Festival, they're joined by Professor Devi Sridhar, Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, to ask how we can live longer, healthier lives. They dig into the difference between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, and why the latter is falling in places like the UK. Devi unpacks the biggest factors that shape how well we age, from diet and exercise to mental health and the…
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E148 · 9 Jun 2026 · 23 min
Doctors' Notes: Friendship
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E147 · 9 Jun 2026 · 29 min
Are friends good for your health?
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, the Docs take a look at the impact our friendships have on our physical health. Why different friendship styles are important and how we can maintain and nurture our social connections. Joining them is Dr Tiffany Watt Smith, a writer and cultural historian interested in the histories of emotion and medicine. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08000 665…
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