BBC Radio Podcasts from The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry

The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry

Introducing… Uncharted with Hannah Fry

Tales of data and discovery with Hannah Fry.

The Impossible Number

What is the 'imaginary' number - and why is it so incredibly useful?

The Mind Numbing Medicine

'How do anaesthetics work?' asks Alicia.

The Resurrection Quest

Can we bring extinct species back from the dead?

The Puzzle of the Pyramids

Did aliens build the pyramids!?

The Magnetic Mystery

What is a magnetic field? wonders Lucas.

The Case of the Blind Mind's Eye

'Why can't I see images in my mind?' asks Jude from Australia.

Silly Studies: The Pre-Series Teaser

We’re almost back! As a cheeky aperitif, our sleuths review some surprising science.

The Puzzle of the Plasma Doughnut

“How does fusion work, and how can we do it safely on earth?” asks Les Walker

The Riddle of Red-Eyes and Runny-Noses

“Are allergies really on the increase?” wonders Ally

The Problem of Infinite Pi(e)

'How did we discover pi? How do we know that it’s infinite and never repeats?' asks Alex.

The Suspicious Smell

Why do our bodies smell? And does our smell influence how much we like each other?

The Wild and Windy Tale

“How do winds start and why do they stop?” asks Georgina from the Isle of Wight

The Case of The Missing Gorilla

'How can I be immersed in a book, and still notice my name?' asks Charlotte.

Silly Studies: The Pre-Series Tease

We’re back! Rutherford and Fry review the silliest studies sent in by Curios

The Colour Conundrum

'How do we see colour - and why are some people colour blind?’ asks Maya Crocombe.

The Turn of the Tide

Why are tide times and ranges so different around the UK, asks Lynn?

The Shocking White Hair

Can human hair turn white overnight from shock? Hannah and Adam investigate greying hair.

Surprising Symmetries

We’ve got two eyes, two arms, two legs - but only one heart. Why!? asks Joanne.

The Weird Waves of Wi-Fi

“How does Wi-Fi work - is it magic?” asks Abby

The Mystery of the Teenage Brain

Why do my teens struggle to get out of bed in the morning? asks Michelle.

We’re (almost) back!

Rutherford and Fry return for a new series of scientific sleuthing

Rutherford and Fry on Living with AI: A Future for Humans

The science sleuths unwrap some of the biggest ideas in this year's BBC Reith Lectures.

Rutherford and Fry on Living with AI: AI in the Economy

The science sleuths unwrap some of the biggest ideas in this year's BBC Reith Lectures.

Rutherford and Fry on Living with AI: AI in Warfare

The science sleuths unwrap some of the biggest ideas in this year's BBC Reith Lectures.

Rutherford and Fry on Living with AI: The Biggest Event in Human History

The science sleuths unwrap some of the biggest ideas in this year's BBC Reith Lectures.

The Venomous Vendetta

Will a venomous snake die if it bites itself? asks Janni in Amsterdam

The Slippery Situation

'What is the most slippy thing in the world?' asks 8 year old Evelyn from London

The Painless Heart

Why does my heart not ache after exercise? Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate

The Weirdness of Water Part 2/2

Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry attempt to answer more questions on why water is weird

The Weirdness of Water Part 1/2

Please explain the weirdness of water? Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate.

The Guiding Hound

How do guide dogs know where they're going?

We’re back!

The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry

More Frytful Scares

Why do people like to be scared?

Back to The Sinister Hand

What determines left or right handedness? asks Neal Shepperson

A Weighty Matter Part 2/2

Is dark matter a fudge to fit existing theories to inexplicable observations?

A Weighty Matter Part 1

How does gravity pull us? asks Emma

The Flying Clock and the Stopped Watch

Do individuals perceive time differently? asks Joe from North Yorkshire

The Mosquito Conundrum

What’s the point of mosquitoes? asks Cathy

The Scientific Exploration of Astrology

Could there be something to astrology? asks Dan in Australia

The Noises That Make Us Cringe

Why do some people find noises like a fork scraping a plate so terrible?

The Pizza Diet

Can I make a pizza that contains my recommended daily intake of everything? asks Paul

The Good and Bad in Fungi

"Why are some fungi helpful and others harmful?" asks Paul Glaister in Reading.

The Martian Mission

What would it take for humans to live on Mars? Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate.

The Hamster Power Hypothesis

How many hamsters on wheels would it take to power London?

We’re back!

The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry

The Space Burrito

Is there a point in space where the Sun could heat a burrito perfectly? And other puzzles.

The Zedonk Problem

What are ligons and tigers? What is a species?

The End of Everything

When and how is the universe going to end?

The Sting in the Tail

What’s the point of wasps? Science sleuths Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate

The Seeded Cloud

Can we make it rain?

The Growling Stomach

Why do our tummies rumble - and when they do, does it always mean we are hungry?

We’re back!

A preview of series 16: Longer, louder and locked down.

The Exotic Wormhole

What are wormholes and do they really exist?

A Cold Case Part 2

From cold feet to cold water swimming, Rutherford and Fry answer your chilling questions

A Cold Case Part 1

Why do we get more colds in winter?

The ASMRnswer

What is ASMR and why does it only affect some people?

Adam's ASMR cocktail

Adam Rutherford concocts an Old Fashioned cocktail - listen after our episode on ASMR.

Hannah's ASMR cocktail

Hannah Fry mixes a mojito - listen after our episode on ASMR.

The Power of Love

How does love affect our brain?

The Golden Secret

How do you make gold?

We’re Back!

A preview of Series 15, plus more strange-but-true science papers

The End of the World

What would become the dominant species if, or when, humans go extinct?

The Trouble Sum Weather

Why is it so difficult to predict the weather?

The Heart of the Antimatter

How do you make antimatter? Science sleuths Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate.

Stephen Fry's Identity Crisis

Stephen Fry asks the duo to investigate why he struggles to remember faces.

A Frytful Scare Part 2

Rutherford and Fry board a rollercoaster to investigate why we enjoy being scared

A Frytful Scare Part 1

Why do we enjoy horror? Rutherford and Fry explore the thrill of fear

Curious Cases Returns

Rutherford and Fry are back with an extended podcast trailer to celebrate the new series

Jurassic Squawk

What sound did dinosaurs make?

The Lunar Land Pt2

What would life be like if we had two moons?

The Lunar Land Pt 1

Where did the Moon come from?

An Instrumental Case

Why do instruments sound different?

The Periodic Problem

How do you discover a new chemical element?

The Mesmerist

Is hypnotism real? Drs Rutherford and Fry find out by visiting a hypnotist

Coming Soon – More Curious Cases

Hannah and Adam return to crack open the Curious Cases they’ll be examining in Series 13

The Horrible Hangover

Why do we get hangovers and are some drinks worse than others?

The Good Bad Food

Why does bad food taste so good? Science sleuths Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate.

Two Infinities and Beyond - part 2

Is anything in the Universe infinite? Science sleuths Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate.

Two Infinities and Beyond - part 1

Does infinity exist? And why are some infinities bigger than others?

The Stressful Scone

Why do we have regional accents?

The Viking Code

How do ancestry DNA tests work?

A World of Pain

Why do we all have different pain thresholds?

The Random Request

Is anything really random?

The Running Joke

How fast can a human run?

The Alien Enterprise Part 2

Are intelligent aliens out there?

The Alien Enterprise Part 1

How do we look for alien life, and what are we expecting to find?

The Dawn Chorus

Why do birds sing? And why are some songs so complex?

The Lucky Number

How do I win the lottery?

The Déjà Vu

Why do we get déjà vu?

The Human Instrument

Why do our voices change as we get older?

The Fifth Dimension

Is there a fifth dimension? Hannah and Adam visit CERN to find out.

The Cosmic Egg

How do we measure the age of the universe?

The Atomic Blade

What makes things sharp?

The Tiniest Dinosaur

Which is the tiniest dinosaur?

The Enigma of Sex, Part 2

Why don't we have more than two sexes?

The Enigma of Sex, Part 1

Why does sex exist? And why aren't we all the same sex?

Goldfinger's Moon Laser

Could we shoot a laser to the moon?

The Curious Face Off

Are machines better than humans at identifying faces?

The Cosmic Speed Limit

Can anything travel faster than the speed of light? Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate.

The Dreadful Vegetable

Why don't children like vegetables?

The Baffled Bat

How do bats echolocate? And why don't they get confused by neighbouring signals?

Adventures in Dreamland

Why do we dream? Drs Rutherford and Fry delve into the science of sleep.

The Shocking Surprise

Why do we get static shocks? Our science sleuths try to crack another case.

The Sticky Song

Why do tunes get stuck in our heads? And what makes some songs stickier than others?

The Polar Opposite

What would happen if the Earth's magnetic poles flipped?

The Curious Cake-Off

How to make the perfect sponge using the power of science.

Kate Bush's Sonic Weapon

Can sound kill? Inspired by a Kate Bush song, we ask whether sonic weapons could work.

Itchy and Scratchy

Why do we itch and should we scratch?

The Burning Question

What is fire? Is it a solid, liquid or a gas? Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry investigate.

The Dark Star

The science sleuths investigate the question 'What's inside a black hole?'.

The Cat Who Came Back

How do cats find their way back to their old home when they move house?

A Code in Blood

Why do we have different blood types? Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate.

The Forgetful Child

Why don't we remember the first few years of our lives?

The Astronomical Balloon

'How far up can a helium balloon go? Could it go out to space?' asks Juliet Gok, aged 9.

The World That Turns

'Why does the Earth spin?' asks Joe Wills from Accra in Ghana.

The Broken Stool

How much does the bacteria inside my body weigh?

The Lost Producer

Why do some people have a terrible sense of direction?

The Bad Moon Rising

Does the full moon make us act strangely?

The Hunt for Nothing, Part 2

How zero was discovered and why it allows us to forecast the future.

The Hunt for Nothing, Part 1

Does nothing exist? Our scientific duo consider the nature of nothing.

The Melodic Mystery

'Why is my mother tone deaf?' asks listener Simon. The team investigates.

The Strongest Substance

What is the strongest thing in the universe?

The Space Pirate

Could we live on another planet?

The Portly Problem

What causes middle-aged spread?

The Sinister Hand Part 2

How being left-handed affects your brain and behaviour.

The Sinister Hand Part 1

What makes people left-handed?

The Counting Horse

Can horses count? And which animal is the best at maths?

The Hairy Hominid

How does leg hair know to grow back the same length? And why do we have body hair?

A Study in Spheres

Why is everything in space round? Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate.

The Psychic Tear

Why do we cry, and does it makes us feel better?

The Tea Leaf Mystery

What's the optimum scientific method for making the perfect cup of tea?

The Stellar Dustbin

Can we send our waste into the sun? Drs Rutherford & Fry investigate.

The Squeamish Swoon

Why do we faint, and does it serve any useful purpose?

The Aural Voyeur

Why do people shout on their mobile phones?

The Phantom Jam

What makes traffic jam? Rutherford & Fry search for a solution.

The Scarlet Mark

Why are gingers ginger, and are redheads dying out?