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Science & Medicine

CrowdScience

BBC

We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.

Episodes

20 of 509 episodes

Why do I love rollercoasters?

Your heart pounds, your chest tightens, your stomach drops and your legs feel weak and shaky. Your palms are sweating and a tingling rush sp...

29:09Sep 4, 2026

How do electric fish make electricity?

Some fish can deliver electric shocks that are four times more powerful than the electricity in your plug sockets at home. Crowdscience list...

26:29Sep 2, 2026

Why am I warm blooded?

CrowdScience listener Matt wants to know why he's warm blooded. He started thinking about this when he was watching some ants during the rec...

26:28Aug 21, 2026

Why can't I concentrate?

Why is it hard to concentrate, and why does it feel like such hard work? The CrowdScience inbox is full of questions like that, so for this...

26:29Aug 14, 2026

Why is TB still killing people?

Tuberculosis kills more than a million people every year. It’s the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. This is de...

26:29Aug 7, 2026

Will I get hit by a meteor?

Stare up at the night sky, and if you’re lucky, you might see a shooting star. Some people might make a wish, but CrowdScience listener Scot...

37:00Jul 31, 2026

Is anything truly random?

We’re delving into the CrowdScience archive to give you another chance to hear an award-winning show from 2025. CrowdScience listener Dorit...

27:09Jul 24, 2026

Are there diseases in space?

Space missions are searching for evidence of extra-terrestrial life. CrowdScience listener George in Kenya wants to know what could be up th...

26:28Jul 17, 2026

What are these strange rocks?

CrowdScience listener Liana from Canada got in touch to ask about some very specific rocks she’d seen on an island in Indonesia – jagged, ru...

26:28Jul 10, 2026

How did plants evolve to attract insects?

Many plants need pollen from another plant of the same species in order to reproduce, but they don’t have legs so they can’t simply walk aro...

26:28Jul 6, 2026

Do animals care about the past?

“What separates humans from animals, is an interest in the past”. That’s a 900-year-old quote from a textbook that Nigerian listener Taiwo c...

26:28Jun 26, 2026

How does Bluetooth work?

CrowdScience listener Rachel uses Bluetooth headphones on her cycle to work, seamlessly playing music from her phone without using wires. Bu...

26:30Jun 19, 2026

Why does paper fold so well?

CrowdScience listener Haruka has been making origami cranes out of paper since she was a child. Creating one out of a cloth napkin, however,...

26:29Jun 12, 2026

Do plants have personalities?

CrowdScience listener George is showing Alex Lathbridge around a small, dark, and extremely hot shed, just outside the city of Accra in Ghan...

29:16Jun 5, 2026

What's the deal with tongues?

Why is there such a variety of tongues in the animal kingdom? CrowdScience listener Dale has observed that his dog’s tongue is different fro...

26:28May 29, 2026

Why am I an introvert?

CrowdScience listener Daniel in Accra, Ghana is an introvert. Or at least, he thinks he is. And he’s worried that his preference for quiet s...

26:28May 22, 2026

Why do we itch?

Why do we feel itchy? So many listeners have emailed in with questions about itchiness, and presenter Anand Jagatia on the case. We explore...

26:28May 15, 2026

Why can't I recognise faces?

CrowdScience listener Jeroen finds it hard to remember people's faces - and he wants to know why. He wonders if it's to do with getting olde...

26:28May 1, 2026

Do animals hold funerals?

CrowdScience listeners Dougie and Molly have been wondering what happens to animals when they die, and whether there are animals that hold r...

26:28Apr 24, 2026