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CrowdScience

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

Podcast · By BBC World Service · English · GB · Official site

Indexed episodes, last 90 days
11
Latest publication
Sep 11, 2026
Audience
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Earliest in this view
Jul 6, 2026

Latest episodes

  1. Episode · Sep 11, 2026

    Can my veggie sausages save the world? (opens the original)

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    CrowdScience listener Lisa, who is from South Africa but now lives in the UK, has been a vegetarian for many years. Sometimes though, she still finds herself craving meats – like spaghetti bolognese or a burger. To satisfy these cravings, she eats ‘alt-meats’, products meant to look and taste like meat but made from vegetables. This has her wondering though, are these alternative meats better for the planet than actual meat would be? And what about her health? Given that many of these foods are

  2. Episode · Sep 4, 2026

    Why do I love rollercoasters? (opens the original)

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    Your heart pounds, your chest tightens, your stomach drops and your legs feel weak and shaky. Your palms are sweating and a tingling rush spreads through your arms and fingertips as your brain is overwhelmed with feelings of tension and fear. And yet, you’ve asked for this. You wanted to be on this ride, at this theme park, hurtling towards the ground at a frightening speed. But why? An adrenaline rush is the body’s fight-or-flight response to intense fear, stress or excitement. It sends signals

  3. Episode · Sep 2, 2026

    How do electric fish make electricity? (opens the original)

    Episode notes · Positive tone

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    Some fish can deliver electric shocks that are four times more powerful than the electricity in your plug sockets at home. Crowdscience listener Mouhammed in Cameroon was stunned by this, so he charged us with finding out how they do it. Presenter Caroline Steel heads to Bayreuth in Germany to meet some eels who have this amazing ability. Dr Stefan Schuster and Susanne Proschke introduce us to their collection of electric fish, and help us conduct some experiments to work out how the fish are wi

  4. Episode · Aug 21, 2026

    Why am I warm blooded? (opens the original)

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    CrowdScience listener Matt wants to know why he's warm blooded. He started thinking about this when he was watching some ants during the recent heatwave in Europe and wondered why their blood didn't boil. What are the pros and cons of being warm-blooded like us or cold-blooded reptiles like lizards? Caroline Steel meets evolutionary biologist Dr Manuel Leal from the University of Missouri in the US, who explains the differences between ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) and endotherms (warm-blood

  5. Episode · Aug 14, 2026

    Why can't I concentrate? (opens the original)

    Episode notes · Neutral tone

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    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 show we’re concentrating on concentration and focusing on how we focus. We’ll be answering questions about the extra energy the brain uses when we’re concentrating, whether mental effort can tire you out more than physical effort, why we zone out when faced with a difficult task and how the ability to multitask is governed by our overall cognitive load. To f

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