Instant Genius

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How body image pressures lead to steroid use Jan 31, 2025

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Be it a Marvel superhero, a fashion model or a professional athlete, we likely all have an image in our minds of what we wish our bodies looked like. But for some, the pressure of meeting these expectations can lead to the use of anabolic steroids in an attempt to get that Hollywood or magazine cover look.

In this episode, we speak to Dr Orlanda Harvey, a senior lecturer in social work based at Bournemouth University.

She tells us what steroids do to our bodies, the various motivations recreational users have for using them and the health issues, both for body and mind, that can arise from doing so.

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Healthy Start: How small behavioural changes help manage stress Jan 27, 2025

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Whether it’s due to deadlines at work, an upcoming exam or a rocky personal relationship, we’ve no doubt all felt stress at some point in our lives. And while a certain amount of stress can help to motivate us and make us more productive, if things get too much, stress can have a significant effect on both our mental and physical health.

In this episode, we speak to Despina Djama, a psychologist and stress researcher based at the University of Plymouth.

She tells us what happens in our brains and bodies when we experience stress, explains how the reaction stems from our evolutionary fight or flight response and shares some tips and techniques we can all use to help us get through stressful times.

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How music therapy can heal our bodies and brains Jan 24, 2025

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Many of us listen to music every day, perhaps to help us relax in the evening after a hard day’s work, get us through a tough workout or maybe even to allow us to feel closer to absent loved ones. There can be no doubt that music plays a huge part in what it means to be human.

In this episode, we catch up with neuroscientist and musician Daniel Levitin to talk about his latest book Music as Medicine: How We Can Harness Its Therapeutic Power.

He tells us what happens in our bodies and brains when we listen to music or play an instrument, explains the unique relationship between music and memory, and details how music can be used as a powerful therapeutic tool to help patients struggling from everything from Alzheimer’s disease to post traumatic stress disorder.

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Healthy Start: How taking up new hobbies can boost your mental health Jan 20, 2025

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Whether it’s a sport, painting or spending hours buried in puzzles, there is a clear link between our experience of hobbies and our mental health. Part of our Healthy Start series, we spoke to Karen Mak, a senior research fellow at UCL about how hobbies can bolster our mental health.

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How science can help us tackle racism Jan 17, 2025

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Most of us like to think we live in an equal society that offers the same opportunities to all. But unfortunately, hundreds of scientific studies say otherwise. Racial bias is essentially everywhere, often hiding in plain sight.

For example, did you know that black people are as much as 50 per cent less likely to be called in for a job interview than a similarly qualified white person? Or that children of colour are more likely to be viewed as troublemakers at school?

In this episode, we speak to Prof Keon West about his latest book The Science of Racism – Everything You Need to Know but Probably Don’t – Yet.

He tells us how racism is so deeply baked into many of our societal systems, explains the issues surrounding the concept of ‘colour blindness’ and how we can all benefit from simply interacting with more people from different ethnicities and backgrounds.

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Healthy Start: How to cut down your social media use Jan 13, 2025

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With a smartphone in our pockets at all times, social media is only ever a few clicks away. With this, problematic social media use is easy to fall into. As part of our Healthy Start series, we spoke to Niklas Ihssen, an associate professor at Durham University about what this means and how to avoid it.

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Why smell is our most underrated sense Jan 10, 2025

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It’s commonly thought that when compared to other members of the animal kingdom we humans have a particularly poor sense of smell. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Modern research has proven that human beings are surprisingly sophisticated sniffers, at least on par with the vast majority of other animals.

In this episode, we catch up with Prof Jonas Olofsson, a psychologist based at Stockholm University, to talk about his latest book The Forgotten Sense – The New Science of Smell.

He explains what happens when odour molecules enter our nasal passages and are processed by our brains, tells us how our sense of smell is intimately linked to our memories and emotions and answers the question that has been debated across countless dinner tables all over the world: can some people really identify wines just by smelling them?

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Healthy Start: How to make goals and stick to them Jan 06, 2025

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This time of the year lots of us will be setting new goals for the future. Be it getting fitter, reading more or even writing that novel we always suspected we had in us. But why do so many of us fail to see these plans through?

In this episode, we catch up Dr Ian Taylor a reader in motivational science based at Loughborough University.

He tells us why we are prone to setting goals that are too ambitious and why starting small is usually the best approach, why we shouldn’t worry if our routine drops off now and again, and why simply having willpower isn’t the be all and end all of reaching your targets, whatever they are.

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The power of optimism Jan 03, 2025

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Be it the recent outbreak of wars around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic or the unfortunate personal events that will undoubtedly befall us at some points in our lives, it can sometimes be difficult to look on the bright side. But is doing so even helpful?

Science writer Sumit Paul-Choudhury certainly thinks so. In this episode, we catch up with him to talk about his latest book The Bright Side: Why Optimists Have the Power to Change the World.

He tells us how the term was coined based on the theory that we live in the best of all possible worlds, or the optimal world if you like, why far from being unique to humans, many animals such as chickens and bumblebees also show signs of optimism, and how optimistic thinking will play a crucial role in helping us overcome the problems of the 21st Century.

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Don't miss the upcoming Healthy Start miniseries! Jan 01, 2025

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Would you like to learn how to set goals and stick to them? How about cutting down the time you spend on social media? Or how about learning to cope better with stress?

Why not tune in to the Instant Genius Healthy Start miniseries, brought to you from the team behind BBC Science Focus.

It's still the same show, with the same great guests. We’ll just be spending a little extra time to go deeper into the science of getting the new year off to the best possible start.

Starting on Monday 6th January, this four-part special series will feature interviews with leading researchers, to give you everything you need to boost your health and wellbeing.

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