Instant Genius

Latest Episodes:

Synaesthesia: How some of us experience music as shapes and colours and words as flavours Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

Do you experience sounds or music visually as certain shapes? Or perhaps you are able to ‘taste’ words or ‘hear’ colours.

If so, it sounds like you have synaesthesia, a neurological phenomenon that leads to some of us experiencing a merging of different senses that are not typically connected.

In this episode we catch up with Prof Jamie Ward, a psychologist and synaesthesia researcher based at the University of Sussex.

He tells us about the varying forms synaesthetic experiences can take, what we know about their impacts on cognition and creativity and how it’s likely that you’ve met a synaesthete without even realising it.

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Why you’re not actually addicted to your phone Mar 18, 2024

Show notes

Just about everywhere we look today, screens, and in particular social media, are being called addictive, and being blamed for causing mental health problems and damaging childhood development.

But does the evidence support this?

In today’s episode we catch up with Pete Etchells, professor of psychology and science communication at Bath Spa University and author of Unlocked: The real science of screen time.

Pete tells us why we need to redefine our relationship with technology and why social media, for all its ills, may not be as bad as we often make out.

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How personalised medicine is about to change healthcare Mar 15, 2024

Show notes

There’s no doubt new advances in science and technology are having a huge impact on the way we live our lives these days. From Big Data and artificial intelligence to genomics and wearable devices that track daily our activity.

Of course, medicine is no exception. All of these technological steps forward are pointing healthcare towards a coming era of personalised medicine that focusses more directly on the needs of the individual patient.

In this episode we speak to Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, David Weatherall Chair in Medicine at the University of Liverpool, NHS Chair of Pharmacogenetics, and a consultant physician at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

He tells us how advances in medical techniques such as genetic screening and a focus on patients’ differing reactions to treatment can go beyond a one-drug-fits-all approach to healthcare and even treat diseases before symptoms appear.

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How some of the most fascinating discoveries in astronomy were made by accident Mar 11, 2024

Show notes

For those of us on the outside, scientific discoveries can often appear to be neat, tidy and well thought out in advance. Theorists come up with a hypothesis on a chalkboard and then it’s up to the experimentalists to attempt to prove their theories right or wrong through observation. But this isn’t always the case, especially when it comes to astronomy.

In this episode we catch up with Chris Lintott, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford and a presenter on BBC’s Sky at Night to talk about his book Our Accidental Universe.

He tells us about the many unexpected discoveries astronomers have made almost by accident, and how with a bit of luck, and the right kind of eyes, the mysteries of the Universe are hiding in plain sight, just waiting to be discovered.

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The surprising role of clouds in climate change Mar 08, 2024

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Clouds aren’t just the harbingers of bad weather. Turns out, they are crucial players in the climate – and so, too, in climate change. In this episode we speak to climate scientist Dr Paulo Ceppi, who contributed to Greta Thunberg’s The Climate Book, to learn about how clouds change our world.

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Why giraffes are undergoing a silent extinction Mar 04, 2024

Show notes

There can be few animals that are as iconic and instantly recognisable as giraffes. But despite their unique, almost mystical appearance and enduring worldwide popularity, their numbers are dwindling. According to researchers, they are undergoing something known as a silent extinction.

In this episode we catch up with Dr Sam Penny, a conservationist and lecturer based at Bristol Zoological Society.

He tells us about the current thinking on the existence of not one but several different giraffe species, how they only have one remaining genetic relative, and goes on to talk about his own conservation work in Cameroon’s Benoue National Park.

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Why we are seeing the return of infectious diseases Mar 01, 2024

Show notes

In the first quarter of 2024, infectious diseases including measles, plague, and cholera have all reared their ugly heads again. Are we seeing an unprecedented level of disease re-emergence? Why do they come back? And what would it take for another Black Death to happen? To find out, we spoke to Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine at UEA’s Norwich Medical School.

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How to overcome social paranoia and anxiety Feb 26, 2024

Show notes

Do you often find yourself worrying that people are talking about you behind your back? If so, don’t worry: according to our guest, Prof Daniel Freeman, it’s an extremely common thought pattern – and one you can easily break free from.

Daniel is a Professor of Psychology at Oxford University and author of new book Paranoia: A Psychologist’s Journey Into Extreme Mistrust and Anxiety. In this episode, he explains the link between paranoia and social anxiety, exactly how to tell how paranoid you are – and simple strategies to build self-esteem and reduce your social paranoia.

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How feelings of listlessness and aimlessness has become an epidemic, and how we can beat it Feb 23, 2024

Show notes

Are you feeling demotivated and aimless and struggling to figure out why? If so, it sounds like you might be languishing – a term used to describe the epidemic of listlessness that has spread across the globe in recent years.

In this episode we speak to Dr Corey Keyes, author of Languishing: How to Feel Alive Again in a World That Wears Us Down.

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Placebo: Why this miraculous experience really works Feb 19, 2024

Show notes

The placebo effect is a seemingly wonderful experience, healing people with no apparent cure - but how does it really work? We spoke to Jeremy Howick, an epidemiologist and author of the new book The Power of Placebos to find out.

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