Instant Genius

Latest Episodes:

The psychology of making the most of your time Aug 21, 2025

Show notes

Be it due to an increasingly demanding workload or responsibilities that need fulfilling at home, these days many of feel that there isn’t enough time in the day to get everything we need to get done. For many of us this can have a significant impact on our health and wellbeing. So, what can we do to improve our relationship with time?

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Ian Taylor, a psychologist based at Loughborough University, to talk about his latest book Time Hacks – The Psychology of Time and How to Spend it.

He tells us how relying on willpower alone is never the best way to be more productive, why we should be getting the most important tasks on our to-do lists completed early in the day and how breaking larger intimidating goals down into smaller micro-goals can have a huge impact on our motivation.

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How to overcome fear, according to a neuroscientist Aug 17, 2025

Show notes

We all know the feeling: thoughts racing through your mind, nervous flutters in your belly, your heart beating hard in your chest. When your whole body is screaming at you that you’re in danger, it can feel impossible to not listen. But fear doesn’t have to hold you back.

In this episode, we speak to Professor Abby Marsh, a neuroscientist at Georgetown University, in the US, who recently starred in National Geographic’s new series, Limitless: Live Better Now. In this series, scientists – including Abby – teach actor Chris Hemsworth how to conquer fear, pain and cognitive decline.

Today, Abby tells us about what fear is, how it manifests in our bodies and brains, and techniques we can use to overcome or harness it, so we can live more emboldened lives.

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How connecting with nature can help neurodivergent lives Aug 14, 2025

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It’s estimated that as many as one in five of the world’s population are neurodivergent. Be it ADHD, autism or dyslexia, these differences in brain function can make everyday life more difficult for many. But maybe the natural world can provide some much-needed relief.

In this episode, we speak to naturalist and author Joe Harkness about his latest book Neurodivergent by Nature – Why Biodiversity Needs Neurodiversity.

He tells us why many neurodivergent people don’t receive an accurate diagnosis until later in life, why many neurodivergent people are attracted to careers in conservation and how getting out in natural environments can help us all to relax and feel safe.

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The science behind PMS, and how to beat it Aug 10, 2025

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The luteal phase of the menstrual cycle has a really bad reputation. It’s known for premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, when many menstruating people experience low mood, bloating, food cravings and sluggishness before their period arrives. In stark contrast, we think of earlier phases in the cycle as times when we feel energetic, motivated and self-confident.

In this episode, we speak to Dr Sarah Hill, an evolutionary psychologist whose research focuses on women, relationships and health, and the author of This is Your Brain on Birth Control and her upcoming title, The Period Brain.

She tells us what happens to the body and brain during the luteal phase, why so many of us experience unpleasant symptoms, and some little things we can do to feel our best.

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How the world needs to adapt to a changing climate Aug 07, 2025

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We’re no longer living in a world before climate change. Its impacts – from rising sea levels to more extreme weather – are already upon us, and will almost certainly get worse before they get better. But beyond cutting our emissions as fast as possible, what do we need to do to survive, and hopefully thrive, in this new world?

Today’s guest, researcher and author Susannah Fisher, joins us to explore that question. In her new book Sink or Swim, she lays out two possible futures: one where we fail to adapt and face the mounting chaos, and another where we make the hard choices needed to live in a hotter world. Which one of these we end up with, she says, is up to us.

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How humans learned to speak and why Aug 03, 2025

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Humans’ unique ability to communicate through complex systems of language is one of the key attributes that separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. But how did this complex behaviour arise?

In her latest book, The Origin of Language – How We Learned to Speak and Why, evolutionary biologist Madeleine Beekman argues that our ability to speak arose due to the need to take care of our children.

She tells us how early human’s anatomy changed dramatically when our ancestors came down from the tress and began walking on two legs, how a quirk of genetics allowed humans to develop such large brains that aided the development of language, and why human’s slow development from helpless infants to functioning members of society gave rise to the need for in-group cooperation and complex modes of communication.

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The biggest unsolved mysteries in cosmology Aug 01, 2025

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For thousands of years humans have looked out into the night sky and pondered on the mysteries of the vast cosmos that we find ourselves part of. From Copernicus’ discovery that the Earth revolves around the Sun to Einstein’s revelation that gravity is the result of the curvature of spacetime, we’ve learned much about how the universe operates.

But we’re still only scratching the surface.

In this episode, we speak to Marcus Chown, an award-winning science writer and broadcaster and long-time contributor to BBC Science Focus.

He explains why pinning down the nature of dark matter and dark energy has eluded us for so long, why we can’t get gravity to agree with the three other forces of nature, and discusses the possibility of the existence of multiple universes.

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The hidden ways money has shaped human civilisation Jul 27, 2025

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If most of us were asked what we thought was meant by the word ‘technology’ chances are the first thing that would come to mind are inventions such as cars, medicine and computers.

But economist and author David McWilliams would argue these are all physical technologies and that there’s also a whole world of social technologies out there that have shaped human progress in a similarly profound way that most of us are largely unaware of. Chief amongst these, he says, is the invention of money.

In this episode, we speak to David about his latest book Money – A Story of Humanity. He tells us how the very reason that money has any value at all is based on our collective belief and trust in it as a concept, how money was much more deeply involved in turning points in human history than first meets the eye, and we need to see our relationship with money as an evolutionary process that progresses much like natural selection.

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A neuroscientist’s guide to living with dementia Jul 24, 2025

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Dementia doesn’t have to be terrifying. We tend to think of neurocognitive decline as something to be feared and avoided, but as the population ages, more and more of us are being diagnosed with dementia – so it might be helpful to know more about it.

In this episode, we speak to Dr Sabina Brennan, a neuroscientist, psychologist, bestselling author and host of the Super Brain podcast. Her new book, Still Me: a neuroscientist’s guide to caring for someone with dementia, offers practical advice for approaching dementia care in a loving and brain-healthy way.

Sabina tells us about her own experiences caring for her mother, the different ways neurocognitive decline can manifest itself, and how to find joy and fulfilment alongside dementia.

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The hidden life in the air we breathe Jul 20, 2025

Show notes

Every day we all breathe in thousands of litres of air, it is, of course essential for our continued existence. But did you know that the air that surrounds us is filled with a thriving colony of life itself? This is known as the aerobiome – a population of thousands of species of bacteria, fungi and even potentially lethal viruses such as SARS-CoV-2.

In this episode, we speak to science journalist and author Carl Zimmer about his latest book Air-Borne – The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe.

He runs us through the fascinating history of aerobiology, outlines the key role the field played in developing the germ theory of disease, and explains how even clouds are filled with life.

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