The Rest Is Science - Goalhanger

Latest Episodes:

The Magic Math Trick That Fools Everyone Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

What makes a simple brain-teaser about two identical swords one of the most deceptively tricky logic puzzles of the last century? And why has this seemingly innocent riddle fascinated mathematicians, programmers and puzzle-solvers for decades?

First shared in recreational maths circles before spreading across classrooms and online forums, the “swords of truth” puzzle asks a disarmingly straightforward question — yet its solution reveals deep ideas about reasoning, information, and the limits of what we can deduce from what we’re told.

Is the puzzle just a clever bit of misdirection, or a gateway into the foundations of logic itself? And why does a question about two swords feel so strangely relevant in an age of misinformation?

Welcome to The Rest Is Science: Field Notes.

Every Thursday, Hannah and Michael rummage through their personal troves of scientific treasure and source discoveries that explain our understanding the universe, oddities that scramble our brains, objects that hint at forces we’ll never see...and a few things that are essentially just plain cool.

Expect deep dives into the science behind each pick, the spark that grabbed their attentions, and the sheer delight they get from sharing it all with you.

They’ll also be tackling your questions, so email The Rest Is Science at therestisscience@goalhanger.com.

-------------------

For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit ⁠⁠https://cancerresearchuk.org/restisscience⁠⁠

Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), the Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247). A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales (4325234) and the Isle of Man (5713F). Registered address: 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ.

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restisscience Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee 🌍

-------------------

Find The Rest Is Science all over the internet by ⁠clicking here.⁠

-------------------

Video Producer: Adam Thornton

Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell

Assistant Producer: Imee Marriott

Producer: Becki Hills

Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter

Head Of Digital: Samuel Oakley

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is Music Getting Worse? Dec 09, 2025

Show notes

Has music really been getting worse… or is it just shifting in ways we don’t always notice? And why does the soundtrack to your teenage years feel like the single greatest playlist ever made?

Hannah and Michael explore music’s strange grip on our minds. They trace why certain lyrics feel simpler than they used to, and what gives our formative songs lasting emotional charge. And what exactly is the reminiscence bump, that curious memory quirk that makes certain songs feel unforgettable?

Join Hannah and Michael as they unravel the personal, subjective and surprisingly enigmatic story of why our musical tastes tug at us so powerfully, and what they reveal about how we learn, remember and feel.

-------------------

For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit ⁠⁠https://cancerresearchuk.org/restisscience⁠⁠

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restisscience Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee 🌍

-------------------

Find The Rest Is Science all over the internet by ⁠⁠clicking here.⁠⁠

-------------------

Video Producer: Adam Thornton

Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell

Assistant Producer: Imee Marriott

Producer: Becki Hills

Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter

Head Of Digital: Samuel Oakley

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Letter That Changed Mathematics Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

How did pages of mysterious “gibberish” sent from Madras find their way to one of Cambridge University’s most respected mathematicians? Were the strange formulas the work of a deluded mind - or breakthrough insights of an unknown genius?
The author of that letter was Srinivasa Ramanujan. His story inspired two Hollywood blockbusters (Goodwill Hunting, The Man Who Knew Infinity) but his mind changed the shape of mathematics forever.
Welcome to The Rest Is Science: Field Notes.
Every Thursday, Hannah and Michael rummage through their personal troves of scientific treasure and source discoveries that explain our understanding the universe, oddities that scramble our brains, objects that hint at forces we’ll never see...and a few things that are essentially just plain cool.
Expect deep dives into the science behind each pick, the spark that grabbed their attentions, and the sheer delight they get from sharing it all with you.
They’ll also be tackling your questions, so email The Rest Is Science at therestisscience@goalhanger.com

-------------------

For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit ⁠⁠https://cancerresearchuk.org/restisscience⁠⁠

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restisscience Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee 🌍

-------------------

Find The Rest Is Science all over the internet by ⁠clicking here.⁠

-------------------
Video Producer: Adam Thornton
Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell
Assistant Producer: Imee Marriott
Producer: Becki Hills
Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Head Of Digital: Samuel Oakley
Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Biology and Psychology of Crying Dec 02, 2025

Show notes

Are humans the only creatures that shed emotional tears? If we are, what purpose do these tears really serve? If crying is so natural, why do we so often try to hide it?

A single sob sends Hannah and Michael into an unexpected journey through the science and mystery of emotional crying, from the first tearful moments of infancy to the complex social signals behind adult weeping.

Why do babies cry before they can speak? How do tears strengthen - or strain - our relationships? And what is the hormonal cocktail that makes “a good cry” feel so strangely comforting?

Join Professor Hannah Fry and YouTube educator Michael Stevens as they uncover the strange, revealing story of the human tear: why we cry, what our tears communicate, and how this uniquely human response shapes the way we connect.

-------------------

For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit ⁠⁠https://cancerresearchuk.org/restisscience

⁠⁠
Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), the Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247). A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales (4325234) and the Isle of Man (5713F). Registered address: 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ.

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restisscience Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee 🌍

-------------------

Find The Rest Is Science all over the internet by ⁠⁠clicking here.⁠⁠

-------------------

Video Producer: Adam Thornton
Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell
Assistant Producer: Imee Marriott
Producer: Becki Hills
Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Head Of Digital: Samuel Oakley
Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Arecibo Message and Interstellar Communication Nov 27, 2025

Show notes

What happens when humanity dares to shout a cosmic “hello”? Could it help alien civilisations decode human mathematics, our DNA, the blueprints of who we are? And why did we blast the 3-trillion-watt message into the stars in the first place…only to never try anything like it again?

This is the story of the Arecibo message.

Welcome to The Rest Is Science: Field Notes.

Expect deep dives into the science behind each pick, the spark that grabbed their attentions, and the sheer delight they get from sharing it all with you.
They’ll also be tackling your questions, so email The Rest Is Science at therestisscience@goalhanger.com.

-------------------

For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit ⁠cancerresearchuk.org/restisscience

⁠
Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), the Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247). A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales (4325234) and the Isle of Man (5713F). Registered address: 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ.

-------------------

Find The Rest Is Science all over the internet by ⁠clicking here.⁠

-------------------

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Physics of Gravity Nov 25, 2025

Show notes

What is gravity, really? Why do objects pull towards each other at all? And if Einstein 'fixed' Newton’s theory, why does gravity remain one of science’s biggest unsolved mysteries?

A clumsy trip into a lamppost leads Michael and Hannah into a whirlwind tour of our changing understanding of gravity, from falling apples and making wormholes for ants, to the puzzles we still can’t crack.

Why does time tick faster on a mountaintop than by the sea? Why are galaxies spinning in ways our equations can’t explain? And could an invisible particle finally reveal what gravity is made of?

Join Professor Hannah Fry and YouTube educator Michael Stevens as they uncover the strange, unfinished story of the force that holds the universe together.

-------------------

For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit ⁠cancerresearchuk.org/restisscience⁠

-------------------

Find The Rest Is Science all over the internet by ⁠clicking here.⁠

-------------------

Video Producer: Adam Thornton

Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell

Assistant Producer: Imee Marriott

Producer: Becki Hills

Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter

Head of Digital: Samuel Oakley

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How To Drink Lava Nov 25, 2025

Show notes

Is lava water, and could we have a delicious hot cup of it? Is ice really a rock, and not water? And, the age old question, is water wet?

From the minerals that shape the taste of our favourite drinks, to the tiny isotopes that reveal where a person, or whale, has travelled, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens reveal the hidden life of H₂O.

Along the way, they uncover why pure water can be deadly, how yesterday’s sewage might be fuelling the future, and discover that the water in your glass might be older than the Sun.

Prepare to rethink the world’s most familiar liquid - it’s far stranger, rarer, and more extraordinary than you ever imagined.

-------------------

For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit cancerresearchuk.org/restisscience

-------------------

Find The Rest Is Science all over the internet by clicking here.

-------------------

Video Producer: Adam Thornton
Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell
Assistant Producer: Imee Marriott
Producer: Becki Hills
Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter

Head of Digital: Samuel Oakley
Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome To The Rest Is Science Nov 18, 2025

Show notes

Forget what you think you know about reality. The Rest Is Science is a mind-bending series that tears down familiar ideas… time, randomness, beauty, it will reveal just how bizarre the world truly is.

Join Professor Hannah Fry and science creator Michael Stevens (Vsauce) twice a week to explore big, small and surprising questions as they deep dive into theories, concepts, objects and thoughts and take us on a journey into the unexpected.

If you love digging into details that usually get skipped over, this is the show that proves reality is stranger than fiction.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Rest Is Science – Goalhanger

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected