The Rest Is Science - Goalhanger

Latest Episodes:

Why Does Evolution Keep Inventing Mind Control? Nov 08, 2026

Show notes

What if your thoughts, fears and desires weren't entirely your own? What if something living inside your body could change your behaviour, without you ever knowing?

Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (Vsauce) enter the disturbing world of parasites.

From worms that grow inside crickets to viruses that alter animal behaviour, they explore the extraordinary lengths parasites will go to in order to survive and reproduce.

But how does one organism evolve the ability to manipulate another?

How do parasites overcome the body's defences?

Along the way, Hannah and Michael investigate 500 million year old fossils, parasites that hitchhike on mosquitoes, the strange science of rabies and the unsettling relationship between cats, rats and a parasite that may even influence our own behaviour.

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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.

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

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Video Producer: Adam Thornton + Oli Oakley + Jack Meek

Animator: Sam Benson

Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell

Producer: Simona Rata + Lucy Lipscombe

Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter

Chief Digital Officer: Samuel Oakley

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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

Why Sharks Attack The Internet Nov 05, 2026

Show notes

Every week, around three undersea internet cables get damaged badly enough to need urgent repair... and the culprit usually isn’t sabotage.

Submarine cables carry more than 99% of the world’s international data, from your video calls to global financial transactions. Yet they lie on the ocean floor, where fishing gear and dragging ship anchors cause huge amounts of the damage.

In this episode of The Rest Is Science, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (Vsauce) investigate the hidden network of underwater cables holding the internet together, and the problems that come with running it across the bottom of the ocean.

How do you lay a cable across an entire ocean? What happens when one breaks miles below the surface? And in the age of satellites, why are we still relying on cables on the seabed?

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

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

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

Video Producer: Adam Thornton + Oli Oakley + Jack Meek

Animator: Sam Benson

Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell

Producer: Simona Rata + Lucy Lipscombe

Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter

Chief Digital Officer: Samuel Oakley

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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

Is 100 Better Than 101? Nov 01, 2026

Show notes

Is 100 really such a special number? Or have we spent thousands of years getting excited about something completely arbitrary?

To celebrate the 100th episode of The Rest Is Science, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (Vsauce) go head-to-head in a mathematical showdown: which is the better number, 100 or 101?

It sounds like a simple question, but the answer takes them from the strange history of counting, to the psychology of numbers, the mathematics of primes and the possibility of communicating with alien species.

Why do we find round numbers so satisfying? Would 100 mean anything if we'd evolved with 9 fingers? And is there a single number that’s fundamentally special, regardless of the counting system we use?

Can Hannah and Michael settle the debate once and for all? Or is the most ‘important’ number of all one they haven't even considered yet?

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

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

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

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

Video Producer: Adam Thornton + Oli Oakley + Jack Meek

Animator: Sam Benson

Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell

Assistant Producer: Lucy Lipscombe

Producer: Simona Rata

Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter

Chief Digital Officer: Samuel Oakley

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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

What Are These Unsettling Sounds? Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

Some of the most creepy sounds ever recorded aren't from horror films. They're real.

From mysterious noises from the deepest parts of the ocean to the eerie voices of people who died more than a century ago, the world is full of sounds stranger than anything we could dream up.

But what on Earth is making them?

In this Halloween special of The Rest Is Science, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (Vsauce) listen to some of the world's most mysterious and unsettling recordings, attempting to identify their origins and uncover the surprising science behind them.

They travel back to 1860 to hear a voice that was never intended to be heard again, investigate a bizarre underwater noise that baffled scientists for a decade, and encounter a sound so strange that Hannah suspects it might have come from outer space.

Turn up the volume, put on your headphones, and see how many you can identify…before Hannah does.

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

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

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

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

Video Producer: Adam Thornton + Oli Oakley + Jack Meek

Animator: Sam Benson

Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell

Assistant Producer: Lucy Lipscombe

Producer: Simona Rata

Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter

Chief Digital Officer: Samuel Oakley

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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

Earth’s Tilt Makes Time Slippery Oct 25, 2026

Show notes

A sundial can be almost 16 minutes fast in November and 14 minutes slow in February, yet there's nothing wrong with it. So why does the Sun, our oldest timekeeper, disagree with the clock on your wrist?

In this episode, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (Vsauce) explore the equation of time - the strange relationship between Earth's tilt, its orbit around the Sun and the way we measure our days.

Why does a day last 24 hours? Has it always been that way? And how can a piece of ancient coral reveal that time itself has changed?

To find out, Hannah and Michael investigate an ingenious sundial that appears to correct its own mistakes, and discover the extraordinary places on Earth where shadows disappear completely.

Along the way, they explore why sailors relied on the stars, the Moon's remarkable journey across London's sky, and the curious fact that the Pacific Ocean is so enormous it meets itself on the other side of the world.

Michael's references:
https://rl.se/subsolarpoint

https://www.curiositybox.com/pages/closest-approach-to-uranus

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

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

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

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

Video Producer: Adam Thornton + Oli Oakley + Jack Meek
Animator: Sam Benson
Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell
Producer: Simona Rata + Lucy Lipscombe
Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Chief Digital Officer: Samuel Oakley
Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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

What Happened When We Stopped Squatting? Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

In many parts of the world, people rest in a deep squat every day. In others, most adults can barely get down there. So what’s going on? Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens dig into the history of squatting and why the ability to squat differs so much between cultures.
Plus, your questions: What happens to the air pressure inside a car when it goes round a bend? Why do some burps come out higher than others? And why do tautologies sound like wisdom?
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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.
-------------------
Find The Rest Is Science all over the internet by ⁠⁠clicking here.⁠⁠
-------------------
Video Producer: Adam Thornton + Oli Oakley + Jack Meek
Animator: Sam Benson
Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell
Producer: Simona Rata + Lucy Lipscombe
Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Chief Digital Officer: Samuel Oakley

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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

Mathematicians Are The Canary Down The AI Coal Mine Oct 18, 2026

Show notes

OpenAI claims a swarm of AI agents has solved the Navier-Stokes problem, one of the hardest unsolved questions in mathematics, with a $1 million prize attached. Then it released more than 700 more mathematical manuscripts, including claims touching the Riemann hypothesis, faster than anyone can check them. Mathematicians are not happy, and the reason goes far beyond the money.

In this episode of The Rest of Science, mathematician and fluid dynamicist Hannah Fry takes Michael Stevens through the equations that describe everything that flows, from the blood in your veins to a rocket leaving the atmosphere. Then she tells him why this story has turned the vocation of mathematics upside down.

Ten thousand AI agents. Millions of messages. One tiny term in the equation that nobody wanted to look at, until it unlocked the problem. But did AI really solve a million dollar problem? Why are some mathematicians accusing the models of stealing their work? And how might a proof that is completely correct be the least satisfying result in the history of maths?

Along the way, Hannah un-mixes a glass of dye with nothing but corn syrup and patience, and the pair ask what happens to curiosity when the answers arrive faster than the understanding.

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

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

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

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

Video Producer: Oli Oakley
Animator: Sam Benson
Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell
Assistant Producer: Lucy Lipscombe
Producer: Simona Rata
Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Chief Digital Officer: Samuel Oakley
Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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

The Right Way To Open A Shaken Soda Can Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

A can of fizzy drink has been violently shaken. The pressure is building, the bubbles are ready to erupt, and Michael Stevens is about to open it. But Hannah Fry has a trick up her sleeve. Can a few taps really prevent an explosion?
This week on The Rest Is Science, Hannah and Michael begin with the surprisingly complicated physics of carbonation before tackling a much bigger question: can we really trust science?
From the replication crisis and scientific studies that fail to stand up to scrutiny, to the strange incentives that shape what gets published, they explore why even respected scientific discoveries can turn out to be wrong...and why that might not be such a bad thing.
Along the way, they investigate whether Archimedes really could have moved the Earth with a long enough lever, why aircraft are designed to withstand enormous pressure changes, and what happens when we lose our curiosity.
Plus, an unexpected discussion about nuns, the dangers of absolute certainty, and why asking questions might be one of the most important things we can do.
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"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."
-------------------
Find The Rest Is Science all over the internet by ⁠⁠clicking here.⁠⁠
-------------------
Video Producer: Adam Thornton + Oli Oakley + Jack Meek
Animator: Sam Benson
Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell
Assistant Producer: Lucy Lipscombe
Producer: Simona Rata
Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Chief Digital Officer: Samuel Oakley
Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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

Something Weird Is Going On With Placebos Oct 11, 2026

Show notes

For the past few decades, something strange has been happening in clinical trials. Painkillers aren't getting worse, but the placebos they're tested against appear to be getting better.

In one landmark study, the advantage of pain medication over placebo shrank from 27.3% in 1996 to just 8.9% in 2013.

Even stranger? This trend was found almost entirely in American trials.
In this episode of The Rest Is Science, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (Vsauce) investigate the extraordinary science of the placebo effect;

how our expectations influence pain, why belief can change the way our bodies respond, and what this means for the future of medicine.

Why does the way a treatment is presented matter so much? And how can simply expecting something to hurt actually make it hurt?

But the placebo effect doesn't stop at medicine. From pedestrian crossing buttons that do nothing to the surprising psychology of road safety, Hannah and Michael explore just how easily our expectations can shape our experience of the world.

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"For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/our-research/rest-is-science
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.⁠⁠

-------------------
Video Producer: Adam Thornton + Oli Oakley + Jack Meek
Animator: Sam Benson
Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell
Assistant Producer: Lucy Lipscombe
Producer: Simona Rata
Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Chief Digital Officer: Samuel Oakley
Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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

What Was A Mammoth Doing At The Bottom Of The Sea? Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

Hannah surprises Michael with a mammoth bone from Doggerland, the lost Ice Age land that once joined Britain to mainland Europe, and now lies beneath the North Sea. Who lived there, what roamed it, and how did an entire landscape disappear under the waves?
Then it's your questions: where did "cool" come from as a word for style, and how did it stick around for so long? What on earth is "skank face"? And what are Hannah and Michael reading right now?
-------------------
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.
-------------------
Find The Rest Is Science all over the internet by ⁠⁠clicking here.⁠⁠
-------------------
Video Producer: Adam Thornton + Oli Oakley + Jack Meek
Animator: Sam Benson
Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell
Assistant Producer: Lucy Lipscombe
Producer: Simona Rata
Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Chief Digital Officer: Samuel Oakley
Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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

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