The astrophysicist Professor Lisa Kaltenegger is like an explorer of old, but her voyage takes her far from earth, planet hunting across the universe. She is Director of the Carl Sagan Institute to Search for Life in the Cosmos at Cornell University, and in her new book Alien Earths she describes the very latest discoveries of exoplanets which are the best contenders for harbouring alien life.
Claudia de Rham is Professor of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London and in her book The Beauty of Falling she tells the story of gravity. From her personal experience of diving in the ocean and freefalling over the earth, to exploring the limits of Einstein’s general theory of relativity she seeks to understand both the feeling and the fundamental nature of gravity.
If only all of physics could be so compelling! Professor Mark Fromhold is Head of Physics at Nottingham University and is campaigning for a change to the way pupils are taught, suggesting that quantum physics be incorporated into the curriculum. He argues that at present the subject is too earth-bound, and ‘dull as dishwater’.
Producer: Katy Hickman
Climate resolutions
A century of Labour
AI, states and corporations
Small states: global impact and survival
Playing games
Space – the human story
Monet and machine vision
Music – from page to performance
China – its poetry and economy
Soundtrack to life
Infected blood - from scandal to inquiry
Unruly bodies
Israel
The Iliad and the right to rule
Contains Strong Language Festival in Leeds
Homo Sapiens +/-
The NHS at 75
Materials that shape our world
Sums, stories and musical scores
Hacking and cybercrime
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Global News Podcast
The Infinite Monkey Cage
Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
You’re Dead to Me
Elis James and John Robins