Log in

goodpods headphones icon

To access all our features

Open the Goodpods app
Close icon
headphones
The Infinite Monkey Cage

The Infinite Monkey Cage

BBC Radio 4

Professor Brian Cox and Robin Ince host a witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists’ eyes. Joined by a panel of scientists, experts and celebrity science enthusiasts they investigate life, the universe and everything in between on The Infinite Monkey Cage from the BBC.

From the smallest building blocks of life to the furthest stars, the curious monkeys pull apart the latest science to reveal fascinating and often bizarre insights into the world around us and what lies beyond. Can trees talk to each other? Can science help you commit the perfect murder? What might aliens look like and the burning question of our time, are strawberries alive or dead? Join them as each episode they put a different scientific topic under the microscope, from aliens, black holes and hedgehogs, to bacteria, poison and the Big Bang. With past guests including actors Dame Judi Dench and Sir Patrick Stewart, comedians Steve Martin and Conan O’Brien, astronaut Tim Peake, primatologist Jane Goodall and mathematician Hannah Fry, The Infinite Monkey Cage promises to make you laugh, enrich your knowledge and leave you with a deeper appreciation for the universe that we call home. Whether you’re a seasoned scientist or someone who nodded off in physics class, listen in to learn all about funny, fascinating and sometimes ridiculous topics – with the occasional monkey business.

profile image

23 Listeners

comment icon

1 Comment

Share icon

All episodes

Best episodes

Top 10 The Infinite Monkey Cage Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Infinite Monkey Cage episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Infinite Monkey Cage for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Infinite Monkey Cage episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The Infinite Monkey Cage - Higgs Boson

Higgs Boson

The Infinite Monkey Cage

play

03/20/24 • 42 min

Brian Cox and Robin Ince visit CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Geneva in search of the Higgs Boson. Joining them on their particular quest is comedian Katy Brand, actor Ben Miller and physicists Tevong You and Clara Nellist. They find out which particle is the one you’d most want to spend time with at a party, how cosmology is inspiring experiments in the collider and why the Higgs Boson - known as the 'god' particle' - is of so much interest to science.

Producer: Melanie Brown Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

profile image
profile image

4 Listeners

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Infinite Monkey Cage - Hollywood in Space

Hollywood in Space

The Infinite Monkey Cage

play

12/06/23 • 42 min

Brian Cox and Robin Ince put Hollywood under the microscope to unpick the science fact v science fiction of some of the biggest movies set in space. They are joined by a truly out of this world panel of space experts including astronauts Tim Peake, Nicole Stott and Susan Kilrain alongside Oscar-winning Special FX director Paul Franklin, whose movies include Interstellar and First Man. Tim, Nicole and Susan fact check how space travel and astronauts are portrayed in movies such as Gravity and The Martian, whilst Brian and Robin argue about Robin's lack of enthusiasm for Star Wars. They look back at some of the greatest space movies including Alien and 2001 A Space Odyssey, and ask whether some fictional aspects of these blockbusters may not be so far from our future reality.

Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem.

profile image
profile image

4 Listeners

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Infinite Monkey Cage - Poison

Poison

The Infinite Monkey Cage

play

03/06/24 • 42 min

Brian Cox and Robin Ince delve into the murky world of historical poisonings. Joining them to add their drops of killer insight are comedian Hugh Dennis, chemist Andrea Sella and Agatha Christie aficionado and former chemist Kathryn Harkup. They find out just how easy poison was to get your hands on and how people literally got away with murder until chemists developed tests for substances like arsenic. Bottles of deadly substances are passed around our expert panel with some trepidation and we learn how seemingly innocuous garden plants can be deadly in the wrong hands.

Producer: Melanie Brown Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

profile image

3 Listeners

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Infinite Monkey Cage - Could it be magic?

Could it be magic?

The Infinite Monkey Cage

play

02/21/24 • 42 min

Brian Cox and Robin Ince pull scientific explanations out of a hat and go down the rabbit hole to explore the science of magic with comedian Alan Davies, sleight of hand artist Laura London and two experts in the psychology of magic Richard Wiseman and Gustav Kuhn. They ask what our predilection to be bamboozled by sleight of hand can tell us about how our minds work. Alan has a card trick played on him and we learn how our choices aren’t always what we think they are.

Producer: Melanie Brown Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

profile image

3 Listeners

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Infinite Monkey Cage - Can we cure ageing?

Can we cure ageing?

The Infinite Monkey Cage

play

12/03/22 • 42 min

Brian Cox and Robin Ince tackle the thorny issue of their own differing experiences of ageing, as they find out why Robin seems to be doing it so much more quickly than Brian and whether science might have the answer. They are joined by comedian Sarah Kendall, Professor Dame Linda Partridge, world-renowned expert on the biology of ageing, and Dr Andrew Steele, author of "Ageless: The new science of getting older without getting old." Can the scientists answer the age-old monkey cage question of why Robin looks so much older than Brian despite being several years younger? Is it all the donuts he ate in his twenties or is down to his genes? Why do any of us age at all, and is there a biological limit to human lifespan. Most tantalisingly, they discover how the latest science into the biology of ageing could produce medicine that could slow down some of the ageing processes in the body, and in the process prevent many of the diseases, such as cancer and dementia, that can make old age so challenging. With these new advances comes the exciting prospect of not only living longer, but more importantly living healthier and happier and free of disease well into our hundreds.

Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

profile image

3 Listeners

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Infinite Monkey Cage - Why does wine taste good?

Why does wine taste good?

The Infinite Monkey Cage

play

12/24/22 • 42 min

For this special Christmas episode, Brian Cox and Robin Ince visit the Australian Wine Research Institute in Adelaide to find out what science can teach us about wine. They are joined by stand-up comedian Tim Minchin, Nobel Prize winner and vineyard owner Brian Schmidt, flavour chemist Mango Parker and sensory and consumer scientist Patricia Williamson. The panel are put through their paces as they sample a variety of wines, learning the hard way that the majority of wine’s flavour isn’t down to molecular chemistry but instead the holistic experience of wine drinking: the perceived price, mood in the room and even the weight of the bottle.

Producer: Caroline Steel Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

profile image

3 Listeners

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Infinite Monkey Cage - Science and Comedians

Science and Comedians

The Infinite Monkey Cage

play

11/30/09 • 25 min

Former cosmologist Dara O'Briain and Dr Alice Roberts join physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince for a witty, irreverant and unashamedly rational look at the world according to science. They'll be asking why so many comedians seem to start life as scientists, and begin their quest to put science at the heart of popular culture.

3 Listeners

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Infinite Monkey Cage - The Magic of Mushrooms

The Magic of Mushrooms

The Infinite Monkey Cage

play

07/15/23 • 42 min

Brian Cox and Robin Ince find out about the secret world of fungi, hidden beneath our feet. They are joined by biologist Merlin Sheldrake and mycologist Katie Field. They hear about the hidden life of fungi, including their hundreds of mating types, predatory behaviour and crucial role in life beginning on Earth. Katie shares how mycologists like her are using fungi to come up with creative solutions to climate change.

New episodes are released on Saturdays. If you're in the UK, listen to the full series first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF

Producer: Caroline Steel Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

profile image
profile image

3 Listeners

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Infinite Monkey Cage - The Infinite Monkey’s Guide To... The Apocalypse
play

09/13/23 • 18 min

Brian Cox and Robin Ince take a deep dive into the Monkey Cage archive to find out how scared scientists and comedians are about the universe ending. Steve Martin says he’s happy to burn to a crisp when the sun explodes, but learns he might be more likely to die when galaxies tear each other apart during the ‘big rip’. And if the heat death of the universe really is inevitable, how come some people seem so jolly about it? Having studied this for years, astrophysicist Katie Mack wants to be there when everything ends, prompting Eric Idle to again speculate on the meaning of life.

New episodes will be released on Wednesdays, but if you’re in the UK, listen to new episodes, a week early, first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF

Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

profile image
profile image

3 Listeners

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Infinite Monkey Cage - Asteroids

Asteroids

The Infinite Monkey Cage

play

02/28/24 • 42 min

Brian Cox and Robin Ince journey through the asteroid belt to discuss space rocks with Dr Who companion John Bishop, professor of planetary science Sara Russell and astrophysicist Alan Fitzsimmons. They learn that these seemingly innocuous rubble like rocks can hold secrets to the formation of the solar system but just don’t jump on one – you may shoot straight through it! They find out about the latest space missions that are trying to bump into or grab bits of asteroids and how these technological feats are helping to avoid the end of life on earth as we know it.

Producer: Melanie Brown Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

profile image

3 Listeners

bookmark
plus icon
share episode

Show more best episodes

Toggle view more icon

FAQ

How many episodes does The Infinite Monkey Cage have?

The Infinite Monkey Cage currently has 233 episodes available.

What topics does The Infinite Monkey Cage cover?

The podcast is about Comedy, Podcasts and Science.

What is the most popular episode on The Infinite Monkey Cage?

The episode title 'Hollywood in Space' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Infinite Monkey Cage?

The average episode length on The Infinite Monkey Cage is 37 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Infinite Monkey Cage released?

Episodes of The Infinite Monkey Cage are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage?

The first episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage was released on Nov 30, 2009.

Show more FAQ

Toggle view more icon

Comments

PF
Paul Fortier

@paul.allen

Dec 6

horizontal dot icon
Star Filled iconStar Filled iconStar Filled iconStar Filled iconStar Filled icon
not liked icon

Like

Reply