207 episodes

Brian Cox and Robin Ince host a witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists' eyes.

The Infinite Monkey Cage BBC Podcasts

    • Science
    • 4.7 • 1.7K Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
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Brian Cox and Robin Ince host a witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists' eyes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    The Infinite Monkey's Guide to… Audience Favourites (Pt 2)

    The Infinite Monkey's Guide to… Audience Favourites (Pt 2)

    Brian and Robin enjoy hear more listeners' favourite moments from The Infinite Monkey Cage.

    Comedian Claire Hooper hears about the mating rituals of spiders, which use several of their legs in this complex process. But she discovers the females of the species get their own back by eating the males once the deed is done. Comedian Noel Fielding explains how he made a plasticine figure of singer Joey Ramone, prompting Robin to wonder about the pitfalls of building a real-life Frankenstein. And writer Alan Moore tells Jonathan Ross how he used string theory as inspiration for a comic strip... about a virtuoso violinist.

    The Infinite Monkey's Guide to… Tiny Things

    The Infinite Monkey's Guide to… Tiny Things

    Brian Cox and Robin Ince shuffle through the archive to find the smallest things in the world of science, from a particle so tiny nobody has ever actually seen it, to the millions of microbes we’re all made up of. They ask the short-of-stature comedian Andy Hamilton how he’d feel about being three times bigger, which he admits could come in handy if he ever met a mammoth, leading to an unexpected discussion about a potential new TV gameshow format. Entomologist Erica McAlister is back to tell the team about her favourite fly, which can burrow into a human head to lay its eggs, and we learn about a project to make ants glow in the dark using nano-gold which went a little bit wrong.

    The Infinite Monkey's Guide to… The Future

    The Infinite Monkey's Guide to… The Future

    We know the universe is rapidly expanding but what happens if other galaxies disappear from view? That’s what Eric Idle wants to know as he ponders the future and what it holds in store. Solar scientist Lucie Green says this is not worth dwelling on because we’ll all be wiped out by an asteroid at some point anyway, which leads to a discussion about whether anywhere is still safe. Away from physics, Brian Cox and Robin Ince learn that one of the major contributors to global warming is the urinal cooling industry, which raises important questions about human stupidity. Should we let another species have a go? Chris Addison reckons dolphins might do a better job than we have but admits there are some major logistical issues.

    The Infinite Monkey's Guide to… Failure

    The Infinite Monkey's Guide to… Failure

    Brian Cox and Robin Ince embrace failure in its many forms, with a frank look at the importance of making mistakes. They examine the flaws in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution with the anthropologist Alice Roberts, as she tells them no idea is totally watertight. And sometimes scientific error even leads to important discoveries – just ask the heart patients who took a pill that did nothing for their medical condition but did boost their libido and which we now know as Viagra. But other failures in the field of medicine have had more serious consequences, and Dr Chris van Tulleken questions why we’re not better at drug development for the poorest parts of the world.

    The Infinite Monkey's Guide to… Gambling

    The Infinite Monkey's Guide to… Gambling

    Robin Ince and Brian Cox ask why some people always seem to win as they investigate the science of gambling. They hear how playing monopoly is no way to make friends, but don’t worry, because psychologist Richard Wiseman claims that it’s never really good fun anyway. In fact, games are mainly a form of social bonding and studies show deception could even be essential to human behaviour, which may just explain why so many people cheat. So should we even bother playing them? Well, it just so happens that solving maths problems can help us in other areas of life, so the team tackle a conundrum involving a goat, a cabbage and very hungry wolf, before becoming side-tracked by a debate over why the three were ever on a trip together in the first place, let alone trying to cross a river.

    The Infinite Monkey's Guide to… The Gods

    The Infinite Monkey's Guide to… The Gods

    Robin Ince and Brian Cox tackle the thorny debate over whether science and religion can co-exist. But forget the tension between the church and the researchers – Eric Idle wants an answer to the important question of whether God is in gluten free communion bread? Katy Brand launches the inaugural theologian’s corner with a pair of Reverends, who explain that comedians and the clergy have a lot in common, including a tendency to like the sound of their own voices. As we learn more about how our universe works, will there even be a need for religious belief? Since some research suggests fundamentalists and zealots tend to be less intelligent, perhaps there’s a case to be made for some healthy scepticism.

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
1.7K Ratings

1.7K Ratings

sashadobi ,

So much more than a podcast.

Eloquent banter, naughty jokes, introduction to scientists, science and books from around the world.
This is so much more than a science podcast. It is an inspiration to live out your dreams.
I love the jokes and I love the science, and I love learning new names, discovering new books and hearing people talk passionately and excitedly about this world of ours.

saperlo ,

Really going downhill...

This show is turning into a really ego trip for the presenters. Too much time given to their self-regarding comments and virtue-signalling. What was enjoyable about this originally (and made it connect with people so well) was its accessibility and that it just did science. Now its vanity and wokeness...please don't keep doing this and please never, never, have Jo Brand on again. She brings nothing

euphonium73 ,

Lose the laugh track

The content seems fun and interesting but the canned laughter makes it absolutely unlistenable. Whose idea was that?

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