We've got physicist/author/Wikipedia nerd Dr Jess Wade in the studio to find out how putting your hands on top of one other could hold the key to understanding more about what happens to very very very very small molecules. Plus we learn what it's like to write a coffee table science book for children (who mostly lack disposable income/coffee tables) and why creating Wikipedia pages to highlight underrepresented figures in science can get messy. You can find Jess at @jesswade on Twitter. Stay...

For more than 18 months, the global COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every part of society. And with more and more data being shared by the minute, we've become swamped with information - and that's not a good thing right now. So to learn more about the "infodemic", we're joined by Samantha Yammine (Canada's favourite science communicator/neuroscientist/podcast fan) to chat about how compassion leads the way in the fight against disinformation, super secret blacklists, and why hot-takes...

We're back for Episode 50! Break ups can be hard for everyone but eventually, you get over them. Right? This week, we take a deep dive into the world of relationships, neuroscience and medicine as we try to find out if science can answer the question: "can heartbreak actually break your heart?" We jump into: Coming to America (4:03) Lockdown love lives (10:17) Heartbreak heart damage & Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (18:25) Is love is a drug? (25:55) Can seeing your ex cause actually hurt...

This week, we find out what Suhail has been doing for all the months he's spent in lockdown. From navigating work and sex during a global health crisis to lockdown vices and Discord vaccine conspiracies, we chat about how his life has changed over the last year. Follow us on social media and send us your questions! Follow us on twitter/instagram: @whynotadoc Email: [email protected]   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, Dr Suzi Gage takes us on a deep dive into the misconceptions, myths, and misinformation surrounding drugs. Plus, we find out about jealous Buddhists, Suhail exposing hypocritical government officials, and re-wiring the brain. (Just a quick note: this episode was recorded in March and contains some references to ketamine) You can get Suzi on Twitter (@soozaphone) Get Suzi's new book Say Why To Drugs on Amazon. Check out her podcast (also called Say Why To Drugs) Follow...

This is the final episode in our mini-series exploring health conditions Oz sat down with Shaheen to find out about her expierences with her mum's rare form of dememntia and the journey to diagnosis. We chat about stigma, care responsibilities and gender roles in the Bangladeshi community, and what it's like to be isolated as a carer. He also hears from Nadine Mirza, a researcher at the University of Manchester, who's exploring how her work revamping dementia testing services could make...

We're on the third episode of our mini-series looking at health conditions. This week, we're chatting to Roma Agrawal (engineer/author/build-er of The Shard) about her experience with infertility and her journey through IVF. We hear about engineering a baby, overbearing aunties, and her very real fear of embryo mix-ups. You can find Roma on Twitter (@RomaTheEngineer) and check out her podcast "Building Stories" wherever you got this one. Thanks to British Podcast Awards, Wellcome Trust,...

The second episode in our new series where we explore various aspects of health! This episode, we're joined by Tyla Grant - an autism advocate behind the YouTube channel "Adulting Autistic." She talks us through what it's like being a Black woman diagnosed at 17, mental health, and why people need to stop talking about "curing" autism. Also there's chat about a terrible golden jumper. We get to chat to neurodevelopmental psychologist Mary Agyapong. Based out of King's College London, her...

We're embarking on a new series where we explore various aspects of health! To wave goodbye to its awareness month in March, we're looking into endometriosis, a chronic condition affecting 1 in 10 women in the UK. Suhail had a chance to sit down with journalist Anita Jones (@AnitaNnekaJones) to find out more about her journey with endometriosis - discussing everything from her first experiences of it to her reliance on fluffy water bottles.  We hear from Dr Annabel Sowemimo...

This week, Suhail chats to George Anderson about his life. The 2008 Financial Crisis left George homeless and wandering the streets of London. No longer having his job working within the NHS, he began selling the Big Issue magazine outside of the BBC building in the centre of the city. With a background in psychiatry, he talks to Suhail about how mental health issues can affect people who deal with rejection on a daily basis. With the support of the Wellcome Trust, he's been gradually...

We're joined in the studio by journalist Shivani Dave to discuss the current Coronavirus outbreak that has spread internationally from Wuhan, China. We break down the science of the virus (termed 2019-nCoV or 2019 novel coronavirus) and find out what steps the World Health Organisation has taken to limit the spread of it across the globe. And in a situation where researchers are working rapidly to fight the virus, what role does social media have in providing the latest information on the...

This week, we're talking about the male contraceptive injection. RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance) has passed clinical trials and is being touted as the first consumer available male contraceptive (capable of being effective up to 13 years). From the pill to the coil, we look at the history of contraception and discuss what this new injection could this mean for contraception and healthcare in general. Would you trust someone who said they had the injection? Could it be...

For the last episode of 2019, we're talking about TI taking his daughter for an annual "virginity check", the sociology of sex, and how white feminism has put people around the world at risk Follow us on social media and send us your questions! Follow us on twitter/instagram: @whynotadoc Email: [email protected] For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

This week, we're back in the studio to discuss all things political. Now that the UK is gearing up to a General Election, we've got voting on the mind. Mark Zuckerberg recently said that Facebook wouldn't be rejecting political adverts that were deemed to contain false information, with Twitter deciding to ban political adverts altogether. However, during the Leaders' Debate for the UK General Election, the Conservative Party press Twitter account (@CCHQ) rebranded itself - aiming to...

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We're back in the studio for a flying visit and talking about the amount of cocaine found in London and how it's affecting the local animals. You can hear Oz on BBC Asian Network Network talking about Dating Disasters with Mobeen Azhar ------------------------------------------------- Music by Grapes & Evan Schaeffer ------------------------------------------------- Follow us on social media and send us your questions! Follow us on twitter/instagram:...

This week, we're joined in the studio by Elijah Lawal to discuss his new book - "The Clapback: Your Guide to Calling Out Racist Stereotypes" From sex and sports to crime and drugs, Black people encounter stereotypes everyday. In his book, Elijah gives out the tools he thinks that people need to shut down racism - bringing together humour, research, and history. We discuss why people think they can say the N-word, views on interracial dating from outside and within, and why the...

This week, we talk rent. In the UK, the minimum cost of living by yourself is anything from £18,000 - £27,000 per year. It's of little surprise that 2 out of 3 single twenty-somethings live with their parents. With multi-generational homes being common in countries around the globe - why do so many British people see it as a bad thing? We find out why the idea of not moving out has become so demonised and its links to immigration in the UK and the USA. Plus, we take a look at some of...

This week, Oz is joined by Cerys Bradley from The Coming Out Tapes to talk about the history of bad science involving the LGBTQ+ community. We talk about the obsession with the "gay gene", the treatment of Caster Semenya, and how Britain's colonial history is linked to protests in Birmingham today. Plus we head to UK Black Pride - Europe's largest celebration for people of colour in the LGBTQ+ community. Why do people come each year? Why do some people prefer to other Pride events? And how...

This week, we've got Roma Agrawal in the studio to talk about her life in engineering and how she ended up spending 6 years of her life building the Shard - one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world. We talk about beef with the Burj Khalifa, creating something new in the centre of a huge city, and Oz's history on a teleshopping channel (plus Alex gets dragged for being incredibly pedantic for the last 34 episodes). You can find the first three episodes of Building Stories on the Building...

In a 2018 interview, Akon stated that Black people don't need to be vaccinated in order to go to Africa. This week, we discuss the role of culture in medical misinformation. Plus, we chat to Dr Furaha Asani as to why certain communities might be less likely to accept vaccinations and why labeling them "anti-vax" ignores their legitimate concerns   - Here's a link to Furaha's article in New Scientist - Labelling people "anti-vaxxers" ignores real roots of their concerns - You can find the full...

This week, we're live at the Royal Institution with journalist and author Angela Saini to discuss her new book Superior: The Return of Race Science.  We discuss the origins of scientific racism and how, through covert adaptation, the idea that there are superior and inferior races has survived up to now. Plus with a famous scientist lending credibility to the view that Black people are - genetically - less intelligent, we discuss the platforms that race scientists use to spread their work and...

This week, we discuss our journeys with mental health and what it means to seek help when your culture doesn't acknowledge mental health issues. We learn about Alex's struggles with connecting to therapists, Suhail's journals, and how coming to the UK changed Oz's views on openly talking about mental health. This is an updated and remastered version of the second half of Episode 6 - you can still listen to the original episode online. -------------- If you are searching for help in the UK and...

We're still at Afrotech Fest! We speak to one of the youngest people teaching people how to code globally and chat about using machine learning to help people who communicate with sign language.  Plus we chat to Chama Kay about what it's like being a non-techie at a tech festival, working on community projects, and his plan for the perfect drink safety device. You can contact Femi (and/or Grace) on twitter at @hackerfemo and @gowolade  You can find Chama on twitter at @chama_kay and check out...