This week, we're at Afrotech Fest and chatting about Fyre Festival, what it's like to be a single parent, and how designing a product is a lot harder when nobody cares about the users. Plus - do we really need an app for everything? You can contact Lydia on her site and on twitter at @lydiaonlife  ------------------------------------------------- Music by Grapes & Evan Schaeffer ------------------------------------------------- Our live event is May 30th at the Royal Institution with...

This week, we're diving into the world of dating as we discuss how websites and apps have changed the dating landscape. With social media platforms being pushed to have a legal duty of care to protect the most vulnerable, we ask if apps like Tinder, Hinge and Bumble need to safeguard their users. Oz talks race fetishes, Suhail talks bikinis, and Alex is spending the episode trying to get everyone else into relationships. PLUS: we share some of our listeners' worst dating...

This week, we've got Alex Fefegha in the studio to chat about how he uses emerging technology to make society better. We chat human-digital interactions, AI, and why he thinks that the internet is a "Repository of Evil". With the rise of programs like the Met Gangs Matrix and other international initiatives, we discuss what algorithms mean for the future of policing and if we can ever code out biases. @fxfegha on Twitter @comuzi on...

This week, we chat to Dr Furaha Asani about medical misinformation, drug trials, and how we can prevent people with HIV from getting other infections.  Plus, we talk mental health (while black), how to avoid people touching your hair, and what it's like to be a Nigerian who needs a visa to go (back) to Nigeria.   ------------------------------------------------- Music by Grapes & Evan Schaeffer ------------------------------------------------- Our live event is May 30th at the Royal...

We're returning to Migration Trail - the immersive web experience using maps, data and audio to chronicle the journey of migrants across Europe and beyond. We chat to Alison Killing, the creator of Migration Trail, to find out more about the project and how they've used data visualisation to create engaging narratives. Everything from prototyping with Google Maps (kind of) and hand drawn routes, to combining open source databases with award winning writers. And what's next for storytelling...

We're so excited to tell you that on May 30th, we'll be live at the Royal Institution with Angela Saini (@AngelaDSaini) to discuss her new book Superior. We'll be discussing the re-emergence of race science and dissecting the political roots of race, why scientists can’t seem to look beyond it, and the dark and dangerous ways in which scientific racism still exists today. BUY YOUR TICKETS RIGHT HERE  Follow us on twitter at @whynotadoc and the Royal Institution at @Ri_Science to be the first...

This week, we're discussing how James Watson, winner of the Nobel Prize for discovering the structure of DNA, caught heat for making comments about race, genetics, and intelligence. For our book discussion, we're diving into Inferior by Angela Saini and looking at how science and society can feed into one another when it comes to bias. Plus, we look at Angela's upcoming book "Superior" and discuss our hopes (and fears) for it. You can follow Angela on twitter...

This week, we're joined by Dr Kwasi Kwakwa to talk about microscopes, physics, and why Hana thinks scientists should stop trying to ruin films. Suhail finds out that he's not the only one who watches Sharknado and we discuss how correlation doesn't mean causation. ------------------------------------------------- Follow us on social media and send us your questions! Facebook Instagram Twitter Email: [email protected] #whynotadoc

This week, we look into the world of so-called "smart drugs" - from caffeine to modafinil. Alex makes Oz and Suhail trial cognitive enhancing supplements and we find out how online pharmacies use legal loopholes to sell prescription drugs. ------------------------------------------------- Follow us on social media and send us your questions! Facebook Instagram Twitter Email: [email protected] #whynotadoc

This week, Alex and Suhail travel to the University of Southampton to meet with Nikhil and Charlie - two researchers at the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR). We chat about 360 audio, soundscapes, cutting-edge car stereos, and how we can use vibrations in medicine, architecture, and more. Plus, we sit down with our experts and answer your questions about sound - what are the best noise-cancelling headphones and why? (Also Nikhil works out how to make optimal pornography and...

This week, Alex goes to see Robot Wars (and drags along Simon and Dan). Back in the studio we talk about real robot wars - the use of robotics in warfare. From drone strikes to Boston Dynamics, we discuss contemporary robotics and what the future of warfare could look like.   You can find Simon on his YouTube channel and his podcast, The Wikicast. You can find Dan on his podcast, Sparks and Quarks. ------------------------------------------------- Merch You can get our...

This is our live show in Bristol from our tour last month. In the run up to our episodes on genetic testing, we discuss ancestry tests and Alex comes up with the most unethical way to show Hana and Suhail where they're supposedly from. SORRY FOR THE AUDIO QUALITY. This is from our backup recorder as the ones provided by the venue didn't properly record.  ------------------------------------------------- Merch You can get our stickers here - these are limited run so once they're...

Migration Trail is a project that uses maps, data and audio to chronicle the journey of migrants across Europe and beyond. Although the characters (David and Sarah) are fictional, their story is derived from real-world experiences of migrants coming to Europe. We explore the immersive interactive web experience and join the characters on their journeys which are fraught with dangers - from unsafe boats to human exploitation - via GPS data and the instant messages to that they send to their...

We talk to Jozef Youssef - Chef and founder of Kitchen Theory - about the psychology behind food, the importance of our senses and what the future of food might look like. Alex contemplates eating jellyfish, Suhail describes his perfect lab grown burger and Oz struggles with eating insects. And with the news that Ötzi (a 5000 year old mummy found in Europe) has had his stomach contents profiled by DNA testing, we discuss what we'd want our last meal to be. You can find Kitchen Theory...

This week, Alex breaks down the Gangs Matrix. Launched in London by the Metropolitan Police in 2012, this database of suspected Gang members has come under fire recently for racial profiling. In a city where 40% of people are Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority, this database is more than three quarters black (78%) with people as young as 12 are being placed on it. Amnesty International call it a human rights violation and have called for an inquiry into the process.We talk about how racial bias...

This week, we get sad that Oz is leaving us to go to Portland for a while. To commemorate this, we break down the science and tech involved in travelling by plane - from purchasing tickets to baggage reclaim. What will the future of flying look like? Why do we have to turn our phones off during take-off and landing? Why do Suhail's bags always get lost and how will new tech make his life easier? Plus we discuss just how much extra security screening we've all been subjected to.   Selected...

This week, we review Carlo Rovelli's book - The Order of Time. Join us as we delve into the philosophy of time, quantum physics and the limitations of Benedict Cumberbatch's voice. You can find The Order of Time on Amazon Merch You can get our stickers here - these are limited run so once they're gone, they're gone (at this price).   Follow us on social media and send us your questions! Facebook Instagram Twitter Email: [email protected] #whynotadoc

This week, we talk about the latest news in science and tech. We go into how ethnic minority people have to wear sunscreen (and how the guys never do). Suhail talks about the news that ancient humans might have expressed autistic traits and how that might have led to the world's first prehistoric art. Plus, Oz and Alex get neurotic about being dark and going to the doctor with skin conditions. Merch You can get our stickers here - these are limited run so once they're gone, they're gone...

We're joined by Dr Rohin Francis - a cardiologist and PhD student looking at hearts. We talk about the coolest tech in cardiology, how hearts differ across the animal kingdom and how treatment of heart disease might change in the future. Plus we find out how being dead might invalidate your right to having privacy on your phone and Oz plans a murder - for science. You can find Rohin on twitter - @MedCrisis - and on YouTube.    Hana's Highlights Jazmin Scarlett Nikesh...

We're joined by Cerys Bradley - a PhD student in the UCL Crime and Security Science department. We talk about the dark net and Cerys' research into the users of dark net markets and how they respond to law enforcement investigations. Alex gets to find out about dark net infrastructure. Suhail laments cheap internet hitman services. Oz gets his background check invalidated. Hana is ill.   Here's Oz's map of TOR users The Coming Out Tapes   If you know of any...

We're back with a brand new host - the amazing Hana Ayoob! This week, we talk about the attempted assassination of Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with the nerve agent Novichok. Why have biohackers started using stem cells to make their g******s better? And why has someone been diagnosed with super gonnorhea (when Oz was so clear about it in Episode 3)? In our discussion, we talk about the Cambridge Analytica story and how big data might be used to profile people. We...

Black Panther has broken massive barriers - the most successful superhero film of 2018 and a trendsetter in diverse film-making. But it hasn't always been that way - once upon a time, cameras were kinda racist. Oz and Suhail take us back through the history of photography and film to explain how the cameras have evolved to shoot dark skin.   Expect stereotypical models, chocolate bars, angry furniture companies and South African ID cards.   Follow us on social media and send us your...

The crew is back and filled to the brim with more interesting science and tech stories. We look into #ReviewForScience: the hashtag where scientists repurpose everyday items for science work and then review them. Everything from collecting whale snot with paint poles to lab credit cards being used to buy sex toys. Plus, Suhail discusses how Facebook's plans to change how users interact online could mean big things for fake news and mental health. And, as an added bonus, Oz explains the...

While we're waiting on our next mega episode, we're releasing a little something for you all. Come hear about the trials and tribulations of Oz - from mouse brains to perfectly symmetrical g******s.  Recorded live at Science Showoff. Follow us on social media and send us your questions! Facebook Instagram Twitter Email: [email protected] #whynotadoc

  This week, we get into the science behind the news that Cheddar Man - the oldest Brit - was dark-skinned. What does it mean for the concept of race and ethnicity in the UK? And why are the Daily Mail and Twitter comments about it so funny? And as the NHS is doing a massive push to get more black people to sign up to donate blood and organs, we talk about the intersection of health, science and culture and discuss what's stopping a lot of ethnic minority people from registering.And as a...