Why? with Emma Kennedy

Why everything you think about parasites is wrong

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 03:00:00 GMT

Parasites. Just saying the word makes most of us recoil - we think worms, infestations, grim biology lessons and maybe even mind controlling fungi. But what if everything we thought we knew was wrong? The truth is closer, and far weirder, than you’d ever imagine. This week, Emma Kennedy is joined by Emmitt Jolly, Professor of Biology at Case Western University, for a deep dive into the strange, microscopic world of parasites.

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WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnston. Edited by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Are seed oils bad for us? – with ZOE's chief scientist Dr. Sarah Berry

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 03:00:00 GMT

Seed oils are everywhere. They’re in your chips, your salad dressing and even in your biscuits. But in the age of social media, they’ve become the latest food villain. Accused of causing everything from heart disease to chronic inflammation. Suddenly that drizzle of sunflower oil has become a battleground over health, science and who we choose to believe. Today on Why? Emma Kennedy is joined by Dr Sarah Berry, Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at King's College London and Chief Scientist at ZOE to find out are seed oils really as bad as social media thinks.

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Is listening to heavy metal a life hack?

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 03:00:00 GMT

Forget spa music and whale songs, turns out the real relaxing music might be a blast of heavy metal. Studies suggest towns with more metal bands have fewer alcohol-related hospital visits and even lower mortality rates. Today on Why?, Emma Kennedy is joined by journalist for Independent Nurse and self confessed metal head Sumaiyah Uddin to find out how mosh pits could be the path to mental wellbeing.

WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnston. Edited by Tom Taylor. Theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Why do some people hate exercise?

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 03:00:00 GMT

Why do some people love the gym while others hate it? A new study suggests it might be about personality, not willpower. Dr Flaminia Ronca, researcher at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health at UCL, joins Emma Kennedy to find out if there’s a workout your brain is secretly wired to love or whether loathing spin class is perfectly normal!

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Why is sunscreen suddenly controversial?

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 03:00:00 GMT

For years, sunscreen was the dullest health advice around: slap it on, don’t burn, lower your cancer risk. Easy. But in the weird world of TikTok wellness hacks and alarmist headlines, SPF has been recast as something sinister. This week on Why, Emma Kennedy is joined by Brian Diffey, Emeritus Professor of Photobiology at the University of Newcastle, to unpack how sunscreen actually works and how a simple life-saving habit got tangled up in conspiracy and misinformation.

WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnston. Edited by Dominic Delargy. Theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Why can’t I pay attention to anything?

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 03:00:00 GMT

From phones to laptops to smartwatches, modern life is constantly pulling us in a dozen directions at the same time and it’s leaving us stressed, distracted, and less productive than ever before.

This week on Why, Emma Kennedy is joined by Professor Gloria Mark, Chancellor's professor in the Department of Informatics at University of California, Irvine and author of Attention Span, to uncover what’s really happening to our focus and if we can get it back.

Buy Attention Span: Finding Focus for a Fulfilling Life through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

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Why are antibiotics losing their powers?

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 03:00:00 GMT

What if the next health crisis isn’t a new virus, but the slow erosion of the medicine we’ve taken for granted? For nearly a century, antibiotics have been the quiet miracle behind modern medicine, making infections survivable and surgeries safe. But now superbugs are rising, resistance is spreading, and that invisible shield is cracking.

This week Emma Kennedy is joined by biologist Liam Shaw joins us to discuss his book The Dangerous Miracle, to explain the fascinating history of antibiotics and what happens when we push nature too far.

Buy Dangerous Miracle: A natural history of antibiotics – and how we burned through them through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnson. Edited by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Why are we obsessed with protein?

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 03:00:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got some questions. Protein has taken over the supermarket. Crisps, popcorn, cereal and even coffee now boast about their protein content. But do we actually need so much of it in our diet?

This week Emma Kennedy is joined by Dr Dan Baumgardt, GP and lecturer in neuroscience and physiology at the University of Bristol to sort the science from sales pitch and find out why we’re all so obsessed with protein.

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Will we ever really understand evolution?

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 09:10:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got some questions. Evolution has shaped us into the odd-looking, brilliant creatures we are, but how exactly did it do it? Why did our genetics settle on five fingers? And why do scientists have a perfect explanation for testicles but are completely stumped by our pointy chins?

This week, Emma Kennedy is joined by Dr. Max Telford, Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy at University College London and author of The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle, to help us wrap our heads around the wonderful world of evolution.

Buy The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

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What are microplastics doing to our bodies?

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 03:00:00 GMT

Microplastics are turning up everywhere; in our lungs, blood, even our brains. They’re tiny, toxic, and almost impossible to avoid. So what can we do about them? Today, Emma Kennedy speaks to Dr Antaya March and Prof Fay Couceiro from the University of Portsmouth to find out what this means for our health and the long term consequences of ignoring this tiny problem.

WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnston. Edited by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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How is Ozempic changing the world?

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 03:00:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got some questions. Weight-loss injections are reshaping more than waistlines. They’re changing the world we live in. Drugs like Ozempic were developed to treat diabetes, but now they’re transforming how we eat, fly, dress and maybe how we think about our impulses.

This week, Emma Kennedy is joined by Professor Giles Yeo, obesity researcher at Cambridge University and author of Why Calories Don’t Count: How we got the science of weight loss wrong, to help us wrap our heads around how these so-called “skinny jabs” are changing everything.

Buy Why Calories Don’t Count: How we got the science of weight loss wrong through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnson. Edited by Dominic Delargy. Theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Why do we fall for fake news?

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 03:00:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got some questions. How does fake news pull us in? From deepfakes to dodgy headlines, we’re constantly navigating a minefield of misinformation. It spreads faster than the truth, plays on our emotions, and can confirm what we want to believe.

This week, Emma Kennedy is joined by Dr. Gordon Pennycook, Associate Professor of Psychology at Cornell University and Dr. David Rand, Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, to find out why it is so hard to combat fake news?

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Why do we laugh?

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 03:00:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got some questions. What is laughter? A joyful cackle, a nervous snort, a full-body wheeze. It’s how we react when life gets silly, or sometimes painful, or uncomfortable. We laugh to connect, to disarm and, sometimes, to survive.

This week, Emma Kennedy is joined by Laura Lexx, professional comedian with an actual masters in stand up comedy and host of Lexx Education, to help us decode the giggle. Why do we laugh? Is it really contagious?

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Why are some of us gay?

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 03:00:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got some questions. Sex, attraction, identity all bring up strong debates. For years, scientists have tried to pin down why we fancy who we fancy. Genes? Brain chemistry? Vibes? There’s no tidy answer – but could we be on the cusp of a scientific explanation?

This week, Emma Kennedy is joined by geneticist and neuroscientist Dr Kevin Mitchell, associate professor at Trinity College Dublin to talk about attraction, the ‘gay gene’, and the universal appeal of prime David Beckham.

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Could we make a real Jurassic Park?

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 03:00:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got some questions. When Jurassic Park roared into cinemas in 1993, it wasn’t just the dinosaurs that captured our imaginations – it was the idea that science might one day bring the prehistoric creatures back to life. Three decades and seven blockbusters later, the science of resurrection is edging closer to reality. Could we really bring back the dinosaurs?

This week, Emma Kennedy talks to Professor Andrew Pask, a geneticist at the University of Melbourne, about his mission to revive the Tasmanian tiger – and why recreating truly prehistoric species remains a scientific riddle.

WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnson. Edited by Dominic Delargy. Theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Why are we obsessed with being special?

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 03:00:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got some questions. Why are we so obsessed with being special?Today, we’re diving into the strange modern urge to define ourselves at all costs. Online, in politics and beyond identity has become our currency. But as the world tilts into climate collapse, A.I. dread, and whatever mess Donald Trump’s cooking up, maybe it’s time to ask: who are we without all the labels?

Emma Kennedy is joined by Alexander Douglas, philosopher and author of Against Identity, to explore why clinging to identity might be doing more harm than good.

Buy Against Identity: The Wisdom of Escaping the Self through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund Why? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnson. Edited by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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What happens if billionaires become immortal?

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 03:00:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got some questions. Billionaires want to live forever – and they might just pull it off. From young blood transfusions to gene-hacking and basement labs chasing eternal youth, the ultra-rich are pouring fortunes into cheating death. But if Bezos, Thiel and co get to slow ageing, what happens to the rest of us?

Emma Kennedy talks to Richard Faragher, Professor of Biological Gerontology at the University of Brighton, and Dr. Paul Root Wolpe, Director of the Center for Ethics at Emory University, to find out what could happen if billionaires unlock immortality.

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What is scrolling doing to our brains?

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 03:00:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got questions. Are you a doomscroller? Are you endlessly flicking through a feed of memes, photos of your coworker’s holidays and articles you’ll never read? It seems harmless at first – but what if it’s rewiring how we think? This week, Emma Kennedy talks to world leading cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Earl K. Miller, the Picower Professor of Neuroscience at MIT, to find out what scrolling is doing to our brains.

WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnston. Edited by Dominic Delargy. Theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io.

WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Why does medicine ignore women? with Naga Munchetty

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 03:00:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got questions. From misdiagnosed heart attacks to the gaslighting of chronic pain, women’s health has been stuck in triage for far too long. Women are told to trust the system – but what if the system was never built for them in the first place?

This week, Emma Kennedy talks to TV presenter and author of It’s Probably Nothing: Critical Conversations on the Women’s Health Crisis, Naga Munchetty, to ask: why does modern medicine keep failing women?

Buy It’s Probably Nothing: Critical Conversations on the Women’s Health Crisis through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund Why? with Emma Kennedy by earning us a small commission for every sale. https://bookshop.org/’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

Image courtesy of the BBC

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How could we talk to space aliens?

Wed, 28 May 2025 03:00:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got questions. We always imagine first contact with aliens as a conversation. But what if talking is the problem? How could we ever prepare for the awkward opening lines of interstellar diplomacy? Well, here on Earth, we might already have a clue: the octopus. They learn, play, and can even recognise human faces. So could our eight-tentacled friends help us understand intelligence beyond our own planet?

Emma Kennedy talks to mollusc expert Dr. Tim Pearce, curator and the head of the Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, to find out how we might one day communicate with life from the stars.

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Why do swingers swing?

Wed, 21 May 2025 03:00:00 GMT

We’re back and we’ve got some questions. The rules around sex are changing: what was once considered taboo is becoming the norm – and even The Guardian is dishing out kinky tips to their readers. Why are we now more honest about our sexual desires than ever before? Why are so many of us willing to engage in these non-traditional desires?

Emma Kennedy talks to psychosexual therapist Dr Kate Moyle, author of The Science of Sex: Every Question About Your Sex Life Answered, to find out just why swingers swing?

• Buy Kate’s book The Science of Sex: Every Question About Your Sex Life Answered through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission from every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

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A taster of CRIME SCENE, our new podcast – Episode 1: Guns of London

Tue, 06 May 2025 08:36:00 GMT

There’s a new series of WHY? coming very soon… but in the meantime, try a bite-sized sample of our brand new CRIME SCENE. Every week ex-Met Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe and former Mirror editor Alison Phillips lift the lid on how criminal investigations really work.

In our debut episode: The horrific shooting of an innocent nine-year-old girl in Dalston in 2024 laid bare bitter rivalries between London’s armed gangs. Are police they fighting a losing battle against guns in the Capital?

Want to know more? Hear the full show and subscribe tp CRIME SCENE for new episodes every Thursday.

Presented by Bernard Hogan-Howe and Alison Phillips. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Simon Williams. Produced by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis and Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Executive Producer: Martin Bojtos. Thanks to Helen Purvis at Knight Ayton Management. CRIME SCENE is a Podmasters Production

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Why do we have phobias?

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Phobias are the most common anxiety disorder in the world. We’re very familiar with the likes of arachnophobia and claustrophobia, but some people suffer from more unconventional, even bizarre fears – say, a terror of buttons or even spoons. Where do they come from? What do they mean? And can they be treated?

Emma Kennedy talks to Joseph E. LeDoux, Professor of Neuroscience at NYU, and clinical psychologist Dr Ali Mattu who has treated anxiety disorders in New York’s top hospitals.

• Buy Joseph E. LeDoux’s Anxious: The Modern Mind in the Age of Anxiety through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

• Check out Ali Mattu’s YouTube channel here.

WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production and theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Why can’t I upload my consciousness… yet?

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 04:00:00 GMT

The concept of eternal life is a long-standing fantasy in science fiction, but will it ever be possible to upload our consciousness to an external host –  or even a robot? Will there be a day when we can upload the very essence of our being, the things that make us human, into some kind of machine? And if we could, what would it do to our humanity?

To find out, Emma Kennedy is joined by Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex and Douglas Rushkoff, Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics at the City University of New York, Queens College.

Buy Anil Seth’s Being You: A New Science of Consciousness and Douglas Rushkoff’s Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

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Why are planets so weird?

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Space is fundamentally quite weird, and seldom as weird as the thousands of “exoplanets” that – we’ve fairly recently discovered – exist outside of our solar system. We’re all familiar with the likes of Tatooine from Star Wars and Krypton from Superman, but what are the REAL exoplanets like? And how do filmmakers turn these planets from figments of imagination into something immersive that look and feel real to audiences?

To find out, Emma Kennedy talks to Lisa Kaltenegger, world-leading astronomer and author of Alien Earths: The Search for Life in the Cosmos and Paul Franklin, Oscar-winning Visual FX Supervisor and co-founder of the digital effects company DNEG.

Buy Lisa Kaltenegger’s Alien Earths: The Search for Life in the Cosmos through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

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Why aren’t men on the Pill?

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 04:00:00 GMT

Since the first contraceptive pill came out in 1961, the burden of birth control has fallen overwhelmingly on women. While women have numerous birth control options – each with its own long list of dizzying side effects – men only have two, and there hasn’t been a new commercial contraceptive for men in decades. So, why isn’t there a male pill yet? And would men even take it if there was?

Emma Kennedy talks to two experts on contraception – endocrinology professor Stephanie Page and associate sociology professor Krystale Littlejohn, author of Just Get on the Pill: The Uneven Burden of Reproductive Politics – to find out why the uneven burden of contraception isn’t just a medical issue, but a sociological one.

• Buy Krystale’s book Just Get on the Pill: The Uneven Burden of Reproductive Politics through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission from every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

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Why do we cry?

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 04:00:00 GMT

Crying is a universal human experience. We can shed tears of joy, laughter, and sorrow - some of us even weep cutting onions. But what exactly are tears, and why do some of us cry more than others?

Emma Kennedy talks to Ad Vingerhoets, author of Why Only Humans Weep and Emeritus Professor of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Tilburg University, and Tom Lutz, Professor and Chair of Creative Writing at UC Riverside and author of Crying, to find out.

Buy Ad’s book Why Only Humans Weep through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? By earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

Check out Tom’s website.

WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production and theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Why do we have fetishes?

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 04:00:00 GMT

If you can think of it, someone probably has a fetish for it. Whether you’re into feet, balloons, chair legs or latex, one thing’s for sure – fetishes are still a taboo subject, and not something we often discuss with others. But how do fetishes develop, and how can people partake in fetishes in a safe and ethical way?

Emma Kennedy delves into the science and sociology of fetishes with Justin Lehmiller, Research Fellow in Sex, Gender and Reproduction at the Kinsey Institute, and award-winning clinical sexologist and sexuality educator Sunny Megatron.

Buy Justin’s book Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How it Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? By earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

Listen to Sunny’s American Sex Podcast here.

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Why is smell so important?

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 04:00:00 GMT

You might not consider smell to be that important compared to some of your other senses. But, it’s intrinsic to our sense of taste, place, memory and desire. To uncover the surprising importance of our sense of smell, Emma Kennedy is joined by Professor Stuart J. Firestein, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University, and Professor Barry C. Smith, director of Philosophy at the University of London’s School of Advanced Study.

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Why can’t we time travel... yet?

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 04:00:00 GMT

Time travel was once the holy grail of science fiction, but scientists have now shown that time travel into the future is theoretically possible – so why not backwards? If we can use the quirks of physics to move into the future “faster” than we’d get there anyway, could it be possible to move into the past? And if time travel in either direction became possible, what would it do to our world… and ourselves?

Emma Kennedy asks Jim Al-Khalili, famed for The Life Scientific and professor of theoretical physics at the University of Surrey, and Nikk Effingham, professor of philosophy at the University of Birmingham, about our days of future past.

Buy Nikk’s book Does Tomorrow Exist?: A Debate through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund Why? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

Check out Jim’s Radio 4 show The Life Scientific.

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Why are we drawn to evil?

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 04:00:00 GMT

Many of us are obsessed with true crime documentaries and podcasts, and actively seek out the most gruesome details of horrific murder, torture and kidnapping. It’s all pretty horrible – so why are we drawn to it? Does ‘evil’ really exist – and if so, what does it look like? Are people born evil or do they become it over time?

Emma Kennedy is joined by forensic psychiatrist Dr Sohom Das and the UK’s top expert on serial killers, criminologist Professor David Wilson to uncover why we are so obsessed with evil.

Buy Dr Das’ book In Two Minds: Shocking true stories of murder, justice and recovery from a forensic psychiatrist and Professor Wilson’s My Life with Murderers: Behind Bars with the World’s Most Violent Men through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund Why? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

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Why do I have a ‘type’?

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 04:00:00 GMT

Most of us could list a few physical attributes for our ideal romantic partner – like preferring blondes or men over 6ft tall. But is having a ‘type’ real? If so, how does it develop? Is it biological, or socially constructed? And is the rhetoric of ‘types’ actually dangerous?

Emma Kennedy speaks to University of California Davis Psychology Professor Paul W. Eastwick, and Not My Type: Automating Sexual Racism in Online Dating author and University of Michigan Assistant Professor Apryl Williams, about the psychology and sociology of who we’re attracted to.

Buy Apryl’s book Not My Type: Automating Sexual Racism in Online Dating through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund Why? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

Listen to Paul's new podcast Love Factually here.

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Why do we really need the moon?

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 04:00:00 GMT

The Moon captivates the human imagination, inspiring artistic creativity, religious fervour and scientific exploration. But what if it were destroyed in some cosmic accident – or by scientific meddling? What would happen to the Earth and its inhabitants? And could humanity survive without it?

Emma Kennedy talks to two space experts – award-winning astrophysicist Professor Ethan Siegel and astronomy journalist Dr. Stuart Clark – about the implications of an enormous cosmic event.

Check out Ethan's Starts with a Bang blog here.

Buy Stuart Clark's Beneath the Night: How the Stars Have Shaped the History of Humankind and Ethan Siegel's Infinite Cosmos through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production and theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

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Why do people join cults?

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 03:00:00 GMT

Most of us think we’re too smart, stable and strong-willed to join a religious cult, or to cut ourselves off from our families to join a group devoted to a charismatic leader. But clearly somebody’s joining them. So why do people willingly give up their free will and independence to join cults? Do they realise what they’re getting themselves into? And how do they get out?

Emma Kennedy is joined by world-leading cult deprogrammer Rick Alan Ross and NXIVM cult survivor Sarah Edmondson to explore the strange allure of the cult mindset.

Buy Sarah Edmondson’s book Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

You can watch Sarah’s fantastic Ted Talk here.

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Season 2 Trailer

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 15:42:00 GMT

The podcast for curious minds. Every Thursday, Emma Kennedy delves into the science and psychology of why we are the way we are. Emma is joined by leading experts and some of science's brightest minds to answer the big questions you never knew how to ask.

Why do people join cults? Why do we need the moon? Why are we drawn to evil? Why do we have fetishes?

Find out all of this and more on Why? from the makers of Oh God, What Now?, The Bunker and Paper Cuts.

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Will robot soldiers replace human armies?

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 03:00:00 GMT

From Terminators and Cylons to the War Droids from Star Wars, military robots are staples of science fiction. But they’re already here in the real world too. The US, China and Russia are all investing efforts into military machines – but they won’t be the gun-toting humanoids we see onscreen. Would taking human fighters off the battlefield increase the peace? Or should we be gravely concerned about this new era of international war?

Today on Why?, Emma Kennedy speaks to Kelsey Atherton, an award-winning military-tech journalist and Chief Editor of the International Policy Journal.

• “Militaries are deeply invested in the idea that things flow from the top.... The more autonomy you give a machine the harder it is to put in command and control.” - Kelsey Atherton

• “If a robot makes an error, it’s on the person who programmed it… these weapons are brought to battle with errors built in.” - Kelsey Atherton

WHY? is written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Anne Marie Luff and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

Why? with Emma Kennedy

Why everything you think about parasites is wrong

Are seed oils bad for us? – with ZOE's chief scientist Dr. Sarah Berry

Is listening to heavy metal a life hack?

Why do some people hate exercise?

Why is sunscreen suddenly controversial?

Why can’t I pay attention to anything?

Why are antibiotics losing their powers?

Why are we obsessed with protein?

Will we ever really understand evolution?

What are microplastics doing to our bodies?

How is Ozempic changing the world?

Why do we fall for fake news?

Why do we laugh?

Why are some of us gay?

Could we make a real Jurassic Park?

Why are we obsessed with being special?

What happens if billionaires become immortal?

What is scrolling doing to our brains?

Why does medicine ignore women? with Naga Munchetty

How could we talk to space aliens?

Why do swingers swing?

A taster of CRIME SCENE, our new podcast – Episode 1: Guns of London

Why do we have phobias?

Why can’t I upload my consciousness… yet?

Why are planets so weird?

Why aren’t men on the Pill?

Why do we cry?

Why do we have fetishes?

Why is smell so important?

Why can’t we time travel... yet?

Why are we drawn to evil?

Why do I have a ‘type’?

Why do we really need the moon?

Why do people join cults?

Season 2 Trailer

Will robot soldiers replace human armies?

Could we live on the moon?

Should I be able to live forever?

Could we really live on Mars?

Would I survive a disaster?

When will humans go extinct?

Am I living in a hallucination?

Why does music make us emotional?

The secret life of pets: How does my dog’s mind work?

What is the most powerful thing in the universe?

How can I control my dreams?

Why am I addicted to spicy food?

Why can't we predict earthquakes?

Can I outrun a T.Rex?

Can I trust my own eyes?

Can I programme love with a pill?

Could tiny robots stop the antibiotics apocalypse?

Why do I make bad decisions?

Could my brain become part computer?

Are we still evolving?

Can plants help us solve crimes?

Why do animals have regional accents?

Could an AI become my closest friend?

Are Dads wired differently?

Is there another me in a parallel universe?

Why do some animals have rhythm?

Is the Force really with me?

Should we trust AI to run our lives?

Why can’t I forget embarrassing memories?

Are we the first intelligent life on Earth?

Will living in space mess with my mind?

What's at the earth’s core and can we use it?

Can we stop our bodies ageing?

How can I travel faster than light?

What will humans look like in a million years?

Is time real?

Are we already receiving messages from aliens?

How has our biology shaped world history?

Why do we remember things that never happened?

Is it wrong to have sex with Robots?