Science Shambles

Science Shambles

Part of the Cosmic Shambles Network, the network for people with curious minds, Science Shambles is a semi regular collection of conversations with scientists about all manner of scientific things. At the Cosmic Shambles Network we create and curates podcasts, digital content and live events for people who want to find out more about our universe through science, art, history, philosophy, music, literature. People who believe ignorance is not bliss. People who want to keep on discovering and learning about our wondrous universe and who want to have a laugh while doing it. People who believe that it is indeed our curiosity that makes us human. We believe we can never stop learning – science will never be finished and that’s exciting. The Cosmic Shambles Network brings together the world’s leading scientists, comedians, writers and performers to create entertaining content fuelled by curiosity. The approach is fun, real, accessible. Amongst the shambles there’s something for everyone.

Episodes

Climate Change at Sea - Latitude 2025

October 27, 2025 • 53 mins
The ocean is an all too often overlooked part of our natural world, yet it is the blue engine that drives everything. And it is changing in many ways, at an alarming rate. Rising sea levels, warming oceans, increased acidification, plastic pollution... Physicist and oceanographer Dr Helen Czerski will discuss this with oceanographer Professor David Ho and geologist Professor Chris Jackson, looking at what we can do, and why or why ...
Mark as Played

Weirdly Normal - The Science of Neurodiversity - Live from Latitude

October 3, 2025 • 42 mins
What if being a bit weird is actually entirely normal? What if sharing our internal struggles wasn't a sign of weakness, but strength? Let some experts help you wade through the 'neurotrash' to talk about the science of neurodiversity. Gina Rippon is a Professor of Cognitive NeuroImaging and author of The Gendered Brain and The Lost Girls of Autism. Dr Camilla Pang is the Royal Society Book Prize winning author of Explaining Humans...
Mark as Played

We're Going On a Dark Matter Hunt - Live from Latitude

September 19, 2025 • 51 mins
Recorded live at Latitude 2025, join Dr Clara Nellist of CERN, and two astrophysicists, Sky at Night co-host Dr Maggie Aderin-Pock and Sky at Night regular Dr Jen Gupta alongside Dr Helen Czerski to discuss what we know about Dark Matter, and how we're trying to actually find it. Support the show at patreon.com/cosmicshambles and watch the video version of this panel on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/cosmicshambles
Mark as Played

Trust Me, I'am an AI - Live from Latitude

August 15, 2025 • 54 mins
AI is in the news everywhere you look at the moment. But amongst all of the sensationalist headlines, what’s really going on, and what should we actually be worried about when it comes to AI? Prof Kevin Fong recently took a look at medicine in AI for a BBC series and Elizabeth Black is a Professor of Artificial Intelligence at King’s College. They join Dr Suze Kundu to chat about it all. Recorded in The Cosmic Shambles Forest of S...
Mark as Played

Live from Latitude - Helen Czerski and Kevin Fong

October 13, 2022 • 57 mins
Recorded LIVE at the 2022 Latitude Festival, Dr Helen Czerski and Prof Kevin Fong sit down to talk about the merits of space travel in a time where the Earth is gripped by a pandemic and climate change. Should we still be focussing on space travel? What can it teach us that helps with life on Earth? And why are we so enamoured with space, when the oceans are still so ignored? Support the podcast and network at patreon.com/cosmicsh...
Mark as Played

Can Motorsport Science Save the World?

March 21, 2022 • 41 mins
Dr Kit Champman is a life long motorsport fan and as a scientist, he previously worked with Virgin Racing's Formula E team on the chemistry and material science of their cars. Many innovations, first developed for racing, have been incorporated into everyday life across fields of healthcare, fluid dynamics, climate and, obviously, road cars. His latest book is, Racing Green, and looks into these developments and research, and it's ...
Mark as Played

Tackling COVID in Africa with Two Wheels for Life

January 23, 2022 • 49 mins
The mantra of 'We're not vaccinated against COVID until the whole world is vaccinated' is now more prevalent than ever. At last year's British MotoGP round at Silverstone Robin Ince went along to meet up with Andrea Coleman and 13 time Grand Prix winner Randy Mamola, founders of the charity Two Wheels for Life. The charity uses motorcycles to deliver healthcare, and now, COVID vaccines to hard to reach rural communities in Africa. ...
Mark as Played

The Year in Astronomy with Chris Lintott - Live at the Norwich Science Festival

October 31, 2021 • 61 mins
Recorded live at the 2021 Norwich Science Festival, Dr Helen Czerski is joined by Chris Lintott, co-host of The Sky at Night and Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford to talk about the year in astronomy so far. They chat about the discovery of new planets, the Drake equation, missions to Mars and whether Elon Musk is a force for good... Support the show and get all sorts of bonus goodies at patreon.com/cosmicshambl...
Mark as Played

Beneath the Night with Stuart Clark

October 31, 2021 • 36 mins
Dr Stuart Clark is a science writer and journalist with a PhD in astrophysics. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and his latest book, Beneath the Night: How the Stars Have Shaped the History of Humankind is out now in paperback. Order signed and dedicated copies of Robin's new book The Importance of Being Interested: Adventures in Scientific Curiosity at cosmicshambles.com/shop Support The Cosmic Shambles Network at ...
Mark as Played

The Theory of Everything with Michio Kaku

October 17, 2021 • 58 mins
Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist, futurist, and popular science author and speaker around the world. He is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at the City College of New York and his latest book The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything has just been released. Order signed and dedicated copies of Robin's new book The Importance of Being Interested: Adventures in Scientific Curiosity at cosmicshambles.com/shop Sup...
Mark as Played

How to Build and Apple Pie From Scratch with Harry Cliff

October 10, 2021 • 33 mins
Harry Cliff is a particle physicist at the University of Cambridge working on the LHCb experiment at CERN. He chats to Robin Ince about his new book, How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch, an exhilarating search for the most basic building blocks of our universe, and the dramatic quest to unlock their cosmic origins. If you’d like to directly support what we do at the Cosmic Shambles Network visit patreon.com/cosmicshambles​ Orde...
Mark as Played

The Social Instinct with Prof Nichola Raihani

October 3, 2021 • 37 mins
Nichola Raihani is a Professor of Evolution and Behaviour at UCL. Her research focuses on the evolution of cooperation in nature. Her first book, The Social Instinct, is out now. She joined Robin Ince to talk about it. Support the podcast and Shambles in general by subscribing at patreon.com/cosmichshambles Order Nichola's book The Social Instinct : How Cooperation Shaped the World via Hive or your favourite local bookshop. Pre-O...
Mark as Played

Helen Czerski and Robin Ince - Live Sunday Q and A

September 26, 2021 • 64 mins
Hosted by Robin Ince and Dr Helen Czerski this episode of the Science Shambles podcast is an audio recording of our weekly Sunday Science Q and A show that goes out at 10am BST on our YouTube channel. This week it's a Helen special as Robin pitches all the leftover Helen questions at Dr Czerski from jam to bubbles to climate to poo... Watch them on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/cosmicshambles and get bonus content and extende...
Mark as Played

Christina Pagel and Sheena Cruickshank - Live Sunday Q and A

September 19, 2021 • 68 mins
Hosted by Robin Ince and Dr Helen Czerski this episode of the Science Shambles podcast is an audio recording of our weekly Sunday Science Q and A show that goes out at 10am BST on our YouTube channel. This week Robin and Helen are joined by Professors Christina Pagel and Sheena Cruickshank to talk of COVID, masks, antibodies and the Loch Ness monster... Watch them on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/cosmicshambles and get bonus ...
Mark as Played

Johnjoe McFadden - Live Sunday Q and A

September 5, 2021 • 51 mins
Science Shambles is a science QnA show hosted by Robin Ince and Helen Czerski. Helen is away this week so Robin is doing a live Science Book Shambles with special guest Professor Johnjoe McFadden. Watch them on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/cosmicshambles and get bonus content and extended conversations with guests by subscribing at patreon.com/cosmicshambles
Mark as Played

Michael Marshall and Deborah Hyde - Live Sunday Q and A

August 22, 2021 • 65 mins
Hosted by Robin Ince and Dr Helen Czerski this episode of the Science Shambles podcast is an audio recording of our weekly Sunday Science Q and A show that goes out at 10am BST on our YouTube channel. This week Helen is joined by Michael Marshall and Deborah Hyde to talk about why people believe in conspiracy theories, anti-science and superstition. Watch them on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/cosmicshambles and get bonus con...
Mark as Played

Dr Karl - Live Sunday Q and A

August 15, 2021 • 69 mins
Hosted by Robin Ince and Dr Helen Czerski this episode of the Science Shambles podcast is an audio recording of our weekly Sunday Science Q and A show that goes out at 10am BST on our YouTube channel. This week Robin and Helen are joined by Dr Karl to talk of COVID, climate and kangaroo poo... Watch them on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/cosmicshambles and get bonus content and extended conversations with guests by subscribin...
Mark as Played

Alexandre Antonelli and Juliet Brodie - Live Sunday Q and A

August 12, 2021 • 65 mins
Hosted by Robin Ince and Dr Helen Czerski this episode of the Science Shambles podcast is an audio recording of our weekly Sunday Science Q and A show that goes out at 10am BST on our YouTube channel. This week Robin and Helen are joined by Professors Alexandre Antonelli and Juliet Brodie to talk plants, seaweed and general botany. Watch them on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/cosmicshambles and get bonus content and extended ...
Mark as Played

Jon Butterworth and Clara Nellist - Live Sunday Q and A

August 8, 2021 • 63 mins
Hosted by Robin Ince and Dr Helen Czerski this episode of the Science Shambles podcast is an audio recording of our weekly Sunday Science Q and A show that goes out at 10am BST on our YouTube channel. This week Robin and Helen are joined by Prof Jon Butterworth and Dr Clara Nellist from CERN to talk protons, neutrons, electrons and polarised sunglasses. Watch them on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/cosmicshambles and get bonus...
Mark as Played

Mental Health During COVID - Science Shambles Live at Latitude

August 1, 2021 • 49 mins
This is the second live event we did at the 2021 Latitude Festival when The Cosmic Shambles Network took over The Listening Post for a series of live Science Shambles events on the Sunday afternoon. Dr Helen Czerski is joined by Dr Suzi Gage and Dr Dean Burnett to talk about mental health during the pandemic including issues surrounding grief, coming out of lockdown, pregnancy and much more. To support The Cosmic Shambles Network ...
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    Stuff You Should Know

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    Betrayal: Weekly

    Betrayal: Weekly

    Betrayal Weekly is back for a brand new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack. And make sure to check out Seasons 1-4 of Betrayal, along with Betrayal Weekly Season 1.

    The Breakfast Club

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

Explore

iHeart

Live Radio

Podcasts

Artist Radio

Exclusives

News

Features

Events

Contests

Photos

Information

About

Advertise

Blog

Brand Guidelines

Contest Guidelines

Subscription Offers

Jobs

Get the App

Automotive

Home

Mobile

Wearables

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.