The Rest Is Science
Join mathematician Professor Hannah Fry and science creator Michael Stevens (Vsauce) as they dig into the weird scientific questions that often go unexplored. Welcome to The Rest Is Science, a show that sits in the fascinating space between what we think we know, and what we actually know. Why do we assume we understand things like time, randomness, or even gravity? Once you start questioning these familiar ideas, reality becomes astonishingly strange and completely fragile. Whether you're a lifelong science fan or just naturally curious, The Rest Is Science will change your perception of reality, and prove that the biggest questions are always the most fun.
Episodes
February 4, 2026 • 44 mins
Can mathematics ever truly be proven? And can Michael's poetry help you remember some tricky equations?
In this episode, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens answer your questions and take a look at what it means for something to be true in mathematics. Starting with a grand attempt to prove that one plus one equals two, and into Gödel’s theorem that no system of maths can ever fully prove itself, they explore how maths co...
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February 2, 2026 • 61 mins
Is it possible to make a sport too good?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore how science, data, and optimisation are transforming modern sports improving athletes and teams, while quietly changing how games are played, watched, and understood.
From the Tush Push in the NFL and defensive shifts in Major League Baseball, to dirty air in Formula 1, expected goals in Premier League football, and the statistical domin...
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January 28, 2026 • 32 mins
Could a bolt of lightning become a permanent geological relic? How small would you have to squash a hamster to turn it into a black hole?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens dismantle our perceptions of scale and texture, moving from the glassy "fulgurites" forged in sandy soil to the mathematical threshold of the Schwarzschild radius. They explore the counter-intuitive geometry of the Earth, calculate the extreme density req...
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January 26, 2026 • 47 mins
What is boredom really, and why does it feel so unbearable?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the science of boredom, revealing it not as laziness or a lack of stimulation, but as a signal from the brain when prediction and learning grind to a halt. When nothing changes and everything is expected, the mind begins to push back.
From dopamine experiments and waiting rooms to sensory deprivation and solitary confi...
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January 21, 2026 • 43 mins
Can we store summer’s heat to warm our homes in winter? Could humans perceive a fourth dimension? And why does light bend around gravity even though it has no mass?
Small questions from YOU which open doors to enormous worlds.
In this episode of Field Notes, Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens discuss underground heat batteries in Canada and Einstein’s thought experiments, from how the universe hides its secrets and how we uncov...
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January 19, 2026 • 45 mins
What do we mean when we call an event random?
Most people view randomness as a fundamental property of the universe, but is it just a label for our own lack of knowledge? Whether it is a weighted coin toss, a scratch card, or the digits of Pi, unpredictability usually emerges from rules and patterns that sit just beyond our perception.
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens dismantle the logic of chance, exploring how cha...
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January 14, 2026 • 36 mins
Some objects feel like they’re from another world. One of these might be the giant structure that makes up a quantum computer. Lifted straight from the TV series Devs, Professor Hannah Fry shows Michael Stevens a prop that was designed to look just like one…now it hangs from the ceiling in her house.
In this episode of Field Notes, Hannah and Michael examine the extraordinary technology behind of quantum computing. They explore...
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January 12, 2026 • 40 mins
Right now, you’re breathing in. As you inhale, air rushes past millions of sensory receptors, activating the part of your brain responsible for smell. And yet, there’s one scent you’ll never notice: the very nose you’re breathing through, because humans are smell blind to themselves.
Today, Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce's Michael Stevens explore the mechanics of perinasal chemosensation, otherwise known as smell.They explore how...
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January 7, 2026 • 33 mins
Imagine: a series of objects floating in midair without magnets, strings or visible supports. With acoustic levitation sound waves alone can suspend droplets, beads and even small solids to seemingly defy gravity!
In this episode of Field Notes, Hannah shows Michael this astonishing device, revealing how precisely tuned sound can manipulate matter. Behind the mesmerising floating objects lies a combination of physics, mathematics,...
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January 5, 2026 • 43 mins
Deep beneath our feet, churning molten metals create an invisible shield that holds our atmosphere in place and protects all life from the Sun.
Some animals can sense it directly. Take the quantum effects in a robin’s eye, whales who cross oceans using no landmarks at all, or the bacteria that line themselves up to this unseen force.
Join Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens as they explore magnetism and ponder how a co...
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December 31, 2025 • 37 mins
From tiny six sided cubes to oversized polyhedrons with dozens of faces, Michael’s collection of dice is more than just a hobby, it’s a window into probability, design, and the strange ways we humans play with chance!
Why might some dice feel luckier than others? How do they shape the games we play, the mathematics we study, and the way we've made decisions throughout history?
Each die has it's uses but they all reveal the p...
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December 29, 2025 • 47 mins
What day is it, really? And who decided? What happens to time when we leave the Earth? And when might future humans be counting down to the dawn of a New Year in the middle of the day?
From missing days and meddling popes to atomic clocks and vanishing centuries, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens dive headfirst into one of the slipperiest questions in science and society: what IS the time and date?
On the way they tra...
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December 24, 2025 • 36 mins
Each December millions of homes fill with the unmistakable scent of pine. It's sharp, resinous, and strangely comforting, feeling timeless…familiar…safe.
But what if that smell isn’t what we think it is at all?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens follow the trail of the molecules that shape this seasonal scent. It turns out it didn’t evolve to delight, but to warn and repel. The smell of Christmas is the smell of fear.
Wel...
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December 22, 2025 • 35 mins
Could Santa Clause still exist IF we stripped away the magic? If the ability to bend spacetime was gone? What conditions would Santa need to deliver a present to every human being on Earth in a single night?
Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the historical, geographical, and logistical realities behind these questions using population data, longitudinal lines, mathematics AND a healthy dose of Christmas curiosity to calcul...
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December 17, 2025 • 26 mins
Tucked away in old engineering kits and museum drawers is a device whose sweeping motion once captivated mathematicians and designers alike.
The ellipsograph: a mechanical tool built from sliding arms and rotating joints that were tracing flawless curves long before computers made such things effortless.
While they have the appearance of an ancient curiosity, the ellipsograph’s power lies in its ability to transform abstrac...
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December 15, 2025 • 36 mins
What happens when the universe throws a random curveball at one of the most precise communities on Earth? Cosmic rays high energy particles from deep space are invisible, unpredictable, and capable of interfering with electronics in ways gamers never expect.
Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore a surprising story from the speed running community, where split-second timings and frame-perfect precision collide with the chaos of th...
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December 10, 2025 • 39 mins
What makes a simple brain-teaser about two identical swords one of the most deceptively tricky logic puzzles of the last century? And why has this seemingly innocent riddle fascinated mathematicians, programmers and puzzle-solvers for decades?
First shared in recreational maths circles before spreading across classrooms and online forums, the “swords of truth” puzzle asks a disarmingly straightforward question — yet its solution...
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December 8, 2025 • 44 mins
Has music really been getting worse… or is it just shifting in ways we don’t always notice? And why does the soundtrack to your teenage years feel like the single greatest playlist ever made?
Hannah and Michael explore music’s strange grip on our minds. They trace why certain lyrics feel simpler than they used to, and what gives our formative songs lasting emotional charge. And what exactly is the reminiscence bump, that curious...
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December 3, 2025 • 35 mins
How did pages of mysterious “gibberish” sent from Madras find their way to one of Cambridge University’s most respected mathematicians? Were the strange formulas the work of a deluded mind - or breakthrough insights of an unknown genius?The author of that letter was Srinivasa Ramanujan. His story inspired two Hollywood blockbusters (Goodwill Hunting, The Man Who Knew Infinity) but his mind changed the shape of mathematics forever.W...
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December 1, 2025 • 46 mins
Are humans the only creatures that shed emotional tears? If we are, what purpose do these tears really serve? If crying is so natural, why do we so often try to hide it?
A single sob sends Hannah and Michael into an unexpected journey through the science and mystery of emotional crying, from the first tearful moments of infancy to the complex social signals behind adult weeping.
Why do babies cry before they can speak? How do tea...
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