What's Up Docs?
In this BBC Radio 4 podcast, Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken are on a mission to help us take better care of ourselves. Although they are identical twins, Chris and Xand are very different and they never stop thinking and arguing about science and health. They want to lead healthy, happy lives and as doctors, they want this for everyone. Yet they tussle over how best to get there. When it comes to looking after our own health, it can be confusing. Medicine and science produce amazing new treatments and diagnostics every day and we are bombarded with so many headlines and pieces of advice; but how are we supposed to know what's really best for us and then successfully apply it to our lives? Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken embrace this challenge; even as they marvel at the scientific breakthroughs, they grapple with the competing claims about health, wellbeing and how to live. From understanding testosterone therapies to microplastics in our diets, and the concept of 'hangriness' to the power of saying no - this podcast deals with the health stresses we all face every day, while taking on board how the decisions by corporations and governments affect all our health. Each episode, Chris and Xand are joined by an expert guest to examine the latest research, psychological insights, and data, to help listeners navigate the overwhelming amount of information and advice out there. They talk about the trials and tribulations in their own lives in their characteristically witty way - each teasing the other as they search for solutions. Xand has trouble sleeping , Chris has noisy knees, one of them has got an embarrassing itch. They have different ways of looking at things and find it really helpful to get the other one's point of view. These doctors are trying their best and encouraging listeners to do the same. Email: whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk Whatsapp: 08000 665123 A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.
Episodes
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about belief with Ryan McKay, Professor of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London.
They want to know why some beliefs take hold so strongly, what’s happening in our brains when we hold on to them, and how trust, identity, and community shape what we believe. Beyond that, they’ll explore why health beliefs can be so difficult to shift, and whether it’s ever really possible to cha...
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken confront the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, they’re asking why beliefs about our bodies are so powerful? We often think of belief as something soft – just ideas in our heads. But beliefs can shape how we experience pain, how we heal, and even how societies behave. In health, they can infl...
Drs Chris and Xand continue their conversation about dry skin with Dr Tess McPherson, Associate Professor of Paediatric and Adolescent Dermatology at the University of Oxford.
The docs want to know what eczema is, why it happens, whether it is worth eliminating triggers and whether topical steroids are an effective treatment. They also explore the stigma around skin conditions and what we can all do to address it, and hear Dr McPher...
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, Chris and Xand dive into dry skin and how it can be relieved. Why does dry skin happen? How can your washing and cleansing routine affect your skin? Should you use moisturisers, and how do they work? Can you use too many products? They explor...
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about body temperature with Dr Heather Massey, Associate Professor of extreme environments and physiology at the University of Portsmouth.
Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken want to know how cold water swimming and contrast therapy can challenge your body temperature and what the benefits might be. They also explore whether everyone should be challenging their body temperature, and whether the...
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, Chris and Xand dive into body temperature and how it can be challenged. How does the human body regulate its core and skin temperature? Can you change your body temperature from its average value? Should you challenge your body temperature by...
Drs Chris and Xand continue their conversation about all-or-nothing thinking with Kimberley Wilson, Chartered Psychologist, author and host of the new mental health podcast, Complex.
Chris and Xand want to know how all-or-nothing thinking interacts with out socio-politics, and how age and our relationship with social media shapes our tendency towards binary thought patterns.
If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other t...
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, Chris and Xand dive into the concept of ‘all-or-nothing’ thinking. What does it really mean, and why are our brains drawn to this black-and-white way of seeing the world? They explore how it shows up in everyday life, whether it can ever be h...
In a specially extended episode recorded in front of an audience at the BBC Radio Theatre in London, What's up Docs? explores the wonders of the human heart.
"The heart is more than just a pump—it's a marvel of engineering and history, and in this episode, we're pulling it apart to see how it all works!”
Join Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken as they discover how reliable the human heart can be - beating on average a hundred thousand t...
In a special episode recorded in front of an audience at the BBC Radio Theatre in London, What's up Docs? explores the wonders of the human heart.
"The heart is more than just a pump- it's a marvel of engineering and history, and in this episode, we're pulling it apart to see how it all works!”
Join Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken as they discover how reliable the human heart can be, beating on average a hundred thousand times a day...
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about false memories with Dr Linda Henkel.
The Docs are digging into the different research studies and experiments that have been done around false memories. They also discuss the concept of repressed memories, and Xand shares some of his own, potentially false memories.
If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic covered on the podcast, you email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.c...
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken untangle the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode, the Docs are returning to the topic of memory, delving into the concept of false memories. Chris and Xand are curious about how and why false memories form, whether there’s anything we can do to guard against them, and why they aren’t necessa...
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about napping with Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford.
They want to know why some people drift off easily while others struggle to shut their eyes. Beyond that, they explore how our ability and even our desire to nap changes depending on our age, and how it differs across cultures and regions of the world. From siestas in Spain to power naps in J...
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken tackle the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, they’re asking, what’s the deal with naps? Some people nod off in minutes, while others can’t manage it at all. So why is napping so different from person to person? Is it actually good for us? Is there a “right” way to nap - and should we all be ...
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about embarrassment with Dr Tiffany Watt Smith, a cultural historian interested in the histories of emotion and medicine.
They want to know: how power and hierarchical structures in your relationships affect your levels of embarrassment, and how embarrassment functions within the context of other emotions.
If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic covered on the podcast...
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken untangle the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, the Doctors turn their attention to the curious emotion of embarrassment - why do we feel embarrassed? They want to know how it links to blushing, how it differs from shame or guilt, and whether it might actually serve a useful, protective and e...
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about nature with Baroness Kathy Willis, Professor of Biodiversity at Oxford University.
They look a little deeper into the relationship between nature and our health and wellbeing. They also discuss Kathy's thoughts on how society interacts with nature. These insights go beyond the science to explore the bigger picture of our relationship with the natural world. Plus, they discuss what we ...
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken tackle the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this special episode, Chris and Xand are out of the studio and into the woods, exploring something a little different - the connection between nature and our health and wellbeing.
You’ve probably heard claims that just being in green spaces can boost your mood,...
Chris and Xand continue their conversation with Dr James Rucker, a consultant psychiatrist at King's College London who is leading the European arm of a global trial of a psychedelic designed to treat people with severe depression.
They discuss the history of psychedelics, the discovery of LSD and the popular (and often illegal) practice of microdosing. Is there any evidence to suggest that taking minute quantities of psychedelic su...
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken untangle the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
This week, Chris and Xand meet Dr James Rucker, a consultant psychiatrist at King's College London who is leading the European arm of a global trial of a psychedelic called psilocybin in a study designed to treat people with severe depression for whom other phar...
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