201st Birthday Bonanza - Mel Giedroyc, Deborah Meaden and Nish Kumar

201st Birthday Bonanza - Mel Giedroyc, Deborah Meaden and Nish Kumar

Author: BBC Radio 4 July 9, 2025 Duration: 42:35

Get ready for a landmark episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage as we celebrate our 201st show! Brian Cox and Robin Ince invite a lively panel of celebrity guests to pose their burning scientific questions to a top-tier team of scientists. Mel Giedroyc is tunnelling into the world of engineering, asking how we build and operate trains under some of the world’s busiest cities? Mel has found a new best friend in, Isabel Coman, Director of Engineering at Transport for London, who is here to guide her through the particulars of subterranean transport systems. Deborah Meaden, entrepreneur and investor, is delving into the emotional lives of animals - do our furry, feathered, and scaly companions have feelings like grief in the way we do? Helping her to sniff out the science of animal emotions is Dr Liz Paul, a comparative psychologist from the University of Bristol. Comedian Nish Kumar wants to know - are we totally screwed when it comes to climate change, or is there still hope? Helping him unpack tipping points, rising temperatures, and how we might turn the tide is climate scientist Ed Hawkins from the University of Reading.

Series Producer: Melanie Brown Assistant Producer: Olivia Jani Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

BBC Studios Audio Production


Imagine a room where the biggest questions in the universe meet the sharpest, silliest wit. That’s the essence of The Infinite Monkey Cage, a BBC Radio 4 production hosted by physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince. Each episode gathers a panel of leading scientists, experts, and curious celebrities to tear apart a topic, from quantum quirks to cosmic mysteries. The conversation is a genuine collision of rigorous thought and irreverent humor, where a profound insight about black holes might be followed by a perfectly timed joke. You’ll hear complex ideas explored with clarity and a sense of shared wonder, never taking the science-or themselves-too seriously. This particular podcast thrives on that dynamic tension, making the frontiers of knowledge feel like a lively, accessible, and often hilarious dinner party debate. It’s a journey through the latest discoveries and enduring puzzles, all filtered through the unique perspectives of people who are genuinely thrilled to be asking "why?" Tune in for a consistently surprising and enlightening blend of intellect and laughter that proves exploring life, the universe, and everything doesn't require a solemn face.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

The Infinite Monkey Cage
Podcast Episodes
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Duration: 22:16
`This week it's over to you the listeners, as we hear some of your favourite moments from The Infinite Monkey Cage. Comedian Claire Hooper hears about the mating rituals of spiders, which use several of their legs in thi…
The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… Tiny Things [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:08
Brian Cox and Robin Ince shuffle through the archive to find the smallest things in the world of science, from a particle so tiny nobody has ever actually seen it, to the millions of microbes we’re all made up of. They a…
The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… The Future [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:43
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Duration: 16:54
Brian Cox and Robin Ince embrace failure in its many forms, with a frank look at the importance of making mistakes. They examine the flaws in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution with the anthropologist Alice Roberts, as…
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Duration: 19:16
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The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… The Gods [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:24
Robin Ince and Brian Cox tackle the thorny debate over whether science and religion can co-exist. But forget the tension between the church and the researchers – Eric Idle wants an answer to the important question of whe…
The Infinite Monkey's Guide To…  Talking to Aliens [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:44
Brian Cox and Robin Ince are on a mission to discover whether extra-terrestrials exist. But if there really is other life out there, what would it look like?Comedian Conan O’Brien is hoping for lizard-like creatures with…