Science In Action

Science In Action

BBC World Service

Episodes 335
Avg. Duration 30m
Activity Dormant
Apple Rating 4.5 (330)
Since Jun 2019
Latest Episode Oct 2025

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Publishing Details

Schedule
Weekly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
100%
Hosting
podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

The BBC brings you all the week's science news.

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Recent Episodes

How science got here, and where next

Oct 30, 2025 31m

As anti-science leaves research reeling, does evidence-based policy in a scientific society have much of a future? Michael Mann, Naomi Oreskes, Angie Rasmussen and Deb Houry discuss some of the…

Coral extinctions and chalky unknowns

Oct 23, 2025 37m

As two species of coral are killed off by the 2023 heatwave in the Florida reefs, the abilities of different plankton species to cope with rising CO2 remain crucially unknown. Also, retrospective…

Paris agreement impacts and drought realities

Oct 16, 2025 38m

Ten years on from the Paris climate agreement, has it helped? Also, an international drought experiment, insights from 2D water, and social distancin in ants. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: …

Old faces and big spaces in small places

Oct 09, 2025 31m

The 2025 Nobel prizes are announced this week – how did Science in Action’s predictions fare? Science author and thinker Philip Ball judges.The Whitley Fund for Nature this week hosted a “People for…

A mystery satellite has been jamming GPS in Europe

Oct 02, 2025 36m

Scientists detect for the first time an unknown source of GPS interference coming from space. Also, as AI begins to design more and more DNA sequences being manufactured synthetically, how can those…

Autism and the epigenetics of early brain development

Sep 25, 2025 36m

Epigenetic changes during early brain development, and the complexities of autism. Also, how bacteria learn to parry antibiotics, the subterranean burp that shook the Island of Santorini, and new…

Stephen Hawking gets it right again

Sep 18, 2025 26m

Gravitational waves show two black holes merge just how Hawking predicted. Plus, a space mission without a target. And a Space probe without a confirmed budget.In January 2025 the LIGO gravitational…

Asteroids, comets and where to find them

Sep 11, 2025 26m

Scientists’ latest plans for welcoming interstellar visitor 3I/Atlas next month, and arranging a rendezvous with comet Apophis in 2029, as heard this week at the EPSC-DPS international planetary…

Why is Afghanistan so vulnerable to earthquakes?

Sep 04, 2025 28m

Despite the relatively low magnitude, earthquakes in Afghanistan this week have left more than1000 dead. Afghan researcher Zakeria Shnizai from the University of Oxford unpicks some of the main…

How Fear Spreads

Aug 28, 2025 37m

What can modern epidemiological methods tell us about French Revolutionary history? Also, the origins of horse riding, solar systems, and star dust itself. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alex…

Not cold fusion all over again

Aug 21, 2025 30m

A desktop nuclear fusion reactor that uses electrochemistry to up the ante. Also, a global survey of human wildfire exposures finds Africa burning ahead, plus tiny swarming robots and record-breaking…

Vaccine study retraction request rejected

Aug 14, 2025 30m

US Health Secretary RFK Jr’s call to retract a study on childhood vaccines is resisted by the journal. Also antibiotics get designed by AI, and a new way for stars to die. A study focussing on Danish…

An end to allergic reactions?

Aug 07, 2025 29m

As the United States secretary of health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr., announces a $500 million cut to mRNA vaccine research in the United States, we hear a statement from the Nobel Prize…

Getting ahead of tsunamis

Jul 31, 2025 30m

After most of the population of the Pacific rim sought higher ground this week, we speak with the architect of the tsunami warning technology. Also how aging Killifish might help us probe our senior…

Discovering Betelgeuse’s Betelbuddy

Jul 24, 2025 29m

Have we found Betelgeuse’s ‘Betelbuddy?’ An astronomical mystery seems to be solved as the long-predicted stellar companion to the bright star Betelgeuse has been detected by a team of researchers…

Biggest black hole merger observed

Jul 17, 2025 27m

Two black holes have collided and combined in the largest merger yet observed. Mark Hannam of Cardiff University and member of the study explains how the Interferometer Gravitational Wave…

Tracking ocean circulation systems

Jul 10, 2025 33m

The European Space Agency plans to use satellite gravity data to track weakening ocean circulation systems. Rory Bingham of the University of Bristol explains how these satellites can ‘weigh’ the…

Bird flu surges in Cambodia

Jul 03, 2025 35m

There's a surge in cases and deaths from H5N1 bird flu in Cambodia - we hear what's the driver and how concerned we should be. Erik Karlsson, Head of Virology at the Pasteur Institute in Phnom Penh…

Vera C. Rubin Observatory first images

Jun 26, 2025 37m

A spectacular new 10-year telescopic survey of the universe gets underway in Chile. Also, a project to create human chromosomes completely synthetically.Almost three decades ago Tony Tyson (now of UC…

Half a universe once lost now found

Jun 19, 2025 41m

The universe is thought to consist of 70% Dark Energy, 25% Dark Matter, and just 5% Baryonic matter which is the atoms that make up you and me. At least, that’s what the models suggest. But a…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Science In Action have?

Science In Action has published 335 episodes since June 2019, covering topics in Science, Technology.

Is Science In Action still active?

Science In Action is currently dormant with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 30m.

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