by BBC Radio 4
<p>Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires and motivates them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future</p>
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10/11/2011
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April 22, 2025
<p>Have you ever pondered the fact that the universe is expanding? And not only that, it's expanding at an increasing speed - meaning everything around us is getting further and further away? </p><p>If that isolating thought makes you feel slightly panicked, don't worry: this programme also contains wine!</p><p>Brian Schmidt is a Distinguished Professor of Astrophysics at the Australian National University, known for his work on supernovae: massive explosions that take place when stars come to the ends of their lives. They are among the most energetic events in the universe and incredibly difficult to find; but that’s what his High-Z Supernova Search Team did, identifying enough of these rare and distant explosions to measure just how fast they were moving away from us.</p><p>This led them to the realisation that, contrary to long-held belief in cosmology, the expansion of the universe was speeding up; a discovery which earned Brian a share of the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics. As if that wasn't enough, he's gone on to discover one of the earliest stars in the universe; run a university; and become a winemaker, at his very own vineyard just outside Canberra.</p><p>In a conversation spanning the genius phraseology of writer Douglas Adams, the importance of pisco sours, and the similarities between astronomy and viticulture, Brian tells Professor Jim Al-Khalili how his supernovae breakthrough paved the way for a revolution in astronomy - and where the field needs to go next...</p><p>Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Produced for BBC Studios by Lucy Taylor</p>
April 15, 2025
<p>How much information can you extract from a burnt fragment of human bone? </p><p>Quite a lot, it turns out - not only about the individual, but also their broader lives and communities; and these are the stories unearthed by Jacqueline McKinley, a Principal Osteoarchaeologist with Wessex Archaeology.</p><p>During her career, Jackie has analysed thousands of ancient burial sites across the British Isles, bringing to life the old traditions around death via often cremated human remains. She's also assisted criminal investigators with forensic analysis, and contributed to some of the UK's best-loved archaeological TV shows. And one thing she’s absolutely clear about: far from being macabre, osteoarchaeology is more about the living, than the dead...</p><p>In conversation with Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Jackie talks about the stories we can derive from skeletal remains, how western attitudes to death have gone through a major recent shift, and why she's kept some of her late father's bones.</p><p>Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Produced for BBC Studios by Lucy Taylor</p>
April 8, 2025
<p>Surgeons often have to deal with the consequences of violent attacks - becoming all too familiar with patterns of public violence, and peaks around weekends, alcohol-infused events and occasions that bring together groups with conflicting ideals.</p><p>Professor Jonathan Shepherd not only recognised the link between public violence and emergency hospital admissions, he actually did something about it. </p><p>As a senior lecturer in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in the early 1980s, Jonathan started looking into this trend - and his research revealed that most violent assaults resulting in emergency hospital treatment are not reported to police. </p><p>As a result, he devised the ‘Cardiff Model for Violence Prevention’: a programme where hospitals share data about admissions relating to violent attacks with local authorities. He also went on to study various aspects of violent assault and deliver evidence-based solutions - from alcohol restrictions in hotspots, to less breakable beer glasses in pubs. </p><p>The impacts have been significant, delivering reductions in hospital admissions and in violent attacks recorded by police; not only in Cardiff, but in cities around the world where the model is used. Today, as an Emeritus Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Cardiff University - where he’s also Director of their Crime, Security and Intelligence Innovation Institute - Jonathan continues to bring together the medical sector with local authorities, finding practical ways to make cities and their residents safer. </p><p>But his career, straddling the worlds of practise, science and policy, is an unusual one; here he talks to Professor Jim Al-Khalili about what drove him to make a difference.</p><p>Presentedby Jim Al-Khalili Produced by Lucy Taylor</p>
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