The podcast for curious minds. Every Wednesday, Emma Kennedy delves into the science and psychology of why we are the way we are. Emma is joined by leading experts and some of science's brightest minds to answer the big questions you never knew how to ask. Why do people join cults? Why do we need the moon? Why are we drawn to evil? Why do we have fetishes? Find out all of this and more on Why? from the makers of Oh God, What Now? and The Bunker . Follow us on social media: Threads Instagram Bluesky
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Parasites. Just saying the word makes most of us recoil - we think worms, infestations, grim biology lessons and maybe even mind controlling fungi. But what if everything we thought we knew was wrong? The truth is closer, and far weirder, than you’d ever imagine. This week, Emma Kennedy is joined by Emmitt Jolly, Professor of Biology at Case Western University, for a deep dive into the strange, microscopic world of parasites.
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WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnston. Edited by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io (https://artlist.io/). WHY? is a Podmasters Production.
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1 Oct 2025
Are seed oils bad for us? – with ZOE's chief scientist Dr. Sarah Berry
Seed oils are everywhere. They’re in your chips, your salad dressing and even in your biscuits. But in the age of social media, they’ve become the latest food villain. Accused of causing everything from heart disease to chronic inflammation. Suddenly that drizzle of sunflower oil has become a battleground over health, science and who we choose to believe. Today on Why? Emma Kennedy is joined by Dr Sarah Berry, Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at King's College London and Chief Scientist at ZOE (https://zoe.com/learn/sarah-berry?srsltid=AfmBOop5q7HPULFzogBBmBvapKYRZTNg37SYFvrEsMwnSdZaJhyapo3w) to find out are seed oils really as bad as social media thinks.
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WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnston. Edited by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io (https://artlist.io/). WHY? is a Podmasters Production.
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24 Sept 2025
Is listening to heavy metal a life hack?
Forget spa music and whale songs, turns out the real relaxing music might be a blast of heavy metal. Studies suggest towns with more metal bands have fewer alcohol-related hospital visits and even lower mortality rates. Today on Why?, Emma Kennedy is joined by journalist for Independent Nurse and self confessed metal head Sumaiyah Uddin to find out how mosh pits could be the path to mental wellbeing.
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WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnston. Edited by Tom Taylor. Theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io (https://artlist.io/). WHY? is a Podmasters Production.
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Inside a recent episode
Why everything you think about parasites is wrong
Published 8 Oct 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] In most cases, the parasite is dependent on the host for their survival, often for their shelter, for obtaining food, often they're very specific to the hype of a host that they may infect. And the real thing is they often require the host for their survival. They need a host to live. So, do we all have parasites inside just like at this very moment? And parasites are distinct from our gut microbiome, right? You know, there are two different ways of looking at this. And I will say they're different from the microbiome, but it depends on how you want to describe that. Parasites are a part of our microbiome or rather a biome. […]
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