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Every episode
The Rest Is Science
30 episodes
Why Your Brain Thinks You're Full (Even When You're Not)
Ep 78 · Aug 16, 2026 · 47 min
How did the Gila monster, a desert lizard that eats just five times a year, help unlock the science behind Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro?In this episode of The Rest Is Science, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (Vsauce) trace the strange journey from a molecule found in lizard venom to medicines reshaping diabetes and weight-loss treatment, exploring how GLP-1 helps regulate blood sugar, appetite and the hum of ‘food noise’.Early evidence suggests their effects may extend far beyond food,…
The Lake At The North Pole That Stops Europe From Freezing
Ep 77 · Aug 12, 2026 · 47 min
When you picture the North Pole, you probably imagine a vast, frozen expanse of floating sea ice. But hidden deep beneath the surface of the Arctic lies something incredible: a massive, churning reservoir of nearly freshwater, suspended right in the middle of a saltwater ocean. In this episode of The Rest Is Science, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (VSauce) explore the hidden hydrodynamics of the Arctic. Fresh off a real-world scientific expedition to the sprawling ice sheets of Greenla…
The Science of Putting Sunglasses on The Sun
Ep 76 · Aug 9, 2026 · 1 hr
Why does the cartoon Sun always wear sunglasses? And how big would a real pair need to be? Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens investigate space mirrors, Reflect Orbital and solar eclipses to find out. Starting with a pencil held at arm’s length, they use the Sun’s angular diameter to calculate how big a pair of solar sunglasses would need to be for one eye, two eyes, everyone in London and eventually the entire planet. Their hypothetical answer is a strange structure more than a million kilometres w…
Why Is It A Colour Wheel & Not A Line?
Ep 75 · Aug 5, 2026 · 47 min
Colour wheel or colour line? Light itself runs in a straight line from red to violet, yet every colour theory chart bends that spectrum into a circle and the reason has nothing to do with physics. Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (VSauce) dig into why human vision refuses to see colour the way light actually behaves, tracing the visible light spectrum from one end to the other and asking where all the "missing" colours, like magenta and purple, actually come from if they don't exist on t…
Why Lithium Batteries SUCK
Ep 74 · Aug 2, 2026 · 54 min
Can Hannah convince Michael that the lithium-ion battery is one of our most overrated inventions to ever happen? Hannah makes her case using a surprising energy source hidden in your fridge, a bell in Oxford that's been ringing since 1840, and a metal that is useful… but prone to bursting into flame from the inside out. Tracing the battery's strange history, from a twitching dead frog to the executed man who helped inspire Frankenstein. But the real point runs deeper: we don't have an energy pro…
What Happens Inside Earth's Forbidden Zones?
Ep 73 · Jul 29, 2026 · 46 min
What grows in the spaces humans are forced to abandon?Hannah brings Michael an actual piece of barbed wire from the Korean Demilitarised Zone, one of the most heavily fortified and forbidden borders on Earth, and it sends them somewhere unexpected. From deserted no man's land and radioactive exclusion zones to remote islands that most of humankind has quietly agreed to leave well alone, they explore the surprising ways life adapts to the damage we leave behind.Plus your questions: the scientific…
It Wasn't A Hoax After All
Ep 72 · Jul 26, 2026 · 60 min
Did the world really end in 2012? Not with fire, meteors or an ancient Mayan prophecy, but Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens ask whether something just as profound took place instead. Together they unravel how one of the biggest myths in history took hold and why the Maya were unable to accurately predict the apocalypse. But they also delve into why, according to Michael, 2012 was the year an old world was discarded and a new one began to emerge. It was, afterall, the year a novel technol…
Hack Dog Vision To Keep Your Bones Safe
Ep 73 · Jul 22, 2026 · 46 min
Can you hide your skeleton from a dog? Would you want to know the day you’ll die? Has evolution ever come close to producing a real fire breather? Michael and Hannah test a T-shirt with a secret only humans can see, leading them into the strange world of colour vision, from colourblindness and tetrachromacy, to the remarkable eyes of the mantis shrimp. They also ask whether DNA could become the ultimate hard drive, visit a data storage mountain in Pittsburgh and discover just how little space al…
The Hole In Your Brain That Makes You Doomscroll
Ep 70 · Jul 19, 2026 · 49 min
Why can't you leave a sealed envelope unopened? Professor Hannah Fry begins by refusing to allow Michael Stevens to open a mystery envelope addressed to him. A small act of torture that turns out to be the perfect way in to today's subject: curiosity. What is it, why does it feel almost physical, and how far will people actually go just to resolve a nagging uncertainty? From there Hannah and Michael trace curiosity's surprising reputation through history; how for well over a thousand years it wa…
A Man-Eating Tiger Found In London
Ep 69 · Jul 15, 2026 · 41 min
It begins with a discovery in a loft: a full man eating tiger skin, brought back from a village in northern India where Professor Hannah Fry's ex-mother in law grew up. That find sends Hannah and Michael Stevens into the strange world of man eating big cats: a tigress blamed for a staggering number of deaths, what can turn a tiger toward hunting humans in the first place, and how India now borrows techniques from forensic science…effectively putting a tiger on trial before deciding its fate. And…
All The People You Don't Know
Ep 68 · Jul 12, 2026 · 56 min
Do your friends actually like you? Does an acquaintance think you’re closer than you are? This week, Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the surprising psychology of friendship, from familiar strangers and para-social relationships to the unsettling discovery that nearly half of friendships may not be mutual. Why are we so bad at judging who considers us a friend? Why do strangers often have a bigger impact on our lives than we realise? And why do your friends almost certainly have more frien…
An Honest Dad Ranking (Out Of All 2 Billion)
Ep 67 · Jul 8, 2026 · 42 min
The statistical reality of "The World's #1 Dad Mug" is nothing but a well meaning lie. In this episode of The Rest Is Science, Michael brings another treasured artifact into the studio: a mug gifted by his daughter. Rather than claiming the top spot, the mug features a specific, mathematically defensible ranking of his fatherly abilities. If he's not the very best...surely he's in the top percentile? Find out on Field Notes. ------------------- For more information about Cancer Research UK, thei…
Your Brain Invents Pain. Here's Why.
Ep 66 · Jul 5, 2026 · 51 min
Stubbing your toe feels like the pain is entirely in your foot. But the reality is far stranger... the agonising sensation you experience is actually a highly complex, constructed illusion, invented in real-time by your brain.In this episode of The Rest Is Science, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (VSauce) explore the weird neuroscience of human pain and why pain is ultimately a brilliant evolutionary survival mechanism, how psychological state and the placebo effect can physically alter…
The Most Dangerous Rock In Hannah's Collection
Ep 65 · Jul 1, 2026 · 56 min
When you think of dangerous geological specimens, does your mind jump straight to radioactive uranium, toxic heavy metals, or even asbestos? What if one of the most dangerous items sitting on a shelf is actually a polished, perfectly ordinary-looking piece of black obsidian? Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens dive into the surprisingly treacherous geology and chemistry of obsidian. Hannah brings an onyx from her personal rock collection to explain exactly why this specific piece of materia…
The Audio Illusion That Proves We Don't Experience Reality
Ep 66 · Jun 28, 2026 · 58 min
Your ears are lying to you right now. In this episode of The Rest Is Science, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (Vsauce) dive into the bizarre world of audio illusions where your brain hears sounds that don't exist, fills in frequencies that were never there, and constructs a version of reality that simply isn't real. From the impossible endless ascending tone to the battle between your eyes and ears, explore how auditory illusions reveal the cracks in human perception. Along the way, we…
Will A 25 Year Old Space Pen Still Write?
Ep 64 · Jun 24, 2026 · 48 min
A pen designed to write in space sits unopened for 25 years. Does it still work?In this episode of Field Notes, Michael Stevens finally opens a treasured souvenir from his time at Space Camp: a genuine Fisher Space Pen that has been waiting decades for its first scribble. From there, the conversation launches into the challenges of living in space, why astronauts abandoned pencils, and what happens to your sense of direction when gravity disappears.Along the way they investigate whether eight bi…
A Paleontology Of The Future
Ep 62 · Jun 21, 2026 · 55 min
What will humanity leave behind? In this episode, Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce's Michael Stevens explore the traces humans leave behind and what those traces reveal about how we think. From Tranquility Base, where humanity's first footprints on another world still sit undisturbed in lunar dust, to a three million year old pebble that may represent one of the earliest signs of symbolic thought, they uncover how ordinary objects can become extraordinary windows into our past. Why would one of o…
What Are The Odds You'll Become A Fossil?
Ep 61 · Jun 17, 2026 · 39 min
Most living things vanish without a trace. A select few become fossils. But how? In this episode of Field Notes Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce's Michael Stevens dig into the unlikely process that turns bone into stone. From prehistoric seas hidden beneath Kansas to fossils mistaken for mythical creatures, they follow the clues that reveal Earth's deep past. Along the way they uncover the lost landscape of Doggerland, investigate creatures that survive without sunlight, and tackle listener quest…
Why Feet Are Weirder Than You Think
Ep 60 · Jun 14, 2026 · 46 min
Compared with almost every other animal on Earth, our feet seem strangely specialised. They can't grip branches, they're full of arches and joints, and for some reason we're the only species that regularly puts shoes on them. Hannah and Michael explore how millions of years of evolution transformed ape like feet into powerful biological springboards, uncovering a surprising connection between human walking, pizza slices, and one of mathematics' most beautiful ideas. After the break, they ask why…
How Many Words Do You ACTUALLY Know?
Ep 59 · Jun 10, 2026 · 52 min
Most people use just a fraction of the words they understand. But how big is your vocabulary, really? When a listener builds a tool that claims to measure it, Hannah and Michael put themselves to the test. If you'd like to try for yourself, follow the link and tell us what score you get in the comments: https://vocabowl-870366514258.us-west1.run.app/ Along the way they uncover forgotten words, obscure linguistic curiosities, and a surprising question hiding beneath the quiz itself: what does it…
Why You Should Stop Using Face ID
Ep 58 · Jun 7, 2026 · 44 min
Do you think your thoughts belong to you? How would feel if you found out they don't? In this episode Hannah and Michael discuss a tangible future where the last bastion of privacy is breached and the thoughts that run through out heads no longer belong to us. Why is it that in 2026 police can open your phone using face ID any time they want, but they can't do the same with your password? When might a single brain wave called P300 eliminate the need for evidence in court? And how do we protect t…
Nikola Tesla Fell In Love with a Pigeon
Ep 57 · Jun 3, 2026 · 36 min
What do lightning, wireless electricity, Cambridge dining etiquette, hypnosis, and a lovestruck pigeon have in common? The answer is (of course) Nikola Tesla. In this episode of The Rest Is Science: Field Notes, Michael and Hannah experience a real Tesla coil, exploring the spectacular physics behind one of Tesla's most famous inventions. Why do these devices create miniature lightning storms? How did Tesla dream of delivering wireless electricity to the entire planet? But there was a stranger s…
Michael Discovered A New Way To Make Twins
Ep 56 · May 31, 2026 · 48 min
Is there a new way to make twins? If there is, Michael's might just have discovered it. And hint: it's going to hard work. From Hannah’s twin-like sister to the most famous cells in human history, in this episode Hannah and Michael continue to explore whether we truly own of ourselves, this time at a microscopic level. From our genome, to our cells and even our personalities, what happens in a future where cloning is the norm? Where Zygotes might be used to create mini-Michaels? And where reprod…
Why Michael Abandoned Ink For Mechanical Pencils
Ep 55 · May 27, 2026 · 47 min
What can be revealed about a person by their choice of…lead? In this gloriously nerdy episode of Field Notes, Michael Stevens arrives armed with an entire collection of mechanical pencils, sparking a series of passionate debates about graphite, the merits of ink, and whether the perfect pencil will ever really exist. Plus: what happens to fizzy drink bubbles in zero gravity? Why did early scientists believe sperm contained tiny pre-formed humans? Are gravitational waves the most beautiful thing…
Do Our Bodies Really Belong To Us?
Ep 54 · May 24, 2026 · 51 min
What happens to a body part once it’s been removed from your body? Can you take it home? Cremate it? Bury it? Even give it a funeral? In the first episode of a new mini-series on ownership, Hannah and Michael explore a deceptively simple question: what parts of ourselves do we actually own? From amputated limbs and stolen skulls to black markets for human organs, they uncover the strange, unsettling, and often lucrative world of body ownership. Why did grave robbing help advance modern medicine?…
Hannah Predicted a Pandemic
Ep 53 · May 20, 2026 · 1 hr 3 min
What if the next pandemic could be predicted before it even begins? Hannah and Michael step into the unsettling world of outbreak simulations, where scientists map invisible infections, model human behaviour, and try to stop global catastrophe before it starts. Some warnings save millions. Others get ignored, until it’s too late. After the break the conversation takes a turn into space stations, fizzy drinks in zero gravity, the first microscopes, and gravitational waves bending the fabric of sp…
DARK vs LIGHT
Ep 52 · May 17, 2026 · 55 min
Why are black cars more dangerous, white chess pieces more successful, and pandas apparently incapable of coping with minor inconvenience? Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (VSauce) unpack one deceptively simple question - which would win in a fight between black and white? - and end up exploring everything from colour psychology and radioactive frogs to quasars, fantasy literature, and whether the universe itself ultimately sides with darkness. Along the way, Hannah invents a new categor…
Polymetalic Nodules Are Weird
Ep 51 · May 13, 2026 · 32 min
What if one of the most valuable objects on Earth has been sitting untouched at the bottom of the ocean for 100 million years? In this Field Notes episode, Professor Hannah Fry brings Michael Stevens (VSauce) a strange metallic rock formed in the deepest parts of the Atlantic over millions of years. What begins with a bizarre Cold War CIA cover story involving Howard Hughes and a sunken Soviet submarine quickly turns into a journey through deep sea geology, natural “electric” rocks, and the envi…
"A Grim Enemy For Reasons We Do Not Yet Comprehend"
Ep 50 · May 11, 2026 · 44 min
* This episode contains descriptions of warfare and use of chemical weapons * How do you feed a world that’s running out of food? In this episode of The Rest Is Science, Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens uncover one of the strangest and most unsettling stories in modern science: the tale of the man who learned how to pull fertiliser out of thin air. This discovery transformed agriculture. It made modern civilisation possible. But it also powered explosives, prolonged the First World War, and helped…
When 0 = 1000
Ep 49 · May 6, 2026 · 39 min
Why does one of the most familiar numbers on a nutrition label turn out to be far more complicated than it looks? What can a can of fizzy drink teach us about thermodynamics, human metabolism, and the strange ways scientists measure energy? Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce’s Michael Stevens dive into the weird science of calories. From century-old experiments involving fire, body heat, and human digestion to the hidden quirks of modern food labelling. Do “negative calorie” foods really exist? Whe…
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