Eureka!

We’re taking a break from Eureka for the time being. We love making the show and we’re hoping to resume soon - so keep your eyes peeled for a new season. In the meantime, please enjoy our back catalogue, there are about sixty episodes ready for you to get stuck into. We’ll see you soon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re on a mission to understand phobias, manias and obsessions! We look at where our phobias come from, how people use obsessions as a coping mechanism and how you define a phobia. We also find out about a fascinating case of ‘dancing mania’, we consider the evolutionary purpose behind phobias and we look at how our fears have changed over time.Special thanks to today's expert, Kate Summerscale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prepare to get your head in a spin this week, as we have a go at cracking one of science’s greatest enigmas: consciousness. We delve into the complexities of what it means to be conscious, we explore the history of our understanding of consciousness and we look at some mind-blowing ways that it can be manipulated!Special thanks to today’s expert, Professor Anil Seth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rick has recently become a father, so this week we are on a mission to make him the best parent possible. We get some advice on the best ways to bond with a child and we look at how the role of fathers has evolved throughout history. We also look into the benefits of having a good father and we take a look at the fascinating ways your brain and hormones change when you become a Dad!Special thanks to today’s expert, Anna Machin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s undeniable that technology is creeping further and further into our lives - but are we going to end up living inside a virtual reality? Mark Zuckerberg certainly hopes so.This episode, we uncover what the metaverse might look like, we examine some of its potential benefits (and take a critical view of just how good they actually are) and we consider some of the drawbacks. We also discover how close the metaverse is to becoming a reality and we find out whether anyone actually wants any of this in the first place…Special thanks to today’s expert, Professor Victoria Baines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re giving Rick yet another opportunity to speak enthusiastically about his beloved octopuses, as we try to determine: what is the most intelligent animal. This episode is full of fascinating animal experiments, involving crows, elephants, chimpanzees, horses and more. We also discover what the challenges are when measuring intelligence and how we can compare intelligence between different species. Rick is in his absolute element this week!Special thanks to today’s expert, Dr Marta Halina. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The rise of artificial intelligence can be a scary concept - so this week we tap into the fascinating world of ChatGPT. We find out exactly how the technology works, how accurate it actually is and how evil tech companies have been getting their hands dirty (as always). We also find out about the world of online FlirtBots, we discuss whether chatbots can be used to write school essays and we find out whether we actually need to be worried about the power of chatbots. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re bringing you a very special episode, as Michael reflects on some of his favourite moments from the series so far!Rick’s very excited about the giant insects that might be replacing humans, we hear about a fascinating cancer trial which could be the key to beating the disease and we pull apart the European Academy of Paediatrics’ statement about vaping. We also look back at a hilarious moment from our episode on swearing and we hear about some fascinating research into concussion. There’s a little bit of everything in this episode - and it’s all fascinating. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elon Musk has been promising self-driving cars for years, but is it actually even possible? We’re exploring whether self-driving cars could reduce the number of traffic collisions, what some of the ethical issues are surrounding the vehicles and how close we are to actually seeing them on our roads. We’re also taking a look at the history of self-driving cars, considering what might happen if they were hacked and finding out how businesses like Uber have been reacting to the developing science…Special thanks to today’s expert, Professor Jack Stilgoe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve made some new year's resolutions and you’re hoping for a ‘new year, new me’ this is the episode for you. This week, we’re finding out if it’s really possible to consciously improve our personalities (although Rick seems to think there’s no need to improve on perfection). We’re also examining the validity of personality tests, finding out whether it’s true to say that animals have ‘personalities’ and we’re exploring the fascinating developments by machine-learning AI in personality research!Special thanks to today’s expert, Dr Christian Jarrett. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s been an increasing amount of research to suggest that repeated concussions can have serious consequences and we want to find out more. This week, we’re looking at how concussion affects men and women differently, how long we’ve been aware that this might be a problem for sportspeople and why some big sports organisations might be quite keen to cover it up…Special thanks to today's expert, Hana Walker-Brown. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re whittling down our final eight scientists to crown our winner. We’re digging into the work of Isaac Newton, Henrietta Leavitt, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Lynn Margulis, Archimedes, Vera Rubin and Charles Darwin, before determining which one is the greatest scientist of all time.This was NOT an easy task. Let us know if you agree or disagree with our decision on Twitter, @EurekaPod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the course of the next three weeks, we’re pitting sixteen incredible scientists against each other to decide which of them is the greatest scientist of all time. This episode, we’ve got world famous, heavy hitters like Stephen Hawking and Marie Curie, as well as unsung legends like Henrietta Leavitt and Barbara McLintock all going head to head! We’re also weighing up the work of Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Francis Crick and Isaac Newton this week, so you can expect heated debates and tight battles…Who do you think deserves the title? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @EurekaPod and join us for Part 2 next week! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.