Professor Brian Cox and our expert panel explore the reality and possibilities of artificial intelligence, and how it's changing our lives.

A.I. and machine learning are now part of our everyday lives, but where are they headed and who is in charge? Our panel of scientists, writers and policymakers answers audience questions about the hopes and fears surrounding A.I. and how it can be controlled, and whether it creates new problems – or just amplifies the ones we already have.

Panellists

• Adrian Weller – Director of Research in Machine Learning, University of Cambridge and Head of Safe and Ethical A.I. at The Alan Turing Institute
• Jeanette Winterson – Writer and author of 12 Bytes: How Artificial Intelligence Will Change the Way We Live and Love
• Steph Wright – Head, Scottish A.I. Alliance
• Neil Lawrence – Professor of Machine Learning, University of Cambridge and author of The Atomic Human: Understanding Ourselves in the Age of A.I.

Watch the video version of this episode and read a transcript on our website: www.crick.ac.uk/podcast/ai

If you have a follow up question about any of the episodes in the series, email us: aquestionofscience@bbc.co.uk

A BBC Studios Production for the Francis Crick Institute.

© BBC Studios / Francis Crick Institute 2025

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Brian Cox and our expert panel are discussing the future of cancer research and treatment.

With nearly 1 in 2 of us in the UK now expected to receive a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime, pursuing a cure is more important than ever. Our panel brings expertise from the lab, the clinic and their own experiences to answer audience questions about lifestyle and genetic risks, treatment side effects, and what they see as the biggest areas for hope.

Panellists

• Gerard Evan – Principal Group Leader, Francis Crick Institute and King’s College London
• Kairbaan Hodivala-Dilke – Deputy Director, Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London
• Lauren Mahon – Cancer survivor and former host of You, Me and the Big C
• Charles Swanton – Oncologist, University College London NHS Foundation Trust, Chief Clinician, Cancer Research UK and Principal Group Leader, Francis Crick Institute and UCL

Watch the video version of this episode and read a transcript on our website: www.crick.ac.uk/podcast/cancer

If you have a follow up question about any of the episodes in the series, email us: aquestionofscience@bbc.co.uk

A BBC Studios Production for the Francis Crick Institute.

© BBC Studios / Francis Crick Institute 2025

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Brian Cox and our expert panel explore ageing, longevity and the science behind our lifespans.

Human life expectancy has increased steadily over the last 200 years, but we may be reaching a ceiling. Is this our biological limit, or could the next big scientific breakthrough push it even further? Might repurposing existing drugs help extend our lifespans? Our panel of researchers answers audience questions about the societal impacts of longer lives, our cellular ticking clock, and whether we can learn anything from the 400-year-old sharks of the North Atlantic.

Panellists

• Lynne Cox – Associate Professor, University of Oxford
• Paul Nurse – Director, Francis Crick Institute
• Linda Partridge – Professor, Institute of Healthy Ageing, UCL
• Andrew Steele – Author of Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old

Watch the video version of this episode and read a transcript on our website: www.crick.ac.uk/podcast/ageing

If you have a follow up question about any of the episodes in the series, email us: aquestionofscience@bbc.co.uk

A BBC Studios Production for the Francis Crick Institute.

© BBC Studios / Francis Crick Institute 2025

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.