eLife podcast

Latest episodes

  1. Close-up of an iris

    Episode 105: September 2026

    In this episode, we hear about the origins of our individuality, how synaesthetes' pupil size changes just by thinking of a colour, female chickadees expanding the spectrum of cognitive abilities through non-monogamy, urban wildlife, and the switch to DNA organisation that accompanies cancer.
  2. Mountain gorilla

    Episode 104: July 2026

    In this episode, we explore how male gorillas trade size for sperm production, how fever changes the stickiness of malaria-infected cells, the neuroscience behind gambling machines, whether babies are born hardwired to dance, and how bird eggs have adapted to life at high altitudes.

  3. Episode 103: May 2026

    In this episode, we hear about the potential of synthetic gene circuits to target cancer, a zebrafish model of cerebral small vessel disease, evidence that psilocybin may alleviate depression, a new technique to make flu vaccines more effective, and why crabs walk sideways.
  4. Kangaroo in Broken Hill, Australia

    Episode 102: March 2026

    In this episode, we hear about kangaroo energetics, moths that can hear plants, using GPS trackers for epidemiology, fingerprints, and long-overdue recognition for female scientists at the Eiffel Tower.
  5. Blurry photo of a flag, fish and a bird in the water

    Episode 101: December 2025

    In this episode, we hear about the development of the visual system, nocebo effects versus placebos, cross-species insemination, telomere length, and efforts to recreate Darwin’s “warm little pond”.

  6. Episode 100: September 2025

    In this episode, we hear about poison frogs, gut microbiomes and disease, queen ants and gene therapy, tapeworms and epilepsy, and the double-edged nature of trained immunity.

  7. Episode 99: June 2025

    In this episode, we hear about giant viruses, monkeys who wash their food, sepsis in infant pigs, how cancers can cause extra tentacles to grow in hydra, and the impact of speaking multiple languages on the structure of the cortex.
  8. Image of the female leafhopper Macrosteles quadrilineatus

    Episode 98: April 2025

    In this episode, we hear about parasites as molecular matchmakers, drug combinations and cancer treatment, chemical defences in poison frogs, the impact of education on brain structure, and what movies can reveal about the organisation of the infant visual system.
Load more