Other Interviews

Astronomical Imaging, NEOShield and the Aurora

Robert Massey returns with a roundup of news from the Royal Astronomical Society. This month; The history of astronomical imaging, Near Earth Objects and Auroras above northern Britain...Dr Robert Massey, Royal Astronomical Society

A Festive Treat from Professor Karmadillo!

We were joined by Professor Karmadillo, with a festive musical take on the recent news from CERN that they have seen tantalising hints of the existence of the Higg's Boson...Professor Karmadillo

The Thames Discovery Programme

Inland waterways can be extremely rich sources of archaeology, and the River Thames - which flows through the middle of London - is awash with history that erosion is now steadily revealing. A project called the Thames Discovery Programme monitors the foreshores, and Meera Senthilingam ventured out at low tide with archaeologist Elliot Wragg at a site in Greenwich, London....Elliott Wragg, Thames Discovery Programme

Studying Shipwrecks

Diving down beneath the waves to discover how archaeologists locate and recover treasure from old shipwrecks...Dave Parham, University of Bournemouth

Jersey's Neanderthals - Planet Earth Online

Richard Hollingham visits St. Brelade in Jersey to talk to a team of archaeologists who’re reappraising the caves to learn more about the Islands Neanderthal history...Matt Pope, University College London

The Nobel Prizes 2011

This week has seen the announcment of the 2011 Nobel Prizes, so we invited BBC science correspondent Victoria Gill to walk us through who got what, where and when, and why...Victoria Gill, BBC Science Correspondent

Bayesian Prehistory

We explore how carbon dates can be statistically analysed in order to look at prehistoric England and causewayed enclosures...Alex Bayliss, English Heritage

Communicating Astronomy

How should astronomers go about communicating their work? Mark Thompson is President of Norwich Astronomical Society, a regular on the BBC’s The One Show, and recently was one of the team, alongside professor Brian Cox and Comedian Dara o’Briain on “Stargazing Live!” At this year’s National Astronomy Meeting, he took his presenting skills to a new audience – astronomy academics…Mark Thompson, President of Norwich Astronomical Society

Naked Engineering - Steam Engines

This week we are in Cambridge’s Museum of Technology to explore the engineering of an iconic bit of coal-fired power – the steam engine...David Gates, Cambridge Museum of Technology

Planet Earth Online - Carbon Dating

Radiocarbon dating is an extremely accurate and useful tool to date archaeological finds which contain any previously living material.Tom Higham, Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit

Backyard Archaeology - Scouting for Information

Making use of the Historical Environment Record, the National Monument Record and the Urban Archaeological Database to look at the Viking 'Dark Age'.Ben Raffield, University of Aberdeen

Ceramic Petrology

Xenia explains the uses of ceramic petrology - the study of ceramics using microscopy, chemicals and thin sections. Xenia Charalambidou, University of Athens

Dating the Neanderthals of Mezmaiskaya Cave

A re-evaluation of Neanderthal remains from the Caucasus Mts in Russia has shown they are most likely to have lived there 40kya rather than 30kya, meaning that they were unlikely to have lived alongside modern humans.Tom Higham, University of Oxford

How to: Zooarchaeology

Angelos explains how zooarchaeologists go about analysing animal bones in order to study the sites from which they're excavated.Angelos Hadjikoumis, British School at Athens

Reconstructing Barnes Wallis' experiments on the bouncing bomb

Dr Hugh Hunt tells us about his work in solving the same problems that Barnes Wallis faced when he designed the famous weapon used by the dam busters. Dr Hugh Hunt, University of Cambridge

Building a Home Made Astrolabe

Dominic Ford explains what an Astrolabe is, and how you can make one at home...Dominic Ford, Cambridge University

Sir Fred Hoyle - a Life in Objects

Katie Birkwood introduces us to Sir Fred Hoyle, through the objects he left with St John's College, Cambridge...Katie Birkwood, Hoyle Project Associate

How do you throw spears?

‘Spear throwers’ are long sticks with hooked ends that are used to hurl spears accurately over long distances. They are used by Native Americans, inuits and indigenous Australians. But how do they work? Tom Birch finds out...Mike Bumstead, University of Aberdeen

When did humans first use fire?

New evidence suggests humans used fire as early as 400,000 years ago. This coincides with the date Neanderthals are first seen in Europe.

Were humans in California 12,000 years ago?

Stone tools and animal remains from 12,000 years ago have been found in the Californian channel islands.