Synopsis
Jonathan McCrea brings you the latest developments from the world of Science and Technology from robotics in warfare to artificial lifeforms and beyond
Episodes
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Extra: CMLase - The Enzyme That Could Reverse Ageing
29/09/2026 Duration: 14minGuest: Aaron Cravens, Founder and Chief executive of Revel Pharmaceuticals
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Why are killer whales ramming yachts?
27/09/2026 Duration: 39minGuests:Dr. Luke Rendell, Biologist at Sean Mammal Research Unit in the University of St. AndrewsMatthew Campbell, Professor of Genetics at TCDCiara Greene, Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, UCD
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Extra: Did Life Start Twice On Earth?
22/09/2026 Duration: 15minGuest: Bill Martin - Evolutionary Biologist and Head of the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf
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Could ozempic cure addiction?
20/09/2026 Duration: 36minGuests: Philip Smyth, Broadcaster and Science Communicator Dr. Laura Hayes, Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies Prof. Paul Kenny, Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience and Director of The Friedman Brain Institute in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City
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Extra: Behind The Scenes of The Lost Bridge
15/09/2026 Duration: 24minPresenter Jonathan McCrea and Producer Aidan McKelvey discuss the making of the Futureproof documentary ‘The Lost Bridge’.
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Futureproof Special: The Lost Bridge
13/09/2026 Duration: 43minGuests:Genevieve Von Petzinger, Paleoanthropologist and rock art researcher and Project Director of the LIACARA ProjectDr. George Nash, Associate Professor in the Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology at the University of LiverpoolDr. Barbara Oosterwijk, Postdoctoral Researcher at University of ExeterShane Diffily, National Treasurer Irish Cave Rescue Organisation
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Gold: What is time?
10/09/2026 Duration: 28minWe conventionally think of time as something simple and fundamental that flows uniformly, independently from everything else, from the past to the future, measured by clocks and watches.In the course of time, the events of the universe succeed each other in an orderly way: pasts, presents, futures.The past is fixed, the future open... And yet, all of this has turned out to be false.Carlo Rovelli is a Theoretical Physicist and author of ‘The Order of Time’ and joins Jonathan to discuss.First aired 21/7/2018
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Extra: Decoding Birdsong
08/09/2026 Duration: 14minGuest: Julie Elie, Associate Project Scientist in the Department of Neuroscience at University of California, Berkeley.
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Jim Al-Khalili on time and time travel
06/09/2026 Duration: 39minGuests:Jim Al Khalili, Theoretical Physicist, Host of BBC’s ‘The Life Scientific’ and author of ‘On Time: The Physics That Makes the Universe Tick‘Dr. Ruth Freeman from Research IrelandMatthew Campbell, Professor of Genetics in Trinity College Dublin
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Extra: The Genetics of Wrongdoing
01/09/2026 Duration: 18minGuest: Kathryn Paige Harden, Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and author of ‘Original Sin: The Genetics of Wrongdoing, the Problem of Blame and the Future of Forgiveness’
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Did we find evidence of life on Mars in the 1970’s?
30/08/2026 Duration: 42minGuests:Steven A. Benner, Chemist, Astrobiologist and author of ‘Meet the Neighbors: Life on Mars and How to Find It’Jessamyn Fairfield from the University of GalwayFergus McAuliffe, Head of Research Engagement and Impact Trinity College Dublin
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Extra: Growing Old in Ireland - 20 Years of the TILDA Study
25/08/2026 Duration: 19minGuest: Rose Anne Kenny, Regis Professor of Medicine at Trinity College Dublin and Founding Principal Investigator of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)
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How many insects are there?
23/08/2026 Duration: 37minGuests:Alex Smith, Associate Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, Ontario, CanadaDr Ruth Freeman from Science Foundation IrelandMatthew Campbell from TCD
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Extra: The Irish scientists tackling organ transplant rejection
18/08/2026 Duration: 17minGuest: Professor Róisín Dolan, Chief Investigator with the Sentinel Study Ireland at St. Vincent's University Hospital
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The Greenland shark discovered on Ireland’s coast
16/08/2026 Duration: 28minGuests:Emilie De Loose, Project Officer of the Atlantic Whale Deal in the Irish Whale and Dolphin GroupJohn Regan from Maynooth UniversityLaura Hayes, DIAS
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Gold: Neil DeGrasse Tyson - A Brief Welcome to the Universe
11/08/2026 Duration: 36minScience Communicator extraordinaire Neil deGrasse Tyson joined Jonathan in 2021 to discuss his book ‘A Brief Welcome to the Universe: A Pocket-Sized Tour’, and how we communicate science to the public.
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Observing the Solar Eclipse
09/08/2026 Duration: 46minGuests:Peter Gallagher, Director of Dunsink Observatory at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and an Adjunct Professor at Trinity College DublinJohn Regan from Maynooth UniversityLaura Hayes, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS)If you would like to listen to Jonathan’s experience of flying into the path of totality of the solar eclipse in 2015, here’s the link:https://soundcloud.com/whipsmart-media/path-of-totality-1
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Futureproof Gold: How does the brain conjure consciousness?
04/08/2026 Duration: 21minFor centuries, philosophers have theorised about the mind-body question. Is the mind something separate from the body? If so what does that mean?So, how does the brain conjure consciousness?In this interview from 2021, Jonathan speaks with Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, Editor-in-Chief of Neuroscience of Consciousness and author of ‘Being You: A New Science of Consciousness’.
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Could AI be conscious?
02/08/2026 Duration: 01h00sGuests:Charlotte Blease, Philosopher at Uppsala University and author of ‘Dr Bot: Why Doctors Can Fail Us – and How AI Could Save Lives’Kevin Mitchell, Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin and author of ‘Free Agents – How Evolution Gave Us Free Will’Alan Smeaton, Professor of Computing at DCUMatthew Campbell from TCDLaura Hayes, DIAS
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Extra: Could base editing lead to designer babies?
28/07/2026 Duration: 13minGuest: Oliver Bower, Founding Scientist at ‘Preventive’