The Life Scientific

Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires and motivates them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future

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Every guest on The Life Scientific

346 guests, ranked by how many people never want them back.

1. —
   Pam Shaw

   Pam Shaw on the research battle against motor neurone disease · Jan 2023

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2. —
   Pat Wolseley

   Pat Wolseley · Aug 2012

   0 votes

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3. —
   Patrick Vallance

   The Patrick Vallance Interview · 2 episodes

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4. —
   Paul Murdin

   Paul Murdin on the first ever identification of a black hole · Sep 2023

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5. —
   Paul Younger

   Paul Younger on energy for the future · Nov 2015

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6. —
   Pete Smith

   Pete Smith on why soil matters · May 2022

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7. —
   Peter Fonagy

   Peter Fonagy on a revolution in mental health care · Jan 2020

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8. —
   Peter Goadsby

   Peter Goadsby on migraine · May 2021

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9. —
   Peter Higgs

   Peter Higgs · Feb 2014

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10. —
    Peter Knight

    Peter Knight on quantum technologies · Nov 2025

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11. —
    Peter Ratcliffe

    2019 Nobel Prize winner for Physiology or Medicine, Sir Peter Ratcliffe · Feb 2020

    0 votes

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12. —
    Peter Stott

    Peter Stott on climate change deniers and Italian inspiration · Sep 2024

    0 votes

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13. —
    Pierre Friedlingstein

    Pierre Friedlingstein on carbon’s pivotal role in climate change · Dec 2025

    0 votes

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14. —
    Polina Bayvel

    Optical communications pioneer Polina Bayvel · Feb 2020

    0 votes

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15. —
    Pratibha Gai

    Dame Pratibha Gai on training atoms to do what we want · Jul 2025

    0 votes

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16. —
    Rachel Mills

    Rachel Mills exploring the sea floor · Jun 2018

    0 votes

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17. —
    Raymond Schinazi

    Raymond Schinazi on revolutionising treatments for killer viruses · Jul 2024

    0 votes

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18. —
    Rebecca Kilner

    Rebecca Kilner on beetle behaviours and evolution · Jan 2023

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19. —
    Richard Bentall

    Richard Bentall on the causes of mental ill health · Feb 2021

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20. —
    Richard Fortey

    Richard Fortey on fossils · Oct 2014

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21. —
    Richard Henderson

    Richard Henderson zooms in on the molecules of life · Feb 2018

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22. —
    Richard Morris

    Richard Morris on how we know where we are · Dec 2016

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23. —
    Richard Peto

    Richard Peto on why smoking kills but quitting saves lives · Apr 2019

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24. —
    Robert Mair

    Prof Robert Mair · Jan 2013

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25. —
    Robert May

    Robert May · Jun 2012

    0 votes

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26. —
    Robin Murray

    Robin Murray · Feb 2012

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27. —
    Rosalie David

    Rosalie David on the science of Egyptian mummies · Sep 2024

    0 votes

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28. —
    Sadaf Farooqi

    Sadaf Farooqi on what makes us fat · Jan 2017

    0 votes

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29. —
    Saiful Islam

    Saiful Islam on materials to power the 21st century · Oct 2019

    0 votes

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30. —
    Sanjeev Gupta

    Sanjeev Gupta · May 2013

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31. —
    Sarah Blaffer Hrdy

    Sarah Blaffer Hrdy on human evolution and parenthood · Nov 2023

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32. —
    Sarah Bridle

    Sarah Bridle on the carbon footprint of food · Mar 2021

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33. —
    Sarah Gilbert

    Sarah Gilbert on developing a vaccine for Covid-19 · Sep 2020

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34. —
    Sarah Harper

    Professor Sarah Harper on how population change is remodelling societies. · Nov 2023

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35. —
    Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

    Sarah-Jayne Blakemore on teenage brains · Mar 2015

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36. —
    Shankar Balasubramanian

    Shankar Balasubramanian on decoding DNA · Mar 2022

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37. —
    Sheena Cruickshank

    Sheena Cruickshank on the wonders of the human immune system · Jun 2018

    0 votes

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38. —
    Sheila Rowan

    Sheila Rowan on gravitational waves · Jun 2016

    0 votes

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39. —
    Sheila Willis

    Sheila Willis on using science to help solve crime · Mar 2024

    0 votes

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40. —
    Sonia Gandhi

    Sonia Gandhi on building model brains to tackle Parkinson’s disease · Oct 2025

    0 votes

    Never again