On this week's edition of Science Weekly, Alok Jha and James Randerson are joined by theoretical nuclear physicist, author, and broadcaster, Jim Al-Khalili. Jim was recently awarded the Royal Society's Michael Faraday Prize for science communication, and this week he'll be presenting a new series called 'Atom' as part of the BBC's 'Science You Can't See' season. (There's a book that goes with the documentary by the way.)
He gives us a potted history of atoms and exotic nuclei, and goes into a bit of quantum theory, dark matter, and tells us about the newest and heaviest elements in the universe. If you can think of a name for element 118 - currently, it's Ununoctium - we want to know what it is.
Also in the show, we hear from one of the world's leading philosophers, Daniel Dennett, on the fundamental principles of consciousness. The interview is conducted by Dr. Susan Blackmore for her book, 'Conversations on Consciousness'. Susan has allowed us to host the audio recordings of these interviews, and you can hear the extended version of the discussion with Prof Dennet as this week's Science Extra - as well as Susan's conversation with V.S. 'Rama' Ramachandran and an extract from the last ever interview given by DNA legend, Francis Crick before his death. A huge thank you to Susan for allowing us access to this material - please let us know what you think.
There is, of course, much more. We discuss the lion-eating chimps of the Congolese jungle; the latest on the British space programme; the controversy over powerlines and childhood diseases; and the science and psychology of chat-up lines.
