Mark Lythgoe from University College London discusses improvisation and the creative mind. He argues that improvisation is one of the most prized human attributes, allowing us to scale the heights of civilisation.
In December, Mark will be speaking at Bristol University as part of a series of discussions between artists and scientists called The Creative Brain.
We ask mathematician Marcus du Sautoy whether he is nervous about taking over from Richard Dawkins as Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford.
Space tourist Richard Garriott tells us what it's like being back on boring old earth.
Guardian science correspondent Ian Sample is also in the pod to offer up his pearls of wisdom on the past week's science news.
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