Seriously...

We've been building computers to think like us for years, but our ability to replicate human senses has been impossible. Until now. This technological revolution is starting to profoundly change not only how we interact with the world around us, but is allowing us to see, hear, smell, taste and even touch things we never imagined possible before. An Artificial Intelligence revolution is super-charging sensing technology, promising us eyes with laser precision, ears that can distinguish every sound in a mile's radius and noses than can sniff out the early signs of forest fires before the first flame forms. Evolutionary biologist and broadcaster Prof. Ben Garrod, is off to meet some of these sensory innovators and technological pioneers. The archaeologists, ecologists and medics, who are turning our world upside down and inside out. In episode one, Ben tries seeing further. The visible world to us is tiny, and we are able to detect just a fraction of the light spectrum that is out there. But new technology

In a special episode to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, writer Horatio Clare and psychiatrist Femi Oyebode consider the purpose of anxiety, and how it can manifest in different ways. They look at where it comes from, and hear from firefighter Jonny about his journey with panic attacks and his techniques for coping with them.

You can buy almost everything on social media – how about a British dad for your child? A year long BBC investigation has uncovered a brazen illegal immigration scam in which pregnant migrant women who are in the UK without a visa are paying British men thousands of pounds to pose as fathers to their children. The women gain British citizenship for their child, which means they may be able to get the right to remain themselves. The fake fathers receive hefty sums of money. And a network of criminal 'fixers' and translators are also cashing in. Divya Talwar reports.

For years, science has had a dirty secret; research has been dogged by claims and instances of fraud, malpractice and outright incompetence. Suspicious-looking data sets, breakthrough results that can’t be replicated, eyebrow-raising statistical sleights of hand - science has been undergoing something of an existential crisis. And at the forefront of keeping science honest has been a bunch of outsiders, some of them with no formal academic positions, no salaried posts, double-checking the published claims of researchers and academics. Their work is not without controversy, especially when they go public; nevertheless, they’ve achieved impressive results. Presenter Michael Blastland meets some of these ‘Truth Police’, discovering their methodology and their motives, as well as asking how scientific institutions are reacting to the deep issues they have brought out into the light. Presenter: Michael Blastland Producer: Nathan Gower

Adam Shaw peeks behind the curtain of the consultancy industry. Worth hundreds of billions of pounds, consultants stretch across almost every industry, government department and international border. Since the pandemic there’s been an unprecedented demand for their services and many believe our future is determined by what they think and do. Yet little is known about these largely hidden influencers. They are magnetic and mesmerizing yet, to many of us, shrouded in mystery. Adam asks who these wizards, what do they do and how much do they influence our lives. On the one hand, they're talked of as genius solvers of the world’s greatest problems and masters of the machinery of management. On other, some think of them in more shadowy terms, whispering their guidance into the ears of the rich and powerful. Adam sets off with missionary zeal to detangle two very different stereotypes. Across the series he hunts for the first ever consultant, finds out how they shape our language and politics and discovers how t

Presenter Anita Anand joins comedian Shaparak Khorsandi and author Andrew Scott Cooper to explore the tragic life, death and legacy of Princess Leila Pahlavi, the last Princess of Imperial Iran. Leila was the daughter of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the last in a long line of Iranian Royalty. But when the 1979 revolution began, Leila and her family were forced to escape. Leila spent the rest of her life in exile and while she had a brief career as a model and 90s It Girl, she tragically died alone in a London hotel. In this episode, we trace her story and the monumental impact it’s left on the Iranian community. Producer: Rufaro Faith Mazarura Editor: Ailsa Rochester Sound Design: Craig Edmondson An Audio Always production for BBC Radio 4

Communities in the Scottish Highlands are facing a housing crisis so bad, it’s been described as a clearance for the 21st century. According to the Convenor of the Highland Council, Bill Lobban, “the species most under threat in the Cairngorms National Park isn’t the Capercaillie but the young family trying to find a home”. Ironically one key cause of the problem is also what brings most into the local economy – tourism. Across the region the growth of the tourism and hospitality industry is driving the demand for 2nd homes and many houses are now used for short-term holiday lets, with the result that very little accommodation remains for locals searching for somewhere to live, what does remain is usually unaffordable or unsuitable. The knock-on effect is that businesses across the Highlands are struggling to find staff and even when they manage to find them, they often lose them because there’s no rental accommodation locally. A sector which has been particularly hard hit is hospitality where low wages ex

In May 2020 a group of experts came together, at speed, to form the UK’s Vaccine Task Force. Born in the teeth of a crisis, its efforts were responsible for allowing Britain to be among the first countries in the world to roll out vaccines against Covid-19. But as memories of the pandemic fade, the urgency it brought to its work has subsided as well. In this edition of Analysis, Sandra Kanthal asks what lessons have been learned from the success of the Vaccine Task Force and if we should be prepared to allocate the time, energy and expense required to be permanently prepared for the next global health emergency. Presenter: Sandra Kanthal Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Clare Fordham

The roads and byways of the British Isles are home to a new generation of travellers. Alongside the traditional Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities there’s a booming sub-culture of van dwellers who prefer the open road to bricks and mortar. For some it's a lifestyle choice. They spend the summer moving from festival to festival, picking up casual jobs as they go. They celebrate their light touch on the planet and those who can afford it take the snowbird route for the winter, heading south through Spain. For increasing numbers, however, there's less glamour in 'van life'. Rapidly rising rents force them into vehicles and a long, cold winter searching for welcoming roadside stops with toilets and taps. Travel writer and broadcaster, Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent has spent many months living out of her own battered VW van. She understands the fantasy and the practical difficulties. In the New Nomads she hears about both sides of van life and discovers new challenges on the horizon. For many travellers- traditi

Are we running out of water? Britain may be known for its rain but, as our climate changes, there are warnings we could be closer than we think to our taps running dry. In this episode of Troubled Water, James Gallagher asks why our pipes are being pushed to the brink and what can be done about it, all from the comfort of his bathroom. Huddled in the loo, he talks to Professor Hannah Cloke, OBE, who predicts rainfall events through her work at the University of Reading, Dr Francis Hassard, from the Water Science Institute at Cranfield University, Andrew Tucker who manages water demand at Thames Water and inventor Garry Moore who shows how he's hoping to revolutionise our loos with his air-pressurised Velocity toilet. Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Tom Bonnett

Much of an astronaut’s leisure time is spent staring back at Earth, they just can’t stop looking back at home. Major Tim Peake journeys into the misunderstood phenomenon of homesickness. Tim had never experienced it until he found himself looking through the copula window of the space craft, which orbited earth several times before reaching the International Space Station. The British astronaut spent 185 days, 22 hours and 11 minutes in space and during that time, developed a deep longing for home, particularly fresh air, nature and the colour green. But what is this powerful desire for home? Is homesickness a psychological illness? A cultural phenomenon? Or something else? Psychotherapist Sarah Temple-Smith who works for the Refugee Council believes the condition is widely misunderstood and its impact critically under-appreciated. She believes it’s a deep-rooted condition with existential consequences. Speaking to those who suffer from it, and those who study it Tim attempts to understand exactly what

Situated 75-miles off the west coast of Shetland, the future of Cambo, a prospective new oil field in the North Sea, has big implications for Shetland. Cambo has become emblematic of the debate about fossil fuels. In 2001, an oil exploration license for the site was granted. In 2021, when public sentiment towards fossil fuels cooled, the project was shelved. But now, Cambo is being reconsidered once again... The war in Ukraine and fears over energy security have changed how we feel about oil and gas. But what's the problem that Cambo is providing a solution to? Will it give us better energy security? Will it enrich the lives of local people? Turns out, the answer is more complex than that... Shetland has directly benefitted from its relationship with North Sea oil. Unlike in the rest of the UK, the local council established something akin to a sovereign wealth fund. They made a proceed from every barrel of oil processed at Sullum Voe Oil Terminal. It's really positively impacted the local population, and

The word “controversy” almost always accompanies any reference to ECT or electroconvulsive therapy. It has a dark history and remains a deeply contentious practice. For many, ECT is seen as outdated, forever linked with frightening images of medical abuse, cruelty and even punishment. But when Professor Sally Marlow met Dr Tania Gergel at King’s College London, she was forced to acknowledge and then reassess everything she thought she knew about ECT. Her friend Tania told Sally that ECT had saved her life on numerous occasions and that ECT is, in fact, the only treatment that can bring her back to health after episodes of severe depression, psychosis and mania. Tania is Director of Research at Bipolar UK. She’s a philosopher and an internationally respected medical ethicist. She also lives with a serious mental illness; an unusual mixed type of bipolar disorder, and during her last period of illness a year ago, Tania kept an audio diary. In this programme, Sally wants to test her own preconceptions abou

Matthew Syed traces the history of a term that's synonymous with our era of angry debate.

Historian Phil Tinline explores why, 37 years ago, the Thatcher government privatised British Gas, how what followed has shaped today's energy price crisis - and what should happen next. Contributors: Professor Michael Bradshaw, Derek Davis, Dr Amy Edwards, Mathew Lawrence, Tim Lefroy, Sir John Redwood Producer: Phil Tinline

It seems like an impossible conundrum. Ukraine is valiantly defending itself against the man Boris Johnson called "a blood-stained aggressor" and fighting for survival in a war that is currently deadlocked. President Zelensky has warned that attempts at talks with The Russian Federation will fail, because Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted. So in the absence of a decisive victory or a negotiated settlement - what happens? James Naughtie investigates how other conflicts have come to a conclusion, in a bid to shed light on a war which has so far defied predictions. He will talk to key figures who have been in the room as peace deals are ground out - and visit the law makers in Washington DC who are the key source of defence funding for Ukraine. History may have lessons when it comes to a conflict for which there seems no end in sight. Presented by James Naughtie Produced by Kevin Core

Taiwan is one of the world's youngest democracies. The first fully democratic presidential election was held as recently as 1996. But it's now being heralded as a place where digital technology is giving citizens a sense of direct engagement with political systems and law creation.They have a Minister of Digital Affairs, Audrey Tang, who has brought his computer software programming expertise learned in Silicon Valley to bear on the way in which ideas, petitions and suggested law reforms can be promoted by way of a website which boasts millions of users. The BBC's former Taiwan Correspondent Cindy Sui revisits the Island to try and measure the success of the website called 'Join' at a time when Taiwan faces very direct international pressures. But she also explores more established systems of local democracy, including the system of community chiefs or Lin Zhangs and the 24 hour hotline with its promise of a speedy response to any inquiry or report about issues closer to home. Western democracies have fac

Recently, in both Europe and the United States, there have been serious attempts to overthrow elected governments by force. History is full of examples of coups d'etat succeeding, going all the way back to Ancient Rome. But these latest coup attempts failed. And they left a strange impression: of events that were part-horrific, part-absurd. In this programme, the novelist and classicist Natalie Haynes takes three examples of power grabs from Ancient Rome - one by the military, one by senators, and one conducted by stealth - and uses them to try to make sense of recent events in France, Germany and America. With the help of leading scholars of the dark art of the coup, she probes why these assaults on power flopped, and what all this tells us about where power now lies. And she asks where the subtler threats to democracy are lurking, against which we now need to be on guard. Contributors include: Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Alexander Clarkson, Rory Cormac. Producer: Phil Tinline

The recent rise in migrant boat crossings between France the UK is being fuelled in part by the more sophisticated methods gangs are using to source the boats. Last year when they investigated the smuggling gangs for BBC Radio 4, reporter Sue Mitchell and former British soldier and aid worker, Rob Lawrie, were alongside border force officials as they seized all manner of dinghies used in the crossings. Today that haul looks very different: the makeshift supply has been replaced by a sophisticated business which sees boats manufactured in Turkey and transported across Europe to the beaches of France. This streamlined supply chain is big business and it’s enabled the gangs to rapidly expand the trade: bigger boats made specifically for these crossings are mass manufactured in Turkey and shipped straight into the hands of smugglers. It’s a complicated dodging of laws as they’re transported across Europe, with authorities slow to react. And it promises to thwart whatever deals are secured between Britain and F

For thousands of years we have gazed up at the stars and wondered: is anybody out there? The idea of meeting aliens has been the inspiration for countless books and films; for art and music. But today, thinking about meeting life on, or from, other planets is no longer dismissed as pure make-believe – it’s the focus of political consideration and cutting-edge space science. Farrah Jarral presents the story of the fantasy and the reality of preparing for first contact with extra-terrestrials.