Best Matthew Knapp Podcasts (2025)

What is light? How has it shaped our understanding of the universe, our biology, and even our culture?In this illuminating episode Brian Cox and Robin Ince shine a spotlight on the fascinating science and history of light. From sun and circadian rhythms to the dazzling complexity of quantum, they explore how humans have understood and been influenc…

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Moths v Butterflies - Katy Brand, Jane Hill and Chris Jiggins 42:08

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20d ago42:08

42:08

What really separates a moth from a butterfly? Is it just a matter of day and night, or is there more to this fluttering feud than meets the eye?Professor Brian Cox and Robin Ince flap into the fabulous world of Lepidoptera with Professor Jane Hill, Professor Chris Jiggins, and comedian Katy Brand. Together, they chase colourful wings through scien…

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Technofossils - Sarah Gabbott, Mark Miodownik and Aurie Styla 42:26

27d ago42:26

42:26

Brian Cox and Robin Ince dig deep into the strata of an imagined human history to unearth the curious concept of technofossils. Joined by paleobiologist Sarah Gabbott, material scientist Mark Miodownik and comedian and tech enthusiast Aurie Styla the panel unearth how the everyday objects that we throw away today compare to fossils of the past. Tog…

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The Mighty Spud - Sandy Knapp, Glenn Bryan and Susan Calman 42:43

1M ago42:43

42:43

Robin Ince and Brian Cox get out the ketchup and peel back the layers of one of the most versatile and beloved foods - potatoes. From the science of starch to the surprising role potatoes have played in history, we’re digging deep to uncover the truth behind the mighty spud.Chipping into the conversation are botanist Sandy Knapp, geneticist Glenn B…

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How to Build the Perfect Athlete - Helen Glover, Hugh Dennis, Steve Haake and Emma Ross 42:22

1M ago42:22

42:22

Brian Cox and Robin Ince are limbering up for a high-performance episode all about what it takes to build the perfect athlete.Joining them on the track are physiologist Dr Emma Ross, sports engineer Professor Steve Haake, Olympic rowing legend Helen Glover, and comedian Hugh Dennis - who’s getting into gear and reliving his cycling adventures in th…

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Should We Settle in Space? - Tim Peake, Kelly Weinersmith and Alan Davies 42:46

2M ago42:46

42:46

Brian Cox and Robin Ince blast off into a cosmic controversy as they ask, should humanity become an interplanetary species? At Harwell Campus, a space science innovation hub, they’re joined by astronaut Tim Peake, biologist and Royal Society prize winning author Kelly Weinersmith, and comedian Alan Davies to explore the science, ethics, and challen…

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Episode 121: Grumpy Old Men 1:30:06

2M ago1:30:06

1:30:06

Mike and Dan talk about cars, the internet, and board games. It truely is as scintilating an episode as it sounds.

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201st Birthday Bonanza - Mel Giedroyc, Deborah Meaden and Nish Kumar 42:35

2M ago42:35

42:35

Get ready for a landmark episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage as we celebrate our 201st show! Brian Cox and Robin Ince invite a lively panel of celebrity guests to pose their burning scientific questions to a top-tier team of scientists.Mel Giedroyc is tunnelling into the world of engineering, asking how we build and operate trains under some of the…

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Episode 120 - Lets go to Japan 1:24:23

3M ago1:24:23

1:24:23

Mike just flew in from Japan and boy are his arms tired. As well as taking about his trip we discuss the production copy of I Made You a Mix Tape, dan's exciting adventures decorating his bathroom, and probably some other stuff - to be honest it's all a bit of a blur. Download it while it's hot!

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Episode 119 - Tilting at Windmills and Tariffs, with Jeff Knapp 1:51:34

5M ago1:51:34

1:51:34

Dan and Mike are joined by Jeff from Tabletop toolbox (and the Dice Tower) to talk about the usual claptrap. You can find Jeff's youtube channel here: https://youtu.be/2Irh8VHPDxU?si=Jp-l9MTl2pkkiIrz

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Nature's Shapes - Dave Gorman, Sarah Hart and Thomas Woolley 42:27

5M ago42:27

42:27

Brian Cox and Robin Ince unpick the hidden codes behind the shapes we see in nature with mathematicians Sarah Hart & Thomas Woolley and comedian Dave Gorman. The panel marvel at how evolution so often beats mathematicians to finding the most elegant solutions, after all, it’s had millennia to experiment. How do trees achieve the optimal distributio…

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The Sound of Music - Brian Eno, Sam Bennett and Trevor Cox 42:43

6M ago42:43

42:43

Brian Cox and Robin Ince explore the history of music recording, joined by acoustics professor Trevor Cox, music professor Sam Bennett and musician and producer Brian Eno. Together they guide us through the evolution of sound recording, a space in which technology hasn’t stood still since its advent in the mid-1800s. We hear the very first recognis…

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Saturn v Jupiter - Katherine Parkinson, Paul Abel and Michele Dougherty 42:21

6M ago42:21

42:21

Brian Cox and Robin Ince referee as Saturn and Jupiter square up to each other in a planetary face-off. Representing Team Saturn is space physicist Professor Michele Dougherty, and in the opposite corner is Dr Paul Abel on Team Jupiter. Katherine Parkinson judges this cosmic contest, casting the final vote to decide who will be awarded the coveted …

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Adventures on Ice - Darren Harriott, Liz Morris, Christoph Salzmann and Felicity Aston 42:32

6M ago42:32

42:32

Robin Ince and Brian Cox venture into the captivating and surprisingly mysterious realm of ice. Joining them on this cool adventure are former ice dancer Darren Harriott, glaciologist Liz Morris, polar explorer Felicity Aston and ice chemist Christoph Salzmann. From beautifully formed snowflakes to ice shelves in Antarctica, our guests discuss the …

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How selfish are we really? - Jo Brand, Matti Wilks and Steve Jones 42:26

6M ago42:26

42:26

Brian Cox and Robin Ince kindly open the door for each other as they step into understanding altruism, asking why humans have evolved to help each other. Joining them to explore the human tendency to be kind is evolutionary biologist Steve Jones, psychologist Matti Wilks and comedian Jo Brand. Starting with the animal kingdom, we probe the biologic…

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Episode 118: Substack, Social Media, and going to Japan - With Max Davie 1:33:13

6M ago1:33:13

1:33:13

Mike, Max, and Dan solve all the conundrems of the universe.

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Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Phil Wang, Ana Ferreira and Chris Jackson 42:40

7M ago42:40

42:40

Brian Cox and Robin Ince slice deep into the lesser-explored world beneath us. To join them on the journey from the crust to the core they are joined by seismologist Ana Ferreira, geologist Chris Jackson and comedian Phil Wang. School children learn about the make-up of the Earth with an image depicting the Earth's core, mantle and crust layered ne…

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Episode 117: One for the surviving bacteria 1:17:36

8M ago1:17:36

1:17:36

All right stop, collaborate and listen Dan and Mike are back with the brand-new invention Something, grabs a hold of us tightly Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly Will it ever stop? Yo, we don't know Turn off the lights and we'll glow To the extreme we rock a mic like a vandal Light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle Dance go rush to the s…

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An Unexpected History of the Body 42:25

8M ago42:25

42:25

Brian Cox and Robin Ince uncover the unexpected history of the body in the archives of the Royal Society with special guests Prof Helen King, Sir Mark Walport, Keith Moore and Ed Byrne. Together they dissect some of the most surprising and peculiar beliefs that have been held about the body over the last 500 years, from wandering-womb hypotheses to…

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Is Extinction the End? 42:27

9M ago42:27

42:27

Brian Cox and Robin Ince dig into de-extinction asking, could we and should we resurrect creatures of the past? They are joined by geneticist Adam Rutherford, palaeontologist Susannah Maidment and comedian/virologist Ria Lina. Extinction has played a significant role in shaping the life we see on Earth today. It is estimated around 95% of species t…

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Fantastic Elastic 42:44

9M ago42:44

42:44

Brian Cox and Robin Ince expand their knowledge of elasticity with Olympian Bryony Page, comedian Jessica Fostekew & experts Dr Anna Ploszajski and Prof James Busfield from Queen Mary University of London. What makes stretchy things stretch? Together our panel journey through different applications of elastic materials and examine, at the molecular…

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The Science of Baby Making 42:00

9M ago42:00

42:00

Brian Cox and Robin Ince investigate the science of baby making - don’t worry, all theory, no practice! They are joined by Professor Joyce Harper, Dr Ben Steventon and comedian Sara Pascoe to discuss how just two cells can turn into trillions, or in other words, how an embryo can turn into an embryologist. The embryo-building processes across speci…

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Starless World 42:25

9M ago42:25

42:25

Brian Cox and Robin Ince consider how different our understanding of the universe would be without the stars. They are joined by Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Roberto Trotta and comedian John Bishop who illuminate all that we have learnt from the stars and how different life would be without them. Every culture has looked up at the night sky, but why are w…

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Hedgehogs 42:34

10M ago42:34

42:34

Brian Cox and Robin Ince emerge from the hedge row waking up their guests from hibernation to discuss the fascinating lives of Britain’s favourite mammal, the hedgehog. They are joined by hedgehog experts Hugh Warwick and Sophie Lund Rasmussen (also know as Dr Hedgehog), and by broadcaster and poet Pam Ayres. Sophie Lund Rasmussen has crowd sourced…

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The Cyber Codebreakers 42:30

10M ago42:30

42:30

Brian Cox and Robin Ince head to Bletchley Park with comedian Alan Davies, and cyber experts Victoria Baines and Richard Benham to decode cyberwarfare and discuss its future. As computers have shrunk from the size of rooms to fitting in our jacket pockets, our cyber sleuths explore the changing nature of cyber-attacks and defence. They decipher the…

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Episode 116: Fake Octopuses with Carl Robinson 1:13:09

10M ago1:13:09

1:13:09

Look, before anyone starts - I looked it up and the plural of octopus is octopuses - so don't come here with your knock-off latin and claim it's "octopi". Now that's out of the way, On this episode of Sporadically Board we are joined by Kelp-Boy himself, Carl Robinson (or Karl Robinson, as I like to call him). He's talking to us about his experienc…

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Episode 115: Traveling with Matthew Jude 1:14:59

10M ago1:14:59

1:14:59

Sometimes life gets so busy that you let time get away from you, and realize that it's been far too long since you've had a proper chat with a friend. Such has been the case with our guest who's been part the show since the very beginning, the lovely Matthew Jude. Quick hugs and hurried greetings at conventions aside, it's been a while since we've …

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Episode 114: Mike Just Realized That He Never Named The Last One 1:01:37

11M ago1:01:37

1:01:37

Hello everyone! While uploading this, I realized that I never named the last one. I'm taking suggestions on what the official title of Episode 113 should be. Leave those suggestions in the comments below. Also, here's another one! It discusses the Dice Tower Retreat. I remember very little about this recording since I've been to Las Vegas and Europ…

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Episode 113: 1:26:58

11M ago1:26:58

1:26:58

WARNING: Mike is not on this episode. Dan is left to host for himself. The results are predictable. Thankfully we have TWO guests to compensate! Super-designer Frank West is here! We're especially appreciative as he's knees deep in the Kickstarter campaign for his upcoming game, Emberleaf! also, Super-human Luke Prior is here! We're especially appr…

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Episode 112: AireCon Gets Yanked 55:27

12M ago55:27

55:27

The Yanks take over Manchester, England and things will never be the same! In this episode, Mike and Dan talk about: AireCon NW British Airways Them Prices (I assume. I can't remember exactly, but it's not like Dan WON'T complain about the cost of things) Meal Deals The fact that Boot's has the bougiest meal deals The superiority of Starbars Games?…

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Episode 111: LIVE From AireCon! 1:12:37

1y ago1:12:37

1:12:37

Welcome to a VERY SPECIAL EPISODE of Sporadically Board. AireCon NW has just ended, and while Dan drove home with nary a care, Mike braved the horrors of British Airways and the Manchester Airport to eventually get home to the US. His luggage arrived days later. While at AireCon, Dan put together a cracking quiz show where Mike, Zee and Camilla (fr…

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Alien Life - Russell Kane, Lisa Kaltenegger and Chris Lintott 42:22

1y ago42:22

42:22

Are we alone in the universe? Brian Cox and Robin Ince venture to Glastonbury in the search for alien life and are joined in their galactic quest by comedian Russell Kane and astronomers Lisa Kaltenegger and Chris Lintott. They imagine the sorts of worlds that might best host alien life, how some of the biological and technological signatures of al…

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An Unexpected History of Science - Rufus Hound, Matthew Cobb, Victoria Herridge and Keith Moore 42:32

1y ago42:32

42:32

Brian Cox and Robin Ince raid the archives of the Royal Society to reveal an unexpected history of science with guests Rufus Hound, Tori Herridge, Matthew Cobb and Keith Moore. Together they explore some of the surprising and wackiest scientific endeavours undertaken by early members of the Royal Society from the discovery of sperm to testing the i…

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Episode 110: Quantity Over Quality 53:56

1y ago53:56

53:56

Can you believe it? We said we were going to do something, and we've actually stuck to it for a few episodes. You're going to need to rent a storage shed to contain all of the entertainment you're getting from us. In this episode we discuss: Gen Con AireCon Chaka Khan The Wrath of Khan There was a lot of other stuff too, but I don't want to spoil i…

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What a Gas! - Dave Gorman, Mark Miodownik and Lucy Carpenter 42:56

1y ago42:56

42:56

Brian Cox and Robin Ince talk hot air as they explore the pivotal role of gasses in our lives. Joining them to add some CO2 to the mix is material scientist Mark Miodownik, chemist Lucy Carpenter and comedian Dave Gorman. They discuss how humans came to even understand it existed in the first place as well as how many of the innovations in modern s…

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Episode 109: The One About The Kickstarter 48:35

1y ago48:35

48:35

Hold onto your hats as we're releasing podcasts thick and fast at the moment (well, this is the second this month anyway). And in this episode we finally able to announce the date of our Kickstarter for "I Made You a Mixtape" - the game that Mike and I have been working on for the past two years. Hurrah! If you would like to follow the project on K…

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Extreme Exploration - Anneka Rice, Mike Massimino, Britney Schmidt and Jess Phoenix 43:00

1y ago43:00

43:00

Brian Cox and Robin Ince venture to the home place of exploration in Porto, Portugal at the Explorers Club as they discuss science at the extremes of exploration. Joining them is volcanologist Jess Phoenix, astronaut Mike Massimino, astrobiologist and oceanographer Britney Schmidt as well as adventurer and broadcaster Anneka Rice. They discuss brea…

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'Beastly Bodies' Kids Special - Steve Backshall, Jess French and Adam Kay 42:39

1y ago42:39

42:39

Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by adventurer and naturalist Steve Backshall, veterinarian Jess French, and comedian and former doctor Adam Kay, as they are put to the test by an audience of curious children at Cheltenham Science Festival. We find out who would win in a battle between a shark and a crocodile (the answer involves a tennis court)…

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Episode 108: Metropolitan Elites 50:04

1y ago50:04

50:04

NEW FORMAT ALERT: In an attempt to always be on the cutting edge of podcast technology, Dan and I are trying a new format for the podcast. Don't worry, the same rambling, nonsensical claptrap you know and loathe remains, but it's just more condensed! NOW you can experience Mike and Dan in shorter bursts, more often. [pause for innuendo] We begin th…

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Science of Board Games - Jess Fostekew, Marcus du Sautoy and Dave Neale 43:11

1y ago43:11

43:11

Brian Cox and Robin Ince go past jail, climb a ladder and build a civilisation as they explore the science behind our favourite board games. Joining them in the library (or was it the conservatory?) is mathematician Marcus du Sautoy, who discusses the global history of games as well as his tips for winning at Monopoly. Joining him is games designer…

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The Wonder of Trees - Dame Judi Dench, Tony Kirkham and Tristan Gooley 42:29

1y ago42:29

42:29

Brian Cox and Robin Ince leaf through the latest tree science with Dame Judi Dench, Tony Kirkham and Tristan Gooley. Dame Judi Dench shares her great love for treekind and describes how over time she has come to create a small woodland in her garden and how meaningful that is for her. Tony Kirkham, former head of Kew Arboretum and Gardens, shares s…

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Episode 107: Getting Down to the Business End of Business 1:07:03

1y ago1:07:03

1:07:03

As you know, Dan and I like to keep things light and frothy in most circumstances (it's also the way Dan prefers his Venti, Quad, Half-Caff, Non-Fat, No Foam, Extra Hot, Peppermint, White Chocolate Mocha with Light Whip, 2 Pumps of Sugar-Free Vanilla, 1 Pump of Classic, a Dash of Cinnamon, a Splash of Soy Milk, Double Blended, with Chocolate Drizzl…

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The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… Audience Favourites (Pt 2) 22:16

1+ y ago22:16

22:16

`This week it's over to you the listeners, as we hear some of your favourite moments from The Infinite Monkey Cage. Comedian Claire Hooper hears about the mating rituals of spiders, which use several of their legs in this complex process. But she discovers the females of the species get their own back by eating the males once the deed is done. Come…

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Episode 106: Fauxgels, Goulash and the (Taylor) Reinerssance 2:04:25

1+ y ago2:04:25

2:04:25

We used to have guests on this podcast quite regularly. Then we didn't. Such are the vagaries of life. But sometimes. Sometimes you run across someone who's artistic vision is so pure and unsullied that you simply must invite them onto your podcast so that you can shove them back towards the mainstream, and crush any artistic joy they once had. Our…

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The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… Tiny Things 22:08

1+ y ago22:08

22:08

Brian Cox and Robin Ince shuffle through the archive to find the smallest things in the world of science, from a particle so tiny nobody has ever actually seen it, to the millions of microbes we’re all made up of. They ask the short-of-stature comedian Andy Hamilton how he’d feel about being three times bigger, which he admits could come in handy i…

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The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… The Future 19:43

1+ y ago19:43

19:43

We know the universe is rapidly expanding but what happens if other galaxies disappear from view? That’s what Eric Idle wants to know as he ponders the future and what it holds in store. Solar scientist Lucie Green says this is not worth dwelling on because we’ll all be wiped out by an asteroid at some point anyway, which leads to a discussion abou…

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The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… Failure 16:54

1+ y ago16:54

16:54

Brian Cox and Robin Ince embrace failure in its many forms, with a frank look at the importance of making mistakes. They examine the flaws in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution with the anthropologist Alice Roberts, as she tells them no idea is totally watertight. And sometimes scientific error even leads to important discoveries – just ask the h…

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The Infinite Monkey's Guide To… Gambling 19:16

1+ y ago19:16

19:16

Robin Ince and Brian Cox ask why some people always seem to win as they investigate the science of gambling. They hear how playing monopoly is no way to make friends, but don’t worry, because psychologist Richard Wiseman claims that it’s never really good fun anyway. In fact, games are mainly a form of social bonding and studies show deception coul…

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Episode 105.5: Return of the Mailbag (Redux) 1:34:37

1+ y ago1:34:37

1:34:37

Sound the trumpets! Ring the bells! Trim the hedges! Yes, it's time for another incomparable, inconceivable, incompetent epidode of Sporadically Board. LISTEN - as Dan quizzes Mike about hip new phrases buzzing around the zeitgeist. YEARN - as Dan discusses the pleasures of cheese on Christmas Cake. QUIVER - as Mike elucidates on why he wants to be…