By Dave Wilby

November 30th, 2011

Listen with Auntie: BBC Science

Listen with Auntie: BBC Science

Apologies in advance for such a hugely indulgent post, but if you have similar weaknesses for the more geeky wing of the Big British Castle, then you at least will appreciate the links!

Earlier this week I sent a tweet out for @promptlondon which said: “Really enjoying @BBCRadio4 ‘The Life Scientific’ and ‘The Infinite Monkey Cage’ science programming: www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/science-on-radio4″

I’ve always been a massive, unashamed fan of Auntie, but as I grow older I find that I click or tune-in to the comforting familiarity of Radio 4 with increasing regularity. BBC iPlayer Listen Again and podcasts just serve to feed the addiction further.

Recently I’ve been spending much more time than I’d like driving along dual-carriage ways, pacing corridors and sitting in waiting rooms. On the plus side, I’ve had my iPhone with me packed with the Radio 4 science shows I mentioned in the tweet. Of all the shows ‘The Infinite Monkey Cage’ is probably the most accessible, fronted as it is by everyone’s favourite contemporary physicist Prof. Brian Cox and comic raconteur Robin Ince. I was hooked from the first show I caught around this time last year, when Alexei Sayle was roped in to discuss whether philosophy is dead. If that sounds appealing and you think you’d also enjoy hearing Tim Minchin talk about probability, or John Culshaw defending the north of England, then tune in.

Once your latent geek has been unlocked by humour, it’s time to tap in to ‘The Life Scientific’ (worm DNA this week!), Stephen Fry delving inside mobile phones, ‘Material World’ with Quentin Cooper, or if you’re feeling really brave, ‘A Brief History of Mathematics’.

You can imagine how pleased I was to receive a tweet from @BBCRadio4 which asked “@PromptLondon – What do you think of our #science @BBCRadio4 collections page then?”

Well, what do you think? Radio 4 Collections is the hub of all Radio 4 factual content sorted by genre. Not only has this tweet helped me discover ‘Saving Species’, it’s also a useful launchpad for great programming such as ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’, ‘Bookclub’, ‘Desert Island Discs’ and more.

So what’s my point? There isn’t one really, other than a simple reminder of some great ways to expand your horizons, feed your head and pamper your techy soul with huge archives of great content. You’ve undoubtedly paid for this stuff already with your licence fee, and it’s all just sitting there waiting patiently to keep you company when you need a friendly voice or two to fill your wandering mind with baffling science.

Hook yourself up – tell us what you think.