The Rest Is Science
Join mathematician Professor Hannah Fry and science creator Michael Stevens (Vsauce) as they dig into the weird scientific questions that often go unexplored. The show sits in the fascinating space between what we think we know and what we actually know, questioning assumptions about time, randomness, and gravity. It aims to change your perception of reality and prove that the biggest questions are always the most fun.
Episodes
How Many Words Do You ACTUALLY Know?
Most people use just a fraction of the words they understand. But how big is your vocabulary, really?
When a listener builds a tool that claims to measure it, Hannah and Michael put themselves to the test.
If you'd like to try for yourself, follow the link and tell us what score you get in the comments: https://vocabowl-870366514258.us-west1.run.app/
Along the way they uncover forgotten
Why You Should Stop Using Face ID
Do you think your thoughts belong to you? How would feel if you found out they don't?
In this episode Hannah and Michael discuss a tangible future where the last bastion of privacy is breached and the thoughts that run through out heads no longer belong to us.
Why is it that in 2026 police can open your phone using face ID any time they want, but they can't do the same with your password? When
Nikola Tesla Fell In Love with a Pigeon
What do lightning, wireless electricity, Cambridge dining etiquette, hypnosis, and a lovestruck pigeon have in common?
The answer is (of course) Nikola Tesla.
In this episode of The Rest Is Science: Field Notes, Michael and Hannah experience a real Tesla coil, exploring the spectacular physics behind one of Tesla's most famous inventions.
Why do these devices create miniature lightning
Michael Discovered A New Way To Make Twins
Is there a new way to make twins? If there is, Michael's might just have discovered it. And hint: it's going to hard work.
From Hannah’s twin-like sister to the most famous cells in human history, in this episode Hannah and Michael continue to explore whether we truly own of ourselves, this time at a microscopic level.
From our genome, to our cells and even our personalities, what happens
Why Michael Abandoned Ink
What can be revealed about a person by their choice of…lead?
In this gloriously nerdy episode of Field Notes, Michael Stevens arrives armed with an entire collection of mechanical pencils, sparking a series of passionate debates about graphite, the merits of ink, and whether the perfect pencil will ever really exist.
Plus: what happens to fizzy drink bubbles in zero gravity? Why did early sc
Do Our Bodies Really Belong To Us?
What happens to a body part once it’s been removed from your body? Can you take it home? Cremate it? Bury it? Even give it a funeral?
In the first episode of a new mini-series on ownership, Hannah and Michael explore a deceptively simple question: what parts of ourselves do we actually own?
From amputated limbs and stolen skulls to black markets for human organs, they uncover the strange, unsett
Hannah Predicted a Pandemic
What if the next pandemic could be predicted before it even begins?
Hannah and Michael step into the unsettling world of outbreak simulations, where scientists map invisible infections, model human behaviour, and try to stop global catastrophe before it starts.
Some warnings save millions. Others get ignored, until it’s too late.
After the break the conversation takes a turn into space
DARK vs LIGHT
Why are black cars more dangerous, white chess pieces more successful, and pandas apparently incapable of coping with minor inconvenience?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (VSauce) unpack one deceptively simple question - which would win in a fight between black and white? - and end up exploring everything from colour psychology and radioactive frogs to quasars, fantasy literature, and
Polymetalic Nodules Are Weird
What if one of the most valuable objects on Earth has been sitting untouched at the bottom of the ocean for 100 million years?
In this Field Notes episode, Professor Hannah Fry brings Michael Stevens (VSauce) a strange metallic rock formed in the deepest parts of the Atlantic over millions of years.
What begins with a bizarre Cold War CIA cover story involving Howard Hughes and a sunken Sov
"A Grim Enemy For Reasons We Do Not Yet Comprehend"
* This episode contains descriptions of warfare and use of chemical weapons *
How do you feed a world that’s running out of food?
In this episode of The Rest Is Science, Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens uncover one of the strangest and most unsettling stories in modern science: the tale of the man who learned how to pull fertiliser out of thin air.
This discovery transformed agriculture. It mad
When 0 = 1000
Why does one of the most familiar numbers on a nutrition label turn out to be far more complicated than it looks?
What can a can of fizzy drink teach us about thermodynamics, human metabolism, and the strange ways scientists measure energy?
Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce’s Michael Stevens dive into the weird science of calories. From century-old experiments involving fire, body heat, and hu
How To Use a Black Hole To See Your Past
What if the universe is recording everything you’ve ever seen and done?
In this episode, Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the idea that light itself might carry a record of the past. And if it did, how could we watch history unfold by capturing it.
Could a perfectly placed mirror or even a black hole bend that ancient light back to us? Could we watch the pyramids being built, or hear
The Barf Bag Episode
What can a humble airplane sick bag teach us about physics, engineering, and the limits of the human stomach; And why are there people out there collecting thousands of them?
Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce’s Michael Stevens turn an unlikely holiday prompt into a surprisingly rich exploration of flight. From the biology of motion sickness to the physics of turbulence, and from exploding crisp p
Alan Turing’s Final Theory Was About Leopards
How does a perfectly symmetrical ball of cells become an animal, with a head, a tail, and complex zebra or leopard like patterns?
In this episode, we dive into the mind bending science of how order emerges from chaos, guided by an unexpected genius: Alan Turing.
From leopard spots and human embryos to crime hotbeds, Hannah and Michael discover the hidden mathematical rules shaping life itse
How To Prove You're A Time Traveller
How do you convince people you aren't a witch if you travel back in time, and where can you actually find something decent to eat when you're there?
Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce, Michael Stevens, tackle the most practical and delicious logistics of surviving a trip through history.
Check out one of Hannah's favourite chemistry YouTube channels - https://www.youtube.com/@cnliziqi
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The Reasoning Test Psychologists Still Can't Explain
Why do almost all of us struggle with a simple reasoning test, yet get it right the moment it’s about a pint in a pub? This week, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens take on the Wason Selection Task, one of the most intensely studied problems in the history of psychology.
They unpack why a rule involving letters and numbers can feel strangely difficult, while the exact same logic becomes im
The Elegant Laminar Flow Of Moroccan Tea
Does a teapot secretly hold the laws of physics? And what do soap, sugar and mint have to do with the perfect cup of tea?
Whilst in Morocco, Professor Hannah Fry takes Michael Stevens (VSauce) into the surprising science of mint tea, from foamy bubbles that trap desert sand to the elegant S-shaped spout that appears to solve some of the hardest problems in fluid dynamics.
Plus, your questions,
Science Is (Literally) Cool
Is the kitchen home to some of the most extraordinary technology humans have ever invented?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the science of everyday appliances, from the strange physics of coldness to the wartime origins of the microwave. They explore how humanity learned to trap 'coolth', beam heat into leftovers, and turn the most ordinary room in the house into a high perfor
Are There More Raindrops In Clouds Or Data In THE Cloud?
Does "the cloud" hold more data than a clouds hold raindrops? Can a new organ literally rewrite your personality?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens, VSauce, weigh our massive digital servers against a standard downpour, before unpicking the biology of transplant patients suddenly waking up with entirely new cravings.
Michael also has a new Curiosity Box coming featuring an altertativ
This Toothpick Contains Everything Ever Said (Infinity Part 3)
What happens when you finally reach the end of forever? And what exactly is the difference between Omega and Aleph-null?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (VSauce) return for the final (possibly not) chapter of our infinity series, unpicking the frankly absurd mechanics of multiple infinities. They reveal how mathematicians don't just measure the endless void, but actively organise it,
Why We Need Zip Lines On The Moon
Why would a zip line be the best form of transport on the Moon? Why exactly can your feet still feel other textures right through your socks? Hannah and Michael tackle the spectacular physics of extreme commutes and everyday biomechanics.
They unpick the orbital chaos and terrifying vacuum of space, proving why a lunar theme park ride is essentially a brilliant, fiery death trap. Back down on
Two Infinities... And Beyond (Infinity Part 2)
Why were the ancient Greeks absolutely terrified of the infinite? How did a boundless mathematical concept start bitter historical feuds? And what happens to reality when you realise that some infinities are actually bigger than others?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (VSauce) plunge back into the mind-bending history of infinity, tracking the spectacular panic it caused across the ce
How Evolution Is Shaping Cancer Research
In this very special episode Michael and Hannah look at some of the groundbreaking, jaw-dropping and hope inspiring projects that Cancer Research UK are supporting right now.
From identifying tiny "flags" cancer cells show to using cancer's own evolution against it, they show why current research today will hopefully mean a better tomorrow for many.
Cancer Research UK are the world's leading can
Paradoxes Of Infinity (Infinity Part 1)
Is infinity actually a real number, or just a brilliant mathematical hallucination? Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (VSauce) tumble down the numerical rabbit hole to explore the mind-bending origins of infinity. They unpick exactly how humanity managed to trap the endless void. From ancient paradoxes to endless hotel rooms, they dive into the bizarre history of our universe's most impossi
Michael's Favourite Science Books
What do Bill Bryson, Daniel Wegner and J.R.R. Tolkien have in common? They are all part of Michael's reading recommendations. On this episode of Field Notes we answer one of our most frequent inbox questions... "What do you both read?"
Alongside that Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens delve into whether some numbers give off "vibes" and the optimal way to use airflow to rid your car of
Cognitive Ghosts
Ever wanted to squish a puppy just because it’s impossibly cute? Or felt absolutely certain you’ve lived this exact moment before?
Hannah and Michael explore the bizarre, everyday glitches of the human mind, unpacking why our brains occasionally seem to short-circuit. They dive into the weird neurology of "cute aggression", or urges like thinking of throwing your phone off a bridge, to the jar
Introducing: The Book Club - Never Let Me Go
What inspired Kazuo Ishiguro’s timeless story about mortality, growing up, and the human condition? How are its characters so relatable, and yet entirely unique? And, why does the dark secret at its heart challenge scientific innovation?
Dominic Sanbrook joins Hannah and Michael to discuss all this and Dominic's new show, The Book Club, available now.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit p
Why We Cry Out In Pain
Have you stubbed your toe and shouted an unrepeatable word? Isaac Newton and Robert Boyle were two of the greatest minds in humanity. Did their egos and competition with one another hold them back or drive them onto huge breakthroughs?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the bizarre neurology of vocalised pain, revealing how a good yelp actually acts as a biological off-switch for
What's The Most "Vegetable" Vegetable?
Botanically speaking, there is no such thing as a vegetable, so what exactly is sitting on your dinner plate? And if our culinary world is built on biological lies, which plant is actually the most vegetable like?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens tackle a chaotic intersection of linguistics, plant taxonomy, and nutrition, dismantling the arbitrary categories we use to organise our food, r
How Words Shape Your Body
Does your native language physically sculpt your face? And could a swarm of bees be trained to run computer code?
Two of your questions answer in this Field Notes with Professor Hannah Fry and YouTube's Michael Stevens, plus Michael’s object of the week is a visualization of the Holocene Calendar. By simply adding ten thousand years to our current year, it transforms our perception of history
You Don't Exist For One Third Of Your Life
Humans have split the atom, we can stream movies from space and are working towards everlasting life.
So why in the world are we still spending a third of our lives unconscious?
In this episode of The Rest Is Science, Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens ask a deceptively simple question: Can human beings cure sleep? Why do evolutionary forces cause us to lie helpless for eight hours a night wh
How To Fall To Earth (Without Burning Up)
Rockets are built to slice cleanly through the atmosphere on the way up. Coming home, it turns out, requires... not turning into a fireball before a bellyflop
When Space Shuttles reenter Earth’s atmosphere at 17,000 miles per hour, they don’t dive nose first. Instead they turn broadside to the atmosphere, deliberately creating more drag, more friction, more heat. At those speeds, oncoming air
You (Don't) Know Where You Are
If someone asked you to point to yourself, where would you point? Your chest? Your head? Somewhere just behind your eyes?
Where are you?
In this episode, Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce’s Michael Stevens explore how the brain maps and understands out location, from the inner ear fluid that tells us which way is up, to the grid and place cells that build a kind of internal GPS.
But how d
How Big Is A Piece Of Chocolate?
At what exact chemical ratio does our beloved chocolate devolve into a mere structure of fats and sugars? How far can you dilute chocolate before its fundamental identity vanishes?
And what could a comically tiny novelty stool possibly reveal about Michael Stevens?
Unlike a block of pure iron or a vial of chlorine, chocolate is not one single substance but a complex and heterogeneous mixture we
There Are Four Ways To Lie
Is deception a uniquely human trait, or is the natural world built on a foundation of fraud? When a cuttlefish shifts its skin to mimic a female and sneak past a rival male, this may be deceptive but is it telling a lie?
Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce's Michael Stevens explore the evolutionary biology of dishonesty across the animal kingdom. What is the neurological difference between a biolo
The Evolution Of The Butthole
Topologically speaking, a human is just a donut with seven holes. It sounds like a joke, but it is a fundamental biological reality. Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the strange geometry of the human body, tracing how we evolved from simple tubes into complex toruses. They investigate the "design flaw" at the boundary of our existence, the fragile transition where skin meets intern
(Finite) Numbers So Large They'd Destroy You
It starts as a friendly challenge: who can name the biggest number?
The only rule? Infinity doesn’t count.
What follows is a journey through the biggest finite numbers ever imagined.
From Archimedes’ grains of sand to Graham’s Number, a sequence so vast it stretches the limits of human comprehension, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens tumble through this strange landscape of scale,
Michael Wrote Some Math Poetry
Can mathematics ever truly be proven? And can Michael's poetry help you remember some tricky equations?
In this episode, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens answer your questions and take a look at what it means for something to be true in mathematics. Starting with a grand attempt to prove that one plus one equals two, and into Gödel’s theorem that no system of maths can ever fully prov
Can We 'Solve' Sports?
Is it possible to make a sport too good?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore how science, data, and optimisation are transforming modern sports improving athletes and teams, while quietly changing how games are played, watched, and understood.
From the Tush Push in the NFL and defensive shifts in Major League Baseball, to dirty air in Formula 1, expected goals in Premier League
This Glass Was Made By Lightning
Could a bolt of lightning become a permanent geological relic? How small would you have to squash a hamster to turn it into a black hole?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens dismantle our perceptions of scale and texture, moving from the glassy "fulgurites" forged in sandy soil to the mathematical threshold of the Schwarzschild radius. They explore the counter-intuitive geometry of the Earth
Can You Die Of Boredom?
What is boredom really, and why does it feel so unbearable?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the science of boredom, revealing it not as laziness or a lack of stimulation, but as a signal from the brain when prediction and learning grind to a halt. When nothing changes and everything is expected, the mind begins to push back.
From dopamine experiments and waiting rooms to sen
Would You Kill One Person To Save Five?
Can we store summer’s heat to warm our homes in winter? Could humans perceive a fourth dimension? And why does light bend around gravity even though it has no mass?
Small questions from YOU which open doors to enormous worlds.
In this episode of Field Notes, Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens discuss underground heat batteries in Canada and Einstein’s thought experiments, from how the universe
Searching For Meaning In Randomness
What do we mean when we call an event random?
Most people view randomness as a fundamental property of the universe, but is it just a label for our own lack of knowledge? Whether it is a weighted coin toss, a scratch card, or the digits of Pi, unpredictability usually emerges from rules and patterns that sit just beyond our perception.
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens dismantle the
Why Erdős Was The Original Kevin Bacon
Some objects feel like they’re from another world. One of these might be the giant structure that makes up a quantum computer. Lifted straight from the TV series Devs, Professor Hannah Fry shows Michael Stevens a prop that was designed to look just like one…now it hangs from the ceiling in her house.
In this episode of Field Notes, Hannah and Michael examine the extraordinary technology behind
Smells Humans Are Ridiculously Good At Detecting
Right now, you’re breathing in. As you inhale, air rushes past millions of sensory receptors, activating the part of your brain responsible for smell. And yet, there’s one scent you’ll never notice: the very nose you’re breathing through, because humans are smell blind to themselves.
Today, Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce's Michael Stevens explore the mechanics of perinasal chemosensation, otherw
Could Sound Make You Levitate?
Imagine: a series of objects floating in midair without magnets, strings or visible supports. With acoustic levitation sound waves alone can suspend droplets, beads and even small solids to seemingly defy gravity!
In this episode of Field Notes, Hannah shows Michael this astonishing device, revealing how precisely tuned sound can manipulate matter. Behind the mesmerising floating objects lies a c
Are Magnets The Most Familiar Mystery On Earth?
Deep beneath our feet, churning molten metals create an invisible shield that holds our atmosphere in place and protects all life from the Sun.
Some animals can sense it directly. Take the quantum effects in a robin’s eye, whales who cross oceans using no landmarks at all, or the bacteria that line themselves up to this unseen force.
Join Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens as they ex
Unadulterated Dice Nerding
From tiny six sided cubes to oversized polyhedrons with dozens of faces, Michael’s collection of dice is more than just a hobby, it’s a window into probability, design, and the strange ways we humans play with chance!
Why might some dice feel luckier than others? How do they shape the games we play, the mathematics we study, and the way we've made decisions throughout history?
Each die has
What Day Is It, Really?
What day is it, really? And who decided? What happens to time when we leave the Earth? And when might future humans be counting down to the dawn of a New Year in the middle of the day?
From missing days and meddling popes to atomic clocks and vanishing centuries, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens dive headfirst into one of the slipperiest questions in science and society: what IS the ti
The Smell Of Christmas Is Tree Screams
Each December millions of homes fill with the unmistakable scent of pine. It's sharp, resinous, and strangely comforting, feeling timeless…familiar…safe.
But what if that smell isn’t what we think it is at all?
Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens follow the trail of the molecules that shape this seasonal scent. It turns out it didn’t evolve to delight, but to warn and repel. The smell of C
The Reality of Being Santa
Could Santa Clause still exist IF we stripped away the magic? If the ability to bend spacetime was gone? What conditions would Santa need to deliver a present to every human being on Earth in a single night?
Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore the historical, geographical, and logistical realities behind these questions using population data, longitudinal lines, mathematics AND a healthy do
The Device That Maps The Heavens
Tucked away in old engineering kits and museum drawers is a device whose sweeping motion once captivated mathematicians and designers alike.
The ellipsograph: a mechanical tool built from sliding arms and rotating joints that were tracing flawless curves long before computers made such things effortless.
While they have the appearance of an ancient curiosity, the ellipsograph’s power lies
Are You REALLY Made Of Stars?
What happens when the universe throws a random curveball at one of the most precise communities on Earth? Cosmic rays high energy particles from deep space are invisible, unpredictable, and capable of interfering with electronics in ways gamers never expect.
Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens explore a surprising story from the speed running community, where split-second timings and frame-perfect pre
The Magic Math Trick That Fools Everyone
What makes a simple brain-teaser about two identical swords one of the most deceptively tricky logic puzzles of the last century? And why has this seemingly innocent riddle fascinated mathematicians, programmers and puzzle-solvers for decades?
First shared in recreational maths circles before spreading across classrooms and online forums, the “swords of truth” puzzle asks a disarmingly straight
Is Music Getting Worse?
Has music really been getting worse… or is it just shifting in ways we don’t always notice? And why does the soundtrack to your teenage years feel like the single greatest playlist ever made?
Hannah and Michael explore music’s strange grip on our minds. They trace why certain lyrics feel simpler than they used to, and what gives our formative songs lasting emotional charge. And what exactly is
The Letter That Changed Mathematics
How did pages of mysterious “gibberish” sent from Madras find their way to one of Cambridge University’s most respected mathematicians? Were the strange formulas the work of a deluded mind - or breakthrough insights of an unknown genius?The author of that letter was Srinivasa Ramanujan. His story inspired two Hollywood blockbusters (Goodwill Hunting, The Man Who Knew Infinity) but his mind changed
This One's a Tear Jerker
Are humans the only creatures that shed emotional tears? If we are, what purpose do these tears really serve? If crying is so natural, why do we so often try to hide it?
A single sob sends Hannah and Michael into an unexpected journey through the science and mystery of emotional crying, from the first tearful moments of infancy to the complex social signals behind adult weeping.
Why do babies cr
What We Said To Aliens
What happens when humanity dares to shout a cosmic “hello”? Could it help alien civilisations decode human mathematics, our DNA, the blueprints of who we are? And why did we blast the 3-trillion-watt message into the stars in the first place…only to never try anything like it again?
This is the story of the Arecibo message.
Welcome to The Rest Is Science: Field Notes.
Every Thursday, Hannah and
We're All Being Pulled Together
What is gravity, really? Why do objects pull towards each other at all? And if Einstein 'fixed' Newton’s theory, why does gravity remain one of science’s biggest unsolved mysteries?
A clumsy trip into a lamppost leads Michael and Hannah into a whirlwind tour of our changing understanding of gravity, from falling apples and making wormholes for ants, to the puzzles we still can’t crack.
Why
How To Drink Lava
Is lava water, and could we have a delicious hot cup of it? Is ice really a rock, and not water? And, the age old question, is water wet?
From the minerals that shape the taste of our favourite drinks, to the tiny isotopes that reveal where a person, or whale, has travelled, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens reveal the hidden life of H₂O.
Along the way, they uncover why pure water can be
Welcome To The Rest Is Science
Forget what you think you know about reality. The Rest Is Science is a mind-bending series that tears down familiar ideas… time, randomness, beauty, it will reveal just how bizarre the world truly is.
Join Professor Hannah Fry and science creator Michael Stevens (Vsauce) twice a week to explore big, small and surprising questions as they deep dive into theories, concepts, objects and thoughts and
