Dara Ó Briain's Science Club is a British science documentary series in which each week the team take one subject and explores all possible angles, combining it with studio discussions in front of a live audience, films and on-the-spot reports.
The series aired in the UK on BBC Two from 6 November to 29 August, 2013. There are 12 hour-long episodes in two seasons.
Dara Ó Briain's Science Club premiered in South Africa on DStv's BBC Knowledge channel on Thursday 21 March 2013, at 22h00. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 2 premiered on BBC Knowledge on Thursday 10 October 2013, at 21h00. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are six episodes in the second season.
Synopsis
Did you know that the bicycle has done more to improve the human immune system than any other invention in history? Is it a good idea for humans to try to reach out to extra-terrestrials? Are computers ruining music? Do smart drugs really make you brainier?
This science series presented by Dara Ó Briain, featuring reporters and expert guests, will be asking these questions and many more.
Each week the team will take a single subject and examine it from lots of different and unexpected angles - from extinction to sex, Einstein to space exploration and brain chemistry to music - all underpinned by first-class science.
Combining in-depth studio discussion in front of a lively audience, with exploratory films and on-the-spot reports, this new series brings some of the world's foremost thinkers together to share their thoughts on everything, from how to avoid an asteroid impact to whether or not we are still evolving.
Dara is joined by neuroscientist Tali Sharot, science journalist Alok Jha, physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski and materials scientist and engineer Mark Miodownik, plus famous scientists from around the world.
There are also special guest appearances from Marcus Brigstocke, James May, Jessica Hynes, Mark Steel, Josh Widdecombe and Ed Byrne - all stirred together by Dara's curiosity, wit and passion for science.
The Team
Dr Tali Sharot
Neuroscientist Tali is the director of the Affective Brain Lab at University College London where she studies how emotion, motivation and social interaction alter learning, memory and decision making.
She has written on the "Optimism Bias", suggesting that our brains may be hard-wired to look on the bright side.
Tali has been meeting scientists conducting some of the most remarkable and ambitious scientific projects today – and investigating a wide range of topics, from lab-grown meat and the rising field of epigenetics, to the use of music as a therapy for patients with Parkinson's disease.
Alok Jha
Journalist Alok works at The Guardian newspaper as a science correspondent where he also presents the Science Weekly podcast.
For each episode of Science Club he has been looking at contemporary issues in science from an often unexpected perspective. Should we let pandas die? Are computers ruining music? And should we try to seek contact with aliens?
Alok meets the people on both sides of the argument and challenges us to think about science differently.
Dr Helen Czerski
Physicist Helen is currently a Research Fellow at University of Southampton where she's an expert in the physics of ocean bubble formation.
She will be reporting from the cutting edge of science, meeting the people and seeing experiments which are pushing our understanding of the world to its limits.
She has been on the hunt for gravitational waves, investigated efforts to bring extinct species back from the dead and finding out about the greatest threat to humans inhabiting the harsh environment of space: cosmic rays.
Professor Mark Miodownik
With a PhD in jet engine alloys, Mark is a Professor of Materials Science and Society at University College London – and also our resident engineer.
Each episode, he will be taking a piece of technology apart to show not only how it works, but also something surprising about the week's topic.
From dismantling a bicycle to explain how it transformed the human gene pool, to a shotgun which has been implicated in at least one major species extinction, Mark shows how engineering is intimately linked to everything we do.
He will also be performing experiments in the studio with Dara.
Seasons
Series exclusive to BBC Knowledge
Season 1 (6 episodes)
Premiere: 21 March 2013 | Finale: 25 April 2013 | Thursdays, 22h00
Season 2 (6 episodes)
Premiere: 10 October 2013 | Finale: 14 November 2013 | Thursdays, 21h00