Meetings with intelligent worms

This week on the show that brings you the science behind the news, inspired by COP28, we’re talking about meetings. Honestly, it’s way more interesting than it sounds.

Come to hear about blackworm blobs – a wormy meeting that only happens in stressful situations - and how scientists are taking inspiration from it to design robots. Stay for the stories from nature where species are missing crucial pollination meetings thanks to that global stressful situation that is climate change. And what’s better for the planet, a big meeting that everyone flies to or a telephone conference with no video?

In ‘Ask the Unexpected’ we answer a listener’s question about antibiotics - if there are good bacteria in the body, how do they know which ones to attack?

Also, OMG it’s the OMG particle – we hear about the tiny but powerful particles that pound the planet from time to time.

All that plus your emails about toilets and the rules of Cricket.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton, with Chhavi Sachdev and Tristan Ahtone.

Produced by Ben Motley, with Alex Mansfield and Dan Welsh.