What’s on (13–19 Oct 2012)

Fancy watching (or listening to) something new? Here’s our pick of the week’s science on TV and radio…

Sun 14 October

Built in Britain
BBC Two, 8.00-9.00pm

Evan Davis presents the second part of his look at Britain’s epic engineering projects. This week, he visits the Olympic Park and Britain’s first high-speed train line, High Speed 1.

Mon 15 October

The Digital Human
BBC Radio 4, 4.30-5.00pm

Aleks Krotoski investigates how the way we use our memory is changing in the digital age. She meets Ed Cooke, a Grand Master of Memory who thinks memory is going out of fashion, and chats to Mastermind champion and London cabbie Fred Housego about why he can memorise the streets of London but not phone numbers and shopping lists.

Tues 16 October

The Life Scientific
BBC Radio 4, 9.00-9.30am

Monica Grady is Jim Al-Khalili’s guest this week. Professor in Planetary Sciences at the Open University, Grady is the perfect person to talk about the possibilities of life on Mars. Will the Curiosity rover finally find signs of life on the Red Planet?

To coincide with Wildscreen, a wildlife film festival in Bristol, Brett Westwood presents an episode dedicated to the art of wildlife filmmaking. He’ll be asking some of the delegates whether their films give anything back to the locations and species in terms of wildlife conservation.

Order and Disorder with Jim Al-Khalili
BBC Four, 9.00-10.00pm

The physicist returns to our screens with a two-part exploration of energy and information, part of BBC Four’s Big Science Season. He begins with a look at energy: what it is, how it links us to stars, and how it can help us make sense of the entire cosmos.

Weds 17 October

Hallucination: Through the Doors of Perception
BBC Radio 4, 9.00-9.30pm

Geoff Watts meets scientists who are attempting to unravel the mysteries of hallucinations. Although most often associated with mind-altering substances or various mental disorders, vivid hallucinations are also experienced by otherwise ‘healthy’ individuals. By observing these hallucinating brains using fMRI imaging, researchers hope to develop new treatments for schizophrenia and psychosis.

The Final Frontier? A Horizon Guide to the Universe
BBC Four, 9.00-10.00pm

Dallas Campbell delves into the Horizon archives to investigate how our knowledge of the universe has changed over the past 50 years. Whether it be alien planets or extra dimensions, every new secret unlocked by scientists has opened the door to many more. Our universe, it seems, is more beguiling and mysterious than anyone could have imagined.

Thurs 18 October

Material World
BBC Radio 4, 4.30-5.00pm

Quentin Cooper discusses the latest scientific developments and topical issues.

Tails You Win: The Science of Chance
BBC Four, 9.00-10.00pm

Chances are you’ll enjoy this programme about chance. Professor David Spiegelhalter sets out on a voyage through the realms of probability, finding out how we can maximise our chances of living to 100 and explaining why so many of us experience strange coincidences. Truly risky television.

Fri 19 October

Queen of Tigers: Natural World Special
BBC Two, 9.00-10.00pm

Machli, the world’s most famous tiger, is now in the final season of her life. Wildlife cameraman Colin Stafford-Johnson meets his old friend one last time and looks back at her extraordinary story.