2021 has got off to a strange start, with a surprising trend sweeping the internet: sea shanties. This ancient genre of music has exploded in popularity in recent weeks, thanks to people on social media singing them, sharing them and adding their own twists.
In fact, they’ve become so popular that Bristol-based shanty band The Longest Johns have entered the top 40 in the UK singles chart.
Naturally, we here at BBC Science Focus wanted to know what it was about sea shanties that makes them so catchy. So this week, we spoke to Professor Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster. She’s a neuropsychologist who specialises in music.
- Read more about the science of sea shanties
Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.
- Subscribeto theScience Focus Podcaston these services:Acast,iTunes,Stitcher,RSS,Overcast
- Read the full transcription of this episode[this will open in a new window]
Listen to more episodes of theScience Focus Podcast:
- Could these gloves be the future of music? – Imogen Heap
- The neuroscience of happiness – Dean Burnett
- Dr Pete Etchells: Do video games encourage gambling behaviour?
- Why you can’t multitask (and why that’s a good thing)
- Phobias, paranoia and PTSD: Why virtual reality therapy is the frontier of mental health treatment
- How a scientist used viruses to save her husband’s life from a superbug