The Infinite Monkey Cage
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
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Robin Ince and Brian Cox, the hosts of the programme
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| Genre | Comedy |
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| Running time | approx. 30 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Starring | Brian Cox Robin Ince |
| Producer(s) | Alexandra Feachem |
| Exec. producer(s) | Deborah Cohen |
| Recording studio | Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House, London |
| Air dates | since 30 November 2009 |
| No. of series | 13 |
| No. of episodes | 75[1] |
| Website | The Infinite Monkey Cage website |
| Podcast | XML Feed |
The Infinite Monkey Cage is a BBC Radio 4 comedy and popular science series. Hosted by physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince,[2] The Independent described it as a "witty and irreverent look at the world according to science".[3][4] The show's eighth series was broadcast in June and July 2013 and the podcast, published immediately after the initial radio broadcast, features extended versions of most episodes starting with 1 July 2013 Glastonbury Special episode in Series 8.[5] The programme won a Gold Award in the Best Speech Programme category at the 2011 Sony Radio Awards.[6][7]
Each show has a particular topic up for discussion, with previous topics including the apocalypse and space travel. There are normally three guests; two of these are scientists with an interest in the topic of discussion, offering an expert opinion on the subject. The other guest is often a comedian, who takes a less serious view of the subject, and often makes the show more accessible by asking the 'stupid' questions that the other guests may have overlooked.
Ince and Cox headed an Uncaged Monkeys live tour in 2011, and toured the United States in 2015.[8]
Contents
Humour
The programme features a number of running themes and gags. Robin Ince regularly pokes fun of Brian Cox's hair, good looks, and former career as a rock musician. Ince often imitates and quotes Carl Sagan, and Cox occasionally returns to the subject of how and when a strawberry can be considered dead.
Theme song
The programme's theme song was written and recorded by Eric Idle and a group of musicians. Idle and his band performed the song live on the show when it toured in Los Angeles in 2015.
List of episodes
The following is an episode list of the BBC radio series The Infinite Monkey Cage. As of February 2015, there have been 60 episodes spanning 11 series plus 2 specials, one responding to viewers questions and a 2014 Christmas Special. All episodes are available to stream via the series website and as podcast downloads.[9]
Since 2013, podcasts are longer than the broadcast episodes at around 45 minutes, frequently adding mild spats between Cox and Ince, and occasionally language unsuitable "for the 4:30pm school run slot".
Series One
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Science and Comedians" | Dara Ó Briain and Dr Alice Roberts | 30 November 2009 |
| 2 | 2 | "Extraterrestrial Life" | Jon Ronson and Seth Shostak | 7 December 2009 |
| 3 | 3 | "Quantum Physics" | Ben Miller | 14 December 2009 |
| 4 | 4 | "Science and Religion" | Chris Addison, Victor Stock and Adam Rutherford | 21 December 2009 |
Series Two
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1 | "Popular Science (Cheltenham Science Festival)" | Ben Miller and Robert Winston | 14 June 2010 |
| 6 | 2 | "Trust me, I'm a Scientist" | Ben Goldacre and Dave Gorman | 21 June 2010 |
| 7 | 3 | "Science Fiction, Science Fact" | Jonathan Ross, Alan Moore and Dr Brian Greene | 28 June 2010 |
| 8 | 4 | "Things Can Only Get Better?" | Colin Blakemore and Mark Steel | 5 July 2010 |
Series Three
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "Apocalypse" | Adam Rutherford, Andy Hamilton and Dr Lucie Green with Matt Parker | 15 November 2010 |
| 10 | 2 | "Modern World" | Paul Foot, Aleks Krotoski and Professor Tony Ryan with Matt Parker | 22 November 2010 |
| 11 | 3 | "Randomness" | Tim Minchin and Alex Bellos with Matt Parker | 29 November 2010 |
| 12 | 4 | "Philosophy" | Alexei Sayle, Julian Baggini and Professor Raymond Tallis with Matt Parker | 6 December 2010 |
Series Four
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1 | "What Don't We Know?" | Paul Foot, Marcus Chown and Professor Steve Jones | 30 May 2011 |
| 14 | 2 | "Six Degrees" | Stephen Fry, Simon Singh, and Aleks Krotoski with Matt Parker | 6 June 2011 |
| 15 | 3 | "So You Want To Be an Astronaut?" | Chris Riley, Dr Kevin Fong, and Helen Keen | 13 June 2011 |
| 16 | 4 | "Is Cosmology Really a Science?" | Alan Moore, Dallas Campbell, Professor Ed Copeland and Helen Arney | 20 June 2011 |
| 17 | 5 | "Is There Room for Mysticism in a Rational World? (Glastonbury Special)" | Billy Bragg, Graham Coxon, Shappi Khorsandi and Professor Tony Ryan | 27 June 2011 |
| 18 | 6 | "Science vs the Supernatural: Does Science Kill the Magic?" | Andy Nyman, Richard Wiseman and Bruce Hood | 5 July 2011 |
Series Five
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 1 | "What's the North Ever Done for Us? (Manchester Science Festival)" |
Jon Culshaw, Jeff Forshaw and Matthew Cobb | 21 November 2011 |
| 20 | 2 | "A Balanced Programme on Balance" | Sir Paul Nurse, Katy Brand, Simon Mayo, and Professor Steve Jones | 28 November 2011 |
| 21 | 3 | "The Origins of Life" | Tim Minchin, Dr Nick Lane, and Adam Rutherford | 5 December 2011 |
| 22 | 4 | "The Science of Sound" | Tom Wrigglesworth, Professor Trevor Cox and Professor Chris Plack | 12 December 2011 |
| 23 | 5 | "I'm a Chemist Get Me Out of Here" | Dara Ó Briain, Professor Tony Ryan, and Andrea Sella | 19 December 2011 |
| 24 | 6 | "The Science of Christmas" | Professor Richard Dawkins, Mark Gatiss and Roger Highfield with Helen Arney→ | 26 December 2011 |
Series Six
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 1 | "Oceans: The Last Great Unexplored Frontier?" | Dave Gorman, Lloyd Peck and Bramley Murton | 18 June 2012 |
| 26 | 2 | "Science Mavericks" | Marcus Brigstocke, Professor Barry Marshall, Kevin Fong, and Aoife McLysaght | 25 June 2012 |
| 27 | 3 | "Does Size Matter?" | Andy Hamilton, Mark Miodownik and Eleanor Stride | 2 July 2012 |
| 28 | 4 | "The Science of Symmetry" | Marcus du Sautoy, Adam Rutherford and Alan Moore | 9 July 2012 |
| 29 | 5 | "Parallel Universes" | Professor Sir Martin Rees, Dr Lucie Green and John Lloyd | 16 July 2012 |
| 30 | 6 | "Science v Art (Latitude Festival)" | Al Murray, Sara Pascoe, Andrew Pontzen and Jon Butterworth. | 23 July 2012 |
Series Seven
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1 | "Space Exploration" | Sir Patrick Stewart, Ben Miller and Monica Grady | 19 November 2012 |
| 32 | 2 | "Improbable Science" | Katy Brand, Matthew Cobb and Marc Abrahams | 26 November 2012 |
| 33 | 3 | "Secret Science" | Simon Singh, Sue Black and Dave Gorman | 3 December 2012 |
| 34 | 4 | "Brain Science" | Jo Brand, Sophie Scott, and Brian Butterworth | 10 December 2012 |
| 35 | 5 | "Creating Life" | Ed Byrne, Adam Rutherford, and Philip Ball | 17 December 2012 |
| 36 | 6 | "Christmas Special" | Mark Gatiss, Professor Steve Jones, Richard Wiseman, Victor Stock, and Jonny & The Baptists | 24 December 2012 |
Series Eight
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | 1 | "What is Death?" | Katy Brand, Dr Nick Lane, and Sue Black | 24 June 2013 |
| 38 | 2 | "Glastonbury" | Marcus Brigstocke, KT Tunstall, Fay Dowker, and Jeff Forshaw | 1 July 2013 |
| 39 | 3 | "Space Tourism" | Brian Blessed, Kevin Fong, and Steven Attenborough | 8 July 2013 |
| 40 | 4 | "What Makes a Science a Science" | Ben Goldacre, Sophie Scott, and Evan Davis | 15 July 2013 |
| 41 | 5 | "Alfred Russel Wallace" | Steve Jones, Aoife McLysaght, and Tony Law | 22 July 2013 |
| 42 | 6 | "Scientific Wonder" | Neil deGrasse Tyson, Josie Long, Ian Blatchford, Richard Holmes and Doc Brown | 29 July 2013 |
Series Nine
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | 1 | "Risk" | Graeme Garden, David Spiegelhalter, and Sue Ion | 18 November 2013 |
| 44 | 2 | "Through the Doors of Perception" | Claudia Hammond, Beau Lotto, and Alan Moore | 25 November 2013 |
| 45 | 3 | "Science Rocks!" | Hermione Cockburn, Ross Noble, and Eric Idle | 2 December 2013 |
| 46 | 4 | "To Infinity and Beyond" | John Lloyd, Colva Roney Dougal, and Simon Singh | 9 December 2013 |
| 47 | 5 | "Should We Pander to Pandas?" | Sandy Knapp, Simon Watt, and Sara Pascoe | 16 December 2013 |
| 48 | 6 | "Science and Spin" | Matthew Cobb, Sheena Cruikshank, Helen Keen, and James Burke | 23 December 2013 |
| 49 | 7 | "Brian & Robin’s Infinite Inbox" | None | 9 March 2014 |
Series Ten
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 1 | "Numbers Numbers Everywhere" | Dave Gorman, Dr Vicky Neale, and Alex Bellos | 7 July 2014 |
| 51 | 2 | "Are Humans Uniquely Unique?" | Keith Jensen, Katie Slocombe, and Ross Noble | 14 July 2014 |
| 52 | 3 | "Does Science Need War?" | Katy Brand, Philip Ball, and Kevin Fong | 21 July 2014 |
| 53 | 4 | "Can Science Save Us?" | Stephen Fry, Dr. Lucie Green, Prof. Tony Ryan and Eric Idle | 28 July 2014 |
| 54 | 5 | "Before the Big Bang" | Carlos Frenk, Fay Dowker, Ben Miller and Richard Vranch | 4 August 2014 |
| 55 | 6 | "Irrationality" | Josie Long, Paul Foot, Richard Wiseman and Stuart Ritchie | 11 August 2014 |
| 56 | 7 | "2014 Christmas Special" | Rev. Richard Coles, Chris Hadfield, Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou, Brian Blessed | 25 December 2014 |
Series Eleven
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | 1 | "Deception" | Richard Wiseman, Sophie Scott, and David Aaronovitch | 19 January 2015 |
| 58 | 2 | "Fierce Creatures" | Steve Backshall, Lucy Cooke, and Andy Hamilton | 26 January 2015 |
| 59 | 3 | "Solar System" | Monica Grady, Jo Brand, and Carolyn Porco | 2 February 2015 |
| 60 | 4 | "When Quantum Goes Woo" | Ben Goldacre, Jeff Forshaw, and Sara Pascoe | 9 February 2015 |
| 61 | 5 | "What's The Point of Plants" | Jane Langdale, Jim Al-Khalili, and Ed Byrne | 16 February 2015 |
| 62 | 6 | "Serendipity" | Lee Mack, Simon Singh, and Andrea Sella | 23 February 2015 |
Series Twelve
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 1 | "The Infinite Monkey Cage USA Tour: New York" | Bill Nye, Janna Levin, Tim Daly, and Lisa Lampanelli | 6 July 2015 |
| 64 | 2 | "The Infinite Monkey Cage USA Tour: Los Angeles" | Sean Carroll, Joe Rogan, David X. Cohen, and Eric Idle | 13 July 2015 |
| 65 | 3 | "The Infinite Monkey Cage USA Tour: Chicago" | Peter Sagal, Julia Sweeney, Paul Sereno, and Jerry Coyne | 20 July 2015 |
| 66 | 4 | "The Infinite Monkey Cage USA Tour: San Francisco" | Dr Seth Shostak, Dr Carolyn Porco, Greg Proops, and Paul Provenza | 27 July 2015 |
| 67 | 5 | "Speed" | Alexei Sayle, Andy Green and Professor Danielle George | 3 August 2015 |
| 68 | 6 | "Forensic Science" | Professor Sue Black, Dr Mark Spencer and Rufus Hound | 10 August 2015 |
| 69 | 7 | "2015 Christmas Special" | Ross Noble, Paul Franklin, Simon Guerrier and Victor Stock | 25 December 2015 |
Series Thirteen
| Total | No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 1 | "Artificial Intelligence" | Jo Brand, Anil Seth, and Alan Winfield | 11 January 2016 |
| 71 | 2 | "What is Race?" | Shappi Khorsandi, Adam Rutherford, and Mark Thomas | 18 January 2016 |
| 72 | 3 | "Invisible Universe" | Jon Culshaw, Sarah Bridle, and Tim O'Brien (astrophysicist) | 25 January 2016 |
| 73 | 4 | "What is Reality?" | David Eagleman, Sophie Scott, and Bridget Christie | 1 February 2016 |
| 74 | 5 | "Maths of Love and Sex" | Paul Foot, Hannah Fry, and David Spiegelhalter | 8 February 2016 |
| 75 | 6 | "Climate Change" | Dara Ó Briain, Professor Tony Ryan, and Dr Gabrielle Walker | 15 February 2016 |
| 76 | 7 | "Brian & Robin's Infinite Inbox" | - | 22 February 2016 |
References
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Infinite Monkey Cage. |
