What's the North Ever Done for Us?
The Infinite Monkey Cage
BBC
4.7 • 9.4K Ratings
🗓️ 21 November 2011
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Infinite Monkeys, Robin Ince and Brian Cox, return for a new series of irreverent science chatter with a host of special guests. In the first of the new series, they're on Brian Cox's home territory for a recording at the University of Manchester. They're joined by impressionist Jon Culshaw, physicist Jeff Forshaw and biologist Matthew Cobb to look at just a few of the amazing scientific achievements that Manchester has given the world, from Rutherford splitting the atom through to last year's Nobel Prize for Physics. And if you listen closely, a few other well known voices may also appear to have snuck onto the panel...who knew that even Alan Carr has an opinion on the Higgs Boson.
Producer: Alexandra Feachem.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is a download from the BBC to find out more, visit bbc.co.uk slash radio4. |
| 0:10.2 | If you've enjoyed this program, you might like to try other radio4 podcasts, including |
| 0:14.5 | Start the Week, lively discussions chaired by Andrew Mar, and a weekly highlight from Radio4's |
| 0:20.6 | evening arts programme Front Row. To find out more, visit bbc.co.uk slash radio4. |
| 0:27.8 | Hello, I'm Robin Itz, and I'm Brian Cox, and this is the Infinite Monkey Cage from Manchester |
| 0:33.6 | Science Festival. Since we will last on air many things have happened, but the worst |
| 0:42.1 | thing has happened is Brian Cox's level of science and celebrity is now so high that |
| 0:46.7 | we actually can't afford him for most of the show. BBC budgetary constraints mean |
| 0:51.0 | we can only afford seven more words from you. Only seven words. Three more words from |
| 0:57.7 | you. One more word, and we'll keep that word for a little bit later there. Perhaps you |
| 1:03.2 | can use that word for looking at a shining thing and pointing. So for that reason, because |
| 1:10.2 | we've basically got an emergency procedure, and we don't normally introduce our first guest |
| 1:13.6 | this early, but we've got someone to replace Brian Cox, and it is the brilliant impressionist |
| 1:18.6 | John Kuhlshall. Now, John, we're very pleased to have you here, and I know you can do his |
| 1:22.9 | voice, and I know also, I've booked you about a month ago and said, do the reading, learn |
| 1:28.2 | the science, you'll be able to do it. That's where he just backs it. |
| 1:31.6 | I've done as much of that as possible. Good. So this is going to be, do you |
| 1:35.8 | don't say anything Brian, this is going to be from now on, John will be playing the part |
| 1:38.6 | of Brian, so I'll give you the first. Just an easy starter. We'll start off on your |
| 1:43.2 | neutrinos. While we've been off air, there's been some kerfuffle over the idea that neutrinos |
| 1:47.6 | might actually travel at fast and speed of light, and thus the laws of physics will have |
| 1:51.4 | to be rewritten again. So Brian, can you explain neutrinos and what their superliminal travel |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

