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BBC Inside Science

BBC Inside Science

Can we engineer ourselves out of a heatwave?

25 June 2026

Available for over a year

As the UK and Europe battles with extreme weather warnings, is it time for us to consider some more extreme tactics to tackle the heat? Tom Whipple is joined by Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science at University College London, to explore if solar geoengineering can help.

Also on the show, science journalist Lizzie Gibney discusses the "Salah effect", when exposure to celebrities from stigmatised groups can help increase tolerance. She also examines new research into how the atom nucleus contain energy which can be used for telling the time.

Plus, how laughter in great apes may have paved the way for the evolution of complex human language.

Presenter: Tom Whipple

Producer: Katie Tomsett, Alex Mansfield & Kate White

Editor: Martin Smith

Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth