The Infinite Monkey Cage

The Infinite Monkey Cage

Robin Ince and Brian Cox, the hosts of the programme
Genre	Comedy, popular science
Running time	approx. 30 minutes
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language	English
Home station	BBC Radio 4
Starring	Brian Cox Robin Ince
Produced by	Alexandra Feachem
Executive producer	Deborah Cohen
Recording studio	Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House, London RADA Studios, London
Original release	30 November 2009 (2009-11-30)
No. of series	33
No. of episodes	207[1]
Website	bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snr0w
Podcast	bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snr0w/episodes/downloads.rss

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] Since 2013 the show has been accompanied by a podcast, published immediately after the initial radio broadcast, which features extended versions of most episodes.^[5] The programme won a Gold Award in the Best Speech Programme category at the 2011 Sony Radio Awards,^[6][7] and it won the best Radio Talk Show at the 2015 Rose d'Or awards.^[8] The name is a reference to the infinite monkey theorem.

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 usually 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.^[9]

In April 2018 a book titled Infinite Monkey Cage – How to Build a Universe was released. Its audiobook was read by Cox and Ince.

Humour

The programme features a number of running themes and gags. Robin Ince regularly pokes fun at Brian Cox's hair, good looks and former career as a rock musician. Ince often imitates and quotes Carl Sagan. Cox often ridicules chemistry, astrology and Creationists and occasionally returns to the subject of how and when a strawberry can be considered dead.^[10]

Theme song

The programme's theme song was written by Eric Idle and recorded by Idle and Jeff Lynne.^[11] Idle and his band performed the song live on the show when it toured in Los Angeles in 2015 and it appears in the 2016 TV show "The Entire Universe".

List of episodes

The following is an episode list of the BBC radio series The Infinite Monkey Cage. As of July 2023, there have been 167 episodes spanning 27 series plus 8 specials; two responding to viewers' questions, Christmas Specials in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and a 100th Episode special. All episodes are available to stream via the website and as podcast downloads.^[12]

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".

In addition to the regular programmes, a special entitled "An Infinite Monkey's Guide to General Relativity" was broadcast in two half-hour episodes on 8 and 15 December 2015.^[13] Their 100th Episode (according to their own manner of counting which differs from the one listed on Wikipedia), simply titled "Monkey Cage 100", was also recorded on Video and is currently watchable on the BBC iPlayer.

Overview

Series	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	4		30 November 2009 (2009-11-30)	21 December 2009 (2009-12-21)
2	4		14 June 2010 (2010-06-14)	5 July 2010 (2010-07-05)
3	4		15 November 2010 (2010-11-15)	6 December 2010 (2010-12-06)
4	6		30 May 2011 (2011-05-30)	5 July 2011 (2011-07-05)
5	6		21 November 2011 (2011-11-21)	26 December 2011 (2011-12-26)
6	6		18 June 2012 (2012-06-18)	23 July 2012 (2012-07-23)
7	6		19 November 2012 (2012-11-19)	24 December 2012 (2012-12-24)
8	6		24 June 2013 (2013-06-24)	29 July 2013 (2013-07-29)
9	7		18 November 2013 (2013-11-18)	9 March 2014 (2014-03-09)
10	7		7 July 2014 (2014-07-07)	25 December 2014 (2014-12-25)
11	6		19 January 2015 (2015-01-19)	23 February 2015 (2015-02-23)
12	7		6 July 2015 (2015-07-06)	25 December 2015 (2015-12-25)
Christmas	2		8 December 2015 (2015-12-08)	15 December 2015 (2015-12-15)
13	7		11 January 2016 (2016-01-11)	22 February 2016 (2016-02-22)
14	7		4 July 2016 (2016-07-04)	27 December 2016 (2016-12-27)
15	6		16 January 2017 (2017-01-16)	20 February 2017 (2017-02-20)
16	7		3 July 2017 (2017-07-03)	25 December 2017 (2017-12-25)
17	6		8 January 2018 (2018-01-08)	12 February 2018 (2018-02-12)
Television			11 July 2018 (2018-07-11)
18	5		16 July 2018 (2018-07-16)	13 August 2018 (2018-08-13)
19	6		7 January 2019 (2019-01-07)	11 February 2019 (2019-02-11)
Moon landing			19 July 2019 (2019-07-19)
20	5		16 September 2019 (2019-09-16)	14 October 2019 (2019-10-14)
21	6		13 January 2020 (2020-01-13)	17 February 2020 (2020-02-17)
22	9		25 May 2020 (2020-05-25)	20 July 2020 (2020-07-20)
23	6		11 January 2021 (2021-01-11)	15 February 2021 (2021-02-15)
24	7		25 June 2022 (2022-06-25)	6 August 2022 (2022-08-06)
25	7		12 November 2022 (2022-11-12)	24 December 2022 (2022-12-24)
26	6		18 February 2023 (2023-02-18)	25 March 2023 (2023-03-25)
27	7		24 June 2023 (2023-06-24)	5 August 2023 (2023-08-05)
28	7		11 November 2023 (2023-11-11)	23 December 2023 (2023-12-23)
29	6		17 February 2024 (2024-02-17)	23 March 2024 (2024-03-23)
30	7		10 July 2024 (2024-07-10)	21 August 2024 (2024-08-21)
31	7		13 November 2024 (2024-11-13)	25 December 2024 (2024-12-25)
32	6		19 February 2025 (2025-02-19)	26 March 2025 (2025-03-26)
33	7		10 July 2025 (2025-07-10)	21 August 2025 (2025-08-21)

Series One

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
1	1	"Science and Comedians"	Dara Ó Briain and Dr Alice Roberts	30 November 2009 (2009-11-30)
2	2	"Extraterrestrial Life"	Jon Ronson and Seth Shostak	7 December 2009 (2009-12-07)
3	3	"Quantum Physics"	Ben Miller	14 December 2009 (2009-12-14)
4	4	"Science and Religion"	Chris Addison, Victor Stock and Adam Rutherford	21 December 2009 (2009-12-21)

Series Two

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
5	1	"Popular Science"	Ben Miller and Robert Winston	14 June 2010 (2010-06-14)
6	2	"Trust me, I'm a Scientist"	Ben Goldacre, Claudia Hammond and Dave Gorman	21 June 2010 (2010-06-21)
7	3	"Science Fiction, Science Fact"	Jonathan Ross, Alan Moore and Dr Brian Greene	28 June 2010 (2010-06-28)
8	4	"Things Can Only Get Better?"	Colin Blakemore, Mark Steel and Peter Cunnah	5 July 2010 (2010-07-05)

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 (2010-11-15)
10	2	"Modern World"	Paul Foot, Aleks Krotoski and Professor Tony Ryan with Matt Parker	22 November 2010 (2010-11-22)
11	3	"Randomness"	Tim Minchin and Alex Bellos with Matt Parker	29 November 2010 (2010-11-29)
12	4	"Philosophy"	Alexei Sayle, Julian Baggini and Professor Raymond Tallis with Matt Parker	6 December 2010 (2010-12-06)

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 (2011-05-30)
14	2	"Six Degrees"	Stephen Fry, Simon Singh, and Aleks Krotoski with Matt Parker	6 June 2011 (2011-06-06)
15	3	"So You Want To Be an Astronaut?"	Chris Riley, Dr Kevin Fong, and Helen Keen	13 June 2011 (2011-06-13)
16	4	"Is Cosmology Really a Science?"	Alan Moore, Dallas Campbell, Professor Ed Copeland and Helen Arney	20 June 2011 (2011-06-20)
This programme was recorded as part of the Cheltenham Science Festival.
17	5	"Is There Room for Mysticism in a Rational World?"	Billy Bragg, Graham Coxon, Shappi Khorsandi and Professor Tony Ryan	27 June 2011 (2011-06-27)
18	6	"Science vs the Supernatural: Does Science Kill the Magic?"	Andy Nyman, Richard Wiseman and Bruce Hood	5 July 2011 (2011-07-05)

Series Five

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
19	1	"What's the North Ever Done for Us?"	Jon Culshaw, Jeff Forshaw and Matthew Cobb	21 November 2011 (2011-11-21)
20	2	"A Balanced Programme on Balance"	Sir Paul Nurse, Katy Brand, Simon Mayo, and Professor Steve Jones	28 November 2011 (2011-11-28)
21	3	"The Origins of Life"	Tim Minchin, Dr Nick Lane, and Adam Rutherford	5 December 2011 (2011-12-05)
22	4	"The Science of Sound"	Tom Wrigglesworth, Professor Trevor Cox and Professor Chris Plack	12 December 2011 (2011-12-12)
23	5	"I'm a Chemist Get Me Out of Here"	Dara Ó Briain, Professor Tony Ryan, and Andrea Sella	19 December 2011 (2011-12-19)
24	6	"The Science of Christmas"	Professor Richard Dawkins, Mark Gatiss and Roger Highfield with Helen Arney	26 December 2011 (2011-12-26)

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 (2012-06-18)
26	2	"Science Mavericks"	Marcus Brigstocke, Professor Barry Marshall, Kevin Fong, and Aoife McLysaght	25 June 2012 (2012-06-25)
27	3	"Does Size Matter?"	Andy Hamilton, Mark Miodownik and Eleanor Stride	2 July 2012 (2012-07-02)
28	4	"The Science of Symmetry"	Marcus du Sautoy, Adam Rutherford and Alan Moore	9 July 2012 (2012-07-09)
29	5	"Parallel Universes"	Professor Sir Martin Rees, Dr Lucie Green and John Lloyd	16 July 2012 (2012-07-16)
30	6	"Science v Art"	Al Murray, Sara Pascoe, Andrew Pontzen and Jon Butterworth.	23 July 2012 (2012-07-23)

Series Seven

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
31	1	"Space Exploration"	Sir Patrick Stewart, Ben Miller and Monica Grady	19 November 2012 (2012-11-19)
32	2	"Improbable Science"	Katy Brand, Matthew Cobb and Marc Abrahams	26 November 2012 (2012-11-26)
33	3	"Secret Science"	Simon Singh, Sue Black and Dave Gorman	3 December 2012 (2012-12-03)
34	4	"Brain Science"	Jo Brand, Sophie Scott, and Brian Butterworth	10 December 2012 (2012-12-10)
35	5	"Creating Life"	Ed Byrne, Adam Rutherford, and Philip Ball	17 December 2012 (2012-12-17)
36	6	"Christmas Special: The Science of Christmas Behaviour"	Mark Gatiss, Professor Steve Jones, Richard Wiseman, Victor Stock, and Jonny & The Baptists	24 December 2012 (2012-12-24)

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 (2013-06-24)
38	2	"Glastonbury"	Marcus Brigstocke, KT Tunstall, Fay Dowker, and Jeff Forshaw	1 July 2013 (2013-07-01)
39	3	"Space Tourism"	Brian Blessed, Kevin Fong, and Steven Attenborough	8 July 2013 (2013-07-08)
40	4	"What Makes a Science a Science"	Ben Goldacre, Sophie Scott, and Evan Davis	15 July 2013 (2013-07-15)
41	5	"Alfred Russel Wallace"	Steve Jones, Aoife McLysaght, and Tony Law	22 July 2013 (2013-07-22)
42	6	"Science Museum"	Neil deGrasse Tyson, Josie Long, Ian Blatchford, Richard Holmes and Doc Brown	29 July 2013 (2013-07-29)

Series Nine

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
43	1	"Risk"	Graeme Garden, David Spiegelhalter, and Sue Ion	18 November 2013 (2013-11-18)
Producer: Rami Tzabar.
44	2	"Through the Doors of Perception"	Claudia Hammond, Beau Lotto, and Alan Moore	25 November 2013 (2013-11-25)
45	3	"Science Rocks!"	Hermione Cockburn, Ross Noble, and Eric Idle	2 December 2013 (2013-12-02)
46	4	"To Infinity and Beyond"	John Lloyd, Colva Roney-Dougal, and Simon Singh	9 December 2013 (2013-12-09)
Producer: Rami Tzabar.
47	5	"Should We Pander to Pandas?"	Sandy Knapp, Simon Watt, and Sara Pascoe	16 December 2013 (2013-12-16)
48	6	"Science and Spin"	Matthew Cobb, Sheena Cruikshank, Helen Keen, and James Burke	23 December 2013 (2013-12-23)
49	7	"Brian & Robin's Infinite Inbox"	None	9 March 2014 (2014-03-09)

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 (2014-07-07)
51	2	"Are Humans Uniquely Unique?"	Keith Jensen, Katie Slocombe, and Ross Noble	14 July 2014 (2014-07-14)
52	3	"Does Science Need War?"	Katy Brand, Philip Ball, and Kevin Fong	21 July 2014 (2014-07-21)
53	4	"Can Science Save Us?"	Stephen Fry, Dr. Lucie Green, Prof. Tony Ryan and Eric Idle	28 July 2014 (2014-07-28)
54	5	"Before the Big Bang"	Carlos Frenk, Fay Dowker, Ben Miller and Richard Vranch	4 August 2014 (2014-08-04)
55	6	"Irrationality"	Josie Long, Paul Foot, Richard Wiseman and Stuart Ritchie	11 August 2014 (2014-08-11)
56	7	"2014 Christmas Special"	Rev. Richard Coles, Chris Hadfield, Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou, Brian Blessed	25 December 2014 (2014-12-25)

Series Eleven

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
57	1	"Deception"	Richard Wiseman, Sophie Scott, and David Aaronovitch	19 January 2015 (2015-01-19)
58	2	"Fierce Creatures"	Steve Backshall, Lucy Cooke, and Andy Hamilton	26 January 2015 (2015-01-26)
59	3	"Solar System"	Monica Grady, Jo Brand, and Carolyn Porco	2 February 2015 (2015-02-02)
60	4	"When Quantum Goes Woo"	Ben Goldacre, Jeff Forshaw, and Sara Pascoe	9 February 2015 (2015-02-09)
61	5	"What's The Point of Plants"	Jane Langdale, Jim Al-Khalili, and Ed Byrne	16 February 2015 (2015-02-16)
62	6	"Serendipity"	Lee Mack, Simon Singh, and Andrea Sella	23 February 2015 (2015-02-23)

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 (2015-07-06)
64	2	"The Infinite Monkey Cage USA Tour: Los Angeles"	Sean Carroll, Joe Rogan, David X. Cohen, and Eric Idle	13 July 2015 (2015-07-13)
65	3	"The Infinite Monkey Cage USA Tour: Chicago"	Peter Sagal, Julia Sweeney, Paul Sereno, and Jerry Coyne	20 July 2015 (2015-07-20)
66	4	"The Infinite Monkey Cage USA Tour: San Francisco"	Dr Seth Shostak, Dr Carolyn Porco, Greg Proops, and Paul Provenza	27 July 2015 (2015-07-27)
67	5	"Speed"	Alexei Sayle, Andy Green and Professor Danielle George	3 August 2015 (2015-08-03)
68	6	"Forensic Science"	Professor Sue Black, Dr Mark Spencer and Rufus Hound	10 August 2015 (2015-08-10)
69	7	"2015 Christmas Special"	Ross Noble, Paul Franklin, Simon Guerrier and Victor Stock	25 December 2015 (2015-12-25)

Year-end specials

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, two special episodes were added in December 2015:

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
Special	1	"Episode 1: An Infinite Monkey's Guide to General Relativity"	Ben Miller, Dara Ó Briain, Richard Vranch, and Carlos Frenk	8 December 2015 (2015-12-08)
Special	2	"Episode 2: An Infinite Monkey's Guide to General Relativity"	Sean Carroll, Richard Vranch, Tim O'Brien, Sarah Bridle, and Carlos Frenk	15 December 2015 (2015-12-15)

Series Thirteen

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
70	1	"Artificial Intelligence"	Jo Brand, Anil Seth, and Alan Winfield	11 January 2016 (2016-01-11)
71	2	"What is Race?"	Shappi Khorsandi, Adam Rutherford, and Mark Thomas	18 January 2016 (2016-01-18)
72	3	"Invisible Universe"	Jon Culshaw, Sarah Bridle, and Tim O'Brien	25 January 2016 (2016-01-25)
73	4	"What is Reality?"	David Eagleman, Sophie Scott, and Bridget Christie	1 February 2016 (2016-02-01)
74	5	"Maths of Love and Sex"	Paul Foot, Hannah Fry, and David Spiegelhalter	8 February 2016 (2016-02-08)
75	6	"Climate Change"	Dara Ó Briain, Professor Tony Ryan, and Dr Gabrielle Walker	15 February 2016 (2016-02-15)
76	7	"Brian & Robin's Infinite Inbox"	None	22 February 2016 (2016-02-22)
Brian Cox and Robin Ince answer The Infinite Monkey Cage listeners' questions.

Series Fourteen

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
77	1	"The Sound of Music"	Matt Kirshen, KT Tunstall, Nitin Sawhney, Lucy Cooke, and Trevor Cox	4 July 2016 (2016-07-04)
78	2	"The Recipe to Build a Universe"	Rufus Hound, Andrea Sella and Lucie Green	11 July 2016 (2016-07-11)
79	3	"Science of Sleep"	Russell Foster, Richard Wiseman and Katy Brand	18 July 2016 (2016-07-18)
80	4	"Battle of the Sexes"	Sophie Scott, Steve Jones and Sara Pascoe	25 July 2016 (2016-07-25)
81	5	"200 Years of Frankenstein"	Noel Fielding, Nick Lane and Sir Christopher Frayling	1 August 2016 (2016-08-01)
82	6	"The Universe: What Remains to Be Discovered?"	Ben Miller, Charlotte Church, Paul Abel and Tim O'Brien	8 August 2016 (2016-08-08)
83	7	"2016 Christmas Special"	Neil deGrasse Tyson, Mark Gatiss, Deborah Hyde and Nick Baines	27 December 2016 (2016-12-27)

Series Fifteen

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
84	1	"The Science of Everyday Life"	Russell Kane, Helen Czerski and Danielle George	16 January 2017 (2017-01-16)
85	2	"How to Beat the House and Win at Games"	Hannah Fry, Alex Bellos, Richard Wiseman and Helen Zaltzman	23 January 2017 (2017-01-23)
86	3	"Science's Epic Fails"	Rufus Hound, Professor Alice Roberts and Dr Adam Rutherford	30 January 2017 (2017-01-30)
87	4	"Oceans: What Remains to Be Discovered?"	Andy Hamilton, Professor Jon Copley and Helen Scales	6 February 2017 (2017-02-06)
88	5	"The Human Story: How We Got Here and Why We Survived"	Ross Noble, Professor Danielle Schreve and Chris Stringer	13 February 2017 (2017-02-13)
89	6	"Making the Invisible Visible"	Katy Brand, Carlos Frenk and Matthew Cobb	20 February 2017 (2017-02-20)

Series Sixteen

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
90	1	"What Particles Remain to be Discovered?"	Eric Idle, Jon Butterworth and Catherine Heymans	3 July 2017 (2017-07-03)
91	2	"Astronaut Special"	Sandra Magnus, Terry Virts, Claude Nicollier and Charlie Duke	10 July 2017 (2017-07-10)
92	3	"Oxygen: A Matter of Life or Death"	Sara Pascoe, Andrea Sella and Dr Gabrielle Walker	17 July 2017 (2017-07-17)
93	4	"Will Insects Inherit the Earth?"	Dave Gorman, Tim Cockerill and Amoret Whitaker	24 July 2017 (2017-07-24)
94	5	"Are We Living in a Simulation?"	Phill Jupitus, Nick Bostrom and Anil Seth	31 July 2017 (2017-07-31)
95	6	"The Mind v the Brain?"	Katy Brand, Uta Frith and Sophie Scott	7 August 2017 (2017-08-07)
96	7	"2017 Christmas Special: The Science of Magic"	Andy Nyman, Diane Morgan, Richard Wiseman and Francesca Stavrakopoulou	25 December 2017 (2017-12-25)

Series Seventeen

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
97	1	"When Two Stars Collide"	Dara Ó Briain, Sheila Brown and Nils Andersson	8 January 2018 (2018-01-08)
98	2	"The Secret Life of Birds"	Katy Brand, Steve Backshall, Professor Tim Birkhead and special guest Brann the Raven	15 January 2018 (2018-01-15)
99	3	"Antibiotics"	Chris Addison, Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies and Martha Clokie	22 January 2018 (2018-01-22)
100	4	"Teenage Brain"	Rory Bremner, Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and Professor Matthew Cobb	29 January 2018 (2018-01-29)
101	5	"How Animals Behave"	Rufus Hound, Lucy Cooke and Professor Rory Wilson	5 February 2018 (2018-02-05)
102	6	"Volcanoes"	Jo Brand, Tamsin Mather and Clive Oppenheimer	12 February 2018 (2018-02-12)

Series Eighteen

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
103	TV–Special	"Infinite Monkey Cage 100"	Katy Brand, Brian Blessed, Eric Idle, Dave Gorman, Andy Hamilton, Alice Roberts, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Sue Black, Fay Dowker, David Spiegelhalter, Richard Wiseman, Professor Tony Ryan and Andrea Sella	11 July 2018 (2018-07-11)
104	1	"Big Data"	Danny Wallace, Hannah Fry and Timandra Harkness	16 July 2018 (2018-07-16)
105	2	"Invasion!"	Phill Jupitus, Kate Jones and Mark Spencer	23 July 2018 (2018-07-23)
106	3	"Immune System"	Shappi Khorsandi, Professor Dan Davis and Professor Steve Jones	30 July 2018 (2018-07-30)
107	4	"The Human Voice"	Beardyman, Professor Trevor Cox and Professor Sophie Scott	6 August 2018 (2018-08-06)
108	5	"GCHQ"	Katy Brand	13 August 2018 (2018-08-13)

Series Nineteen

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
109	1	"Microbes: Secret Rulers of the World?"	Jon Copley, Monica Grady and Ed Byrne	7 January 2019 (2019-01-07)
110	2	"The Future of Humanity"	Chris Addison, Astronomer Royal Lord Martin Rees and Baroness Cathy Ashton	14 January 2019 (2019-01-14)
111	3	"The Origin of Numbers"	Matt Parker, Dr Hannah Fry and Professor Brian Butterworth	21 January 2019 (2019-01-21)
112	4	"Are Humans Still Evolving?"	David Baddiel, Professor Aoife McLysaght and Dr Adam Rutherford	28 January 2019 (2019-01-28)
113	5	"How to Build a Bionic Human"	Dr Kevin Fong, Noel Fitzpatrick and Lucy Beaumont	4 February 2019 (2019-02-04)
114	6	"How to Measure the Universe"	Jo Brand, Professor Jo Dunkley and Dr Adam Masters	11 February 2019 (2019-02-11)

Moon landing anniversary special

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, a special episode was added in July 2019:

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
Special	1	"The Infinite Moonkey Cage"	Rusty Schweickart, Gerry Griffin, Andy Aldrin, and Jan Aldrin	19 July 2019 (2019-07-19)

Series Twenty

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
115	1	"Dinosaurs"	Susannah Maidment, Steve Brusatte and Rufus Hound	16 September 2019 (2019-09-16)
116	2	"Clever Creatures"	Tim Birkhead, Helen Scales and Danny Wallace	23 September 2019 (2019-09-23)
117	3	"Science of Dreaming"	Professor Penny Lewis, Professor Richard Wiseman and Bridget Christie	30 September 2019 (2019-09-30)
118	4	"Anniversary of the Periodic Table"	Professor Polly Arnold, Professor Andrea Sella and Katy Brand	7 October 2019 (2019-10-07)
119	5	"Brits in Space"	Tim Peake, Helen Sharman and Mark Steel	14 October 2019 (2019-10-14)

Series Twenty-one

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
120	1	"The Science of Laughter"	Professor Sophie Scott, Professor Richard Wiseman and Frank Skinner	13 January 2020 (2020-01-13)
121	2	"Conspiracy Theories"	Professor Karen Douglas, Dr David Robert Grimes and Shazia Mirza	20 January 2020 (2020-01-20)
122	3	"Coral Reefs"	Dr Heather Koldewey, Professor Callum Roberts and Marcus Brigstocke	27 January 2020 (2020-01-27)
123	4	"Fire"	Niamh Nic Daéid, Adam Rutherford and Ed Byrne	3 February 2020 (2020-02-03)
124	5	"Quantum Worlds"	Jim Al-Khalili, Sean Carroll and Katy Brand	10 February 2020 (2020-02-10)
125	6	"UFO Special"	Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Dallas Campbell, Professor Tim O'Brien and Lucy Beaumont	17 February 2020 (2020-02-17)

Series Twenty-two

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
126	1	"The End of the Universe"	Brian Greene, Katie Mack, Eric Idle and Steve Martin	25 May 2020 (2020-05-25)
127	2	"Black Holes"	Sean Carroll, Janna Levin and Matt Lucas	1 June 2020 (2020-06-01)
128	3	"Space Archaeology"	Alice Roberts, Sarah Parcak and Sara Pascoe	8 June 2020 (2020-06-08)
129	4	"An Astronaut's Guide To Isolation"	Chris Hadfield, Rusty Schweickart, Helen Sharman and Nicole Stott	15 June 2020 (2020-06-15)
130	5	"The Sun"	Lucie Green, Steve Jones and Tim Minchin	22 June 2020 (2020-06-22)
131	6	"When the Monkeys met the Chimps"	Dr Jane Goodall, Dr Cat Hobaiter and Bill Bailey	29 June 2020 (2020-06-29)
132	7	"Does Time Exist?"	Fay Dowker, Carlo Rovelli and Mark Gatiss	6 July 2020 (2020-07-06)
133	8	"The Human Brain"	David Eagleman, Gina Rippon and Conan O'Brien	14 July 2020 (2020-07-14)
134	9	"What is Life?"	Prof Aoife McLysaght, Sir Paul Nurse, Jo Brand and Ross Noble	20 July 2020 (2020-07-20)

Series Twenty-three

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
135	1	"In Praise of Flies"	Matthew Cobb, Erica McAlister and David Baddiel	11 January 2021 (2021-01-11)
136	2	"Under our Night Sky"	Tim Peake, Jon Culshaw, Lisa Harvey-Smith and Stuart Clark	18 January 2021 (2021-01-18)
137	3	"Neanderthals"	Alan Davies, Rebecca Wragg Sykes and Tori Herridge	25 January 2021 (2021-01-25)
138	4	"The Science of Cooking"	Katy Brand, Grace Dent, Harold McGee and Mark Miodownik	1 February 2021 (2021-02-01)
139	5	"The Fundamentals of Reality"	Janna Levin, Frank Wilczek, Eric Idle and Sara Pascoe	8 February 2021 (2021-02-08)
140	6	"A History of Rock"	Chris Jackson, Susie Maidment and Ross Noble	15 February 2021 (2021-02-15)

Series Twenty-four

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
141	1	"Bats v Flies"	Kate Jones, Erica McAlister and Dave Gorman	25 June 2022 (2022-06-25)
142	2	"Exploring the Deep"	Diva Amon, Jon Copley and Tim Minchin	2 July 2022 (2022-07-02)
143	3	"The Wood Wide Web"	Suzanne Simard, Mark Spencer and Brendan Hunt	9 July 2022 (2022-07-09)
144	4	"Black Holes"	Netta Engelhardt, Janna Levin and Eric Idle	16 July 2022 (2022-07-16)
145	5	"Astronauts"	Chris Hadfield, Carolyn Porco, Nicole Stott and Katy Brand	23 July 2022 (2022-07-23)
146	6	"Brains"	Uta Frith, Sophie Scott and Alan Davies	30 July 2022 (2022-07-30)
147	7	"How to Teach Maths"	Hannah Fry, Matt Parker, David Spiegelhalter and Sara Pascoe	6 August 2022 (2022-08-06)

Series Twenty-five

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
148	1	"What have we learnt from Covid?[14]"	Dame Sarah Gilbert, Professor Dan Davis and Dr Chris Van Tulleken	12 November 2022 (2022-11-12)
149	2	"Exploring our solar system[15]"	Conan O'Brien, Dr Katie Stack Morgan and Dr Kevin Hand	19 November 2022 (2022-11-19)
150	3	"Hunting for Exoplanets[16]"	Eric Idle, Jessie Christiansen, Tiffany Kataria and Sean Carroll	26 November 2022 (2022-11-26)
151	4	"Can we cure aging?[17]"	Sarah Kendall, Dame Linda Partridge and Dr Andrew Steele	3 December 2022 (2022-12-03)
152	5	"The Age of Conspiracy[18]"	David Baddiel, Professor Karen Douglas, Professor Matthew Cobb and Dr Timotheus Vermeulen	10 December 2022 (2022-12-10)
153	6	"The Deep Space Network[19]"	Mark Cheung, Alan Duffy, Brian Schmidt and Alice Fraser	17 December 2022 (2022-12-17)
154	7	"Why does wine taste good?[20]"	Tim Minchin, Brian Schmidt, Mango Parker and Patricia Williamson	24 December 2022 (2022-12-24)

Series Twenty-six

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
155	1	"Southern Skies[21]"	Kirsten Banks, Devika Kamath and Ross Noble	18 February 2023 (2023-02-18)
156	2	"Australia's Scary Spiders[22]"	Dieter Hochuli, Mariella Herberstein and Claire Hooper	25 February 2023 (2023-02-25)
157	3	"How to think like a mathematician[23]"	Jo Brand, Professor Hannah Fry, Dr Eugenia Cheng and Randall Munroe	4 March 2023 (2023-03-04)
158	4	"How to commit the perfect murder[24]"	Susan Calman, Professor Sue Black and Dr Julia Shaw	11 March 2023 (2023-03-11)
159	5	"How Far Can the Human Body Go?[25]"	Polly McGuigan, Ben Garrod, Russell Kane and Sally Gunnell	18 March 2023 (2023-03-18)
160	6	"Magic Materials[26]"	Mark Miodownik, Anna Ploszajski and Ed Byrne	25 March 2023 (2023-03-25)

Series Twenty-seven

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
161	1	"Are we what we eat?[27]"	Dr Chris van Tulleken, Professor Janet Cade and Harry Hill	24 June 2023 (2023-06-24)
162	2	"Supervolcanoes[28]"	Tamsin Mather, Chris Jackson and Rachel Parris	3 July 2023 (2023-07-03)
163	3	"Bees v Wasps[29]"	Dave Goulson, Seirian Sumner and Catherine Bohart	8 July 2023 (2023-07-08)
164	4	"The Magic of Mushrooms [30]"	Phil Wang, Merlin Sheldrake and Katie Field	15 July 2023 (2023-07-15)
165	5	"The Secret Life of Sharks[31]"	Lucy Hawkes, Isla Hodgson and Steve Backshall	22 July 2023 (2023-07-22)
166	6	"Ancient DNA Secrets[32]"	Ben Willbond, Turi King, Tom Booth and Sir Paul Nurse	29 July 2023 (2023-07-29)
167	7	"Cosmic Dust[33]"	Matthew Genge, Penny Wozniakiewicz and Alan Davies	5 August 2023 (2023-08-05)

Series Twenty-eight

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
168	1	"Octopuses![34]"	Dr Tim Lamont, Amy Courtney and Russell Kane	11 November 2023 (2023-11-11)
169	2	"The Science of Coincidence[35]"	Sophie Duker, Marcus Du Sautoy and David Spiegelhalter	18 November 2023 (2023-11-18)
170	3	"How I is AI?[36]"	Rufus Hound, Hannah Fry and Kate Devlin	25 November 2023 (2023-11-25)
171	4	"The Scale of Life (or were dinosaurs just too big?)[37]"	Dave Gorman, Susie Maidment and Tori Herridge	2 December 2023 (2023-12-02)
172	5	"Hollywood in Space[38]"	Paul Franklin, Tim Peake, Nicole Stott and Susan Kilrain	9 December 2023 (2023-12-09)
173	6	"Jo Brand's Quantum World[39]"	Jo Brand, Professor Ben Allanach and Professor Fay Dowker	16 December 2023 (2023-12-16)
174	7	"The Monkeys meet The Sky at Night[40]"	Dara Ó Briain, Dr Maggie Aderin Pocock, Chris Lintott and Pete Lawrence	23 December 2023 (2023-12-23)

Series Twenty-nine

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
175	1	"Egyptian Mummies[41]"	Russell Kane, Lucy Porter, Rosalie David and Lidija McKnight	17 February 2024 (2024-02-17)
176	2	"Could it be magic?[42]"	Alan Davies, Richard Wiseman, Laura London and Gustav Kuhn	24 February 2024 (2024-02-24)
177	3	"Asteroids[43]"	John Bishop, Sara Russell and Alan Fitzsimmons	2 March 2024 (2024-03-02)
178	4	"Poison[44]"	Hugh Dennis, Andrea Sella and Kathryn Harkup	9 March 2024 (2024-03-09)
179	5	"Cats v Dogs[45]"	Deborah Meaden, David Baddiel, Ben Garrod and Jess French	16 March 2024 (2024-03-16)
180	6	"Higgs Boson[46]"	Katy Brand, Ben Miller, Tevong You and Clara Nellist	23 March 2024 (2024-03-23)

Series Thirty

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
181	1	"The Wonder of Trees[47]"	Dame Judi Dench, Tony Kirkham and Tristan Gooley	11 July 2024 (2024-07-11)
182	2	"Science of Board Games[48]"	Jess Fostekew, Marcus du Sautoy and Dave Neale	18 July 2024 (2024-07-18)
183	3	"'Beastly Bodies' Kids Special[49]"	Steve Backshall, Jess French and Adam Kay	25 July 2024 (2024-07-25)
184	4	"Extreme Exploration[50]"	Anneka Rice, Mike Massimino, Britney Schmidt and Jess Phoenix	1 August 2024 (2024-08-01)
185	5	"What a Gas![51]"	Dave Gorman, Mark Miodownik and Lucy Carpenter	8 August 2024 (2024-08-08)
186	6	"An Unexpected History of Science[52]"	Rufus Hound, Matthew Cobb, Victoria Herridge and Keith Moore	15 August 2024 (2024-08-15)
187	7	"Alien Life[53]"	Russell Kane, Lisa Kaltenegger and Chris Lintott	22 August 2024 (2024-08-22)

Series Thirty One

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
188	1	"The Cyber Codebreakers"	Alan Davies, Victoria Baines and Richard Benham	13 November 2024 (2024-11-13)
189	2	"Hedgehogs"	Hugh Warwick, Sophie Lund Rasmussen and Pam Ayres	20 November 2024 (2024-11-20)
190	3	"Starless World"	John Bishop, Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Roberto Trotta	27 November 2024 (2024-11-27)
191	4	"Science of Baby Making"	Professor Joyce Harper, Ben Steventon and Sara Pascoe	4 December 2024 (2024-12-04)
192	5	"Fantastic Elastic"	Bryony Page, Jessica Fostekew, Anna Ploszajski and James Busfield	11 December 2024 (2024-12-11)
193	6	"Is Extinction the End?"	Adam Rutherford, Susannah Maidment and Ria Lina	18 December 2024 (2024-12-18)
194	7	"An Unexpected History of the Body"	Sir Mark Walport, Professor Helen King, Ed Byrne and Keith Moore	25 December 2024 (2024-12-25)

Series Thirty Two

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
195	1	"Journey to the Centre of the Earth"	Phil Wang, Ana Ferreira and Chris Jackson	19 February 2025 (2025-02-19)
196	2	"How selfish are we really?"	Jo Brand, Patti Wilks and Steve Jones	26 February 2025 (2025-02-26)
197	3	"Adventures on Ice"	Darren Harriott, Liz Morris, Christoph Salzmann and Felicity Aston	5 March 2025 (2025-03-05)
198	4	"Saturn v Jupiter"	Katherine Parkinson, Paul Abel and Michele Dougherty	12 March 2025 (2025-03-12)
199	5	"The Sound of Music"	Brian Eno, Sam Bennett and Trevor Cox	19 March 2025 (2025-03-19)
200	6	"Nature's Shapes"	Dave Gorman, Sarah Hart and Thomas Woolley	26 March 2025 (2025-03-26)

Series Thirty Three

Total	No.	Title	Guest(s)	Original airdate
201	1	"201st Birthday Bonanza"	Mel Giedroyc, Deborah Meaden and Nish Kumar	10 July 2025 (2025-07-10)
202	2	"Should We Settle in Space?"	Tim Peake, Kelly Weinersmith and Alan Davies	17 July 2025 (2025-07-17)
203	3	"How to Build the Perfect Athlete"	Helen Glover, Hugh Dennis, Steve Haake and Emma Ross	24 July 2025 (2025-07-24)
204	4	"The Mighty Spud"	Sandy Knapp, Glenn Bryan and Susan Calman	31 July 2025 (2025-07-31)
205	5	"Technofossils"	Sarah Gabbott, Mark Miodownik and Aurie Styla	7 August 2025 (2025-08-07)
206	6	"Moths v Butterflies"	Katy Brand, Jane Hill and Chris Jiggins	14 August 2025 (2025-08-14)
207	7	"Illuminating Light"	Jess Wade, Russell Foster and Bridget Christie	21 August 2025 (2025-08-21)

References

1. "BBC Sounds – The Infinite Monkey Cage". BBC. 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
2. Ince, Robin (27 August 2010). "A cat in a wheelie bin can help us ponder how the universe works". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 August 2010.
3. Maume, Chris (21 November 2010). "The Infinite Monkey Cage, Radio 4, Monday; Take one boffin. Mix with comedy writers, and hear them gently fizz". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
4. "Radio GaGa: Infinite Monkey Cage, Moyles & Bacon!". Tim Minchin. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
5. "BBC Radio 4 – The Infinite Monkey Cage". BBC. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
6. "Frank Skinner and Jason Byrne win at Sony Awards 2011". The British Comedy Guide. 9 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
7. "TV scientist scoops top radio award". Express & Star. 9 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
8. "54th Rose D'Or Awards Honour the Best in TV and Radio Entertainment". rosedor.com. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
9. "Uncaged Monkeys, New Theatre Oxford & touring, review". Telegraph.co.uk. 3 May 2011.
10. "Infinite universes and dead strawberries: an interview with Brian Cox and Robin Ince". theverge.com. 4 March 2015.
11. bbc.co.uk The Infinite Monkey Cage, season 10, episode 4. Eric Idle states that Jeff Lynne played all the instruments on the recording.
12. "BBC Radio 4 – The Infinite Monkey Cage – Episodes". BBC. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
13. "BBC Radio 4 – The Infinite Monkey Cage – Episodes 2010s > 2015 > December". BBC. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
14. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 25, What have we learnt from Covid?".
15. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 25, Exploring our solar system".
16. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 25, Hunting for Exoplanets".
17. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 25, Can we cure ageing?".
18. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 25, the Age of Conspiracy?".
19. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 25, the Deep Space Network".
20. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 25, Why does wine taste good?".
21. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 26, Southern Skies".
22. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 26, Australia's Scary Spiders".
23. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 26, How to think like a mathematician".
24. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 26, How to commit the perfect murder".
25. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 26, How Far Can The Human Body Go?".
26. "BBC Radio 4 - the Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 26, Magic Materials".
27. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 27, Are we what we eat?".
28. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 27, Supervolcanoes".
29. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 27, Bees v Wasps".
30. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 27, The Magic of Mushrooms".
31. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 27, The Secret Life of Sharks".
32. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 27, Ancient DNA Secrets".
33. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 27, Cosmic Dust".
34. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 28, Octopuses!".
35. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 28, The Science of Coincidence".
36. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 28, How I is AI?".
37. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 28, The Scale of Life (or were dinosaurs just too big?)".
38. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 28, Hollywood in Space".
39. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 28, Jo Brand's Quantum World".
40. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 28, The Monkeys meet The Sky at Night".
41. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 29, Egyptian Mummies".
42. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 29, Could it be magic?".
43. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 29, Asteroids?".
44. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 29, Poison".
45. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 29, Cats v Dogs".
46. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 29, Higgs Boson".
47. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 30, The Wonder of Trees - Dame Judi Dench, Tony Kirkham and Tristan Gooley".
48. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 30, Science of Board Games - Jess Fostekew, Marcus du Sautoy and Dave Neale".
49. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 30, 'Beastly Bodies' Kids Special - Steve Backshall, Jess French and Adam Kay".
50. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 30, Extreme Exploration - Anneka Rice, Mike Massimino, Britney Schmidt and Jess Phoenix".
51. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 30, What a Gas! - Dave Gorman, Mark Miodownik and Lucy Carpenter".
52. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 30, An Unexpected History of Science - Rufus Hound, Matthew Cobb, Victoria Herridge and Keith Moore".
53. "BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage, Series 30, Alien Life - Russell Kane, Lisa Kaltenegger and Chris Lintott".

External links

• The Infinite Monkey Cage at BBC Online
• Interview with the presenters