podcast

Are Magnets The Most Familiar Mystery On Earth?

06.01.2026
Listen to the episode on your favorite platforms:
  • Apple Podcasts
  • Youtube
  • Spotify
  • Castbox
  • Pocket Casts
  • iHeart
  • Overcast
  • Castro
  • RadioPublic

Deep beneath our feet, churning molten metals create an invisible shield that holds our atmosphere in place and protects all life from the Sun.

Some animals can sense it directly. Take the quantum effects in a robin’s eye, whales who cross oceans using no landmarks at all, or the bacteria that line themselves up to this unseen force.

Join Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens as they explore magnetism and ponder how a compass knows where to point?

Where did the original source our magnetic field come from? What that field might feel like? And why magnets just be the most familiar mystery on Earth.

-------------------

For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit ⁠⁠https://cancerresearchuk.org/restisscience

⁠⁠

Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), the Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247). A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales (4325234) and the Isle of Man (5713F). Registered address: 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ.

-------------------

Find The Rest Is Science all over the internet by ⁠⁠clicking here.⁠⁠

-------------------

Video Producer: Adam Thornton

Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell

Assistant Producer: Imee Marriott

Producer: Becki Hills

Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter

Head Of Digital: Samuel Oakley

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices