BBC AMERICA’s science-savvy series, Bang Goes the Theory, returns with all-new episodes featuring spectacular experiments and crazy innovations with hosts Dallas Campbell, biochemist Liz Bonnin, engineer Jem Stansfield and evolutionary biologist Dr. Yan Wong. The action-packed series goes from the sky (in a human-powered airplane) to the bottom of the sea (in the Royal Navy’s latest search and rescue submarine) and everywhere in between to answer some of the most common, and a few not so common, questions. Making science both inspiring and engaging, the team investigates the issues that affect people every day. Bang Goes the Theory premieres with three back-to-back episodes Tuesday, June 4, 9:00 PM.
UPCOMING INVESTIGATIONS
· Why does gas cost so much? Can we use science to make fuel for free?
· Is modern technology affecting our hearing?
· Are digital storage formats safe? What does it take to wipe computer memory?
· How do architects control the flow of crowds?
· What are the health risks of wireless signals? Is wire-free electricity possible?
· Do we really need to drink eight glasses of water a day?
· How do hormones and blood sugar affect a person’s energy and mood?
· What is behind our special relationship with dogs? Can they be good for your health?
· Why haven’t we cured cancer yet?
THE TEAM
Dallas Campbell (@DallasCampbell)
Dallas’ mantra is that you don’t need to be a scientist to be in love with science. Before Bang Goes the Theory he investigated the scientific world from a layman’s point of view in Dallas in Wonderland and The Gadget Show, among others. The former saw him having a crack at breaking the men’s 100m record and journeying to the center of the Earth.
Liz Bonnin (@LizBonnin)
Liz has a degree in biochemistry from Trinity College, Dublin, and more recently returned to academia to study for a masters degree in wild animal biology and conservation. She now works for conservation programs at the Zoological Society of London, helping snow leopards and tigers. Liz has presented Top of the Pops, Brat Camp Unseen, RI:SE and Science Friction, covering topics such as nuclear power, stem cell research and obesity.
Jem Stansfield
Jem has a degree in aeronautics and a qualification in welding. He creates special effects for movies like Lost in Space and Van Helsing, and produces exhibits for the Science Museum and Royal Observatory. He’s even worked with Wallace and Gromit. Jem has won a New Scientist prize for boots that walk on water. Before Bang Goes the Theory, he brought his hands-on approach to science and technology on UK programs Scrapheap Challenge, Men in White, Science Shack and Home on their Own.
Dr. Yan Wong (@DrYanWong)
As an undergraduate at Oxford, Yan studied under celebrated scientist Richard Dawkins and later undertook research for Dawkins on the evolutionary relationships between major forms of life. One result of their collaboration was a book, The Ancestor’s Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life. Yan has a PhD in computational and mathematical modeling of self-incompatibility systems in plants and has lectured in evolutionary biology at Leeds University.
EPISODE SYNOPSES
Episode One
The team investigates why gas costs so much, and whether we can use science to make fuel for free. Liz experiences life on an oil rig, and Jem and Dallas compete to make their own DIY fuel alternatives. Episode One premieres June 4, 9:00pm ET/PT.
Episode Two
The team asks whether modern life is damaging our ears. Dallas explores how safety-conscious scientists are putting the noise back into driving and Liz learns to like the sound of being sick. Episode Two premieres June 4, 9:40pm ET/PT.
Episode Three
Liz looks at the safety of digital storage formats, and whether the Cloud is the answer to all of our problems. Dallas and Jem see what it takes to properly wipe your computer memory, and presenter Maggie Philbin investigates how hackers can access smartphones. Episode Three premieres June 4, 10:20pm ET/PT.
Episode Four
Dallas finds out how crowds can cooperate subconsciously, Liz learns how architects control the flow of crowds, and Jem meets scientists trying to understand how crush injuries occur. Episode Four premieres June 11, 9:00pm ET/PT.
Episode Five
26 years after his first report on the issue, presenter Howard Stableford brings us up to date on the health risks of wireless signals. Meanwhile, Jem explores wire-free electricity, and Liz finds out how mobile phone signals could protect us. Episode Five premieres June 11, 9:40pm ET/PT.
Episode Six
Jem dreams of flying on a homemade airplane, while Liz explores how hormones and blood sugar affect our energy and mood, and Dallas asks if we really need to drink eight glasses of water a day. Episode Six premieres June 11, 10:20pm ET/PT.
Episode Seven
The team looks at travel nightmares. Liz investigates what causes traffic jams, whether lane switching works, and how to beat travel sickness, while Jem heads for his workshop to build his own solution to traffic jams: a homemade airplane. Episode Seven premieres June 18, 9:00pm ET/PT.
Episode Eight
What is behind our special relationship with dogs? Liz visits researchers who are comparing dogs to wolves to see the effects of domestication, and presenter Philippa Forrester takes her pet to a lab to discover how dogs can be good for your health. Episode Eight premieres June 18, 9:40pm ET/PT.
Episode Nine
Jem makes his own diamond, and then proves that they aren’t forever. Yan explains the science of popcorn, while Dallas investigates why we haven’t cured cancer yet, and meets the team that hopes to change that. Episode Nine premieres June 18, 10:20pm ET/PT.
Episode Ten
Liz hits the beach with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution to experience the power of rip currents, Yan attempts to demonstrate evolution by drawing a couple of lines, and Jem is back in the workshop, turning everyday scrap into gold. Episode Ten premieres June 25, 9:00pm ET/PT.
Episode Eleven
Jem witnesses the awesome power of rockets with the Bloodhound land speed record project, Yan re-enacts an Ancient Greek experiment to measure the earth’s circumference with a couple of sticks, and Dallas goes in search of a robot to call his own. Episode Eleven premieres June 25, 9:40pm ET/PT.
Episode Twelve
Liz investigates new stem-cell research that could change the face of organ transplant surgery, Yan tries out the Nocebo effect (the placebo effect’s evil twin), and at a memory boot camp Dallas discovers how to remember where he left his keys. Episode Twelve premieres June 25, 10:20pm ET/PT.