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Wood, Smoke and Science: Cooking over fire

Marnie Chesterton and guests explore the chemistry of barbecue and explore how cooking over fire helped shape human evolution.

For this special festival recording of 蘑菇短视频 Radio 4鈥檚 Inside Science, the fire pit is our science lab. Marnie Chesterton brings a sprinkling of chemistry and just a squeeze of paleoanthropology as we invite you to explore the science and human history of cooking over fire.

Recorded at Abergavenny Food festival 2025 with chef Sam Evans of Hangfire BBQ, archaeobotanical scientist Dr Ceren Kabukcu and Dr Joanna Buckley from the Royal Society of Chemistry

For more fascinating science content, you can head to bbc.co.uk, search for 蘑菇短视频 Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton.
Producers: Tim Dodd and Clare Salisbury.
Programme Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
Editor: Martin Smith

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Mon 23 Feb 2026 20:30
蘑菇短视频 Radio 4

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Broadcasts

  • Thu 19 Feb 2026 16:30
    蘑菇短视频 Radio 4
  • Mon 23 Feb 2026 20:30
    蘑菇短视频 Radio 4

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