Science met comedy under an awe-inspiring lunar installation last week as the BBC’s The Infinite Monkey Cage recorded its latest episode at Harwell Campus.

The beloved science-comedy podcast, hosted by physicist Professor Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince, drew a crowd of over 300 curious minds to the Zeta Building at Harwell Campus, for a special live recording. Set beneath the replica of the Moon from artist Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon installation, the evening was as atmospheric as it was intellectually entertaining.

Joining the panel to investigate life, the universe and everything in between was regular contributor and comic Alan Davies, best known for QI, along with guest expert Dr. Kelly Weinersmith, co-author of A City on Mars and a prominent voice in the science communication world and Tim Peake, former Apache pilot, flight instructor, test pilot and European Space Agency astronaut.

From the smallest building blocks of life to the furthest stars, the curious monkeys pull apart the latest science to reveal fascinating and often bizarre insights into the world around us and what lies beyond. Can trees talk to each other? Can science help you commit the perfect murder? What might aliens look like and the burning question of our time, are strawberries alive or dead?

The event formed part of Harwell’s Light Project and ongoing efforts to bring science to the public in engaging and unexpected ways to celebrate 80 years of innovation and breakthroughs at the campus. 

The episode is set to be released in the coming weeks on BBC Sounds and other podcast platforms.