Royal Institution Christmas Lectures Season 40 Episode release dates & where to watch

1. The Ape That Cooks

What did you have for your Christmas dinner? The traditional turkey? A vegetarian meal? And how did the turkey tradition start? What did people have for Christmas dinner 500 years ago? Just how is your Christmas meal turned into you? John takes us on a journey through time from our earliest ancestors, on the way exploring how scientists have come to understand the diets of our fossil ancestors from studying their teeth and bones and how differences in food habits among populations and cultures have arisen.

2. Yuck or Yummy?

What is your favourite food? What are the things you wouldn't touch with a barge pole? Food may be fuel, but it's also something we really enjoy - unless it's one of those foods you can't stand. What is it about some food that makes it irresistible, while other food is a real turn off? In 'Yuck or yummy' we explore the sensory world of food. How do taste, appearance, texture, smell and even the name of the food affect our enjoyment? What goes on in the brain when we enjoy, or are revolted by particular foods? We ask whether or not we are programmed by our evolutionary past to like some foods more than others and how our own experiences early on might affect our preferences for life. One person's pleasure in food may be another's disgust. How do individual differences arise?

3. You Are What You Eat

Our bodies are made from the food we have eaten during our lifetime. To survive and grow we need to eat enough of each of the essential building blocks of the human body. How did scientists discover the right mix of nutrients and how does what we eat match up? Is it true that eating fish makes you brainier, carrots help you see in the dark and spinach will make you stronger? John takes us through the maze of diet and health. We uncover the truth behind the claims for different kinds of foods, including organic food, and ask whether we instinctively tend to choose the balance of nutrients our bodies need.

4. When Food Goes Wrong

We uncover the hidden and not so hidden dangers that might lurk in our food and explode some of the myths that surround these risks. Are you or any of your friends allergic to one kind of food or another? Perhaps as many as one in ten children has a food allergy and allergies can sometimes kill. What happens when people react to food with an allergy? Why is food allergy apparently on the increase? Have you ever suffered a bout of food poisoning? We take a look at that two-month old piece of cheese you find at the back of the fridge. It's covered in blue mould. It may look unappetising but is it dangerous?

5. Food for the Future Finale

Most of us get enough to eat, but roughly 800 million people in the world go hungry every day. The world's population is set to increase from about six billion today to nearly ten billion by 2050. Will more people inevitably go hungry? Is the earth capable of producing enough food for the future? In the 20th century the green revolution produced a lot more food for the world's rapidly expanding population, through a mixture of better crops, more fertilisers and pesticides and more efficient machinery. Is the same solution going to work in the 21st century? What will be the impacts on the environment?