{"podcast":{"title":"Instant Genius","slug":"instant-genius-226559","podcast_index_feed_id":226559,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/GLT7732401960","website_url":"http://www.sciencefocus.com/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/f7c186ec-ab83-11ed-876d-531b385da704/image/1e3aeeafe7dbc619978cf0eccb54d269.jpeg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Our Media","episode_count":652,"summary":"Whether you’re curious about getting healthy, the Big Bang or the science of cooking, find out everything you need to know with Instant Genius. The team behind BBC Science Focus Magazine talk to world-leading experts to bring you two bite-sized masterclasses on a new subject each week. New episodes are released every Monday and Friday and you can subscribe to Instant Genius on Apple Podcasts to access all new episodes ad-free and all old episodes of Instant Genius Extra. Watch full episodes of Instant Genius on BBC Science Focus Magazine's YouTube channel. Follow us on X: @SFIGPod","last_synced_at":"2026-06-19T10:17:02.929921+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559"},"episode":{"title":"Why your Neanderthal genes may be affecting your health","slug":"why-your-neanderthal-genes-may-be-affecting-your-health","published_at":"2026-04-30T23:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559/why-your-neanderthal-genes-may-be-affecting-your-health","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR8145240134.mp3?updated=1777556564","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR8145240134.mp3?updated=1777556564","summary":"There’s so much we don’t know about Neanderthals. Our stocky, muscular relatives went extinct around 40,000 years ago, leaving a trail of mystery in their wake – about what they were like, how they lived, and why they disappeared. But, while Neanderthals themselves have gone, fragments of their DNA live on inside us. In this episode, we speak to Prof Chris Stringer, scientific associate at London’s Natural History Museum, and author of several books, including Britain: one million years of the human story (with Rob Dinnis) and Our Human Story (with Louise Humphrey). Chris tells us all about Neanderthals, from what they looked like, to where they lived, and how they might have interacted with Homo sapiens – that’s us. He also explains why so many of us have Neanderthal genes, and what that might be doing to our health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices","meta_description":"There’s so much we don’t know about Neanderthals. Our stocky, muscular relatives went extinct around 40,000 years ago, leaving a trail of mystery in their…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1793,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/instant-genius-226559/episodes/why-your-neanderthal-genes-may-be-affecting-your-health/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559/why-your-neanderthal-genes-may-be-affecting-your-health.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}