BBC Radio 4

What's Up Docs?

Health EN ↓ 157 episodes

In this BBC Radio 4 podcast, Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken are on a mission to help us take better care of ourselves. Although they are identical twins, Chris and Xand are very different and they never stop thinking and arguing about science and health. They want to lead healthy, happy lives and as doctors, they want this for everyone. Yet they tussle over how best to get there. When it comes to looking after our own health, it can be confusing. Medicine and science produce amazing new treatments and diagnostics every day and we are bombarded with so many headlines and pieces of advice; but...

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BBC Radio 4

Episodes

How can I look after my knees? 08.04.2025 29:04

In a new podcast from BBC Radio 4, doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the messy and complicated world of health and wellbeing. In this episode they want to know about knee pain - why do we get it, what can we do to treat and prevent it, and should we really just ‘push through it’? They talk to Philip Conaghan, Professor of Musculoskeletal Medicine at the University of...

Doctors' Notes: Hanger 01.04.2025 15:46

Join Chris and Xand for some bonus content, digging deeper into the topic of each week’s episode of What’s Up Docs? Such is their passion for health and wellbeing that when joined by an expert they find it hard to contain their excitement and the questions just keep coming. Doctors' Notes is the solution. Here, they spend a little more time with the expert and explore some ideas that they can’t ge...

Am I hangry? 01.04.2025 29:05

In a new podcast from BBC Radio 4, doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the messy and complicated world of health and wellbeing. In this episode they want to know about ‘hanger’. Is it real? Or is being hangry just a marketing tool? Guest Professor of Social Psychology Viren Swami from Anglia Ruskin University says it's real - but hunger is not the only thing that contri...

Doctors' Notes: Willpower 25.03.2025 26:23

Join Chris and Xand for some bonus content as they dig deeper into the topic of each week’s episode of What’s Up Docs? Such is their passion for health and wellbeing that when joined by an expert they find it hard to contain their excitement and the questions just keep coming. Doctors' Notes is the solution. Here, they spend a little more time with the expert and explore some ideas that they can’t...

How important is willpower? 25.03.2025 28:41

In a new podcast from BBC Radio 4, doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode they want to know about willpower. What does it do? Can any of us get better at doing difficult things? Guest Kimberley Wilson, a chartered psychologist, says it's the biggest question and longest standing issue in psychology and philosophy. D...

Meet the Docs 25.03.2025 15:13

In a new podcast from BBC Radio 4, Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the messy and complicated world of health and wellbeing. Chris and Xand are identical twins (although Xand is seven minutes older...). They’re also both doctors and became interested in medicine at the same time. But they got into medicine for different reasons and studied different specialties. So, even though health and wellb...

Welcome to What's Up Docs? 20.03.2025 2:13

In this BBC Radio 4 podcast, Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken are on a mission to help us take better care of ourselves. When it comes to looking after our own health, it can be confusing. With new statistics and treatments coming out every week, it feels impossible to decide what works best for us. So each episode, Chris and Xand are joined by an expert guest to examine the latest science, insight...