S1 E1 - I Helped Break a 142-Year-Old Bell, and That’s Okay

In Leicestershire, at the John Taylor Bell Foundry, there's fire, sledgehammer swinging, and metal hotter than a volcano. Also, several questions about cheese.

Mar 23, 2026 • 31m

S1 E2 - They Can Fly 200 Miles With No Fuel. Here’s How.

In Rutland, I try to fit an entire county in one camera shot, learn to spot chimneys in the sky, and make a very strange noise. Let's learn about paragliding.

Mar 30, 2026 • 26m

S1 E3 - I Missed the Evidence. Can You Spot It?

At the University of Lincoln's Crime Scene House, where they teach forensic science students in simulated crime scenes, I have a challenge for you.

Apr 6, 2026 • 28m

S1 E4 - These People Walk Towards Mining Disasters

In Nottinghamshire, I join the team at MRS Training and Rescue -- the former Mines Rescue Service -- for an exercise that could have been so much worse.

Apr 13, 2026 • 20m

S1 E5 - These Mannequins Can Bleed

At Sheffield Hallam University in Yorkshire, I meet the Clinical Simulation team and deal with some animated patients. (Note: includes simulated blood and gore.)

Apr 20, 2026 • 28m

S1 E6 - I Finally Got to Drive Yorkshire’s Tiny Boats

At Peasholm Park in Scarborough, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, I visit the Naval Warfare, ride with the world's smallest crewed navy, and scare at least two seagulls.

Apr 27, 2026 • 23m

S1 E7 - If You Found Candy With My Name in It, Here’s Why

At the John Bull Rock Factory outside Bridlington, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, I watch as boiling sugar becomes an enormous amount of rock. Also, there's 1990s Dutch happy hardcore.

May 4, 2026 • 16m

S1 E8 - Oh No, I Sympathized With a Victorian Arms Dealer

In Northumberland, at the National Trust's Cragside mansion, I visit the former home of the Magician of the North.

May 11, 2026 • 24m

S1 E9 - The Mist That Keeps the Tyne Tunnels Safe

At the Tyne Road Tunnels, just over the border into Durham, I get very wet and cold underneath a river... but not in the way you might expect.

May 18, 2026 • 21m

S1 E10 - This Man Stops People Drowning in Quicksand

In Westmorland, at Morecambe Bay, I meet the King's Guide to the Sands, walk across a very dangerous stretch of sand, and learn about a centuries-old tradition that's been brought into the 21st century.

May 25, 2026 • 26m

S1 E11 - Pulling the Lever Is the Easy Part

In Lancashire, at National Rail's Manchester signalling classroom, I learn why it's very, very rare for trains to collide... and then go to an actual, live signal box to see it for real.

Jun 1, 2026 • 26m

S1 E12 - Can a 70-Year-Old Telescope Still Be Useful?

At Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, I get to fulfill a childhood dream: but more importantly, I ask whether a telescope built in the 1950s can still do useful science.

Jun 8, 2026 • 22m

S1 E13 - We Can’t Invent a Robot Better Than These Ferrets

In Derbyshire, at the National Ferret School, I say "hello" to some smelly thieves, and go on a surprisingly Biblical tangent.

Jun 15, 2026 • 22m

S1 E14 - I Got Hit in the Teeth With 900-Year-Old Antlers

In the village of Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire, I join the oldest village tradition in Britain: the Horn Dance. It ends up being slightly more painful than I expected.

Jun 22, 2026 • 14m

S1 E15 - I Launched the Mighty Trebuchet

At Warwick Castle, there's a 22-tonne medieval siege engine. I got to see how it works, meet the person in charge, and -- technically -- help fire it. Technically.

Jun 29, 2026 • 22m

S1 E16 - If I Get this Wrong, 50,000 People Will Hear It.

At Worcester Cathedral, I finally take on a challenge that hundreds of people have suggested: bell ringing. It's difficult, a little dangerous, and also lets me talk about a lot of weird English words.

Jul 6, 2026 • 22m

S1 E17 - I Have a Weird Conspiracy Theory About This Bridge

In Shropshire, I visit the Iron Bridge in the village of Ironbridge. And then I have a corkboard, pins, string, and a frankly-unhinged conspiracy theory about what an architect was actually planning.

Jul 13, 2026 • 12m

S1 E18 - I Get Excited About an Ampersand

At Hereford Cathedral, I visit a library where the books are chained to the shelves -- and see two of those books, to help understand just how quickly one technology can change the world.

Jul 20, 2026 • 22m

S1 E19 - I’m So Glad This Hidden Monorail Broke Down

At the English end of the Prince of Wales Bridge, in Gloucestershire, I get to visit the Rapid Access Train, the RAT, a hidden suspended monorail. Except... that's only half the story.

Jul 27, 2026 • 26m

S1 E20 - Two Nerds Try to Build a Wall

In Oxfordshire, at the Dry Stone Academy, I'm joined by Dr Becky. We have until our camera batteries run out to try one of the oldest surviving crafts in Britain: dry stone walling.

Aug 3, 2026 • 24m

S1 E21 - This 100-Year-Old Ride Must Never Change Again

At Wicksteed Park in Northamptonshire, there's a 100-year-old water chute, and I took a ride. Also, I find the first ever playground swing, and make a fool of myself on a slide.

Aug 10, 2026 • 16m

S1 E22 - How Do You Keep 8,995 Codebreakers Secret?

At Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, I don't want to know how a few boffins broke the Enigma code, because it wasn't a few boffins. I want to know: how on earth did they keep the "intelligence factory" secret when there were thousands and thousands of people involved?

Aug 17, 2026 • 25m

S1 E23 - I Didn’t Need to Drive This Mars Rover, but I Did

In Stevenage, Hertfordshire, there's a simulation of Mars: at Airbus' facilities, I got to meet some Mars rovers, take a test drive, and discover the most incredible wheel I've ever seen.

Aug 24, 2026 • 22m

S1 E24 - Flying a Plane Badly, On Purpose

At Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, I'm going aboard the National Flying Laboratory, and trying to keep my sense of direction, and my stomach, as the plane goes through some very non-standard manoeuvres.

Aug 31, 2026 • 17m

S1 E25 - Thomas, a Tank Engine, is not Thomas the Tank Engine.

At the Nene Valley Railway in Huntingdonshire, I meet a tank engine called Thomas that is, for legal reasons, not Thomas the Tank Engine... and, to my surprise, I find out why, in the early days of steam, Victorians might have found trains terrifying.

Sep 7, 2026 • 17m

S1 E26 - I’m the 97th Best Tiddlywinks Player in the World

At the University of Cambridge, I try to recover some childhood muscle memory, and see if I can get good enough at a Victorian parlour game to break the world top 100 in just one day.

Sep 14, 2026 • 25m

S1 E27 - When I Blow This Whistle, a Swimming Pool Appears

At the Hippodrome Circus in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, I climb a ladder, blow a whistle, witness the Globe of Death, and see the Water Spectacular. Not all at the same time.

Sep 21, 2026 • 25m

S1 E28 - This Arcade Game Makes You Climb a Ladder

At Southwold Pier in Suffolk, I visit Tim Hunkin's End of the Pier Show, a collection of weird automata and arcade games that offer something a bit more interesting than tickets and prizes.

Sep 28, 2026 • 10m

S1 E29 - Why Robots Can’t Pick Strawberries Yet

In Tiptree in Essex, at the headquarters of famous jam and preserve manufacturer Wilkin & Sons, this city boy gets impressed by agricultural infrastructure, and meets some robots that work better than others.

Oct 5, 2026 • 30m

S1 E30 - Tom Gets Excited About a Pendulum

At the Cumbria Clock Company, I close up a hole in my map, meet the team that manage and restore more than a thousand public clocks across the UK and wider afield, and discover that I knew far less about pendulum clocks than I thought.

Oct 12, 2026 • 21m

S1 E31 - This Machine Breaks Things

At Kirkaldy's Testing Works, in the historic county of Surrey, there's a sign above the door that says "Facts Not Opinions". And inside, there's a gigantic machine that breaks things.

Oct 19, 2026 • 22m

S1 E32 - This Room Keeps Great Britain’s Lights On

In Berkshire sits the control room for Britain's National Energy System Operator, NESO. The team in there keep the lights on across the country -- which is a job that's quite different to just a few years ago.

Oct 26, 2026 • 16m

S1 E33 - Why You Can’t Touch Stonehenge

The short answer is: letting 1.4 million visitors a year touch the stones would destroy them. But the long answer is still fascinating. With Stonehenge's curator, I get to go inside the circle.

Nov 2, 2026 • 25m

S1 E34 - Episode 34

Nov 9, 2026

S1 E35 - Episode 35

Nov 16, 2026

S1 E36 - Episode 36

Nov 23, 2026

S1 E37 - Episode 37

Nov 30, 2026

S1 E38 - Episode 38

Dec 7, 2026

S1 E39 - Episode 39

Dec 14, 2026

S1 E40 - Episode 40

Dec 21, 2026

S1 E41 - Episode 41

Dec 28, 2026