Monday

HIGHLIGHT In Our Time (Radio 4, 09.00-09.45) Melvyn Bragg embarks on a four-part miniseries-within-a-series discussing the history of the Royal Society, in this their 350th year. Continues every day through Thursday, with repeat broadcasts at 21.30 each day.

How Do They Do It? (FIVE, 19.30-20.00) Robert Llewellyn visits the UK’s biggest power station, Drax, in Yorkshire.

Tuesday

Britain’s Rarest Trees (Radio 4, 11.00-11.30) Botanists go in search of the whitebeam.

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the the natural world and environmental sciences.

The Sky At Night (BBC4, 19.30-20.00) More astronomical tidbits from Sir Patrick of Moore.

The Big Bang Theory (C4, 23.10-00.10) Two episodes from season 3 of the physics nerd sitcom.

Wednesday

Natural World (BBC2, 20.00-21.00) David Attenborough goes in search of PNG’s birds of paradise.

Time (BBC4, 20.00-21.00) Prof Michio Kaku explores our sense of time.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) The science of…dogs? What bonds our two species together, and why are scientists so interested in the canine genome?

Thursday

Diet: A Horizon Guide (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) Horizon dips into its archive for 50 years of food science and dietary advice.

Saturday

What’s So Great About…Maths (Radio 4, 10.30-11.00) Carol Vorderman and ‘maths Tsar’ Celia Hoyles promote the discipline.

Sunday

Moments Of Genius (Radio 4, 13.30-14.00) Geoff Watts and a panel of famous scientists, writers and comedians discuss moments of scientific epiphany.