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Science Fictions

Science Fictions

By: Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie
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 A weekly podcast about the latest scientific controversies, with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie

sciencefictionspod.substack.comTom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie Science
Episodes
  • Episode 97: The 2D:4D digit ratio

    Episode 97: The 2D:4D digit ratio
    Mar 10 2026
    The last few episodes have been pretty heavy. So here’s… well, here’s the 2D:4D ratio. Does the difference in length between your index finger and your ring finger reveal a huge amount about your personality (and much more besides)?Perhaps you won’t be surprised by the answer. But we promise you’ll be surprised by just how much effort scientists have put into finding out…The Science Fictions podcast is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine. And now, articles from Works in Progress magazine are read aloud to you by… Stuart from Science Fictions. Every week, a new audio version of a WiP article will be released for your listening enjoyment. Find out more at www.worksinprogress.news.Show notes* Anthropological paper from 1888 on hands* A “preliminary investigation” of digit ratio and personality (2002)* Meta-analysis on the topic of aggression from 2017* PNAS study on the digit ratios of London City traders* Vastly bigger, null study on 2D:4D and economic preferences* Study of digit ratio in orchestral musicians* Follow-up study with contradictory results on musical abilities* 2D:4D and the wearing of wedding rings* Original paper on sexuality and digit ratio* 2025 meta-analysis* Digit ratio and penis size* Manning’s 2020 paper on COVID-19 and digit ratio* Critical follow-up letter* 2010 meta-analysis on athletic ability* Using 2D:4D to understand prehistoric cave paintings* 2021 BMJ Christmas Issue study on digit ratio and luck* Comparing inter- and intra-observer reliability for digit ratios across different measures (and Manning’s concerns about similar)* Debate over “allometric scaling”: concerned; less concerned* 2024 meta-analysis on whether this even relates to other testosterone measures* 2026 meta-analysis still using 2D:4D (among other measures)CreditsThe Science Fictions podcast is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Paid-only episode 27: Antidepressants

    Paid-only episode 27: Antidepressants
    Feb 24 2026
    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com

    And now… following last week’s episode on ECT, here’s part two of our double episode on depression treatments. This time we’re looking at antidepressants. You’ll be delighted to hear that we immediately encounter our favourite thing—dueling meta-analyses.

    To hear the whole episode and read the show notes, become a paying subscriber at www.sciencefictionspod.com/subscribe.

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    9 mins
  • Episode 96: Electroconvulsive therapy

    Episode 96: Electroconvulsive therapy
    Feb 17 2026
    Open up some scientific papers, and you’ll hear electroconvulsive therapy described as the most effective treatment for depression (especially very severe depression). But open up others, and you’ll see it described as completely useless—and a sad indictment on a medical establishment who’ve completely failed to provide proper evidence on it. Not only that, but they’ve exposed patients to serious side effects, like memory loss, for no good reason.Who’s right? In this episode, we look into the most controversial psychiatric treatment since lobotomy.NEXT WEEK: we’ll follow this with an episode on another controversial psychiatric treament: antidepressants.On this week’s episode we discussed the article “The Perks of Being a Mole Rat”, from our sponsor, Works in Progress magazine. As ever, we’re very grateful for their support. You can find many more excellent articles at worksinprogress.co.Show notes* 1937 article by Egas Moniz, lobotomy Nobel Prize-winner* Weird 1998 article defending him on the Nobel Prize website* Megan McArdle on Walter Freeman* The ECT scene in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest* 2024 article discussing the possible mechanisms of ECT’s effect* 2010 review about sham ECT studies* 2019 review of each individual sham ECT study and the meta-analyses that include them* 2022 response to the review* Response to the response* Contemporary news article about the controversy* 2021 article in defense of ECT* The parachute RCT* 2010 meta-analysis on cognitive effects* 2025 meta-analysis on autobiographical memory lossCreditsThe Science Fictions podcast is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe
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    1 hr and 13 mins
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