Stories

Our words and pictures explore the connections between science, medicine, life and art. Dive into a story no matter where in the world you are. (Want to write for us? Here's how.)

Line drawing of a human holding a potato
  • Comic

What distinguishes the human?

Are we human, or are we just potatoes with feelings?

Artwork using collage. The collaged elements are made up of archive material which includes vintage and contemporary photographs, etchings, painted illustrations, lithographic prints and line drawings. This artwork depicts a scene with elements of outer space. In the background is a dark starry sky with a small red planet and a large blue and green planet Earth rising over horizon. In the middle distance on the left hand side are tall thin volcanic like mountain peaks and a space rocket in take off with jets of fire and smoke. In the centre is green foliage next to an expanse of lake-like water. In the foreground on the right hand side is a lone astronaut looking out across the water towards the rising Earth. At the feet of the astronauts are a couple of food cans, one with the words 'Powdered whole milk, Nura' written on the side. On top of this can is a molecular representation of the Covid-19 virus. In the foreground to the left a woman is sat at a kitchen table with her back to the viewer. On the table is a loaf of sliced bread, bowls of cereal, two glasses of milk, a bowl of fruit and very small astronaut.
  • Serial
Part5

Homesick for planet Earth

Find out how homesick astronauts spend their free time, and how recreating home cooking from freeze-dried ingredients can cheer them all up.

Part of The heart of homesickness

Photograph of a woman lying on her back with her eyes closed. She is covered by a green surgical sheet. Behind her stand a female makeup artist wearing a face mask and glasses. She is holding a makeup brush in her right hand, gently brushing the woman's face. her hand is wearing a black latex glove. The scene is predominantly dark black, with a hard light shining down from the top right, the source of which is out of the frame.
  • Article

Crime drama and the realistic cadaver

Today we are accustomed to the increasingly realistic look of dead bodies in on-screen dramas. Special-effects expert Hildegunn M S Traa reveals how crime and morgue scenes reflect the social idea of death.

Artwork using collage. The collaged elements are made up of archive material which includes vintage and contemporary photographs, etchings, painted illustrations, lithographic prints and line drawings. This artwork depicts a scene with an urban and rural combined background, where high mountains and hills rise in the distance. In the middle distance are a series of tall trees and a jail like structure with bars. On top of the jail stands a large leopard looking up to the sky. In front of the jail are several large agave plants. Seated amongst them are three young children, smiling. To the right of the children is a large gold covered bed with a large gold nugget on top. At the foot of the bed are 2 more golden nuggets. Siting on the headboard is a colourful parrot in red, blue and orange. To the right of the parrot is a modern glass building with a long pathway leading up to the entrance. In the foreground on the left side of the image is a woman wearing a pattered dress and knitted to crocheted hat. Beside her is a large handbag. In her hand she is holding a biro and a piece of paper. She is looking away into the distant hills with a tear rolling down her right cheek. In the cloud scattered sky above are 3 parrots in flight and a large moon like orb. A blue bird sits in a high tree on the right, a pink heart shape in its mouth.
  • Serial
Part4

When you can’t return home

Migrants and refugees cannot choose to return home, so homesickness becomes a profound and long-lasting feeling. This powerful force infuses migrant cultures, and is rarely given the serious attention it warrants.

Part of The heart of homesickness

Two St. Bernard dogs with an avalanche victim, one tries to revive him while the other alerts the rescue party.
  • In pictures

Dogs to the rescue

Explore artworks and archive photographs showing how our four-legged friends have been helping humans for hundreds of years.

Mark Thomas’s lockdown check-up

In this six-part podcast Mark Thomas reflects on lockdown life with his elderly mum while investigating the wider impact of COVID-19. Every night Mark calls health and care workers across the country for a chat. Humbling and often heartbreaking, these conversations reveal what life is like on the coronavirus front line.

Books

Get stuck into one of our books, and explore the complexities of the human condition.

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Artwork using collage. The collaged elements are made up of archive material which includes vintage photographs, etchings, painted illustrations, lithographic prints and line drawings. This artwork depicts a scene with an urban and rural combined background, where high chimneys billowing smoke and skyscrapers rise in the distance. In the middle distance an are tall palm trees and an expanse of water with a small boat. In the foreground on the left is a lion on his hind legs, mouth open in a roar. Behind and to the right of the lion is a large blue hardback book. On the cover is the figure of a naked man with his arms outstretched above his head. Branches grow out of his arms, torso and legs and roots grow out of his feet. Next to the book is an empty artist's easel with a stretched canvas leaning against it. In the centre of the image a man in a shirt and tie sits cross legged with a notebook on his lap, looking to one side. A tear falls down his right cheek. He is leaning against a large bottle with the word 'alcohol' written on its label. To the far right are a couple of suitcases, one is open with a red heart inside, the other has a building floor plan drawn on its lid. In the blue sky on the right is a helicopter and on the left, a moon like orb.
  • Serial
Part3

How homesickness inspires art

Gail Tolley looks at homesickness through the eyes of three contemporary artists and finds powerful new themes of identity and connection.

Part of The heart of homesickness

Photograph of a drawing of St James's Church, with three people standing outside its gate. In the road in front of the church another person is directing a small herd of cattle. In the background are other buildings and a person on horseback. The church is flanked by tall trees on either side. Accompanying text reads 'Turnpike in the Hampstead Road, and St James's Church, in 1820.'. The drawing has been photographed against a concrete textured background.
  • In pictures

Euston’s lost burial ground

Closing St James’s Gardens for a new rail line required the largest exhumation in British history. Tom Bolton explores the stories of some of the people who were buried there.

Artwork using collage. The collaged elements are made up archive material which includes, vintage photographs, etchings, painted illustrations, lithographic prints and line drawings. This artwork depicts a scene with an urban and rural combined background, where high snow covered mountain peaks rise in the distance. In the middle distance a Scottish piper stands on the hillside playing bagpipes, a lion stands on top of a cluster of large glass and metal skyscrapers and a tall ship in full sail crosses a section of ocean. In the foreground on the left is the head of a man who looks a little like an explorer with a rope over his shoulder and a hat on his head. A tear falls from his eye. Next to him stands a group of doctors all wearing white knee length lab coats. Next to them are a couple of suitcases over which a tiger is crawling. To the far right a group of french revolutionary soldiers surge forward with a tattered flag. In the sky is an aeroplane and the planet Earth.
  • Serial
Part2

The hidden history of homesickness

Gail Tolley delves into the history of homesickness and discovers that its rich past holds a clue to how we view the experience today.

Part of The heart of homesickness

Photograph of the right hand of a pair of rubber gloves. The orange and yellow glove is standing upright, fingers into the air, on an orange background. The glove is padded so it looks as if there is a hand inside it. Sticking out of the glove all over the surface are metal carpentry nails, points outwards. The scene is lit by a hard contrasty light which is casting a long dark shadow of the glove and nails onto the background.
  • Article

Pain and the power of touch

As a new physiotherapist, Fiona Murphy quickly learned that her patients’ pain was unpredictable and very personal. But using the right words became the key to helping them.

Photograph of a woman from her shoulders to her feet, wearing an emerald green dress with a shiny lustre. She is standing with her right hand on her hip and in her left hand she is holding a small hand bag in front of her left leg. In the background can be seen a park or woodland scene with a footpath disappearing into the distance. On either side of the path is green vegetation.
  • Article

Dress and the magic of touch

Fashion, of course, is largely about appearance, but the feeling of clothes on your skin is a complex sensory experience. Shahidha Bari contemplates the human connections in the business of creating and wearing clothes.

Artwork using collage. The collaged elements are made up archive material which includes, vintage photographs, etchings, painted illustrations, lithographic prints and line drawings. This artwork depicts a man on the right hand side with his head resting on his hand. Forming a headdress on his head are pictures of a bed, two dogs, a house, flowers and an elderly man and woman. These elements are repeated on the left hand side much larger. In between the two sides is a rural and city skyline merged together. It the sky is an aeroplane and the planet Saturn and a large colourful bird in flight carrying a heart in its beak.
  • Serial
Part1

The complex longing for home

It could be mild, an almost poetic longing. Or it could be visceral, deep, an overwhelming feeling that eats into your everyday life. Come with Gail Tolley as she introduces a deep dive into homesickness.

Part of The heart of homesickness

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