What's Up Docs? podcast | Listen online for free

109 episodes

Daily Dose: Fibre
28/1/2026 | 4 mins.
In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on fibre with Dr Deirdre Tobias. Deirdre outlined why fibre is important for our diets and where we should be getting it from.
Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main episodes of the podcast.
Doctors' Notes: Diet
27/1/2026 | 25 mins.
Drs Chris and Xand continue their conversation about food with Professor of Psychology Ashley Gearhardt. Drawing on her clinical experience, they explore what it means to live with food addiction and how shame and stigma make it harder to talk openly, seek help, or make changes. They also explore how Ashley came to study food addiction, and the links between industrial processing of food and tobacco.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Guest: Professor Ashley Gearhardt
Researcher: Samara Linton
Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis
Social Media Producer: Leon Gower
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
Editor: Jo Rowntree
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Digital Lead: Richard Berry
Composer: Phoebe McFarlane
Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby
At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.
How can we sustain a healthy diet?
27/1/2026 | 28 mins.
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, Chris and Xand turn their attention to food. It’s January, and many of us have resolved to “eat better” but why does it so often feel like an uphill battle? Why do we crave certain foods and not others? And what does a genuinely healthy relationship with food look like?
They explore the science behind how our brains and bodies respond to food, and why willpower alone is rarely enough when it comes to eating well. From ultra-processed foods that trigger addictive-like responses to the influence of marketing, availability and convenience, they unpack why eating well is about much more than individual choice, and what actually helps us eat well in the long term.
Joining them is Ashley Gearhardt PhD, Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, whose research focuses on how certain foods can trigger addictive processes and how food advertising activates reward systems in the brain. She also developed the Yale Food Addiction Scale, a widely used tool to assess signs of addictive-like eating behaviour.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Guest: Professor Ashley Gearhardt
Researcher: Samara Linton
Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis
Social Media Producer: Leon Gower
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
Editor: Jo Rowntree
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Digital Lead: Richard Berry
Composer: Phoebe McFarlane
Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby
At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
Daily Dose: Fresh Breath
26/1/2026 | 4 mins.
In this Daily Dose, Drs Chris and Xand return to their episode on fresh breath with Dr Praveen Sharma. Praveen walked the docs through the best way to take care of our teeth and how we should be thinking about our oral health.
Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main episodes of the podcast.
Daily Dose: Saying 'No'
23/1/2026 | 3 mins.
In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on the power of saying no, with Dr Sunita Sah from Cornell University. Sunita had a fantastic point on how saying no is linked to our values - and how we can figure out what our values are.
Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main episodes of the podcast.

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About What's Up Docs?

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 how are we supposed to know what's really best for us and then successfully apply it to our lives?Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken embrace this challenge; even as they marvel at the scientific breakthroughs, they grapple with the competing claims about health, wellbeing and how to live.From understanding testosterone therapies to microplastics in our diets, and the concept of 'hangriness' to the power of saying no - this podcast deals with the health stresses we all face every day, while taking on board how the decisions by corporations and governments affect all our health.Each episode, Chris and Xand are joined by an expert guest to examine the latest research, psychological insights, and data, to help listeners navigate the overwhelming amount of information and advice out there. They talk about the trials and tribulations in their own lives in their characteristically witty way - each teasing the other as they search for solutions. Xand has trouble sleeping , Chris has noisy knees, one of them has got an embarrassing itch. They have different ways of looking at things and find it really helpful to get the other one's point of view. These doctors are trying their best and encouraging listeners to do the same.Email: [email protected] Whatsapp: 08000 665123A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.

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