Best Medicine

Joining Kiri Pritchard-McLean this week is comedian Michelle Wolf who reflects on home births, Professor Stephen Wallace explains how old plastic bottles can be transformed into a form of Dopamine that can be used to treat Parkinson’s disease, and Dr Matt Clarke demonstrates the power of medical collaboration in helping to identify and treat brain tumours.
Best Medicine is your weekly dose of laughter, hope and incredible medicine. Award-winning comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined by a funny and fascinating panel of comedians, doctors, scientists, experts and historians to celebrate medicine's inspiring past, present and future.
Each week Kiri challenges a panel of experts and a comedian to make a case for what they think is 'the best medicine'. Each guest champions anything from world-changing science or an obscure invention to an everyday treatment, an uplifting worldview, an unsung hero or a futuristic cure.
Whether it’s groundbreaking surgery, seaweed underwear, AI glasses to help people with dementia, horse therapy, sports, revolutionary gene therapy for Huntington’s disease or yesterday’s rubbish becoming tomorrow’s medicines - it’s always something worth celebrating.
Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean
Featuring: Dr Matt Clarke, Professor Stephen Wallace and Michelle Wolf
Written by Edward Easton, Jordan Gray, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Ben Rowse
Producer: Tashi Radha
Executive Producer: Ben Worsfield
Theme tune composed by Andrew Jones
A Large Time production for BBC Radio 4

Right, roll up your sleeve, it’s time for an extra dose of Best Medicine!
This is a special episode of unheard bits that couldn’t be squeezed into Series 2, featuring more fascinating medical insights, extended bits and a whole Petri dish of jokes – some more cultured than others.
Laura Smyth shares more on sleep, Zoe Lyons delves into transplants and Dr Lindsey Fitzharris takes Kiri through more weird ritualistic historical medical practices. Dr Matt Morgan talks about the time he stripped naked and covered himself in honey in the name of science, Daliso Chaponda is still in denial about denial, Dr Mark Williams blows Kiri's mind with his unexpected swimming career, and Reverend Benjamin Perry opens up again about the benefits of crying.
Best Medicine is your weekly dose of laughter, hope and incredible medicine. Award-winning comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined by a funny and fascinating panel of comedians, doctors, scientists, and historians to celebrate medicine’s inspiring past, present and future.
Each week, Kiri challenges her panel to make a case for what they think is 'the best medicine', and each guest champions anything from world-changing science or an obscure invention, to an every-day treatment, an uplifting worldview, an unsung hero or a futuristic cure.
Whether it’s futuristic origami surgical robots, life-changing pineapple UTI vaccines, Victorian scandal mags, denial, sleep, tiny beating organoid hearts, lifesaving stem cell transplants, gold poo donors or even crying - it’s always something worth celebrating.
Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean
Featuring: Daliso Chaponda, Fatiha El-Ghorri, Professor Nicholas Embleton, Dr Lindsey Fitzharris, Zoe Lyons, Dr Matt Morgan, Reverend Benjamin Perry, Dr Fotios Sampaziotis, Laura Smyth and Dr Mark Williams
Written by Laura Claxton, Edward Easton, Mel Owen, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, and Ben Rowse
Producers: Tashi Radha and Ben Worsfield
Theme tune composed by Andrew Jones
A Large Time production for BBC Radio 4

Joining Kiri this week is comedian Desiree Burch who explains the best ways to cope with pain following surgery. Dr Abdullah Khan engineers mini versions of human organs in a dish to enable more effective testing of new medical treatments, and Mark Williams shows off personalised prosthetic legs clad in anything from gold and flames to beer and the Welsh Flag.
Best Medicine is your weekly dose of laughter, hope and incredible medicine. Award-winning comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined by a funny and fascinating panel of comedians, doctors, scientists, and historians to celebrate medicine’s inspiring past, present and future.
Each week, Kiri challenges a panel of medical experts and a comedian to make a case for what they think is 'the best medicine', and each guest champions anything from world-changing science or an obscure invention, to an every-day treatment, an uplifting worldview, an unsung hero or a futuristic cure.
Whether it’s origami surgical robots, life-changing pineapple UTI vaccines, Victorian scandal mags, denial, sleep, tiny beating organoid hearts, lifesaving stem cell transplants, gold poo donors or even crying - it’s always something worth celebrating.
Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean
Featuring: Desiree Burch, Dr Abdullah Khan and Dr Mark Williams
Written by Laura Claxton, Mel Owen, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Nicky Roberts and Ben Rowse
Producers: Tashi Radha and Ben Worsfield
Theme tune composed by Andrew Jones
A Large Time production for BBC Radio 4

Joining Kiri this week in a literary special recorded at the Hay Festival is comedian Ignacio Lopez who heals family wounds through writing. Dr Paul Craddock explains how one of the most prestigious medical journals started as a scandal magazine, Miss Shabnam Parkar shares how poetry helps her perform surgery, and Professor Neil Frude walks Kiri through library bookshelves for mental health treatments.
Best Medicine is your weekly dose of laughter, hope and incredible medicine. Award-winning comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined by a funny and fascinating panel of comedians, doctors, scientists, and historians to celebrate medicine’s inspiring past, present and future.
Each week Kiri challenges a panel of medical experts and a comedian to make a case for what they think is 'the best medicine', and each guest champions anything from world-changing science, an obscure invention, an everyday treatment, an uplifting worldview, an unsung hero or a futuristic cure.
Whether it’s origami surgical robots, life-changing pineapple UTI vaccines, Victorian scandal mags, denial, sleep, tiny beating organoid hearts, lifesaving stem cell transplants, gold poo donors or even crying - it’s always something worth celebrating.
Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean
Featuring: Dr Paul Craddock, Professor Neil Frude, Ignacio Lopez, Miss Shabnam Parkar
Written by Edward Easton, Mel Owen, Pravanya Pillay, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Nicky Roberts and Ben Rowse
Producers: Tashi Radha and Ben Worsfield
Theme tune composed by Andrew Jones
A Large Time production for BBC Radio 4

Joining Kiri this week are Dr Claire Roddie who retrains cells to fight cancer using revolutionary, game-changing CAR T-cell therapy, and comedian Fatiha El-Ghorri who finds spiritual healing in water. Dr Lindsey Fitzharris takes comfort in rituals both historical and present-day to help her remember her grandmother Dorothy Sissors, and Rev Benjamin Perry explains how crying can be the best medicine.
Best Medicine is your weekly dose of laughter, hope and incredible medicine. Award-winning comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined by a funny and fascinating panel of comedians, doctors, scientists, and historians to celebrate medicine’s inspiring past, present and future.
Each week, Kiri challenges panellists to make a case for what they think is 'the best medicine', and each guest champions anything from world-changing science or an obscure invention, to an everyday treatment, an uplifting worldview, an unsung hero or a futuristic cure.
Whether it’s origami surgical robots, life-changing pineapple UTI vaccines, Victorian scandal mags, denial, sleep, tiny beating organoid hearts, lifesaving stem cell transplants, gold poo donors or even crying - it’s always something worth celebrating.
Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean
Featuring: Fatiha El-Ghorri, Dr Lindsey Fitzharris, Rev Benjamin Perry and Dr Claire Roddie
Written by Laura Claxton, Edward Easton, Mel Owen, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Ben Rowse
Producers: Tashi Radha and Ben Worsfield
Theme tune composed by Andrew Jones
A Large Time production for BBC Radio 4