The Infinite Monkey Cage
Robin Ince and Brian Cox, the hosts of the programme | |
| Genre | Comedy, popular science |
|---|---|
| Running time | approx. 30 minutes |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Starring | Brian Cox Robin Ince |
| Produced by | Alexandra Feachem |
| Executive producer | Deborah Cohen |
| Recording studio | Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House, London RADA Studios, London |
| Original release | 30 November 2009 |
| No. of series | 34 |
| No. of episodes | 214 |
| Website | bbc |
| Podcast | bbc |
The Infinite Monkey Cage is a BBC Radio 4 comedy and popular science series. Hosted by physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince, The Independent described it as a "witty and irreverent look at the world according to science". Since 2013 the show has been accompanied by a podcast, published immediately after the initial radio broadcast, which features extended versions of most episodes. The programme won a Gold Award in the Best Speech Programme category at the 2011 Sony Radio Awards, and it won the best Radio Talk Show at the 2015 Rose d'Or awards. The name is a reference to the infinite monkey theorem.
Each show has a particular topic up for discussion, with previous topics including the apocalypse and space travel. There are normally three guests; two of these are scientists with an interest in the topic of discussion, offering an expert opinion on the subject. The other guest is usually a comedian, who takes a less serious view of the subject, and often makes the show more accessible by asking the "stupid" questions that the other guests may have overlooked.
Ince resigned from the show in December 2025, citing his views of support of the transgender community and his criticism of Donald Trump being deemed problematic by the BBC.