7. Failure, Detection, Herpes, Climate Change

Joining Kiri this week are Dr Lindsey Fitzharris who brings with her a Victorian clockwork surgical saw to demonstrate why failure can sometimes be the best medicine, while Professor Kevin Harrington explains how he uses molecular scissors to modify the herpes virus to attack cancer cells. We also hear from his patient Nigel who went from palliative care to cancer-free. Dr Aravinthan Varatharaj talks about playing detective when diagnosing neurological diseases, and comedian Dr Matt Winning says doing something about climate change is the best medicine.

Best Medicine is your weekly dose of laughter, hope and incredible medicine. Award-winning comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined by funny and fascinating comedians, doctors, scientists and historians to celebrate medicine’s inspiring past, present and future.

Each week, Kiri challenges her guests to make a case for what they think is 'the best medicine', and each of them champions anything from world-changing science to an obscure invention, an everyday treatment, an uplifting worldview, an unsung hero or a futuristic cure.

Whether it’s micro-robotic surgery, virtual reality syringes, Victorian clockwork surgical saws, more than a few ingenious cures for cancer, world-first lifesaving heart operations, epidurals, therapy, dancing, faith or laughter - it’s always something worth celebrating.

Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean

Featuring: Dr Lindsey Fitzharris, Professor Kevin Harrington, Dr Aravinthan Varatharaj, and Dr Matt Winning

Written by Laura Claxton, Toussaint Douglass, Edward Easton, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Ben Rowse

Producer: Ben Worsfield

Assistant Producer: Tashi Radha

Executive Producer: Simon Nicholls

Theme tune composed by Andrew Jones

A Large Time production for BBC Radio 4