A bumper week of science on the tellybox, and a star turn from Jenny Rohn on Wednesday.

Monday
Frontiers (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Why do humans, unlike other primates, have such a long childhood?
Strange Encounters (Radio 3, 23.00-23.30) Week-long series considering ground-breaking experiments as related through works of literature. Tonight, biologist Matthew Cobb on the quest for spontaneously-generated life. Check out who’s on on Wednesday.

Tuesday
The Reith Lectures: Genetics and Morality (Radio 4, 09:00-09.45) Professor Michael Sandel discusses his views on how we should use new genetic technology for the benefits of society.
A Good Read (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Kate Mosse talks to scientists Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Vivienne Parry.
Strange Encounters (Radio 3, 23.00-23.30) Astronomer Stuart Clark on the Great Solar Storm of 1859.
The Big Bang Theory (C4, 23.15-23.40) The science-based sitcom’s second series concludes as the gang prepare to visit the North Pole.

Wednesday
I Was Douglas Adams’ Flatmate (Radio 4, 18.30-19.00) Of course I wasn’t, but here’s a man who was.
The Greening of the Deserts (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) A look at how global warming will make the world’s barren places more verdant.
NASA – Triumph and Tragedy (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) Four decades next month since that one small step. This documentary sounds like a run-of-the mill journey through the NASA archives, but when does footage of rockets and space ships ever get dull?
James May’s 20th Century (BBC2, 22.00-22.30) More space-based hi-jinx from May, including a road trip in a lunar rover and the revelation that the race to the moon began with a rocket attack on Chiswick. Who knew? Me, actually.
Strange Encounters (Radio 3, 23.00-23.30) Our very own Jenny Rohn discusses Peyton Rous, who discovered that viruses can cause tumours.

Thursday
Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00)
Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Astronomer Royal Lord Rees gets interviewed about moon landings and other space things.
Strange Encounters (Radio 3, 23.00-23.30) Engineer Basil Mahon describes Hertz.

Friday
Strange Encounters (Radio 3, 23.00-23.30) Virologist John Oxford on Spanish Flu.

Saturday
Saturday Play: Journey Into Space (Radio 4, 14.30-15.30) Classic 50’s sci-fi gets a topical re-airing.
Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery (BBC2, 21.40-22.40) The second part, looking at the history of hear surgery.

Sunday
File on Four (Radio 4, 17.40-17.54) The causes of swine flu.
James May on the Moon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) Not literally, of course. This is the first in an anticipated meteor storm of shows about space, with the upcoming 40th anniversary of the first moon landing.
James May at the Edge of Space (BBC4, 22.00-22.30) And, straight away, here’s the second in that predicted meteor storm.
The Moon (BBC4, 22.30-23.00) And the third.
The Sky at Night (BBC4, 23.00-01.00) BBC4, you are really spoiling us with all this moon coverage.