Teach Me A Lesson with Greg James and Bella Mackie

How To Never Lose A Penalty Shoot-Out

In the last lesson before the summer break, Greg and Bella get schooled in penalties by primary school teacher Miss Sheridan. Can they find out how to score the perfect penalty before the summer holidays? Miss Sheridan will share how she and her students spend a whole week on this one topic, looking it across the curriculum. Skimming history, geography, psychology, maths, biology and English, Greg and Bella will learn about the origins of the penalty shoot-out and the countries who pioneered it; they'll uncover the psychology behind the perfect penalty and hear about how hugs can help! We'll also find out the most important part of the body to use when taking a penalty, and why you should never turn your back on a goalie! Plus just how quickly should you take one? Bad students of all ages are welcome. Expect brilliant teachers, captivating subjects but absolutely no homework. Get in touch with the podcast - email us at teachme@bbc.co.uk

July 11, 2022

40 min

What's So Great About '68?

Greg and Bella welcome back Drama teacher Mr Yale with a lesson about the year 1968. '68 might seem to fall through the history books - dwarfed by other more dramatic years - but Mr Yale is here to make a case for it being a turning point year. Vietnam and the Space Race were in the news; Oliver! was on the cinema screens; and the Theatres Act 1968 lead to this year being known as the "Year Zero for British Theatre" with the first performance of Hair the Musical taking the West End by storm (starring none other than Elaine Paige!). Mr Yale will use these real events as a springboard to take Greg and Bella through some classic drama practicals - from who can best embody the voice of a significant object from '68 - to is Bella brave enough to let Greg catch her when she falls? Bad students of all ages are welcome. Expect brilliant teachers, captivating subjects but absolutely no homework. Get in touch - email us at teachme@bbc.co.uk

July 4, 2022

43 min

How To Kill A Vampire... With GCSE Science!

Award-winning Miss Jethmalani recruits Greg and Bella to her vampire slaying research team! What's the best way to kill a vampire - with a string of garlic, or with a GCSE Science textbook? Outstanding New Teacher of the Year 2021, Miss Jethmalani is perfectly placed to put the nail in the coffin of the vampire myth. With new recruits Greg and Bella by her side, she'll use the science of enzymes to take apart the myth of the vampire piece by piece. Why is it impossible to be immortal? Enzymes. Why do bodies decompose? Enzymes. What makes garlic smell? Enzymes! After investigating vampire bats, and just how possible it would be for a human to turn into a bat, Miss Jethmalani will discuss the most plausible root of the myth - a condition called porphyria - which is caused by malfunctioning enzymes (of course!). Bad students of all ages are welcome. Expect brilliant teachers, captivating subjects but absolutely no homework. Get in touch with your pictures - email us at teachme@bbc.co.uk

June 27, 2022

48 min

10 things you might not know about the Windrush

To mark Windrush Day 2022, our resident history teacher Miss Patel is back for a lesson all about the Windrush Generation. In this lesson Greg and Bella will hear about the reality of life in post-war Britain and the Caribbean; the British recruitment campaigns that encouraged people to book their passage on boats like the Windrush; and they'll hear about the ship itself and it's surprising history. Miss Patel will talk about the passengers who boarded the Windrush itself - including a stowaway - and the welcome that they found once they arrived at Tillbury Docks on the 22nd June 1948. We'll hear the challenges they faced, and the amazing women who ought to be as well known as Rosa Parks, including Olive Morris, Altheia Jones-LeCointe and Paulette Wilson. Bad students of all ages are welcome. Expect brilliant teachers, captivating subjects but absolutely no homework. Get in touch - email us at teachme@bbc.co.uk

June 20, 2022

50 min

Where's The Most Painful Place To Get A Tattoo?

Greg and Bella are joined by award-winning Biology teacher Miss Wilsher for a lesson all about tattoos! By looking at how a tattoo works, we'll find out about the different layers of your skin and how pain works; we'll also hear about the chequered history of tattooing and it's ancient origins. Lacrosse-fan Miss Wilsher will share the science behind why a tattoo stays put, how to stop them fading and - at the other end of a tattoo's life - how laser removal works. Otzi the Iceman makes a reappearance, and Greg and Bella will share their own tattoo stories - from embarrassing first tattoos to Greg's blink-and-you'll-miss it wrist tattoo.

June 13, 2022

41 min

Can Maths Explain What We Find Beautiful?

Greg and Bella are back with a brand new term of teachers giving their favourite lessons! Today it's Maths with former semi-professional footballer Mr Grindrod. In a lesson all about sequences, patterns and ratios, we'll find out how much maths goes into the things we find beautiful. From beautiful flowers, to beautiful buildings, artworks and even faces! We'll learn about the Golden Ratio, a magic number called phi and the Fibonacci Sequence. And we'll also find out just how obsessed with maths DaVinci was! Bad students of all ages are welcome. Expect brilliant teachers, captivating subjects but absolutely no homework. Get in touch with your pictures - email us at teachme@bbc.co.uk

June 5, 2022

43 min

How Can Cheese Slices Help Us Find The Speed Of Light?

Professional breakdancer and Physics teacher Mr Ceeraz invites Greg and Bella to an end-of-term cheese-but-no-wine party, as they attempt to find the speed of light using cheese slices and a microwave. Physics fanatic Mr Ceeraz promises that his lessons are never dull as he injects plenty of puns, amazing visual aids and lots of dancing to help his students get to grips with complex subjects - like the speed of light and the electromagnetic spectrum. In today's episode, Mr Ceeraz will play a game with Greg and Bella all about speed which will help them understand just how fast the speed of light is. He'll crack out the cheese strings to explore the structure of waves, share his actions to the legendary Electromagnetic Spectrum song from YouTube and discuss the different waves that make up the spectrum. Plus, he'll introduce Greg to a website which shows you how far a radio broadcast has travelled into space (Greg's first show is REALLY far away!) and share an amazing do-it-yourself experiment using cheese slices and your kitchen's microwave to help anyone find the speed of light. Bad students of all ages are welcome. Expect brilliant teachers, captivating subjects but absolutely no homework. Get in touch with your pictures - email us at teachme@bbc.co.uk

January 24, 2022

42 min

How Can We Mend A Broken Heart?

Greg and Bella return for 2022 with a special lesson from primary school teacher Miss Osueke all about the heart. Award-winning Miss Osueke will take us on a guided tour of the cardiovascular system, and challenge Greg and Bella to come up with new ways of remembering parts of the heart. Join Greg and Bella in the task to find your resting heart rate and the 'in-lesson' exercise to increase it. Learn about the surprisingly valuable contents of our blood, including a precious metal which can be found in your mobile phone! We'll also find out about the ways in which emotional heartbreak can have real medical implications, as Greg and Bella share their stories of young heartbreak. Hear about the work of early heart surgery pioneer, Daniel Hale Williams, plus Miss Osueke's shock lupus diagnosis and the open heart surgery that saved her life. Bad students of all ages are welcome. Expect brilliant teachers, captivating subjects but absolutely no homework. Get in touch with your stories - email us at teachme@bbc.co.uk

January 17, 2022