Instant Genius Podcast: Forensic anthropology, with Prof Sue Black

Instant Genius is a bite-sized masterclass in podcast form. In this week's episode, we talk to forensic anthropologist Prof Sue Black, author of the book Written In Bone: Hidden stories in what we leave behind (£18.99, Doubleday).

Sue explains the science behind identifying a body at a crime scene.

Warning: This episode contains a frank and academic discussion about forensic investigation – how it works and what clues a dead body might leave behind – which some listeners may find uncomfortable.

And if that's not enough, you can hear even more from Sue on Instant Genius Extra.

On this subscription-only show, available on Apple Podcasts, we take a deeper dive into the topics covered on Instant Genius. In this episode, Sue tells us about her pioneering work using the unique shape and contours of our hands to identify criminals from images and videos.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Listen to more episodes of Instant Genius:

• Personality change, with Dr Christian Jarrett
• Hidden geometry, with Jordan Ellenberg
• The Neanderthals, with Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes
• The golden age of dinosaur discovery, with Prof Steve Brusatte
• The Big Bang, with Prof Jim Al-Khalili
• Your brain chemistry and you, with Ginny Smith