In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast we look at some of the big questions in physics from biological and philosophical points of view.

Katie Robertson is a philosopher of science at the UK’s University of Birmingham and she explains why philosophers are interested in physics and how they approach some of the big questions in the field. Robertson also talks about her research on the microscopic origins of the second law of thermodynamics.

Keeping to our philosophical theme, the molecular geneticist Johnjoe McFadden talks about his latest book Life Is Simple: How Occam’s Razor Set Science Free and Unlocked the Universe. Based at the UK’s University of Surrey, McFadden also chats about the burgeoning field of quantum biology and how scientists are discovering that quantum mechanics can play important roles in living organisms.

• Katie Robertson and Johnjoe McFadden are speaking at the HowTheLightGetsIn festival. The event is being held in Hay-on-Wye, UK, on 2–5 June.