Accessibility links

Skip to content
Accessibility Help

Home
News
Sport
Weather
iPlayer
Sounds
Bitesize
CBeebies
CBBC
Food

Home
News
Sport
Business
Innovation
Culture
Travel
Earth
Video
Live

Home
News
Sport
Weather
iPlayer
Sounds
Bitesize
CBeebies
CBBC
Food

Home
News
Sport
Business
Innovation
Culture
Travel
Earth
Video
Live

.sc-c-sounds-nav { position: relative; } .sc-c-sounds-nav__menu-button { display: none; } .sc-c-sounds-nav__items { max-height: 500px; visibility: visible; position: static; } .sc-c-sounds-nav__overlay { display: none; } @media screen and (max-width: 659px) { .sc-c-sounds-nav__wrapper { padding-bottom: 0px; } .sc-c-sounds-nav__wordmark-link { padding-bottom: 18px; } }

Sounds home page

Home
Music
Podcasts
My Sounds

The Why Factor - Time Perception - BBC Sounds

The Why Factor - Time Perception - BBC Sounds

Time PerceptionTime Perception

Released On: 13 May 2016

Available for over a year

Mike Williams asks why some weeks just fly by but sometimes minutes can seem like hours?

Programme Website

Coming Up Next

now playing
The Why Factor
Time Perception
Mike Williams asks why some weeks just fly by but sometimes minutes can seem like hours?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Why Are We Afraid of Robots?
They help us in homes, hospitals and factories, so do we have reason to fear robots?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Thin
Mike Williams asks why so many people want to be thin in a world grappling with obesity.
17 mins
The Why Factor
Safe Space
Mike Williams asks what exactly is a safe space?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Copying Art
Why do people copy famous works of art and who buys them?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Loneliness
What is loneliness and why do we feel it?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Attraction
Why are we attracted to some people and not to others?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Why Do We Love the Bicycle?
How did the bicycle change the world?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Newspapers
Digital news is threatening newspapers, so why do they survive and what is their future?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Why Are We Getting Smarter
Mike Williams examines the Flynn Effect and finds out why we are all getting smarter.
17 mins
The Why Factor
Violence
Why are men more violent than women?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Driving
As auto-piloted cars begin tests Mike Williams asks if we will miss driving
17 mins
The Why Factor
Fear vs Fact
Are we living in an age where messages of fear dominate and the truth goes unheard?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Fear of Animals
What lies behind our often overwhelming fear of harmless animals?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Why do pet videos go viral?
The strange success of pets on the internet. Why?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Why not celebrate introvert personalities?
People are often labelled as shy, but introversion is very much misunderstood. Why?
17 mins
The Why Factor
The Voice
What do our voices reveal about ourselves?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Why do we find some voices irritating?
Why is it that we find some voices more annoying than others?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Why do Crazes Take Off?
What explains the success of the Hula-Hoop, Rubik’s Cube and Pokemon Go?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Comic Book Superheroes
Why are we so fascinated with the superheroes which populate our comic books and movies?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Assisted Death
Is it ever right to take a life? Mike Williams explores the dilemmas of assisted death.
17 mins
The Why Factor
Grief
Why do we feel so many different emotions when someone close to us dies?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Farewell Letters
Why do we write farewell letters? And how do we find the words to say goodbye?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Organ Donation
Why do we donate organs and will we still need to in the future?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Eye Witness Identification
Mike Williams asks why scientists and courts are so worried about eye-witness testimony
17 mins
The Why Factor
Unconscious Bias
Why do we make judgments about people without even realising?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Hoarding
Why do some people fill their homes and their lives with stuff?
17 mins
The Why Factor
The Family Tree
Why are so many people obsessed with discovering their family origins?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Why Do Cities Make Us Rude?
Why do cities make us rude? What makes us behave so badly in urban areas?
17 mins
The Why Factor
The Female Orgasm
Why do we understand so little about female sexual pleasure?
17 mins
The Why Factor
Revenge
Why did this type of aggressive behaviour evolve? And what purpose does it serve?
17 mins

Cymraeg
Gaeilge
Gàidhlig

BBC Sounds Help
Contacts, Privacy and Information
Help with Signing In
Newsletter

Explore the BBC

Home
News
Sport
Weather
iPlayer
Sounds
Bitesize
CBeebies
CBBC
Food

Home
News
Sport
Business
Innovation
Culture
Travel
Earth
Video
Live

Terms of Use
About the BBC
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy
Cookies
Cookies
Accessibility Help
Parental Guidance
Contact the BBC
Make an editorial complaint
BBC emails for you
Advertise with us

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.