Cold and flu season is well and truly upon us, and whilst most of us are busy bemoaning the pesky viruses behind our sniffles and chesty coughs – one of our listeners has other ideas. Elizabeth wants to know whether we’re too hard on these oft-maligned microbes? We’ve all heard that some bacteria can be good for us, but what about viruses? Could they have a softer side too? Hannah and Dara explore the virome, from prehistoric placental proteins to ultra-precise disease fighting phages to find out if Viruses truly are the villains of the microscopic world or whether they just need a better PR team.

Contributors Jonathan Ball - Professor of Molecular Virology at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Martha Clokie - Professor of Microbiology at the University of Leicester. Marylin Roosinck - Professor Emeritus of Microbiology at Penn State University US.

Producer: Emily Bird Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem A BBC Studios Production