The 3rd Degree: Series 13

Steve Punt's quiz show where a team of three students take on a team of three of their professors

Recorded on location at a different university each week, The 3rd Degree pits three undergraduates against three of their professors in a genuinely original and fresh take on an academic quiz.

The rounds vary between specialist subjects and general knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the 'Highbrow and Lowbrow' round - which is cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their professors' awareness of television, sport and, quite possibly, Ed Sheeran... In addition, there are head-to-head rounds where the students take on the professors in their own subjects, offering plenty of scope for embarrassment on both sides.

In Series 13, the universities are Exeter, Strathclyde, Somerville College Oxford, Keele, King's College London and Portsmouth.

Production credits
Devised and produced by David Tyler
Hosted by Steve Punt

Episode 1
This episode of The 3rd Degree is brought to you from Exeter, where the specialist subjects are Economics, Natural Sciences and History, and the questions range from Dirac points and fat tails to what Napoleon was really doing in Fishguard. Plus, your chance to hear the most-played piece of music ever.

Episode 2
This episode of The 3rd Degree comes from the University of Strathclyde, where the specialist subjects are Creative Writing, Management Science and Civil & Environmental Engineering. The questions involve words like 'babok', 'chiasmus' and 'vug'. Also, listen to find out about the fascinating Mavis Grind.

Episode 3
This episode of The 3rd Degree is brought to you from Somerville College, Oxford, where the specialist subjects are Classics, Classical Archaeology & Ancient History, Physics and Linguistics, and the questions range from a Sybil in a bottle to an electron in a spiral (via mustard, runes and Kate Winslet). And some simple tips for translating Japanese into Hungarian.

Episode 4
This episode of The 3rd Degree comes from Keele University, where the specialist subjects are Film Studies, Medicine and Law. The questions involve catabolics, contract law and Carry On up the Costa Plonka. And if you thought there were only eight states and territories in Australia, prepare to be amazed.

Episode 5
This episode of The 3rd Degree is brought to you from King's College London, where the specialist subjects are Law and Cosmology, as well as the Culture, Media and Creative Industries. The questions involve a giant spider, a silver hammer and the reason why it's no longer illegal to commit champerty. Also included are not one but two questions about Audrey Hepburn and stamps. How can you resist?

Episode 6
This episode of The 3rd Degree comes from University of Portsmouth, where the specialist subjects are Musical Theatre, Maths and Psychology, and the teams are quizzed on Cauchy sequences, Hilbert spaces, the Dunning-Kruger effect and what on earth is dangling from Mick Fleetwood? Plus, the world's dodgiest song in the first ever musical.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4: 3rd July - 7th August 2023.

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