Podcasts about New Scientist

Psilocybin — the psychedelic compound in so-called “magic mushrooms” — has exploded into headlines and social media feeds. Some call it a miracle cure for depression, others dismiss it as hype. In this episode, I take a clear-eyed look at what the science really says.I'll start with Sarah's story — a young scientist whose life was turned upside down by a cycling accident and who found hope again through a psilocybin clinical trial at Johns Hopkins. Her words: “This trial changed my life.”From there, I explore:The history of psilocybin, from ancient rituals to 1960s psychiatry to today's “psychedelic renaissance.”The online buzz, where psilocybin is hyped as everything from a creativity booster to a trauma cure.The scientific evidence, from small pilot trials to the largest modern RCTs.The neuroscience, showing how psilocybin may “reset” rigid brain networks, boost plasticity, and even dampen inflammation.The risks, including panic, paranoia, and psychosis in vulnerable people.Finally, I'll share my Tools in Three so you can separate the real promise from the hype.Featured ResearchCarhart-Harris RL, et al. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30065-Carhart-Harris RL, et al. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2032994Davis AK, et al. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.3285Goodwin GM, et al. S 10.1056/NEJMoa2206443Additional insights from Nature Medicine (Carhart-Harris, 2021) and New Scientist on brain plasticity and inflammation.Each episode explores what's really going on inside your brain when you do the things you do — from the everyday to the extraordinary — and gives you three tools for your Super Brain kit. Sabina's books The Neuroscience of Manifesting Still Me 100 Days to a Younger Brain Beating Brain Fog Brain Gym in a BoxFollow Sabina Brennan on InstagramSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/superbrain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pelle Neroth Taylor is a Swedish-British journalist, filmmaker, and political writer based in Sweden, renowned for his investigative work on geopolitics, propaganda, political assassinations, and the rise of European populism. Educated at Westminster School and Bristol University, he began his career in the early 1990s reporting for The Economist from the post-communist Baltic States, later editing and contributing to outlets like The Guardian, The Independent on Sunday, The Times, Financial Times, Sunday Times, New Scientist, and The Lancet. As founder of Two Raven Films, he has produced documentaries such as Sweden, Dying to Be Multicultural, a critical examination of Sweden's immigration policies that has garnered over 2 million views on platforms like Amazon Prime and Blckbx TV, and Cancel Nation, addressing censorship and cancel culture. Tickets to Cornerstone Forum 26': https://www.showpass.com/cornerstone26/Tickets to the Mashspiel:https://www.showpass.com/mashspiel/Silver Gold Bull Links:Website: https://silvergoldbull.ca/Email: SNP@silvergoldbull.comText Grahame: (587) 441-9100Bow Valley Credit UnionBitcoin: www.bowvalleycu.com/en/personal/investing-wealth/bitcoin-gatewayEmail: welcome@BowValleycu.com Use the code “SNP” on all ordersProphet River Links:Website: store.prophetriver.com/Email: SNP@prophetriver.comGet your voice heard: Text Shaun 587-217-8500

Editor Catherine de Lange says New Scientist will continue to be printed and new younger readers will be encouraged through the digital edition, a podcast, and live events.

Is Endometriosis actually an autoimmune condition? For decades we've been told it's all about hormones—but new research shows your immune system may be the missing link. And that changes everything. The article that I refer to in this episode is Untangling Endometriosis, by Lauren Clark, published in the New Scientist on 27 September 2025. If you're interested to read the article, here is the link to purchase it (US$1.99): https://www.sciencedirect.com/getaccess/pii/S0262407925015933/purchase   I've created a free guide “5 Steps to reducing your Endometriosis symptoms with nutrition”. This guide will get you started on changing your diet and reduce the severity of your symptoms. Today, I'll show you why this happens — and which nutrients can help you finally feel more in control of your mind and body. If that sounds good, download your copy of the guide now:  https://www.subscribepage.com/5stepstoreducingyourendometriosissymptomswithnutrition   #endometriosis #nutritionforendometriosis #endometriosisdiet #endometriosissymptoms #endodiet #endosymptoms #endometriosisadvice #dietadvice #inflammation #autoimmunediseases 

In this episode, host Joel Brice sits down with two of the newest members of Delta's research team—Dr. Todd Arnold and Dr. Jay VonBank.Todd, a longtime professor at the University of Minnesota, and Jay, formerly with the U.S. Geological Survey's Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, bring decades of combined field and academic experience to Delta's mission.Together, they'll share their backgrounds, the exciting research projects they're leading, and what their work means for both ducks and duck hunters. You'll also pick up some fascinating—and flat-out cool—facts about ducks along the way.

In the final episode of the season, Susan Mathews speaks with Antone Martinho-Truswell, a fascinating behavioural ecologist, Operations Manager at the Sydney Policy Lab, and Research Associate at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney, Australia. His Substack is called The Village Green and he is author of The Parrot in the Mirror: How evolving to be like birds made us human (2022). The book, and this episode, considers the parallels between the ‘evolutionary grooves' of the extremely advantageous traits of humans and birds—the former, by becoming the cultural ape, and the latter through flight.  Antone explains how one trait that is advantageous leads to a number of adaptations that support it. For example, how human babies are born underdeveloped, and humans have cultures that care for children for a long time in order to support the big brain that we need to grow. Taking us through the evolution of birds, Antone describes how, in dinosaurs like T-Rex, small raptors and Archaeopteryx, scales evolved into feathers which smaller dinosaurs probably began to take advantage of with glides and long leaps. And, over time, the bodies of these creatures became entirely specialised for flight.  They spoke about relative lifespans. Birds live two to ten times as long as mammals of a similar size. The reason is flight. The most obvious advantage is that it's much easier to escape predators, but birds live longer even when there are no predators around. This is because of K-selection and r-selection. K-selection is a live-slow-die-old strategy, and r-selection a live-fast-die-young strategy. An adaptation like flight starts a virtuous cycle where, since it is much more likely that a bird makes it to the next breeding season, evolution selects traits that enable it to live longer.  Movement itself, Antone stresses, is a pretty impressive biological feat. While microorganisms and water-dwelling creatures like coral are bathed in the medium that sustains its life, and plants are rooted in a life-sustaining substrate, wrapping all of the incredibly complex chemical reactions of life in a waterproof bag like a dog or a human is incredible. And then adding the third dimension of flight is a difficult feat because the animal has to fight gravity itself. The evolutionary advantage is huge because it's rare, and it's rare because it's hard to do.  But such a drastic advantage can also have other implications. Antone's article Empire of Flight in Aeon, considers why, even though birds have a lot of the same raw materials for a robust and complex culture—intelligence, communication, long overlapping lives, knowledge passed down through the generations—they have not developed one. Evolution never aspires to anything, only responds to inadequacy, and so, he hypotheses, birds don't need culture because flight is such a powerful adaptation. The more advantageous the adaptation, the less likely it is that a different way of life evolves.  Similarly, in humans, while there are some incremental changes to our genes, our complex culture, with its welfare, science, and other innovations, has taken away the pressure to do things differently. Even if there is an apocalyptic event that takes away all of our technology, we're still going to have all of the abstract components—like writing and money—that give us significant advantages. But just as this capacity lets us build concepts like democracy, it also enables us to build complex concepts like ‘enemies' and ‘hate' in ways that few other creatures can.  Finally, while narrow sustainability—energy consumption, resource use—is important, Antone persuades us to think of broader sustainability. We need to consider the physical space and the resources that we and our cities use, and, rather than fencing in nature, find ways to live that are continuous with the rest of nature.  This season of The Subverse has been produced by Tushar Das. A special thank you to Julian Wey for access to his Qumquat studio and Daniel Schwenger for his assistance.    More about the guest: Antone Martinho-Truswell's work focuses on animal minds and learning, and on human behaviour and interaction with the natural world. He is particularly interested in birds and cephalopods, intelligent species whose evolutionary history differs dramatically from that of mammals. His academic work has been published in Science, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Current Biology and Animal Behaviour and covered in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Times and New Scientist, among others. He also writes on longstanding questions in biology and animal behaviour for Aeon and the BBC. You can find him on Instagram @stjosephwoodworks.  

Episode 327 A special episode recorded on October 18 at New Scientist Live in London, featuring experts in geoscience, dark matter and neuroscience. Anjana Khatwa is an Earth scientist and TV presenter. In her new book, The Whispers of Rock, she brings together Western scientific knowledge about the evolution of our Earth and indigenous knowledge and stories. She demonstrates this connection by exploring the volcanic formation of the Hawaiian islands, and the fascinating folklore attached to their origin. Chamkaur Ghag is a Professor of Physics at University College London and an expert on dark matter. He discusses the LZ Dark Matter Experiment, which is operating one mile under the Black Hills of South Dakota, in the search for a signal of this illusive particle.  Daniel Yon is a psychologist and neuroscientist at Birkbeck, University of London. He explains how your brain influences your perception of reality - and how particular neurochemicals in the brain control our willingness to change, or to believe in a conspiracy theory. Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet on the Engage Stage at the Excel Centre. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aizvadītājā gadā klajā nāca grāmata, kas caur senām kartēm izveda cauri Rīgas ielu vēsturei Daugavas labajā pusē. Nu tapusi grāmata par Pārdaugavas raibo vēsturi. Kā mainījušies ielu nosaukumi kreisā krasta rajonos un kā laika gaitā mainījusies Pārdaugavas seja? Ko par šo vēsturi stāsta senās kartes? Ar jaunāko izdevumu iepazīstina - grāmatas redaktors, karšu izdevniecības "Jāņa sēta" pārstāvis Jānis Barbans un grāmatas autors Edgars Lecis. Raidījuma noslēgumā Zinātnes ziņas Koraļļu rifos sasniegts kritiskais punkts pēc globālās temperatūras paaugstināšanās Aktualitāte, kas šajās dienās atspoguļota ne vienā vien zinātnes vietnē, ir situācija ar koraļļu rifiem, proti, ir sasniegts kritiskais lūzuma punkts koraļļu rifos pēc globālās temperatūras paaugstināšanās. Rekordaugsta okeāna temperatūra ir izraisījusi plašu silto ūdeņu koraļļu izbalēšanu un bojāeju, kam varētu būt tālejošas sekas.  Kā īsti sarunāties ar mākslīgo intelektu? Kā īsti sarunāties ar mākslīgo intelektu un kurā no gadījumiem saņemsiet precīzākas atbildes no sarunu bota - tāds ir jautājums, kam atbilde meklēta gan pašmāju vietnē “Kursors.lv”, gan “New Scientist”. “SpaceX” raķete “Starship” veiksmīgi veikusi pēdējo testa lidojumu 2025. gadā Bet “Scientific American” par to, ka uzņēmums “Space X” ir veicis vēl vienu veiksmīgu pasaulē lielākās un jaudīgākās raķetes “Starship” testa lidojumu. Šis bija nu jau vienpadsmitais “Starship” testa lidojums. “Starship” ir paredzēta kā pirmā pilnībā atkārtoti izmantojamā kosmosa lidojumu sistēma vēsturē, kas var pārvadāt kravu vai pat apkalpi.

News broke this week that rocks picked up by NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars may have found chemical signatures left by living organisms. With the search for life on the red planet capturing our imaginations for decades, Victoria Gill is joined by science journalist Jonathan Amos to look at what we know about the history of life on Mars, and what could be different about this discovery.As commemorations take place this week for the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we hear about the project helping to protect birds in New York from the effects of a giant annual light display in memory of the victims of the tragedy.Dr Andrew Farnsworth, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, tells us how they're working with the organisers of the Tribute in Light memorial to help save the lives of a wide range of birds.Victoria is joined by managing editor of the New Scientist, Penny Sarchet, to look through this week's most exciting scientific discoveries.And in our series profiling the six books shortlisted for this year's Royal Society Trivedi Book Prize, we speak to neuroscientist and clinical neurologist Professor Masud Husain about his book Our Brains, Our Selves, and what his encounters with patients reveal about how our brains make up who we are.Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Clare Salisbury, Dan Welsh, Jonathan Blackwell, Tim Dodd Editor: Martin Smith

In this episode, friend of the show Geriant Lewis, Professor of Astrophysics at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy within the University of Sydney, joins us to unpack a fascinating New Scientist article theorising on how a strange line of dwarf galaxies may have formed.  We explore how high-speed collisions between dwarf galaxies can scatter gas and stars across space, sometimes giving rise to entirely new tidal galaxies. Geraint explains the latest thinking on where these dwarf galaxies come from, what makes a galaxy “relaxed” or “unrelated,” and how these cosmic smash-ups might even shed light on one of the biggest mysteries in physics: the true nature of dark matter. www.geraintflewis.com/ Linkedin: Geriant Lewis Bluesky: cosmic_horizons

Een nieuw #Nerdland maandoverzicht! Met deze maand: Dinogeluiden! Lieven in de USA! Ignobelprijzen! Neptermieten! Spiercheaten! Website op een vape! En veel meer... Shownotes: https://podcast.nerdland.be/nerdland-maandoverzicht-oktober-2025/ Gepresenteerd door Lieven Scheire met Peter Berx, Jeroen Baert, Els Aerts, Bart van Peer en Kurt Beheydt. Opname, montage en mastering door Jens Paeyeneers en Els Aerts. (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:42) Lieven, Hetty en Els waren op bezoek bij Ötzi (00:03:28) Inhoud onderzocht van 30.000 jaar oude “gereedschapskist” rugzak (00:04:47) Is er leven gevonden op Mars? (00:09:02) Dwergplaneet Ceres was ooit bewoonbaar (00:10:50) Man sleurt robot rond aan een ketting (demo Any2track) (00:15:02) Nieuwe Unitree robot hond A2 stellar explorer heeft waanzinnig goed evenwicht, en kan een mens dragen (00:17:09) “Wat is een diersoort”? De ene mierensoort baart een andere… (00:26:12) Dinogeluiden nabootsen met 3D prints (00:35:19) **Inca death wistle** (00:36:52) Hoe is het nog met 3I/ATLAS (00:45:13) Nieuwe AI hack: verborgen prompts in foto's (00:52:59) Einsteintelescoop: België zet de ambities kracht bij (00:57:44) DeepMind ontwikkelt AI om LIGO te helpen bij zwaartekrachtsgolvendetectie (01:03:13) Ook podcast over ET: “ET voor de vrienden”, met Bert Verknocke (01:03:50) SILICON VALLEY NEWS (01:04:04) Lieven was in Silicon Valley (01:16:39) Familie meldt dat een Waymo-taxi doelloos rondhangt bij hun huis (01:18:43) Meta lanceert smart glasses en het demoduiveltje stuurt alles in de war (01:27:51) Mark Zuckerberg klaagt Mark Zuckerberg aan omdat hij van Facebook gesmeten wordt. (dat is wel heel erg Meta) (01:30:39) Eerste testen met Hardt Hyperloop in Rotterdam, 700 km/u (01:34:11) Ignobelprijzen (01:42:00) Extreme mimicry: kever draagt neptermiet op de rug (01:45:54) Gamer bouwt aim assist die rechtstreeks op zijn spieren werkt (01:51:38) “Bogdan The Geek” host een website op een wegwerpvape (01:54:16) Hoe moet je iemand reanimeren in de ruimte? (02:00:29) Esdoornmotten gebruiken disco-gen om dag/nacht ritme te regelen (02:05:45) Nieuwe studie Stanford toont alweer gezondheidsrisico's uurwissel aan (02:08:59) AI nieuws (02:09:18) Geoffrey Hinton zijn lief maakt het af via ChatGPT (02:10:01) ASML steekt 1,3 miljard euro in Mistral (02:12:15) Idiote stunt in Shangai: robot ingeschreven als PhD student (02:13:42) Idiote stunt in Albanië: ai benoemd tot minister (02:16:29) RECALLS (02:17:15) Leuke wetenschappelijke pubquiz van New Scientist (02:17:57) Emilie De Clerck is allergisch geworden voor vlees door een tekenbeet in België! Ze kan wel nog smalneusapen eten, zoals bavianen of mensen (02:19:26) Het is niet Peter Treurlings, maar Peter Teurlings van Tech United (02:19:47) Technopolis doet twee avonden open alleen voor volwassenen: 17 oktober en 6 maart. Night@Technopolis (02:23:41) ZELFPROMO (02:29:25) SPONSOR TUC RAIL

Arthur Kay is an entrepreneur, and advisor to organisations building solutions for sustainable cities.He is the founder of several urban design and technology companies, including the clean technology company – Bio-bean (acq. 2023), the design, technology, and development company – Skyroom, and the £100m Key Worker Homes Fund.Arthur is an advisor to organisations including Innovo Group, and serving as a board member for Transport for London, The Royal Academy of Engineering, the Museum of the Home, and Fast Forward 2030.In addition, Arthur holds academic appointments, as Associate Professor (Hon.) at UCL Institute for Global Prosperity. He has lectured on urban design at MIT, NYU, LSE and Imperial College London. He is co-author of the book Roadkill: Unveiling the True Cost of Our Toxic Relationship with Cars (Wiley, 2025), with Professor Dame Henrietta Moore.Arthur's work building solutions for sustainable cities has been recognised by the UN as a Sustainable Development Goals Pioneer, The Guardian as Sustainable Business Leader of the Year, MIT Technology Review as a 35-under-35 and Forbes as an all-star 30-under-30. His words and work have appeared in publications, including The Times, The Financial Times, The New York Times,  Bloomberg, National Geographic, The New Scientist, The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, CNN, CNBC, CBS, Wired, Architect's Journal, Architectural Review, and on the BBC.Arthur studied architecture at UCL Bartlett School of Architecture, and entrepreneurship at Stanford's Graduate School of Business.

Episode 323 Temperatures in Antarctica have soared by over 35°C. Scientists are concerned about how quickly things are changing on the continent as these warmer temperatures impact the polar vortex. Coupled with record lows in sea ice cover over the last decade, this could be a sign that Antarctic weather patterns have shifted permanently. What's driving this change - and what happens if we have reached a tipping point of no return? Many mammals, including cats, can pivot their ears to focus on a particular sound. But our ears aren't quite so flexible. But now it appears that a similar process happens inside our brain - ‘swivelling' to focus on sounds from different directions. This has only recently been discovered thanks to new portable EEG equipment, as the process only happens when we're moving. This finding may help us better understand how movement changes the brain - and could even help improve hearing aids.  Why do women tend to live longer than men? It could have something to do with the very chromosomes that determine biological sex. By looking at birds, whose sex chromosomes differ from those of mammals, researchers have discovered an intriguing hint at what's going on. But does their new hypothesis hold up? Alongside all the emerging science, Rowan shares his own theory. And the team discusses the disappearance of the Y chromosome - and what that really means for men. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (01:04) Emergency in Antarctica (10:46) How movement changes the brain (19:34) Why women live longer than men Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet, with guests Madeleine Cuff, Edward Doddridge, Caroline Williams and Sam Wong. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Learn more about Yakult at www.yakult.co.uk  Vote for New Scientist in the Signal Awards: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2025/shows/genre/science  Get your ticket for New Scientist Live here: https://live.newscientist.com/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever wondered if what you eat is aging you, or whether women in red really are sexier? In addition to turning to Reddit for the answers to those questions, you can now tune into a new podcast. Normal Curves focuses on sexy science and serious statistics, and it's the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guests Regina Nuzzo and Kristin Sainani Regina Nuzzo is an award-winning science journalist and Gallaudet University professor who talks with audiences around the world about communicating stats creatively. She's written for such outlets as Nature, the New York Times, Scientific American, New Scientist and ESPN, the magazine. She's also served as a guest panelist on Stats and Stories in 2022. Kristin Sainani is a Stanford professor and science journalist. She teaches the popular Coursera course on writing in the sciences, available in 22 languages, and offers an online medical statistics certificate program through Stanford Online. She also wrote a beauty column for Allure.

Why modern communication still relies on ancient words and narratives.All communication and connection depend on one thing: language. That's why Laura Spinney says understanding language — where it comes from and how it evolves over time — can help us use it more effectively.“Language is incredibly powerful,” says Spinney, an author and journalist published in the Atlantic, National Geographic, Nature, and New Scientist. As “humanity's oldest tool,” language has evolved as we have, which Spinney explores in her latest book, Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. In addition to the words themselves, there are also the stories that humans have carried with them for millennia. “Some stories that we still tell today,” Spinney notes, have remained stable for tens of thousands of years — providing more than just entertainment — shaping how we understand the world, share knowledge, and build community.In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Spinney and host Matt Abrahams discuss why language and storytelling are fundamental to being human, what makes a story compelling, and how our ever-evolving language continues to be our best tool for communication and connection.To listen to the extended Deep Thinks version of this episode, please visit FasterSmarter.io/premium.Episode Reference Links:Laura Spinney Laura's Books: Proto / Pale RiderEp.168 How Story Can Change Everything in Your CareerEp.91 Um, Like, So: How Filler Words Can Create More Connected, Effective Communication Connect:Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart PremiumEmail Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.ioEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart WebsiteNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.ioThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTubeMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedInChapters:(00:00) - Introduction (02:24) - Power & Limits of Language (02:55) - Detecting Lies (04:46) - Origins of Storytelling (07:42) - What Makes a Great Story (10:31) - Proto-Indo-European Language (12:52) - Language Families & Connections (15:06) - Language Clues in History (17:17) - The Final Three Questions (21:56) - Conclusion  *****Thank you to our sponsors: Stanford Continuing Studies. Enroll today for my course starting September 30thStrawberry.me. Get $50 off coaching today at Strawberry.me/smartSupport Think Fast Talk Smart by joining TFTS Premium.     

Kevin Patton tackles one of A&P's slimiest subjects: mucus. In this playful but powerful episode, he reveals ten (or eleven) reasons mucus deserves more attention in our teaching. From immunity to fertility, mucus does it all. 00:00 | Introduction 00:45 | Mucus & Mucous 04:27 | Virtual HAPS Conference * 05:41 | Mucus: Body-Wide Protector 10:13 | Gross Episodes * 11:15 | Mucus in Motion 15:46 | Kerry Hull Honored * 16:28 | Mucus & the Human Story 20:42 | Running Concept Lists 21:11 | Mucus is Vital 26:05 | Staying Connected * Breaks ★ If you cannot see or activate the audio player, go to: theAPprofessor.org/podcast-episode-154.html ❓ Please take the anonymous survey: theAPprofessor.org/survey ☝️ Questions & Feedback: 1-833-LION-DEN (1-833-546-6336) ✔️ Follow The A&P Professor on Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Substack, or Instagram! @theAPprofessor

Next month world leaders will again gather to focus on dealing with our global plastic problem. So this week we're looking for solutions. Marnie Chesterton hears from Professor of Sustainable Chemical Engineering at the University of Sheffield, Rachael Rothman on how we can engineer safer, more environmentally friendly plastics. And at the other end of the plastic spectrum, she hears about the clean up operation after the world's biggest ocean spill of nurdles – tiny plastic pellets which are used to make plastic products. Investigative environmental journalist Leana Hosea brings the results of her investigation into the clean up after the X-Press Pearl container ship caught fire and sank 4 years ago.Mark Miodownik, University College London Professor of Materials & Society returns to the studio with the results of a citizen science project to try to get more data on potty training. It aims to encourage parents to get toddlers out of nappies earlier.And Penny Sarchet, managing editor at New Scientist brings her pick of this week's newest scientific discoveries.Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Clare Salisbury and Dan Welsh Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

This week the Trump administration indicated that it would seek to roll back a key EPA finding that allows the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from things like cars and power plants. The 16-year-old rule, known as the “endangerment finding,” states that six greenhouse gases pose a threat to human health. Sophie Bushwick, news editor at New Scientist, joins Host Ira Flatow to discuss the proposed change, along with news about exoplanet life, Russian drones, rust-based batteries, hexagonal diamonds, quantum entanglement, and extra-old honey.Plus, a robot performed surgery by itself for the first time, on a pig cadaver. Medical roboticist Axel Krieger joins Ira to discuss how he was able to train the surgical robot.Guests:Sophie Bushwick is senior news editor at New Scientist in New York.Dr. Axel Krieger is an associate professor in the department of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University.Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

What is a median? How about an interquartile range? Don't even get me started on how to define a p-value. These statistical concepts are hard to grasp for your average statistics student, but imagining how these types of definitions translate into American Sign Language is a whole other ballgame. That is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with special guest Dr. Regina Nuzzo. Dr. Regina Nuzzo is a freelance science writer and professor in Washington, DC. After studying engineering as an undergraduate she earned her PhD in Statistics from Stanford University. Currently, she's teaching statistics in American Sign Language at Gallaudet University, the world's only liberal arts college for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Dr. Nuzzo is also a graduate of the Science Communication program at the University of California-Santa Cruz. Her science journalism specialties center around data, probability, statistics, and the research process. Her work has appeared in Nature, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Reader's Digest, New Scientist, and Scientific American, among others.

BEST OF TSTSHOW 1: In 2008 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation financed Jichi Medical University in Japan to develop “a mosquito that can produce and secrete a malaria vaccine protein.” The initiative was aimed at creating a “flying syringe, to deliver protective vaccine via saliva.” In 2010 they gave money to UK-based biotech company Oxitec to develop genetically modified mosquitoes that could be lethal to carriers of dengue, zika, and yellow fever. Science Magazine published a report that year on this Japanese research and discussed what they called “flying vaccinators.” In 2015 the people of Florida, set to be the Oxitec testing ground, signed a petition against such open-air lab trials. In 2021 the trial proceeded regardless and in April 2022 Nature published a report on the results which found that although mosquitoes died in large numbers there was no reduction in disease spread or need for pesticides, which often cause the very symptoms of the diseases. A few days ago a mosquito-malaria-vaccine trial was carried out in Washington State. Of 14 participants, 7 were diagnosed with malaria leading researchers to declare their mosquito-vaccine was 50% effective. However, they made no mention of how the other half of the group could be exposed to ‘malaria' and yet not develop the disease with its vague ‘symptom complex' list. There is no question why such a malaria vaccine should be tested in the U.S. where cases rarely top 2,000 and where death rarely reaches double digits. Meanwhile, Africa is home to 95% of cases and 96% of deaths, while India is home to most of the world's polio. It is likely these ‘disease' are caused by environment, as demonstrated by official WHO data, rather than tiny invisible particles. While focus has been on the mosquito, the NIH and B&MGF have also been researching a needle-less vaccine. Such research goes back to Spain in 1999 where researchers were able to spread vaccine-induced antibodies to non-vaccinated rabbits via vaccinated rabbits. All was done in natural interaction without needle, misquotes, or any other tool. SHOW 2: Malaria is supposedly on the rise in the United States, where seven cases between Florida and Texas have been reported in the last few weeks. The CDC issued a public health alert as a result and the media collectively is spreading the terror of malaria with graphs, charts, stories, and symptoms. The strange thing is that malaria is always present, particularly in those two states, where in 2012 cases were 102 in Texas and 59 in Florida. Over the years those numbers went up and down, peaking in 2019 and then dropping significantly in 2020. This is why the media can claim cases are on the rise even if they are below the previous decade peak. From NPR to the New Scientist there are, of course, solutions to this terrible outbreak that isn't much of an outbreak: vaccines and genetically modified mosquitoes that could produce antibodies against malaria parasite. However, these same genetically modified insects have been in development since 2008 and were released in Florida after 2015. They were created with money from the B&MGF: “a mosquito that can produce and secrete a malaria vaccine protein.” But what if gm-mosquitoes are another alternative lab-leak theory? Malaria's symptoms are themselves invariably described in the same way that heat stroke symptoms are: headaches, fever, muscle aches, nausea, etc. Any mosquito issue, genetically modified or otherwise, can of course be treated with new drugs and chemicals, like the Pyriproxyfen that caused Microcephaly which was blamed on zika and mosquitos. *The is the FREE archive, which includes advertisements. If you want an ad-free experience, you can subscribe below underneath the show description.FREE ARCHIVE (w. ads)SUBSCRIPTION ARCHIVEX / TWITTER FACEBOOKWEBSITECashApp: $rdgable EMAIL: rdgable@yahoo.com / TSTRadio@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-secret-teachings--5328407/support.

00:08 — Annalee Newitz is a San Francisco based journalist and author. They write for New Scientist and co-host the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct. Their latest book is “Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind.”   The post Fund Drive Special with Annalee Newitz appeared first on KPFA.

In this week's episode, we're diving into a fascinating and often overlooked area of ADHD: interoception. This is our ability to sense and interpret internal bodily signals like hunger, heartbeat, or emotional shifts. Understanding interoception is key to emotional regulation, self-awareness, and reconnecting with our bodies, especially for women with ADHD.I'm joined by Caroline Williams, a science journalist and author, whose new book, Inner Sense, brings the emerging science of interoception to a mainstream audience. Caroline has written for The Times, The Telegraph, and The Guardian, and is a former feature editor at New Scientist. She's also the author of Override and Move!, the latter named a New Scientist Book of the Year.My new book, The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Toolkit, is OUT NOW!What You'll Learn:What interoception is, and how it differs from exteroception and proprioceptionWhy those with ADHD often struggle to regulate internal signalsHow tuning into bodily cues helps with decision-making, intuition, and reducing stressCaroline's motivation for writing her book The role of the vagus nerve in interoceptionHow affective touch (like gentle stroking) supports calming and connectionHow hypermobility may impact interoception and sensory regulationWhy ADHD brains and bodies can respond more strongly to stress, and how this links to RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria)How to find compassion for your needs and gently support yourself through dysregulationThe emerging conversation around GLP-1 medications, fullness, and potential ADHD applicationsTools to strengthen interoception: body scans, exercise awareness, reminder apps, floatation tanks, and more.Timestamps:02:41 - Understanding The Science Behind Interoception10:19 - Exploring Interoception and Its Impact on Mental Health14:07 - The Importance of Interoception in Therapy24:26 - Understanding The Difference Interoception Can Make 26:50 - Understanding Heart Sensitivity and Anxiety34:33 - The Role of Interoception and Appetite Regulation39:22 - The Impact of Interoception on Body Awareness46:36 - The Power of Compassion when Navigating Neurodivergence Whether you're newly diagnosed or deep into your ADHD journey, this episode offers empowering insights into how listening to your body can become a powerful part of your emotional wellbeing.Links and Resources:Order my book, The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Toolkit Join the Waitlist for my new ADHD community-first membership launching in September! Get exclusive founding offers [here].Find my popular ADHD webinars and resources on my website [here].Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod Follow Caroline on Instagram:

Dr. Christoph Bartneck is a professor of computer science and a competitive swimmer with several national records. He actively promotes Masters Para Swimming in his role as national para swimming coordinator. He is an experienced science communicator with an interest in the intersection of mathematics, engineering and psychology. He frequently gives public talks and lectures at the local, national and international levels. Dr. Bartneck is an accomplished author with hundreds of scientific articles and books to his name. His work has been featured in the New Scientist, Scientific American, Popular Science, Wired, New York Times, The Times, BBC, Huffington Post, Washington Post, The Guard- ian, and The Economist. Today we are discussing his new book, Swim Training Patterns, which integrates mathematics into swim training to create an intellectual journey into patterns. Ex- ercise your body and mind with over 35 training programs derived from mathematical ideas. Dive into the history of mathematics and computer science to discover structures that will enrich your exercise routine. You don't need prior knowledge of mathematics or programming, just a curious mindset and the desire to swim in- teresting programs. This book will gently introduce you to the tools and knowledge you need to create programmatic training sessions. Learn how to write your training patterns using the Swimming Markup Language (swiML). Then, level up with the Python programming language to express even the most intricate training patterns. Creating swim training programs for every day of the week has never been easier.

From 2006- We hear from one of the contributors to "Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze - and 114 Other Questions." The book was released by NEW SCIENTIST, a London-based science magazine that is still in business.

00:08 — Annalee Newitz is a San Francisco based journalist and author. They write for New Scientist and co-host the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct. Their latest book is “Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind.” The post Annalee Newitz on Psychological Warfare and the American Mind appeared first on KPFA.

Massive wildfires in Canada helped keep the world cooler” (New Scientist). Researchers call for urgent exploration of methods to cool Earth (UK Guardian). Are the climate engineers desperate and dangerous enough to incinerate Earth's last remaining forests as a means of temporarily and toxically cooling the planet? The short answer is yes. Even with firestorms raging around the world, the weather makers managed to manufacture winter in Montana with 2 feet of chemical snow. Conditions all over the world are growing more dire by the day. The latest installment of Global Alert News is below.

Coincidences may seem like random occurrences to many of us – but not to a mathematician. Sarah Hart is professor of geometry at Gresham College and professor emerita of mathematics at Birkbeck, University of London. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why we so often look for coincidences in our lives — and why that's a mathematically futile endeavor — why the blind luck behind lottery wins might not be so blind after all, and why revealing this magic with numbers makes the phenomenon all the more interesting. Her article, “The surprising maths that explains why coincidences are so common,” was published in New Scientist.This episode originally aired January 15th, 2025. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Today Adrienne is sharing an episode from her other podcast, Modern Wellness Podcast. If you're not yet following or subscribed, just search for Modern Wellness Podcast wherever you get your podcasts!First up, the team discuss the price of wellness, and how we define our markers of health. This comes from Fitt Insider's article "Consumers Are Priced Out of Wellness"The trio look at the power of visualisation, and the various forms we may or may not do it. Do you? The New Scientist reports "How visualisation sets you up for success by changing your cognition"And in trending Sammi discusses the rise of lab-testing as lifestyle. And as a bonus, Oli's “It's a No from me Dawg” video…Don't forget to rate/review and subscribe or follow!You can follow the show and send in your questions to @modernwellnesspodcast or email questions@modernwellnesspodcast.comAnd follow the hosts Adrienne @adrienne_ldn, Sammi @sammiadhami, and Oli @_olipatrick. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 It's slimy, sticky and gross, but scientists are working hard to better understand the many important roles mucus plays in our bodies. Grace Wade is a health reporter for New Scientist, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the new world of mucus research, how it's both a chemical and physical barrier to disease, and how our understanding of a healthy gut might be due to this substance. Her article is “Discovering the marvels of mucus is inspiring amazing new medicines.”   Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

We've been rummaging through the Inside Science mailbox to pick out a selection of the intriguing science questions you've been sending in, and assembled an expert panel to try to answer them. Marnie Chesterton is joined by Penny Sarchet, managing editor of New Scientist, Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science at University College London, and Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotland and Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh, to get to the bottom of your scientific mysteries.Why is the moon sterile when the earth is so full of life? Are new organisms going to evolve to eat microplastics? And did Nikola Tesla really find a way of creating free electricity?Listen in as we try to uncover the answers.Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Dan Welsh & Debbie Kilbride Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

On Monday, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the panel that advises the CDC on who should get certain vaccines and when. Then on Thursday, he appointed eight new members, some of whom have been critical of vaccines in the past. So who exactly is new on the panel and how are medical experts reacting?Sophie Bushwick from New Scientist breaks down this reshuffling and the other top science stories of the week, including Starlink's leaky satellites, Earth's possible past encounters with dark matter, IBM's quantum computing plans, a device that can extract water from dry air, and how a paralyzed man was able to speak thanks to brain-controlled synthetic voice.Plus, nearly one in four Americans live within three miles of a Superfund site, places that are contaminated with hazardous waste and flagged for cleanup by the government. Amid sweeping cuts to science and environmental programs, the Trump administration appears to be prioritizing the cleanup of these polluted sites. But why? Host Flora Lichtman talks with science journalist Shahla Farzan about the Trump administration's approach to cleaning up Superfund sites and what this means for impacted communities.Read Farzan's full story about the move to expedite cleanup, and her past coverage of how floods can impact the areas surrounding Superfund sites.Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

It's often said we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about the Earth's deep sea, and a new study is backing that up. Research from the Ocean Discovery League says just 0.001% of the world's deep seafloor has ever been seen by humans.We speak to lead author and deep sea explorer Dr Katy Croff Bell and marine biologist Dr Anna Gebruk from the University of Edinburgh, to ask whether we should be making more effort to investigate our oceans.As events take place to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, presenter Victoria Gill also speaks to Professor David Edgerton from King's College London to discuss what impact the Second World War had on scientific research and innovation.We're also joined by Penny Sarchet, managing editor at New Scientist, to look through some of the top science stories you might have missed this week. And as David Attenborough celebrates his 99th birthday with the release of his latest film Ocean, we take a trip through the archives to hear some of his finest moments from more than 70 years of broadcasting.Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Clare Salisbury, Dan Welsh, Jonathan Blackwell Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

When we celebrate the New Year in 2025, we are also marking a quarter century into the new millennium. We often think it's going terribly, but is it really? How has the past quarter-century set us up for the next 75 years? In THE BRIGHT SIDE: How Optimists Change the World, and How You Can Be One (on sale January 7th) Dr. Sumit Paul-Choudhury—former editor-in-chief of The New Scientist—provides an impassioned defense of optimism as a catalyst for change and declares it a moral imperative. He can help put the past 25 years in perspective as we look toward the future. Per Sumit, submitting to fear is easy. Optimism, though, in the face of the unknown—a willingness to accept and confront uncertainty—is the definition of true moral courage. Realism, for all the good press it receives, often leads to passivity and surrender. (See below signature for other topics). This thought-provoking deep-dive into the roots and implications of optimism drops Jan 7th, after the New Year and before the inauguration—a perfect time to measure our reserves of optimism and look back on all that we have accomplished. In THE BRIGHT SIDE¸ Sumit offers a corrective to the tidal wave of pessimism that regularly rises up to engulf us all. (See below for other topic ideas).  

This month's guests:David Eicher, Editor-in-Chief of the Astronomy Magazine.Nancy Gonlin,  Professor of Anthropology at Bellevue College.Michael Colligan, Host of Restoring Darkness.Bill's News Picks:This is Why You're Afraid of the Woods at Night, Blair Braverman, Outside. Artificial light pollution could fuel growth of toxic algal blooms, James Dinneen, New Scientist. Street lights to be switched off across major roads to slash pollution levels with new AI cameras, GBNews. The enduring glow of London's historic gas lamps, CBS Sunday Morning. LED Street Lights Killing Seabirds on Cape Verde, Associação Projecto Vitó, Rare Bird Alert. Subscribe:Apple PodcastSpotifyYoutubeTag Us and Share with a Friend:InstagramLinkedInTikTokFacebookConnect:Bill@LightPollutionNews.comJoin our Mailing ListSend Feedback Text to the Show!Support the showA hearty thank you to all of our paid supporters out there. You make this show possible. For only the cost of one coffee each month you can help us to continue to grow. That's $3 a month. If you like what we're doing, if you think this adds value in any way, why not say thank you by becoming a supporter! Why Support Light Pollution News? Receive quarterly invite to join as live audience member for recordings with special Q&A session post recording with guests. Receive all of the news for that month via a special Supporter monthly mailer. Satisfaction that your support helps further critical discourse on this topic. About Light Pollution News: The path to sustainable starry night solutions begin with being a more informed you. Light Pollution, once thought to be solely detrimental to astronomers, has proven to be an impactful issue across many disciplines of society including ecology, crime, technology, health, and much more! But not all is lost! There are simple solutions that provide for big impacts. Each month, Bill McGeeney, is joined by upwards of three guests to help you grow your awareness and understanding of both the challenges and the road to recovering our disappearing nighttime ecosystem.

What happens when the subject of your creative practice scares you? Not only that, but what if you're scared, too, of what might happen when you put your work into the world? We speak with physicist and author Adam Becker about his new book, More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity, in which he writes about the terrible plans tech billionaires have for the future and why they won't work. Our conversation includes why doubt is a strength, being a planner vs. a pantser, why bringing your body into your practice is important, and why Adam spends time with trees.Adam Becker is a science journalist with a PhD in physics. He is the author, most recently, of More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity. In addition to his books, he has written for the New York Times, the BBC, NPR, Scientific American, New Scientist, Quanta, and many other publications. He lives in California.Adam's first book, What Is Real? Find Adam on Bluesky This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

Josh Mendoza is a screenwriter, director, producer, and author.  Mendoza is the founder of Strike the Sun Entertainment, and his movie work has been recognized by film festivals and competitions alike. He is best known for his feature film, WHAT STILL REMAINS, which he wrote, directed, and produced. Decider called the movie a “great follow-up to Bird Box” and described it as a “hidden gem” on Netflix. The Los Angeles Times said, “Writer-director Josh Mendoza finds a fresh angle on the post-apocalyptic thriller,” creating a “fascinating ‘what-if' imagining society's possible future.”Mendoza's debut novel, SHADOW OF THE ETERNAL WATCHER, released on January 28, 2025. The novel is a noir detective mystery that spirals into a science fiction adventure. The novel has already received positive reviews from Library Journal, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews. It was recently featured as one of the best upcoming sci-fi books for 2025 in New Scientist.Make sure to check out this author on his website—https://www.joshmendoza.com/You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, or visit my website www.drkatherinehayes.com

  Today Razib talks to Laura Spinney, Paris-based British author of the forthcoming Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. A science journalist, translator and author of both fiction and non-fiction, she has written for Nature, National Geographic, The Economist, New Scientist, and The Guardian. Spinney is the author of two novels, Doctor and The Quick, and a collection of oral history in French from Lausanne entitled Rue Centrale. In 2017, she published Pale Rider, an account of the 1918 flu pandemic. She also translated Swiss writer Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz's novel Derborence into English. Spinney graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Sciences from Durham University and did a journalism residency at Berlin's Planck Institute. First, Razib asks Spinney how difficult it was to integrate archaeology, linguistics and paleogenetics into her narrative in Proto, which traces the rise and proliferation of Indo-European languages from its ancestral proto-Indo-European. She talks about why this was the time to write a book like this for a general audience, as paleogenetics has revolutionized our understanding of recent prehistory, and in particular the questions around the origin of the Indo-Europeans. Razib and Spinney talk about various scenarios that have been bandied about for decades, for example, the arguments between linguistics and archaeologists whether proto-Indo-European was from the steppe or had an Anatolian homeland, and the exact relationship of the Hittites and their language to other Indo-European branches. They also delve into how genetics has helped shed light on deeper connections between some branches, like Balto-Slavic and Indo-Iranian, or Greek and Armenian. Spinney also addresses how writing a book like Proto involves placing fields like historical linguistics and archaeology with charged political associations in their proper historical context

We've thrown open the airwaves to you. Marnie Chesterton puts your science questions to Penny Sarchet, Managing editor of New Scientist, Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science at University College London and Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotland and Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh. So, if you've ever wondered why planets are round… or what geese are saying to each other as they fly in groups through the sky, listen in for the latest science and some educated hypothesising. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Dan Welsh & Debbie Kilbride Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Proposed budget cuts for NASA would jeopardize space research. And an executive order could change the political tides for deep sea mining.On May 2, the Trump Administration proposed a 24% budget cut for NASA. It would slash funding for science while setting billions aside for initiatives to send humans to the moon and Mars. New Scientist editor Sophie Bushwick joins us to talk about this, as well as other news in science, like how many U.S. cities are sinking, the search for geologic hydrogen within mountains, the first photos of free-floating atoms, Chinese poetry about porpoises, and cicadas turned into speakers.And, President Trump recently issued an executive order that would fast-track access for deep sea mining. Soon after, a Canadian company called The Metals Company submitted the first application for NOAA to review. This has raised environmental and climate concerns, as well as geopolitical tensions. Ocean geologist Sandor Mulsow breaks down what's at stake for the ocean.Guests:Sophie Bushwick, senior news editor at New Scientist in NYCDr. Sandor Mulsow, marine geologist at the Austral University of ChileTranscript will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.  Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Measles is spreading in the U.S., with hundreds of cases across more than 20 states. And tons of people online are arguing over how we should feel about it. Some say this is bad because measles is SO contagious — and not enough people get the vaccine. But others say that measles isn't such a big deal, so why are we freaking out?? Didn't basically everyone get this virus back in the day and live to tell the tale? So we'll find out — what is measles doing to our body (and our brain)? And how can we stop this outbreak ... and possibly rid the world of measles. We hear from New Scientist reporter Grace Wade, Prof. Peter Kasson, Dr. Meru Sheel and Dr. Katherine Gibney. Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsMeasles In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Measles cases are popping off in the U.S. (04:04) How measles messes with our immune system (10:13) How measles can kill (14:54) How contagious is measles - really? (18:46) How good is the measles vaccine? (25:11) What are the risks of the measles vaccine? (28:34) What it will take to stop this measles outbreak This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn, Rose Rimler, and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We're edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Eva Dasher. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Emma Munger, So Wiley, Peter Leonard, Bumi Hidaka and Bobby Lord. A special thanks to the researchers we reached out to including Professor Rik de Swart, and a big thanks to Joseph Lavelle Wilson and the Zukerman family.  Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the last week or so, the world of physics has had just one conversation.Have we found a new way of understanding the universe? And if so, what does this mean for our understanding of how we all came to exist – and even our fate? These big questions were prompted by new data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument team at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. To explain what was found, whether it's right and just how excited we should be, we're joined by astrophysics professor Catherine Heymans and cosmologist Andrew Pontzen. Also this week, what became of the Winchcombe meteorite? We attempt to explain some seriously advanced maths in less than two minutes, and Penny Sarchet from the New Scientist brings us her picks of the week's science news. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Gerry Holt, Ella Hubber & Sophie Ormiston Reporter: Gareth Mitchell Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity by Adam Becker Amazon.com This "wild and utterly engaging narrative" (Melanie Mitchell) shows why Silicon Valley's heartless, baseless, and foolish obsessions—with escaping death, building AI tyrants, and creating limitless growth—are about oligarchic power, not preparing for the future Tech billionaires have decided that they should determine our futures for us. According to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, and more, the only good future for humanity is one powered by technology: trillions of humans living in space, functionally immortal, served by superintelligent AIs. In More Everything Forever, science journalist Adam Becker investigates these wildly implausible and often profoundly immoral visions of tomorrow—and shows why, in reality, there is no good evidence that they will, or should, come to pass. Nevertheless, these obsessions fuel fears that overwhelm reason—for example, that a rogue AI will exterminate humanity—at the expense of essential work on solving crucial problems like climate change. What's more, these futuristic visions cloak a hunger for power under dreams of space colonies and digital immortality. The giants of Silicon Valley claim that their ideas are based on science, but the reality is darker: they come from a jumbled mix of shallow futurism and racist pseudoscience. More Everything Forever exposes the powerful and sinister ideas that dominate Silicon Valley, challenging us to see how foolish, and dangerous, these visions of the future are. About the author Adam Becker is a science writer with a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Michigan and a BA in philosophy and physics from Cornell. He has written for the New York Times, the BBC, NPR, Scientific American, New Scientist, Quanta, Undark, Aeon, and others. He has also recorded a video series with the BBC, and has appeared on numerous radio shows and podcasts, including Ologies, The Story Collider, and KQED Forum. He lives in California.

Sumit Paul-Choudhury shares the science behind optimism and why it gives people an advantage in the long term. — YOU'LL LEARN — 1) The case for optimism 2) How to train your brain to become an optimist 3) How to direct your optimism to where you need it most Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep1051 for clickable versions of the links below. — ABOUT SUMIT — Sumit Paul-Choudhury writes, thinks, and dreams about science, technology, and the future. A former Editor-in-Chief of New Scientist, he trained as an astrophysicist, has worked as a financial journalist, and, at the London Business School, received a Sloan Fellowship in strategy and leadership. Currently, he devotes most of his time to his creative studio Alternity, which puts the ideas in this book into scientific and artistic practice. He lives and works in London.• Book: The Bright Side: How Optimists Change the World, and How You Can Be One • LinkedIn: Sumit Paul-Choudhury • Website: Alternity.com — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — • App: Roam Research• Book: Candide by Voltaire • Past episode: 992: How to Break Free from Cynicism and Reclaim Hope with Jamil Zaki See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Have a question? Click here. Today we have a different style episode for you to enjoy and learn from.  There are three sections in this episode - a rant about misleading health headlines, a rave about taking a break from social media, and a review of an interesting article about understanding tiredness. This format is a departure from our usual in-depth topics on aging, nutrition, and interviews with experts but it's still very much worth a tune in!*** Remember, this insightful information comes from Caroline Williams's article "A fresh understanding of tiredness reveals how to get your energy back," published in New Scientist.Read the Article in Apple News+Join The Stronger Collective Nourished Notes Newsletter Core Essentials: Episode 1 2 3 430+ Non-Gym Ways to Improve Your Health (free download)Connect with Amy: GracedHealth.comJoin the Graced Health community on Facebook! Instagram: @GracedHealthYouTube: @AmyConnellLeave a one-time tip of $5

Sumit Paul-Choudhury shares that in his childhood he somewhat lost faith in mankind after starkly coming to the realization that not everyone is kind, good, and caring. Sumit went on to pursue science, technology, and the future. He became Editor-in-Chief of New Scientist, trained as an astrophysicist, and received a Sloan Fellowship in strategy and leadership from the London Business School. Then his wife died and on that day, he became an optimist. It was a life reset for him and optimism became his area of focus and research. Sumit has now written a book, The Bright Side: How Optimists Change the World, and How You Can Be One. I was raised in an optimistic home and while I side with optimism, I'm also sensitive to the concept of toxic positivity. So I sat down to hear Sumit's story and learn more about his research. He cites that in today's culture, it can feel "darkly glamorous to think it's the end of the world. There is kind of a seduction to it." And yet his research shows that optimism simply breeds more opportunity for us. So he's using his research to help us understand what healthy optimism is and how to harness it consciously and healthfully. Find Sumit's book, The Bright Side, anywhere, and connect with him at alternity.com Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Use my promo code WHATDRIVESYOU for 10% off on any CleanMyMac's subscription plans Join millions of Americans reaching their financial goals—starting at just $3/month! Get $25 towards your first stock purchase at get.stash.com/DRIVE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most Powerful Neutrino Ever Is Detected In the MediterraneanNeutrinos are sometimes called “ghost particles,” because they are nearly weightless, rarely interact with any other matter, and have very little electric charge.Now, scientists have discovered a neutrino with a recording-breaking level of energy, which could bring us closer to understanding physics underpinning the creation of the universe.Host Ira Flatow is joined by Sophie Bushwick, senior news editor at New Scientist, to talk more about the latest in neutrino research and other top science news of the week, including supersonic spaceflight without a sonic boom; an asteroid headed for Earth; and why loggerhead turtles are dancing.Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Farts are funny and sometimes smelly. But are they a legitimate topic of research? More than 40% of people worldwide are estimated to suffer from some kind of functional gut disorder — from acid reflux, heartburn, indigestion, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome to inflammatory bowel disease. So, yes, freelance science writer Claire Ainsworth thinks so. Claire speaks with Emily about two teams of scientists studying intestinal gases, who she profiled in a recent New Scientist article — and why understanding people's gut microbiome through a fart-shaped window may help treat these conditions at the source. Read more of Claire's reporting for New Scientist.Have another bodily function you want us to explore or just want to report to us about a funny time you passed gas? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As wildfires continue to burn in Los Angeles, some wealthy residents are shelling out thousands each day to hire private firefighters to protect their homes and businesses. But some argue that the market for these private crews diminishes public firefighting resources. We’ll get into it. And, renowned science fiction author Octavia Butler predicted many of our modern problems, including catastrophic wildfires. We’ll explain how looking to the past helped her write about the future. Plus, Kimberly gives us some advice for throwing better parties in 2025. Here’s everything we talked about today: “‘Will Pay Any Amount': Private Firefighters Are in Demand in L.A.” from The New York Times “I Will Pay Any Amount to Not Pay My Taxes” from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency “N.K. Jemisin on the prescience and brilliance of Parable of the Sower” from New Scientist “A Few Rules For Predicting The Future by Octavia E. Butler” from Common Good Collective “The LA Fires Aren’t a Surprise If You Study History and Climate Change. So Now What?” from Teen Vogue “Americans Need to Party More” from The Atlantic “Here’s how single women are successfully navigating an otherwise brutal market for first-time homebuyers” from Business Insider We love to hear from you. Email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

As wildfires continue to burn in Los Angeles, some wealthy residents are shelling out thousands each day to hire private firefighters to protect their homes and businesses. But some argue that the market for these private crews diminishes public firefighting resources. We’ll get into it. And, renowned science fiction author Octavia Butler predicted many of our modern problems, including catastrophic wildfires. We’ll explain how looking to the past helped her write about the future. Plus, Kimberly gives us some advice for throwing better parties in 2025. Here’s everything we talked about today: “‘Will Pay Any Amount': Private Firefighters Are in Demand in L.A.” from The New York Times “I Will Pay Any Amount to Not Pay My Taxes” from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency “N.K. Jemisin on the prescience and brilliance of Parable of the Sower” from New Scientist “A Few Rules For Predicting The Future by Octavia E. Butler” from Common Good Collective “The LA Fires Aren’t a Surprise If You Study History and Climate Change. So Now What?” from Teen Vogue “Americans Need to Party More” from The Atlantic “Here’s how single women are successfully navigating an otherwise brutal market for first-time homebuyers” from Business Insider We love to hear from you. Email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

Why are dalmatians often associated with firefighters and fire trucks? Is it just a mascot thing or is there more to the story? Of course, there is more to the story and this episode begins with a quick explanation. https://www.livescience.com/33293-dalmatians-official-firehouse-dogs.html The world is full of optimists and pessimists. Which is better? How do we come to be one or the other – are we born that way? What does it mean to be an optimist and are there benefits to it? These things I explore with my guest Sumit Paul-Choudhury. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of New Scientist; he trained as an astrophysicist and has worked as a financial journalist. He is also author of the book The Bright Side: How Optimists Change the World, and How You Can Be One (https://amzn.to/3W3Ndzl). Have you ever NOT spoken up at a meeting because it is just easier to go along with the crowd – even when you know you were right? It seems we have been taught that compliance and being a team player is best while defying the consensus is bad. Well maybe not. There is another way to look at this, which is why Dr. Sunita Shah is here. She believes saying no and defying conventional wisdom is often the right thing to do. And you can do it in a way that doesn't offend. Sunita is an award-winning professor at Cornell University and an expert in organizational psychology. She is author of the book Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes (https://amzn.to/49Zecln)  Keeping warm in the winter cold can be tricky and expensive. Listen as I offer some easy and practical ideas that will help keep everyone in your home nice and warm without having to turn up the heat and run up the bill. https://www.thespruce.com/ways-to-keep-warm-without-turning-up-the-heat-1388206 PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! SHOPIFY:  "Established in 2025". Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Sign up for a $1 per-month trial period at https://Shopify.com/sysk . Go to SHOPIFY.com/sysk to grow your business! HERS: Hers is changing women's healthcare by providing access to GLP-1 weekly injections with the same active ingredient as Ozempic and Wegovy, as well as oral medication kits. Start your free online visit today at https://forhers.com/sysk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices