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New Scientist Podcasts
New Scientist Podcasts
New Scientist

Podcasts for the insatiably curious by the world’s most popular weekly science magazine. Everything from the latest science and technology news to... more

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Episodes

Weekly: Hints of alien life in our galaxy; freezing human brains; solving a mystery of Egypt’s pyramids

#250There are signs that aliens might be harnessing the power of stars in our galaxy to fuel their civilisations. Dyson... more

17 May 2024 · 28 minutes
Dead Planets Society: Giving the Milky Way More Arms

Galaxies come in only a few shapes, which are all very round looking. You’ve got spirals and you’ve got blobs.... more

14 May 2024 · 34 minutes
Weekly: Do sperm whales have an alphabet?; Why dark energy is so weird; US bird flu outbreak

#249Do whales have their own alphabet? We’ve long thought the clicking sounds that sperm whales make is their way of... more

10 May 2024 · 25 minutes
CultureLab: Elizabeth Kolbert on what we’re missing in the fight against climate change

How do we understand the stakes of climate change, and communicate them? As we’re facing the consequences of climate change... more

07 May 2024 · 32 minutes
Weekly: Is climate change accelerating?; Anger vs heart health; New sensory organ

#248Last year marked the hottest on record, shattering previous temperature benchmarks across both land and sea. The rapid escalation –... more

03 May 2024 · 29 minutes
Dead Planets Society: A Neverending Solar Eclipse

Did you miss out on the recent total eclipse? Don’t fear, we’ve got the solution. We bring you the constant... more

29 Apr 2024 · 23 minutes
Weekly: What India elections mean for climate change; why animals talk; “tree of life” for plants

#247What does India’s election season mean for climate change? Last year India overtook the European Union as the third largest... more

26 Apr 2024 · 33 minutes
CultureLab: Meredith Broussard on trusting artificial intelligence

How much faith should we be putting in artificial intelligence? As large language models and generative AI have become increasingly... more

22 Apr 2024 · 28 minutes
Weekly: Carbon storage targets ‘wildly unrealistic’; world’s biggest brain-inspired computer; do birds dream?

#246Our best climate models for helping limit global warming to 1.5oC may have wildly overestimated our chances. To reach this... more

19 Apr 2024 · 33 minutes
Dead Planets Society: How to Destroy A Black Hole

How do you destroy a black hole? Turns out they're pretty tough cookies.Kicking off a brand new series of Dead... more

15 Apr 2024 · 24 minutes
Weekly: The multiverse just got bigger; saving the white rhino; musical mushrooms

#245The multiverse may be bigger than we thought. The idea that we exist in just one of a massive collection... more

12 Apr 2024 · 29 minutes
CultureLab: Jen Gunter on the taboo science of menstruation

Half of the human population undergoes the menstrual cycle for a significant proportion of their lifetimes, yet periods remain a... more

08 Apr 2024 · 39 minutes
Weekly: Miniature livers made from lymph nodes in groundbreaking medical procedure

#244Researchers have successfully turned lymph nodes into miniature livers that help filter the blood of mice, pigs and other animals... more

05 Apr 2024 · 30 minutes
Escape Pod: #8 Escape from predators and escape from the planet

This is a re-airing of a podcast originally released in March 2021.From beetle explosions to the deep dark depths of... more

01 Apr 2024 · 18 minutes
Weekly: Immune system treatment makes old mice seem young again; new black hole image; unexploded bombs are becoming more dangerous

#243As we age our immune systems do too, making us less able to fight infections and more prone to chronic... more

29 Mar 2024 · 26 minutes
CultureLab: Stranded on a fantastical planet: The strange creatures of Scavengers Reign

Fish you wear like a gas mask, moss that turns a robot sentient and critters that will eat your rash... more

26 Mar 2024 · 33 minutes
Weekly: How declining birth rates could shake up society; Humanoid robots; Top prize in mathematics

#242Human population growth is coming to an end. The global population is expected to peak between 2060 and 2080, then... more

22 Mar 2024 · 27 minutes
Escape Pod: #7 Speed: From the quickest animal in the world to the fastest supercomputer

This is a re-airing of a podcast originally released in March 2021.From the quickest animal in the world to the... more

19 Mar 2024 · 16 minutes
Weekly: Gaza’s impending long-term health crisis

#241More than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza face widespread hunger, disease and injury as the war quickly becomes the worst... more

15 Mar 2024 · 26 minutes
CultureLab: Rebecca Boyle on how the moon transformed Earth and made us who we are

There’s no moon like our moon. A celestial body twinned with Earth, the moon guides the tides, stabilises our climate,... more

12 Mar 2024 · 35 minutes
Weekly: Woolly mammoth breakthrough?; The Anthropocene rejected; Bumblebee culture

#240A major step has been made toward bringing woolly mammoths back from extinction – sort of. The company Colossal has... more

08 Mar 2024 · 27 minutes
Escape Pod: #6 All About Warmth: Emotional, Physiological and Geological

This is a re-airing of a podcast originally released in February 2021.Keeping you cosy this week is an episode all... more

05 Mar 2024 · 16 minutes
Weekly: Is personalised medicine overhyped?; Pythagoras was wrong about music; How your brain sees nothing

#239Two decades ago, following the Human Genome Project’s release of a first draft in 2001, genetic testing was set to... more

01 Mar 2024 · 26 minutes
CultureLab: What would life on Mars be like? The science behind TV series For All Mankind

Freezing temperatures, dust storms, radiation, marsquakes – living on Mars right now would be hellish. And getting there remains a... more

27 Feb 2024 · 45 minutes
Weekly: ADHD helps foraging?; the rise of AI “deepfakes”; ignored ovary appendage

#238ADHD is a condition that affects millions of people and is marked by impulsivity, restlessness and attention difficulties. But how... more

23 Feb 2024 · 24 minutes
Escape Pod #5 Sound: Prepare to feel relaxed, tingly and amazed, in the space of 20 minutes

This is a re-airing of a podcast originally released in February 2021.Prepare to feel relaxed, tingly and amazed all in... more

21 Feb 2024 · 17 minutes
Weekly: Reversing blindness; power beamed from space; animal love languages

#237Glaucoma, which can cause blindness by damaging the optic nerve, may be reversible. Researchers have managed to coax new optic... more

16 Feb 2024 · 23 minutes
CultureLab: Where billionaires rule the apocalypse: Naomi Alderman’s ‘The Future’

Real tech billionaires are reportedly building secret bunkers in case of post-apocalyptic societal collapse. It’s a frightening prospect, a world... more

13 Feb 2024 · 20 minutes
Weekly: Record-breaking fusion experiments inch the world closer to new source of clean energy

#236This week marks two major milestones in the world of fusion. In 2022 a fusion experiment at the Lawrence Livermore... more

09 Feb 2024 · 23 minutes
Escape Pod: #4 Mass: from lightest creates on earth, to the heaviest things in the cosmos

This is a re-airing of a podcast originally released in February 2021.From some of the lightest creatures on earth, to... more

06 Feb 2024 · 17 minutes
Weekly: Alzheimer’s from contaminated injections; Musk's Neuralink begins human trials; longest living dogs

#235In very rare cases, Alzheimer’s disease could be transmitted from person to person during medical procedures. This finding comes as... more

02 Feb 2024 · 21 minutes
CultureLab: Earth’s Last Great Wild Areas – Simon Reeve on BBC series ‘Wilderness’

Very few places on our planet appear untouchedby humans, but in those that do, nature is still very much in... more

30 Jan 2024 · 26 minutes
Weekly: Why AI won’t take your job just yet; how sound helps fungi grow faster; chickpeas grown in moon dust for first time

#234Is AI really ready to take our jobs? A team looked at whether AI image recognition could replace tasks like... more

26 Jan 2024 · 23 minutes
Escape Pod: #3 Music: the jazz swing of birdsong and the sonification of the orbits of planets

This is a re-airing of a podcast originally released in February 2021.This episode is all about music, so today’s journey... more

23 Jan 2024 · 16 minutes
Weekly: Cloned rhesus monkey lives to adulthood for first time; fermented foods carry antibiotic resistant bugs; an impossible cosmic object

#233A cloned rhesus monkey named ReTro is said to be in good health more than three years after his birth... more

19 Jan 2024 · 23 minutes
CultureLab: Breaking space records, human bowling and a trip to the Moon with astronaut Christina Koch

NASA astronaut Christina Koch not only took part in the first ever all-female spacewalks, but she also holds the record... more

16 Jan 2024 · 22 minutes
Weekly: Brain regions shrink during pregnancy; oldest and largest Amazon cities discovered; corals that change their sex like clockwork

#232During pregnancy the brain undergoes profound changes – almost every part of the cortex thins out and loses volume by... more

12 Jan 2024 · 22 minutes
Escape Pod: #2 Alliances in matters biological, mathematical and atomical

This is a re-airing of a podcast originally released in January 2021.The theme of this episode is alliances - human,... more

09 Jan 2024 · 17 minutes
Weekly: What’s next for science in 2024? A year of moons; weight-loss drugs; and a massive new supercomputer for Europe

#231It’s a new year and that means new science. But what (that we know so far) does 2024 hold? On the... more

05 Jan 2024 · 30 minutes
Escape Pod: #1 Understanding the self-awareness of dolphins

This is a re-airing of a podcast originally released in January 2021.An episode of Escape Pod all about understanding. We... more

02 Jan 2024 · 21 minutes
Best of 2023, part 2: India lands on the moon; the orca uprising; birds make use of anti-bird spikes

What was your favorite science story of 2023? Was it the rise of orca-involved boat sinkings? Or maybe the successful... more

29 Dec 2023 · 27 minutes
CultureLab: The best books of 2023, from joyful escapism to sobering reads

Are you looking forward to catching up on some reading over the holiday season? Or perhaps you are on the... more

26 Dec 2023 · 28 minutes
Best of 2023, part 1: Euclid telescope’s big year; AI is everywhere (for better and worse); why doctors searched their poo for tiny toys

#229Your hands are heavier than you think. Beer goggles aren’t real. And many water utilities in the United Kingdom still... more

22 Dec 2023 · 27 minutes
CultureLab: A duet between music and the natural world with Erland Cooper’s playful compositions

Composer Erland Cooper is known for playful, innovative, experimental projects. For example, he buried the only audio copy of a... more

19 Dec 2023 · 37 minutes
Science of cannabis: #3 The weed of the future

Cannabis is one of the oldest products of human cultivation. And as it becomes increasingly legal for medical and recreational... more

17 Dec 2023 · 23 minutes
Weekly: New climate deal at COP28; AI mathematician; a problem with the universe

#228We have a new, landmark climate deal, signalling the beginning of the end of fossil fuels. But even as the... more

15 Dec 2023 · 24 minutes
CultureLab: The Royal Flying Doctors - Saving lives in the Australian outback

The Australian outback is vast and the population is really spread out. This makes getting access to emergency healthcare incredibly... more

12 Dec 2023 · 15 minutes
Science of cannabis: #2 The anatomy of a high

Human beings have cultivated cannabis for thousands of years. We have been using it for its euphoric effects for at... more

10 Dec 2023 · 24 minutes
Weekly: IBM’s powerful new quantum computers; climate wins and flops at COP28; our sweet partnership with honeyguide birds

#227Quantum computing researchers at IBM have stepped up the power of their devices by a huge amount. The company’s new... more

08 Dec 2023 · 26 minutes
CultureLab: Teaching science through cooking with Pia Sorenson’s real life ‘Lessons in Chemistry’

Did your chemistry lessons involve baking chocolate lava cakes? Have you ever wanted to eat your biology homework? While ‘Lessons... more

05 Dec 2023 · 24 minutes
Weekly: Biggest climate summit since Paris; thanking dirt for all life on Earth; what if another star flew past our solar system?

#226This year’s COP28 could be the most important climate summit since the Paris Agreement in 2015. After opening in Dubai... more

01 Dec 2023 · 22 minutes
Science of cannabis: #1 A long history and a seismic shift

Cannabis is having a moment. Half of the US population lives in a state where marijuana is legal, and 9... more

28 Nov 2023 · 21 minutes
Weekly: Salt glaciers could host life on Mercury; brain cells that tell us when to eat; powerful cosmic ray hits Earth

#225Life on Mercury? That would be a shocking discovery. The planet is incredibly inhospitable to life… as we know it.... more

24 Nov 2023 · 24 minutes
Dead Planets Society: #11 Cube Earth Part Two

Turning the Earth into a cube, the gift that just keeps giving. Last episode we had fish bowl spaceships, this... more

22 Nov 2023 · 14 minutes
Dead Planets Society: #10 Cube Earth Part One

This is it, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. We’ve killed the sun, smushed the asteroid belt, burrowed into... more

21 Nov 2023 · 18 minutes
Weekly: Saving the trees we already have; why US men are dying younger; soap bubble lasers (pew pew pew)

#224Tree planting has become an incredibly popular way of attempting to store carbon dioxide and slow global warming. But new... more

17 Nov 2023 · 28 minutes
CultureLab: Orbital - A love letter to Earth from the International Space Station, with Samantha Harvey

As astronauts look down on Earth from space, the experience is often life-altering. The “pale blue dot” looks fragile from... more

14 Nov 2023 · 21 minutes
Weekly: Spinal cord stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease; half-synthetic yeast; harvesting the ocean’s heat for energy

#223Spinal cord stimulation has, for the first time, been used to improve the mobility of someone with Parkinson’s Disease. Marc,... more

10 Nov 2023 · 26 minutes
Dead Planets Society: #9 Unify the Asteroid Belt

Asteroids are cool, but they’re all spread out across the solar system. Wouldn’t it be neater if we could smush... more

07 Nov 2023 · 15 minutes
Weekly: Do you really need 8 hours of sleep?; The ancient planet buried inside Earth; Starfish are just heads

#222At this point, most people have heard the accepted wisdom that you need 8 hours sleep every night, especially for... more

03 Nov 2023 · 26 minutes
CultureLab: Suzie Edge’s curious (and sometimes gruesome) history of famous body parts

Did you know we have King Louis XIV to thank for fistula surgeries? After surgeons worked hard to find a... more

31 Oct 2023 · 29 minutes
Weekly: Security risks of ChatGPT; do other mammals go through the menopause?; record breaking quantum computer

#221Independent researchers have found new ways that OpenAI’s ChatGPT tool can assist bad actors, from providing the code needed to... more

27 Oct 2023 · 28 minutes
Dead Planets Society: #8 The Worst of All Worlds

Whether it’s searing heat, sapphire winds striking the sky like rain, or an atmosphere that makes your eyes pop out... more

23 Oct 2023 · 24 minutes
Weekly: Communicating with sleeping people; Massive marsquake; World’s smallest particle accelerator

#220When you’re asleep, you’re completely dead to the world, right? Well, it turns out we can actually communicate with people... more

20 Oct 2023 · 28 minutes
CultureLab: Free will doesn’t exist? Robert Sapolsky’s vision to reshape society

Would you feel uneasy or relieved to know that free will doesn’t exist? For those who have been fortunate in... more

17 Oct 2023 · 32 minutes
Weekly: Most detailed map ever of the human brain; clash of the ice planets; are US spies weakening encryption for everyone?

#219The most detailed map yet of the human brain has been unveiled. The human brain atlas visualises the brain more... more

13 Oct 2023 · 30 minutes
Dead Planets Society: #7 Halve the Moon

Leah finally takes on her arch-nemesis; the two-faced, arrogant, cold-hearted… moon. And despite her lunar love, Chelsea gets roped into... more

10 Oct 2023 · 21 minutes
Weekly: Big Nobels for tiny science; how Earth might make water on the Moon; the head-scratching mathematics behind your favourite puzzles

#218The 2023 Nobel Prize winners have been announced. Winners of the science prizes include two scientists who helped develop mRNA... more

06 Oct 2023 · 34 minutes
CultureLab: Surviving the climate crisis – Michael Mann’s hopeful lessons from Earth’s deep history

Our planet has gone through a lot. If we peer into the deep history of Earth’s climate, we see ice... more

02 Oct 2023 · 26 minutes
Weekly: Antimatter falls down; Virtual healthcare comes with a price; What’s causing Europe’s insect apocalypse?

#217Antimatter is the counterpart to regular matter, but with an opposite electric charge, as well as other differences. So if... more

29 Sep 2023 · 24 minutes
Dead Planets Society: #6 Make Venus Earth Again

Are the stresses of life getting too much? Fancy a relaxing getaway to a planet with stifling sulfuric acid clouds,... more

25 Sep 2023 · 20 minutes
Weekly: First ever RNA from an extinct animal; big news about small solar system objects; “brainless” jellyfish can still learn

#216For the first time ever, a team has extracted RNA from an extinct animal. Thylacines, or Tasmanian tigers, are carnivorous... more

22 Sep 2023 · 25 minutes
CultureLab: Real Life Supervillains - John Scalzi on the science of volcano lairs and sentient dolphin minions

You’re in the volcano lair of an evil supervillain, hellbent on taking over the world. In anger, he hurls one... more

18 Sep 2023 · 22 minutes
Weekly: Science that makes you laugh (and think); black holes behaving badly; drumming cockatoos

#215A smart toilet with a camera inside that analyses your poop, plus a study of people who are fluent in... more

15 Sep 2023 · 28 minutes
Dead Planets Society: #5 The Return of Pluto

Join Leah and Chelsea as they belatedly mourn the loss of Pluto as a planet. Back in 2006, Pluto was... more

11 Sep 2023 · 21 minutes
Weekly: New type of brain cell; Alaska’s first bridge over a moving glacier; quantum batteries that never age

#214A multi-talented brain cell has been discovered – and it’s a hybrid of the two we already know about, neurons... more

08 Sep 2023 · 29 minutes
CultureLab: The weird ways animals sense the world – Ed Yong on his book An Immense World

Whether it’s the hidden colours of ultraviolet that bees can see, the complex rhythms and tones of birdsong that we’re... more

05 Sep 2023 · 34 minutes
Weekly: Our ancestors nearly went extinct?; Why beer goggles aren’t real; Smelling ancient Egyptian perfume

#213Our ancestors may have very nearly gone extinct. Around a million years ago, there were just 1300 humans left and... more

01 Sep 2023 · 27 minutes
Dead Planets Society #4: Asteroid Gong

In an unexpected twist of empathy, Leah and Chelsea are putting their heads together to save the Earth… yes, you... more

28 Aug 2023 · 14 minutes
Weekly: India lands on the moon; Placenta cells could heal the heart; Mind-altering drugs and binge drinking on the rise

#212India is celebrating after successfully - and gently - landing on the Moon. A huge win for the country, which... more

25 Aug 2023 · 25 minutes
CultureLab: Must watch science shows – the best TV of 2023

Struggling to choose what to watch? Whether it’s sci-fi, medical dramas or documentaries about the natural world, we’ve got you... more

22 Aug 2023 · 28 minutes
Weekly: Climate Special - an antidote for doom; plus the key ingredient for alien technology, and surprising revelations about an ancient tattooed mummy

#211The hottest July on record, a global surge in wildfires, bleached corals and collapsed cactuses - the story of climate... more

18 Aug 2023 · 32 minutes
Dead Planets Society #3: Gravitational Wave Apocalypse

As if burrowing through a planet and blowing up the sun weren’t enough… This time, Chelsea and Leah hope to... more

14 Aug 2023 · 16 minutes
Weekly: Ultra-processed foods not so bad?; Another milestone toward fusion power; Mapping the genes we know nothing about

#210Ultra-processed foods are bad for us and we should avoid them at all costs – right? Well, it’s actually not... more

11 Aug 2023 · 25 minutes
CultureLab: Adventures of a prehistoric girl – Alice Roberts on her new book Wolf Road

Scientist and broadcaster Alice Roberts has written her first children’s book. The fictional tale follows prehistoric girl Tuuli, and captures... more

07 Aug 2023 · 19 minutes
Weekly: Surprise superconductor claims put to the test; Alzheimer’s test goes on sale; how NASA (briefly) lost Voyager 2

#209The saga of the room-temperature superconductor continues. The creators of a new material called LK-99 maintain that it perfectly conducts... more

04 Aug 2023 · 32 minutes
Dead Planets Society #2: Punch A Hole in a Planet

In this episode of Dead Planets Society, Leah and Chelsea embark on a boring journey… no, as in they literally... more

31 Jul 2023 · 21 minutes
Weekly: Cheaper cures for many diseases; How to understand the superconductor ‘breakthrough’; Hear a star twinkle

New Scientist Weekly #208Better and cheaper treatments for everything from sickle cell disease to ageing should come as a result... more

28 Jul 2023 · 27 minutes
CultureLab: Oppenheimer – The rise and fall of the “father of the atomic bomb”

First J. Robert Oppenheimer created the weapon, then he fought for years to warn of its dangers. During the second... more

24 Jul 2023 · 25 minutes
Weekly: How to measure consciousness; Nature-made graphene; New sabretooth cats

New Scientist Weekly #206A major theory of consciousness is being put to the test with brain scans. Integrated information theory... more

21 Jul 2023 · 30 minutes
Dead Planets Society #1: Kill The Sun

The sun is the centre of our solar system, the parent body to all the planets, unquestionably the most important... more

17 Jul 2023 · 19 minutes
Weekly: JWST’s amazing year; Giant sloth jewellery; $1million mathematics prize

New Scientist Weekly #205Following a year of incredible, awe-inspiring images from deep space, the team is celebrating the 1st birthday... more

14 Jul 2023 · 29 minutes
CultureLab: Earth’s Deep History: Chris Packham on the epic and tumultuous story of our planet

Our world has led a long, sometimes tumultuous, and always complicated life. Over the last four billion years, Earth’s geology... more

11 Jul 2023 · 19 minutes
Weekly: Earth breaks heat records; Quantum LiDAR for self-driving cars; Cryptography in pre-Viking runic writing

New Scientist Weekly #203July has become a record-busting month. In fact, this month has seen the hottest global average temperatures... more

07 Jul 2023 · 24 minutes
Weekly: New era in gravitational astronomy; Upending stereotypes of women in hunter-gatherer societies; Orangutan beatboxing and human speech origins

New Scientist Weekly #202In a potentially era-defining scientific breakthrough, we are now able to detect some of the biggest objects... more

30 Jun 2023 · 30 minutes
Weekly: The truth behind the orca uprising; Earth enters uncharted territory; genetic treatments for unborn babies.

New Scientist Weekly #201A new therapy is being used to treat a rare genetic disorder in babies, before they’ve even... more

22 Jun 2023 · 29 minutes
Weekly: Claims that secret alien technology is held in the US; link between gut bacteria and intelligence; the parasite that makes ants live longer

New Scientist Weekly #200Always trust your gut! A recent study shows that the composition of our gut microbiome may be... more

15 Jun 2023 · 22 minutes
#199 Being Human: Lewis Dartnell on how our biology shapes our actions

Are humans the product of their environment, or do we shape the world around us? Lewis Dartnell, author of a... more

13 Jun 2023 · 18 minutes
#198 Giant: An opera about the legacy of the ‘Irish giant’ Charles Byrne and the surgeon John Hunter

Welcome to CultureLab, from New Scientist podcasts. In this episode, culture and comment editor Alison Flood speaks with composer Sarah... more

08 Jun 2023 · 20 minutes
#197 Ancient human Homo naledi had advanced culture; AI passes the world’s biggest Turing Test; climate change hits New York

A species of ancient human with a brain the size of a chimpanzee’s is upending what we thought we knew... more

08 Jun 2023 · 29 minutes
#196 Animal Liberation Now: Peter Singer on eating and living ethically

What does it mean to eat and live ethically in today’s world? In 1975, Australian philosopher Peter Singer published his landmark... more

05 Jun 2023 · 28 minutes
#195 Breakthrough in suspended animation; treatment using stem cells from umbilical cord; moon dust threat

Suspended animation - the stuff of science-fiction, or a real-world solution to surviving long voyages into deep space? Actually it’s... more

01 Jun 2023 · 23 minutes
#194 Rewilding special: a night in the beaver pen at the rewilded Knepp Estate

The world is undergoing a catastrophic biodiversity crisis, and the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the... more

26 May 2023 · 31 minutes
#193 Drug that could cure obesity; world’s largest organism; octopus dreams; mood-enhancing non-alcoholic drink

A new class of drugs that can reliably help you lose weight are generating great excitement in the fight against... more

25 May 2023 · 28 minutes
#192 Life-extending mutation; Kangaroo poo transplant for cows; irregular sleep linked to increased risk of death

Want to live 20 percent longer? Well, it may be possible in the future thanks to a new discovery. A... more

18 May 2023 · 18 minutes
#191 Special episode: the most mind-bending concepts in science

On this bonus episode of the podcast we present a guide on how to think about some of the most... more

11 May 2023 · 18 minutes
#190 Problems for lab-grown meat; do we need vitamin D supplements?; waking the sleeping Arctic ocean; fish sing for Eurovision

Lab-grown meat may be cruelty free, but is it really better for the environment? Not at the moment. In fact,... more

11 May 2023 · 27 minutes
#189 Spinal cord stimulation: bringing movement back to paralysed stroke survivors

Spinal cord stimulation has, for the first time, been shown to help two people with upper body paralysis due to... more

04 May 2023 · 22 minutes
#188 Consciousness measured at point of death; the lifeform with seven genomes; impact of Covid on the gut

From bright lights at the end of a tunnel, to hearing dead loved ones, there are many common sensations related... more

04 May 2023 · 21 minutes
#187 CultureLab: The Power of Trees with Peter Wohlleben

As humans are responsible for the devastation of the world’s forests, surely it’s our job, then, to step in and... more

28 Apr 2023 · 13 minutes
#186 Private space company crashes on the moon; hypnotherapy as anaesthetic; record-breaking ocean warming; Rosalind Franklin and DNA

With SpaceX’s Starship blowing up, and ispace’s lander crashing into the moon, in the last week two of the most... more

27 Apr 2023 · 28 minutes
#185 CultureLab: Cosmo Sheldrake on capturing the sounds of our oceans

Have you ever stopped to think about what life underwater sounds like? Well, now is your chance to hear it first-hand... more

26 Apr 2023 · 19 minutes
#184 Dead Ringers TV review: Revolutionising the future of reproductive health

Based on the 1988 David Cronenberg film, the new six-part TV series Dead Ringers tells the story of identical twin... more

23 Apr 2023 · 13 minutes
#183 How To Blow Up A Pipeline film review: Is it time for more radical climate activism?

With action on climate change moving so slowly, is it time for more radical activism? Have we been left with... more

20 Apr 2023 · 18 minutes
#182 3D-printing inside living organisms; what ChatGPT means for human intelligence; why insects fly towards light; carbon storage in the oceans

We’ve all seen the moths gather around the kitchen light or campfire flame at night, but have you ever wondered... more

20 Apr 2023 · 28 minutes
#181 New York goes quantum; a tipping point in human culture; JUICE mission to Jupiter

How many people can we physically feed on Earth? As the global population is predicted to reach 11 billion by... more

13 Apr 2023 · 29 minutes
#180 Maximum human lifespan; a twist on a classic physics experiment; saving the kākāpō

How long can a human live for? The world record is 122 years, and while some people believe our bodies... more

06 Apr 2023 · 21 minutes
#179 Black holes older than time; nine animals to save the climate; the largest creature ever to walk the Earth

Sea otters, American bison and grey wolves are among nine groups of animals that could help fight climate change. The... more

30 Mar 2023 · 31 minutes
#178 Botox affects your understanding of emotions; GPT-4 exhibits human-level intelligence; IPCC climate change report 2023

As countries continue dragging their feet on emissions reductions, the latest  synthesis report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change... more

23 Mar 2023 · 28 minutes
#177 Field report from the High Arctic: polar bears and melting glaciers in Svalbard

In this bonus episode, join host Rowan Hooper as he ventures to Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago in the far north,... more

21 Mar 2023 · 17 minutes
#176 Human organoids are new AI frontier; Listening to the big bang through the cosmic microwave background

Brainoids - tiny clumps of human brain cells - are being turned into living artificial intelligence machines, capable of carrying... more

16 Mar 2023 · 28 minutes
#175 Living Off-Earth: Ethical questions for living in outer space with Erika Nesvold

Whether it’s on the Moon, Mars or somewhere even more distant, we may see human settlements in space in our... more

15 Mar 2023 · 25 minutes
#174 Finding the universe’s missing matter; saving babies’ lives by sequencing their genomes; the earliest horse riders - the latest news in science

Matter we’ve long thought missing from galaxies has finally been found. Great news…except there’s one catch. It turns out that... more

09 Mar 2023 · 26 minutes
#173 Understanding chronic health conditions; Artificial sweetener linked to heart attacks; Re-thinking galaxies; UN geoengineering report

As millions of people around the world suffer from long covid, research into how viruses trigger chronic health conditions is... more

02 Mar 2023 · 28 minutes
#172 Bio-electric special: how the electricity inside you shapes your body and your health

On this bonus episode of the podcast, host Rowan Hooper sits down with New Scientist magazine editor Cat de Lange,... more

28 Feb 2023 · 17 minutes
#171 Earth’s mysterious “dark biome” and the search for life on Mars; Quantum computers; Judge Dredd predicts the future - the latest news in science

While testing samples in the Atacama desert, a region of Earth with very similar rocks to those on Mars, astrobiologists... more

23 Feb 2023 · 24 minutes
#170 How Venice is confronting climate change and adapting to the rising seas

Venice, Italy, is often voted the world’s most beautiful city. Built across 120 small islands in a shallow lagoon, it’s... more

20 Feb 2023 · 22 minutes
#169 Why the US is shooting down UFOs; the science behind period cravings; saving the UK’s rivers

The UK’s rivers are in a dire state. Full of sewage, chemicals and prescription drugs, life in our rivers is... more

16 Feb 2023 · 28 minutes
#168 Polar Sounds: Rare underwater noises from the Arctic and Antarctic

Hear the chattering sounds of a narwhal, the surprisingly tuneful tones of singing sea ice, and the alarming crashes of... more

13 Feb 2023 · 17 minutes
#167 Bird flu in mammals, the cause of sunquakes, and the entropy of consciousness – the latest news in science

The continuing avian flu epidemic is devastating bird populations. And now there are concerns over increasing numbers of mammals becoming... more

09 Feb 2023 · 19 minutes
#166 Immune systems: Is yours weak or strong and how can you boost your immune system to fight disease?

The immune system is the intricate constellation of cells and molecules in our bodies that defends us against disease and... more

07 Feb 2023 · 29 minutes
#165 Water dowsing to detect leaks; Astroforge going asteroid mining; AI discovers new bacteria-killing proteins – the latest news in science

An ancient and debunked method of searching for water leaks is still being used by some of the UK’s water... more

02 Feb 2023 · 24 minutes
#164 The Last of Us: the science of a fungal zombie apocalypse

The new HBO series The Last of Us is making waves, raking in a steady stream of high reviews. Based... more

30 Jan 2023 · 18 minutes
#163 Antidepressants; Exoplanets; California’s megadroughts – the latest news in science

A vaccine for the respiratory virus RSV may be ready this year. In fact, after decades of efforts, successful vaccines... more

26 Jan 2023 · 22 minutes
#162 How to trigger positive tipping points to tackle climate change

On this special episode of the show, host Rowan Hooper and environment reporter Madeleine Cuff chat with climate scientist Tim Lenton of... more

25 Jan 2023 · 27 minutes
#161 What they don’t tell you about the climate crisis with Assaad Razzouk

In this bonus episode of the podcast, hear Rowan Hooper’s extended interview with Assaad Razzouk, author of Saving the Planet... more

23 Jan 2023 · 19 minutes
#160 Rejuvenation treatments; world to breach 1.5 degrees of global heating

A cure for ageing, without the price-tag? It might sound too good to be true, but the team digs into... more

19 Jan 2023 · 26 minutes
#159 Aboriginal stories describe ancient climate change and sea level rise in Australia

In this bonus episode of the podcast, hear an extended interview with Cassie Lynch, a descendent of the Noongar people... more

16 Jan 2023 · 18 minutes
#158 Exxon’s 1970s predictions for climate change were super accurate

Scientists working for oil giant Exxon between 1977 and 2003 accurately predicted the pace and scale of climate change and... more

12 Jan 2023 · 17 minutes
#157 Computer lawyer takes first court case; brains speed up with age

Will artificial intelligence replace lawyers in the future? The team learns about a new, chat-bot style bit of tech that... more

12 Jan 2023 · 25 minutes
#156: What you need to know in science and culture for 2023

To see in the New Year, host Rowan Hooper and the team look ahead to their science and cultural highlights... more

05 Jan 2023 · 26 minutes
#155: Our five favourite New Scientist long-reads from 2022

A holiday special of the podcast and a free-gift giveaway this week, as we celebrate five of New Scientist’s best... more

25 Dec 2022 · 26 minutes
#154: News review 2022 - stand-out moments and funniest stories

Recorded live online for New Scientist subscribers, in this holiday special the team takes you through their stand out moments... more

21 Dec 2022 · 30 minutes
#153: Fusion breakthrough; COP15 report; Shakespeare and climate change

There’s been an exciting breakthrough in nuclear fusion. For the first time on Earth, a controlled fusion reaction has generated... more

15 Dec 2022 · 33 minutes
#152 Ancient species of human could control fire; complete brain map of fly

An extinct species of ancient human may have been much more advanced than we first realised. First discovered 10 years... more

07 Dec 2022 · 31 minutes
#151 COP15: the meeting to save life on Earth; anti-ageing properties of urine

Following repeated delays, the COP15 biodiversity conference is finally going ahead. On December 7th representatives from most of the countries... more

01 Dec 2022 · 25 minutes
#150 Megadrought in the US; how to move an elephant

The southwestern US is currently in the midst of a megadrought - the worst in 1200 years. And it has... more

24 Nov 2022 · 26 minutes
#149 COP27 treaty emerges; a method to discover wormholes

Cheering greeted Brazil’s president-elect, Lula da Silva, when he appeared at COP27 this week. Madeleine Cuff brings us a report... more

17 Nov 2022 · 31 minutes
#148 Climate action from COP27; world population reaches 8 billion

Warnings over the world’s mad dash to create new supplies of fossil fuels, discussions about climate loss and damage, and... more

10 Nov 2022 · 28 minutes
#147 The oldest yew trees in Europe – and how to save them

In a special episode of the podcast, host Rowan Hooper visits Newlands Corner in the North Downs in southern England,... more

07 Nov 2022 · 11 minutes
#146 Accelerated end to fossil fuel; double discovery on Mars

Spurred on by the war in Ukraine, we’re seeing a worldwide shift to green energy, with the global demand of... more

03 Nov 2022 · 22 minutes
#145 COP27 climate summit preview; unexpected animal sounds

It’s already been a year since COP26, with its successor COP27 gearing up to begin on 6 November. 12 months... more

27 Oct 2022 · 22 minutes
#144 Geoengineering plan to slow the melt of arctic ice

An extended bonus episode of the podcast, where we learn more about proposals to slow the rate of ice loss... more

23 Oct 2022 · 25 minutes
#143 Bird flu sweeps UK; secrets of the Neanderthal family

Wild bird populations have been devastated by an avian flu variant that’s sweeping the UK - and more than 3.5... more

20 Oct 2022 · 26 minutes
#142: We need to talk about mental health and climate change

In 2022, for the first time, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change included mental health as part of its assessment... more

17 Oct 2022 · 17 minutes
#141 Energy threat to international security; a new form of multiplication

The climate crisis is as great a threat to energy security as Russia’s war on Ukraine, warns the World Meteorological... more

13 Oct 2022 · 30 minutes
#140 New Scientist Live Ask-us-Anything bonus episode

At New Scientist Live we invited you to ask our journalists anything - and at two packed out sessions, you... more

11 Oct 2022 · 21 minutes
#139 Gas leak impact on climate change; a new way to explain life

Exploding gas pipelines have signalled a new environmental disaster. Nord Stream 1 and 2 have both sprung leaks, with many... more

06 Oct 2022 · 28 minutes
#138 UK government’s attack on nature; when you can’t stop laughing

The UK government is being accused of mounting an attack against nature. Environmental charities claim a raft of newly announced... more

29 Sep 2022 · 23 minutes
#137 How to turn the shipping industry green; Enceladus passes habitability test

‘Get it Done’ is the theme for this year’s Climate Week in New York, with hundreds of events taking place... more

22 Sep 2022 · 26 minutes
#136 A step towards building artificial life; solar-powered slugs

Ribosomes are tiny protein-making factories found inside cells, and a crucial component of life. And now a team of scientists... more

15 Sep 2022 · 23 minutes
#135 The Amazon passes a tipping point; a place to live only 100 light years away

The Amazon rainforest may have passed the tipping point that will flip it into savannah. A new report suggests that... more

08 Sep 2022 · 27 minutes
#134 Artemis moon mission; decoding the dreams of mice

The launch of NASA’s Artemis moon rocket didn’t go to plan this week. The team looks at the problems that... more

31 Aug 2022 · 25 minutes
#133 A treatment for food allergies; predicting earthquakes

There may be a way of treating, or even preventing, food allergies. A promising new trial has used a fat... more

24 Aug 2022 · 26 minutes
#132 Impact of drought; monkeys using sex toys

Droughts in many parts of Europe are the worst in 500 years. Even as temperatures begin to cool and some... more

17 Aug 2022 · 28 minutes
#131 Why thinking hard tires you out; game-changing US climate bill

The US is about to pass an historic piece of climate legislation. The Inflation Reduction Act allocates $370 billion to... more

11 Aug 2022 · 30 minutes
#130 How to reverse death; Neil Gaiman on Sandman; AlphaFold and biology’s revolution; life in the multiverse with Laura Mersini-Houghton

A new type of artificial blood has been created which, in the future, could bring people back from the dead... more

04 Aug 2022 · 33 minutes
#129 BlueDot special: Mysteries of the universe; stories of hope and joy; growing tiny human brains; solving global problems

Welcome to a special edition of the show recorded live at the bluedot music festival. On the panel are New... more

28 Jul 2022 · 45 minutes
#128 Extreme heatwaves; China’s space station launch; covid’s effects in pregnancy; a black hole symphony

Following scolding 40 degree record temperatures, it’s clear the UK is not set up to deal with such heat. But... more

21 Jul 2022 · 23 minutes
#127: Pig hearts transplanted into dead people; James Webb Space Telescope gives best-ever view of the universe; boosting wheat genetics to feed the world

After the first pig-human transplant patient died just 2 months after receiving his new heart, researchers are now testing modified... more

14 Jul 2022 · 27 minutes
#126: Are we stuck in a time loop? Legal action against climate change; covid fifth wave; time loop are we stuck?

Ten years since the discovery of the fabled Higgs boson, can the Large Hadron Collider ever make us that excited... more

07 Jul 2022 · 30 minutes
#125: Poo transplants cure IBS; climate change shrinks the human niche; CRISPR babies; monkeypox latest

The world’s first CRISPR babies are now toddlers. Now, nearly four years since the super-controversial experiment was announced, scientists in... more

30 Jun 2022 · 28 minutes
#124: Lopsided universe; solar activity affects heart health; hero rats trained for rescue missions

If you like things orderly, we have bad news for you - our universe is lopsided. Based on everything we... more

23 Jun 2022 · 28 minutes
#123: ‘Sentient’ claim for Google AI; spacecraft spots starquakes; the rise of the mammals; hot brains

How will we know when we’ve made a truly sentient artificial intelligence? Well, one Google engineer believes we’re already there.... more

16 Jun 2022 · 28 minutes
#122: The science of Top Gun; the 1.5°C climate goal is out of reach; return to the moon; hepatitis mystery

While it may be technically possible to keep global heating to 1.5°C it’s really not very likely - at all.... more

09 Jun 2022 · 27 minutes
#121: Creation of artificial life; gene therapy saves children’s lives; new understanding of chronic pain

Synthetic cell membranes have been fused with protein machinery from living cells to create an artificial membrane. Could this be... more

01 Jun 2022 · 30 minutes
#120: DeepMind claims artificial intelligence breakthrough; searching for ancient life on Mars; Stonehenge surprise; monkeypox latest

DeepMind’s new artificial intelligence, Gato, is a step beyond anything we’ve seen before. But how close has it brought us... more

26 May 2022 · 29 minutes
#119: How to tackle the global food crisis; rainforest animal orchestra; George Monbiot on humanity’s biggest blight

We’re in the middle of a global food crisis, brought on by a combination of the coronavirus pandemic, climate change... more

19 May 2022 · 26 minutes
#118: Heatwaves push limits of human tolerance; chemical computer to mimic brain; first non-human to practice medicine

It feels like temperature records are being broken almost daily. We’ve seen heatwaves already this year in Texas and Mexico,... more

12 May 2022 · 28 minutes
#117: US threat to women’s health; saving the world with bacteria; Darwinian feminism and primate gender; invasion of the earthworms

Women’s abortion rights are under threat in the US. Leaked documents suggest the Supreme Court is on the verge of... more

05 May 2022 · 25 minutes
#116: DNA from outer space; Devi Sridhar on covid lessons; climate change in an Oxford wood

Could life on Earth have an extraterrestrial origin? The team revisits this ancient theory as we’ve now found all four... more

28 Apr 2022 · 31 minutes
#115: Quantum consciousness; next decade of space exploration; songs played on rat whiskers

What is consciousness? We’ve discussed many theories on the podcast, but in this episode the team explores a particularly bonkers... more

21 Apr 2022 · 28 minutes
#114: A message to aliens, phage therapy for acne, calibrating the world’s oldest computer

Two teams are developing messages to send into space, in the hope that some advanced alien civilization will be able... more

14 Apr 2022 · 18 minutes
#113: Climate change: suing governments to cut emissions; shock discovery in particle physics; a new function for dreams

The latest major report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is out, and the message is clear. Time is... more

07 Apr 2022 · 27 minutes
#112: Gene therapy success; biodiversity talks; the genetics of blood sucking; the farthest star ever seen

A world-first gene therapy has been used to successfully treat a rare genetic skin disease. Referred to as “the worst... more

31 Mar 2022 · 25 minutes
#111: Antarctic and Arctic record-breaking heat; octopus brains insight; black hole paradox explained

Extreme weather events have been recorded at both of Earth’s polar regions, as the Arctic and Antarctic are hit by... more

24 Mar 2022 · 27 minutes
#110: Solution for Ukraine food crisis; why young blood rejuvenates; climate horror in Australia; Hannah Peel’s new music

As 10 percent of the world’s wheat comes from Ukraine, Russia’s attack on the country could spark global food shortages.... more

18 Mar 2022 · 28 minutes
#109: Ukraine war stokes energy crisis; emergency sounded over Amazon rainforest; secular intelligent design; mammalian virgin birth

The war in Ukraine has sparked an energy crisis, as European countries attempt to cut ties with Russia. The team... more

11 Mar 2022 · 31 minutes
#108: Ukraine: health crisis and threat of nuclear war; IPCC report on limits to climate adaptation; Wuhan origin of covid

As the war in Ukraine intensifies, Vladimir Putin raised Russia’s nuclear readiness level. The team discusses what this means about... more

04 Mar 2022 · 32 minutes
#107: Ukraine invasion: cyberwar threat and effect on climate targets; Covid pandemic isn’t over; how we sense pain

Russia has begun its invasion of Ukraine, a move which will have far reaching consequences. The team discusses two of... more

25 Feb 2022 · 32 minutes
#106: Saving children from cancer; new ways to remove greenhouse gases; brain growth in adults

Children with some of the most aggressive forms of cancer are being saved by a personalised medicine treatment programme in... more

18 Feb 2022 · 30 minutes
#105: Electrodes treat paralysis; first detected isolated black hole; the ancient human inhabitants of a French cave; breakthroughs in transplant organs from pigs; why you should pick up your dog’s poo

Three men paralysed from the waist down have regained their ability to walk. They’re the subjects of a breakthrough operation... more

11 Feb 2022 · 25 minutes
#104: Gene variant for extreme old age, gravitational waves and dark matter, what fruit flies tell us about nature and nurture

The quest for a longer life continues - raising the question of whether we can escape death. The team discusses... more

04 Feb 2022 · 28 minutes
#103: How covid affects brain function; glacier loss on Svalbard; start of the Anthropocene; hottest life on Earth

Covid-19 can have profound consequences for the brain, and now we’re beginning to understand why. The team explains how the... more

28 Jan 2022 · 32 minutes
#102: Living with covid; Tonga eruption; neutral atom quantum computers; phage therapy for superbugs; AI with Beth Singler

We’re being told we have to “learn to live with covid”, but what exactly does that mean? In this episode... more

21 Jan 2022 · 27 minutes
#101: Man gets first pig heart transplant; robot therapy for mental health; omicron update; dolphin sexual pleasure

David Bennett has become the first person in history to have a pig to human heart transplant. Scientists have edited... more

14 Jan 2022 · 32 minutes
#100: New Scientist journalists pick out their scientific and cultural highlights for 2022

In this special episode the team looks ahead to the next 12 months, sharing the science and cultural events they’re... more

07 Jan 2022 · 23 minutes
#99: The legendary New Scientist end-of-year holiday party and quiz

What a year 2021 has been. For our final podcast of the year, we’re signing off with a party and... more

24 Dec 2021 · 39 minutes
#98: Brain cells wired to the Matrix; omicron latest; how to make truly intelligent machines; the mysterious border between sleep and wake

In a step towards creating intelligent cyborg brains, Cortical Labs in Melbourne have trained lab-grown brain organoids to play a... more

17 Dec 2021 · 25 minutes
#97: The latest on omicron; Don’t Look Up review; Steven Pinker on human rationality; the sound of melting glaciers

Omicron is spreading quickly and once again we’re facing another wave of infections and restrictions over the holiday period. The... more

10 Dec 2021 · 27 minutes
#96: What does the rise of omicron mean for us?; living robots able to reproduce; mini black holes and the end of the universe

Omicron, a new covid-19 variant of concern, has become the most common variant in South Africa and is spreading fast.... more

03 Dec 2021 · 23 minutes
#95: The origin of coronavirus; how red light boosts eyesight; deflecting asteroids; body chemical changes human behaviour

Where did covid-19 really come from? Well, the team explains why the wet market in Wuhan is back on top... more

26 Nov 2021 · 26 minutes
#94: IBM’s huge quantum computer, Russia’s anti-satellite weapon, the verdict on COP26, AI predicting the next legal highs

The race for quantum supremacy continues, with IBM setting a new benchmark for processing power. But the new supercomputer hasn’t... more

19 Nov 2021 · 27 minutes
#93: COP26 special, week 2: voices from the Global South; what does the Glasgow Accord look like - and where does it go from here on climate action

Young climate activists from nations bearing the brunt of climate change speak out. In this COP26 special, hear the moving... more

12 Nov 2021 · 36 minutes
#92: COP26 week 1 special from Glasgow; first Earthlings to go interstellar; genetically engineered microbes for our cells

It’s the most consequential climate meeting in a generation. COP26 is underway and we’re bringing you special episodes of the... more

05 Nov 2021 · 33 minutes
#91: Earth heading for climate disaster; Kim Stanley Robinson looks to the future; hunt for aliens; Tesla worth $1 trillion

The Earth could be heading for disaster. In the lead up to COP26 the team discusses The Emissions Gap, a... more

28 Oct 2021 · 25 minutes
#90: COP26 climate playlist; the science of Dune; life-saving treatment for children without immune systems; covid sweeps Iran

In rare cases children can be born without an immune system, and sadly their chances are very bad. Fortunately the... more

21 Oct 2021 · 28 minutes
#89: Climate-ready food of the future; the biology of poverty; deepfake audio; mystery cosmic signal; Captain Kirk in space

Breadfruit could help us weather the storm of climate change. The team hears how the tropical fruit is tough enough... more

14 Oct 2021 · 21 minutes
#88: Should climate activism go to extreme levels?; malaria vaccine; new drugs to treat covid; mission to the asteroid belt

The team opens with the welcome news that after 37 years of development, the world’s first malaria vaccine has been... more

07 Oct 2021 · 27 minutes
#87: Mini black holes impacting the moon; first CRISPR gene-edited food goes on sale; why leaves turn brown in autumn

CRISPR gene-edited food has gone on sale commercially for the first time. The team finds out about this ‘super tomato’... more

30 Sep 2021 · 27 minutes
#86: The woman who couldn’t smell; solving the climate and biodiversity emergencies; China’s quantum of solace

Imagine going your whole life without being able to smell - and then suddenly you can. The team tells the... more

23 Sep 2021 · 27 minutes
#85: The violent frontline of climate change; bringing back the mammoth; another first for SpaceX

In some parts of the world, taking a stand for the planet can be incredibly dangerous. This week we hear... more

16 Sep 2021 · 31 minutes
#84: Health benefits of male flatulence; cave dwellings on Mars; covid booster shots

Great news for the more flatulent among us - breaking wind is a sign of good gut bacterial health. The... more

09 Sep 2021 · 26 minutes
#83: Low carbon shipping; Anil Seth on consciousness; humanity’s ancient history in Arabia; quantum gravity

A bold move from the world’s largest shipping company could have big implications for the planet . Maersk has bought... more

02 Sep 2021 · 30 minutes
#82: Taliban seize Afghan biometric equipment; uploading our brains to machines; investigating Nazi uranium

Equipment from a massive biometrics programme in Afghanistan has been seized by the Taliban. From police and election commission programmes,... more

26 Aug 2021 · 25 minutes
#81: Breakthrough in nuclear fusion; mini human brain grown with eyes; rapid evolution of synthetic bacteria

Recreating the power of the sun, the dream of nuclear fusion - it’s a dream we’re inching ever closer to.... more

19 Aug 2021 · 29 minutes
#80: Analysis of IPCC climate report; the rise of synthetic milk; discovery of new carnivorous plant

A lead author of the latest IPCC climate report, Tamsin Edwards, joins the team for a special episode of the... more

12 Aug 2021 · 28 minutes
#79: Google creates a time crystal; microplastics in human placenta; boosting China’s vaccines; our climate future

As severe weather events around the world give us a very real taste of the devastating effects of climate change,... more

05 Aug 2021 · 23 minutes
#78: Will covid evolve to evade vaccines?; the oldest animal fossils ever found; predicting climate change’s extreme weather

More than a week since England lifted its covid restrictions, infection numbers in the UK are very high. The team... more

29 Jul 2021 · 27 minutes
#77: Is dropping covid restrictions unethical?; methane hints to life on Mars; Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin’s road to space

Freedom day arrived in England this week, as the country dropped most covid restrictions. But as cases continue to rise... more

22 Jul 2021 · 24 minutes
#76: Harm of race-based medicine; space tourism industry is go; America’s heatwave challenges

Race-based medical practises are being challenged more and more, as it becomes increasingly clear they have little basis in science.... more

15 Jul 2021 · 22 minutes
#75: Vaccine for kids; legacy of Dolly the sheep; how to repair the climate; China’s quantum advantage

In the UK, rules around attendance at schools after a covid outbreak are changing, but the country still hasn’t decided... more

08 Jul 2021 · 27 minutes
#74: ‘Dragon man’ could be new species of human; Wally Funk goes to space; human and financial cost of heatwave; how covid affects the brain

A unique kind of human skull has been discovered in China. The team describes the details of this skull, known... more

01 Jul 2021 · 23 minutes
#73: How to treat long covid; evolution of cooperation; Turing’s ACE computer; aliens watching Earth

The symptoms of long covid are diverse and numerous, and we’re still getting to grips with a clinical definition. Adam... more

24 Jun 2021 · 30 minutes
#72: The evil in all of us; delta variant of coronavirus; glacier memory project

The delta variant of covid-19 has torn across India, and is making its way around the globe, forcing the extension... more

17 Jun 2021 · 27 minutes
#71: Alzheimer’s treatment approved; human brain map breakthrough; time flowing backwards

For the first time in 18 years, a new drug for Alzheimer’s disease has been approved by the US Food... more

10 Jun 2021 · 28 minutes
#70: Coronavirus origin story; Big Oil’s nightmare; history of the gender pain gap

From a bat… or from a lab? It seemed the question of where SARS-CoV-2 originated had been settled, but recently... more

03 Jun 2021 · 26 minutes
#69: Coronavirus evolution; geoengineering and food supply; Alice Roberts on the revolution in archaeology

A new variant of coronavirus which originated in India is spreading rapidly. The team explains how both this new mutation... more

27 May 2021 · 26 minutes
#68: Climate change and methane mystery; breathable liquid; covid vaccines

When it comes to climate change, carbon dioxide usually gets the spotlight, but methane, although shorter-lived in the atmosphere, is... more

20 May 2021 · 22 minutes
#67: Brain plasticity; entropy and the nature of time; vaccine booster shots

Efforts to fight covid-19 won’t stop even when everyone is vaccinated. There’s a good chance we’ll need vaccine booster shots... more

13 May 2021 · 27 minutes
#66: Sea level rise; Bitcoin carbon pollution; how to measure self-awareness

The most detailed analysis yet of global warming and sea level rise has been published. The paper’s lead author, Tamsin... more

06 May 2021 · 27 minutes
#65: Chernobyl radiation safety; Chinese space station; wisdom of trees

It’s been 35 years since the devastating explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. But new research shows there has... more

29 Apr 2021 · 29 minutes
#64: Earth Day rescue plan: climate change and biodiversity special

To mark Earth Day 2021, we’ve assembled a panel of experts to discuss climate change and biodiversity loss - “two... more

22 Apr 2021 · 31 minutes
#63: Musical spider’s webs; magic mushrooms for treating depression; the sound of coronavirus

The vibrations of a spider’s web have been transformed into some spectacularly haunting pieces of music. The team shares the... more

15 Apr 2021 · 26 minutes
#62: Synthetic life; rescue plan for Earth; muon g-2 new physics

Scientists tinkering around with the creation of synthetic life have taken a significant step forward. The team explains how synthetic... more

08 Apr 2021 · 28 minutes
#61: Worse allergies; black hole in our backyard; new flavours of vanilla

Spring has sprung and… ACHOO!! Yep, hay fever is back with a vengeance. This week the team has some bad... more

01 Apr 2021 · 24 minutes
#60: New physics; anti-ageing human embryos; Mars update

The Large Hadron Collider might, just might, have found something that challenges the Standard Model of particle physics. The team... more

26 Mar 2021 · 26 minutes
#59: Vaccine success; hibernation and anti-ageing; world’s first computer

We’re tantalisingly close to resuming normal life, as promising news from Israel has shown that vaccines are swinging the fight... more

19 Mar 2021 · 28 minutes
#58: Covid good news; cold water swimming; quantum unreality

This week: relief and joy for people in the US, with the news that those who’ve had two doses of... more

12 Mar 2021 · 23 minutes
#57: Moon base; Neanderthal speech; Elizabeth Kolbert on geoengineering

Ever looked up at the Moon and thought “I could live there”? Well… this week we hear how Chinese researchers... more

05 Mar 2021 · 28 minutes
#56: How to spend a trillion dollars; landing on Mars; exercise and metabolism myths

What could you do with a trillion dollars? Rowan Hooper tackles this question in his latest book which examines how... more

26 Feb 2021 · 25 minutes
#55: Rescuing nature; Mars missions; new covid mutation

2021 could well go down in history as the year we saved our planet… the alternative really doesn’t bear thinking... more

19 Feb 2021 · 24 minutes
#54: Next-gen vaccines; alien space probes; ethics of fish

Whilst we’ve been celebrating the rollout of the covid-19 vaccines, new variants of the virus have thrown a spanner in... more

12 Feb 2021 · 27 minutes
#53: Pandemic burnout; vaccines for the world; sustainable fuel

By now most of us have felt or are feeling the effects of pandemic burnout. From unexplained exhaustion to emotional... more

05 Feb 2021 · 26 minutes
#52: Life after vaccination; gaslighting; mind reading

A year on from the launch of our podcast, the team reflects on the news highlighted in the first ever... more

29 Jan 2021 · 24 minutes
#51: Covid evolution; new dinosaur; missing genome data

As we continue to discover new mutant variants of the covid-19 virus, the team looks at how these will impact... more

22 Jan 2021 · 26 minutes
#50: Covid vaccine dosing; superconductors; coral restoration

The coronavirus vaccines that have been approved so far all require two doses to be given 3-4 weeks apart. But... more

15 Jan 2021 · 34 minutes
#49: New coronavirus variants

Two fast-spreading variants of coronavirus have been discovered in the UK and South Africa. With case numbers soaring, it’s feared... more

08 Jan 2021 · 26 minutes
#48: Must-know science of 2021

Happy New Year! This special episode previews some of the biggest science stories to keep an eye on over the... more

01 Jan 2021 · 29 minutes
#47: Christmas special quiz of the year

2020 has been unconventional to say the least, and this Christmas special is full of much needed hope, optimism and... more

18 Dec 2020 · 28 minutes
New Scientist Podcasts
#53: Pandemic burnout; vaccines for the world; sustainable fuel
New Scientist Podcasts
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By now most of us have felt or are feeling the effects of pandemic burnout. From unexplained exhaustion to emotional detachment and... more