PODCAST

Science Weekly

The Guardian

Twice a week, the Guardian brings you the latest science and environment news

science

All Episodes

00:16:26

How the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs made ants...

Science Weekly ·

2024/10/22

Madeleine Finlay hears from Ted Schultz, curator of ants at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, about his recent study into the origins of fungi farming in ants. He tells Madeleine about the incredibly complex way that ants cultivate and protect their fungi gardens, and how the asteroid that hit Earth 66 million years ago could have kickstarted it all. Help support our independent journalism at <a

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00:17:23

Is sleep perfectionism making us more exhausted?

Science Weekly ·

2024/10/17

As the sleep tracking industry booms, some worry that it could be driving orthosomnia, the medical term for an unhealthy obsession with attaining perfect sleep, usually driven by a wearable device. Madeleine Finlay speaks to consultant neurologist and sleep physician Dr Guy Leschziner to find out whether this tech is helping or hindering our chances of maximising sleep’s health benefits. Help support our independent journalism at <a

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00:15:22

What Milton and Helene reveal about the future of...

Science Weekly ·

2024/10/15

Ian Sample speaks to Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist at nonprofit Climate Central, about the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season so far, and what it tells us about how hurricanes will behave in future. Help support our independent journalism at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sciencepod">theguardian.com/sciencepod</a>

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00:23:49

All the news and science from the 2024 Nobel prizes

Science Weekly ·

2024/10/09

With awards for the discovery of microRNA and the creation of new proteins, plus recognition for artificial intelligence via the physics and chemistry prizes, Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian science team – Nicola Davis, Ian Sample and Hannah Devlin – as they break down the news, science and surprises from this year’s Nobels. Help support our independent journalism at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sciencepod">theguardian.com/sciencepod</a>

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00:16:09

Could AI help fight conspiracy theories?

Science Weekly ·

2024/10/08

We’re used to hearing about the power of artificial intelligence to spread misinformation – but could it also be a tool for persuading people of the truth? Ian Sample speaks to Thomas Costello, an assistant professor of psychology at American University, who has published a study exploring the potential for AI chatbots to lead people away from conspiracy beliefs. Help support our independent journalism at <a

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00:16:05

Everything you need to know about Covid this autumn

Science Weekly ·

2024/10/03

Madeleine Finlay is joined by Ian Sample, the Guardian’s science editor and Science Weekly co-host, to answer the questions we are all asking about Covid this autumn, from what is going on with the new variant XEC to how to get a vaccine and what scientists think the government should be doing differently. Help support our independent journalism at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sciencepod">theguardian.com/sciencepod</a>

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00:17:52

End of an era: Britain finally says goodbye to coal

Science Weekly ·

2024/09/30

Just before Britain’s last coal-fired power station, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, powered down for the final time, Madeleine Finlay travelled to Nottinghamshire with energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose for a last tour of the site. Britain is the first major economy to move away from coal entirely as it strives to meet the target of net zero by 2030. Jillian and Madeleine speak to employees to find out what working at the plant has meant to them, and how they’re feeling as the closing date approaches. Help

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00:14:40

Is the ocean becoming too acidic to sustain life?

Science Weekly ·

2024/09/26

Industrial civilisation is close to breaching a seventh planetary boundary, and may already have crossed it, according to scientists who have compiled the latest report on the state of the world’s life-support systems. They say ocean acidification is close to critical threshold, posing a threat to marine ecosystems and global liveability. Ian Sample speaks to Prof Helen Findlay, a biological oceanographer at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, to find out why the oceans have reached this state, and

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00:16:09

Are the world’s oldest people really that old?

Science Weekly ·

2024/09/24

Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Saul Newman, an interdisciplinary researcher at University College London and the University of Oxford, who has just won an Ig Nobel prize – given to scientific research that ‘first makes people laugh, and then makes them think’ – for his work showing that many claims of people living extraordinarily long lives come from places with short lifespans, no birth certificates, and where clerical errors and pension fraud abound. He tells Madeleine what happened when he went

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00:36:44

Live episode: will AI make a good companion?

Science Weekly ·

2024/09/21

In a special episode recorded live at the British Science Festival, Madeleine Finlay and guests explore the question: will AI make a good companion? AI could give us new ways to tackle difficult problems, from young people’s mental health issues to isolation in care homes. It also raises challenging questions about the increasing role of tech in our personal lives. To explore these questions, Madeleine is joined by the Guardian’s science editor, Ian Sample; Tony Prescott, a professor of

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00:14:25

The sweeping reorganisation of the brain in...

Science Weekly ·

2024/09/19

Ian Sample talks to Dr Laura Pritschet, a postdoctoral fellow of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, about her research using precision scans to capture the profound changes that sweep across the brain during pregnancy. She explains what this new work reveals about how the brain is reorganised in this period, whether it could it help us better understand conditions like pre-eclampsia and postnatal depression, and why women’s brains have often been overlooked by neuroscience. And

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00:16:52

From dementia to heart disease: could weight-loss...

Science Weekly ·

2024/09/17

They were developed as diabetes drugs, then their potential for promoting significant weight loss became apparent. And now study after study seems to suggest that drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy could have all sorts of health benefits, leading some scientists to hail them a breakthrough that could transform many chronic diseases of ageing. But what’s the mechanism for these effects and is it caused by more than weight loss? The Guardian’s science correspondent Nicola Davis tells Madeleine Finlay

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00:16:37

Transparent skin, bird flu, and why girls’ brains...

Science Weekly ·

2024/09/12

Ian Sample and science correspondent Hannah Devlin discuss some of the science stories that have made headlines this week, from a new technique that uses food colouring to make skin transparent, to the first case of bird flu in a person with no known contact with sick animals, and a study looking at premature brain ageing in young people during Covid. Help support our independent journalism at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sciencepod">theguardian.com/sciencepod</a>

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00:15:58

Into the abyss beneath Greenland’s glaciers

Science Weekly ·

2024/09/10

Environment editor Damian Carrington tells Madeleine Finlay about his recent trip to Greenland on board a ship with a group of intrepid scientists. They were on a mission to explore the maelstrom beneath Greenland’s glaciers, an area that has never been studied before, and were hoping to find answers to one of the world’s most pressing questions – how quickly will sea levels rise?. Help support our independent journalism at <a

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00:16:35

The race to understand mpox

Science Weekly ·

2024/09/05

Last month the World Health Organization declared the recent mpox outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a public health emergency of international concern. As scientists race to find out more about the new strain, Ian Sample talks to Trudie Lang, professor of global health research and director of the global health network at the University of Oxford, to find out what we still need to learn in order to tackle and contain the virus. Help support our independent journalism at

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00:17:40

The arrest of Telegram’s founder, and what it means...

Science Weekly ·

2024/09/03

The arrest of Telegram’s founder and CEO in Paris last month has thrown the spotlight on the messaging app and its approach to content moderation. Madeleine Finlay hears from Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer and technology journalist Alex Hern about how the case could influence how social media companies approach problematic content on their platforms. Help support our independent journalism at <a

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00:18:59

Summer picks: the science of ‘weird shit’

Science Weekly ·

2024/08/29

The psychologist Chris French has spent decades studying paranormal claims and mysterious experiences, from seemingly impossible coincidences to paintings that purportedly predict the future. In this episode from April 2024, Ian Sample sits down with French to explore why so many of us believe in what he terms ‘weird shit’, and what we can learn from understanding why we are drawn to mysterious and mystic phenomena. Help support our independent journalism at <a

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00:20:44

Summer picks: what can our dogs teach us about obesity?

Science Weekly ·

2024/08/27

Labradors are known for being greedy dogs, and now scientists have come up with a theory about the genetic factors that may be behind their behaviour. In this episode from April 2024, the Guardian’s science correspondent and flat-coated retriever owner Nicola Davis visits the University of Cambridge to meet Dr Eleanor Raffan and Prof Giles Yeo to find out how understanding this pathway could help treat the obesity crisis in humans. Help support our independent journalism at <a

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00:19:31

Summer picks: why are so many science papers being...

Science Weekly ·

2024/08/22

A record 10,000 research papers were retracted in 2023. In this episode from February 2024, Ian Sample speaks to Ivan Oransky, whose organisation Retraction Watch has been monitoring the growing numbers of retractions for more than a decade, and hears from blogger Sholto David, who made headlines this year when he spotted mistakes in research from a leading US cancer institute. Help support our independent journalism at <a

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00:16:01

Summer picks: what does the science say about birth...

Science Weekly ·

2024/08/20

We all know the cliches about older siblings being responsible, younger ones creative, and middle children being peacemakers. But is there any evidence our position in the family affects our personality? In this episode from March 2024, Madeleine Finlay meets Dr Julia Rohrer, a personality psychologist at the University of Leipzig, to unpick the science behind birth order. Help support our independent journalism at <a

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