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PODCAST

The World, the Universe and Us

From the evolution of intelligent life, to the mysteries of consciousness; from the threat of the climate crisis to the search for dark matter,The world, the universe and usis your essential weekly dose of science and wonder in an uncertain world. Hosted by journalists Dr Rowan Hooper and Dr Penny Sarchet and joined each week by expert scientists in the field, the show draws onNew Scientist’s unparalleled depth of reporting to put the stories that matter into context. Feed your curiosity with the

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All Episodes

26:31

#174 Finding the universe’s missing matter; saving...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/03/09

Matter we’ve long thought missing from galaxies has finally been found. Great news…except there’s one catch. It turns out that perhaps this matter should be missing, based on our understanding of the way young galaxies form. So what’s going on? The team finds out where and how this matter was found, and what it means for our understanding of galaxies.A life-saving trial is sequencing the entire genomes of extremely sick babies. The team learns how the trial worked, and hears from one mother whose

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28:27

#173 Understanding chronic health conditions;...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/03/02

As millions of people around the world suffer from long covid, research into how viruses trigger chronic health conditions is getting a lot more focus. The team explores the role of viruses in both chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, and touch on our latest understanding of long covid.Our understanding of how galaxies form could be entirely wrong. Huge young galaxies seen by the James Webb Space Telescope seem far too massive to have formed so early on in the universe’s history. The team

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17:31

#172 Bio-electric special: how the electricity inside...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/02/28

On this bonus episode of the podcast, host Rowan Hooper sits down with New Scientist magazine editor Cat de Lange, and science journalist Sally Adee to talk about the wonders of the electrome: the natural electricity that courses through our bodies. Most of us know that we rely onbioelectricity in our brains and nervous systems, for processing information and sending signals to and from the brain, but bioelectricity also plays vital roles how we develop in the womb and how our bodies heal after

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24:41

#171 Earth’s mysterious “dark biome” and the search...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/02/23

While testing samples in the Atacama desert, a region of Earth with very similar rocks to those on Mars, astrobiologists have discovered a mysterious “dark biome” of organisms we’ve never seen before. With sample missions taking place on Mars itself, the team discusses what we might find.Bow and arrows were first used in Europe much earlier than we thought. 54,000 year old arrowheads have been discovered in a rock shelter in the south of France. The team finds out what they were used for, and about

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22:42

#170 How Venice is confronting climate change and...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/02/20

Venice, Italy, is often voted the world’s most beautiful city. Built across 120 small islands in a shallow lagoon, it’s been an important financial and cultural centre for over a thousand years. But it faces an existential threat from sea level rise caused by climate change.Rowan Hooper visits the city’s new water defence system – a €6 billion sea barrier designed to defend Venice against high tides. But what does the barrier mean for the ecology of the lagoon, and what about people living on coasts

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28:41

#169 Why the US is shooting down UFOs; the science...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/02/16

The UK’s rivers are in a dire state. Full of sewage, chemicals and prescription drugs, life in our rivers is suffering. New Scientist has teamed up with the i newspaper to launch the Save Britain’s Rivers campaign to raise awareness of the issue and get changes in the law. The team explores the problem, which includes question marks over illegal activity, and explains the aims of the campaign.UFOs are on our radar, quite literally, as US fighter jets have suddenly been tasked with blowing them out

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17:19

#168 Polar Sounds: Rare underwater noises from the...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/02/13

Hear the chattering sounds of a narwhal, the surprisingly tuneful tones of singing sea ice, and the alarming crashes of ice shelves collapsing in this special bonus episode of the podcast. These rare noises, captured by hydrophones in the Arctic and Antarctic, paint a fascinating image of two of our planet’s lesser-known regions.Rowan Hooper catches up with Stuart Fowkes, the founder of Cities and Memory, one of the world’s biggest sounds projects, which has joined forces with scientists and

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19:52

#167 Bird flu in mammals, the cause of sunquakes, and...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/02/09

The continuing avian flu epidemic is devastating bird populations. And now there are concerns over increasing numbers of mammals becoming infected. As reports rise, the team finds out whether this strain of bird flu may begin to pose a bigger threat to humans.Everyone’s jumping on the AI chat bandwagon. As ChatGPT continues to make headlines, two big companies have just announced their contributions to the field. The team explains how both Google and Baidu are looking to change search engines as we

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29:56

#166 Immune systems: Is yours weak or strong and how...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/02/07

The immune system is the intricate constellation of cells and molecules in our bodies that defends us against disease and on this special bonus episode of New Scientist Weekly we delve into the latest science on how the immune system works.Why do some people never seem to get ill? What wasthe effect of covid lockdowns on our immune system? Is it really possible toboost your immune system through eating certain foods? Do you have anaturally strong or weak immune system? And how can weengineer the

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24:59

#165 Water dowsing to detect leaks; Astroforge going...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/02/02

An ancient and debunked method of searching for water leaks is still being used by some of the UK’s water companies. The team finds out why water dowsing is still in practice, despite being scientifically discredited. But they also find out how it might actually work - just not in the way you think.People have sometimes complained that the chimps in the various Planet of the Apes films have unrealistic eyes - because they have whites around the iris, like humans. But it turns out real chimps

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18:35

#164 The Last of Us: the science of a fungal zombie...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/01/30

The new HBO series The Last of Us is making waves, raking in a steady stream of high reviews. Based on a game of the same name, it’s set in a world where a parasitic fungus called Cordyceps has mutated to infect and zombify humans.In this bonus episode of the podcast, Bethan Ackerley asks if this could actually happen in real life. She’s joined by fungal pathogens expert Professor Matthew Fisher of Imperial College London.To read about these subjects, Beth’s review of The Last of Us, and much more,

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22:46

#163 Antidepressants; Exoplanets; California’s...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/01/26

A vaccine for the respiratory virus RSV may be ready this year. In fact, after decades of efforts, successful vaccines have arrived like buses, with three of them on the way. As a particularly devastating virus for young children and the elderly, the team explains just how impactful these new vaccines will be.You may have read headlines that Earth’s core is changing direction - but the team explains why it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. They also bring less-than-thrilling news for the existence of

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27:09

#162 How to trigger positive tipping points to tackle...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/01/25

On this special episode of the show, hostRowan Hooperand environment reporter Madeleine Cuff chat with climate scientist Tim Lenton of the University of Exeter.Tim has just contributed to a research paper that suggestedgovernments could trigger a mass shift to plant-based diets, simply by serving more vegan burgers in schools and hospitals. We discuss with Tim the power of leveraging so-called positive tipping points to bring about large-scale change.Topics in a wide-ranging and fascinating

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19:05

#161 What they don’t tell you about the climate...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/01/23

In this bonus episode of the podcast, hear Rowan Hooper’s extended interview with Assaad Razzouk, author of Saving the Planet Without the Bullshit: What they don’t tell you about the climate crisis.For a refreshing take on the climate crisis, find out why Assaad believes we need to feel less guilty about our personal actions when it comes to tackling climate change. In this episode he argues things like going vegan and flying less are just distractions, and explains where he believes the real battle

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26:55

#160 Rejuvenation treatments; world to breach 1.5...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/01/19

A cure for ageing, without the price-tag? It might sound too good to be true, but the team digs into new evidence that shows low-frequency ultrasound may rejuvenate cells in our body which are thought to cause age-related diseases.Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is missing half of its matter - and the team asks where it’s all gone. They also discuss NASA’s ShadowCam which has taken pictures of Shackleton Crater on the south pole of the Moon, a region of particular interest if humans are to settle on the

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18:57

#159 Aboriginal stories describe ancient climate...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/01/16

In this bonus episode of the podcast, hear an extended interview with Cassie Lynch, a descendent of the Noongar people of south west Australia who’s been studying their storytelling tradition.Find out how ancient accounts of rising sea levels from the end of the ice age around 7000 years ago have been passed down through aboriginal stories. And discover what we can learn from the events of the past in surviving the current climate crisis.Interviewing Cassie is writer and theatre maker David

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17:01

#158 Exxon’s 1970s predictions for climate change...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/01/12

Scientists working for oil giant Exxon between 1977 and 2003 accurately predicted the pace and scale of climate change and warned of the harm of burning fossil fuels, while firm’s executives played down the risk. Now Exxon’s quantitative climate projections have been assessed for the first time.On this special episode of the podcast, host Rowan Hooper discusses the Exxon science with New Scientist environment reporter Madeleine Cuff, and climate scientist Peter Stott. Peter is the author of Hot Air,

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25:04

#157 Computer lawyer takes first court case; brains...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/01/12

Will artificial intelligence replace lawyers in the future? The team learns about a new, chat-bot style bit of tech that fights your legal battles for you, and is about to be tested in a real court room. But is it ethical, or even legal?Gibbons love to sing, but what we’ve just learnt is male and female gibbons also enjoy belting out synchronised musical duets. The team plays some of these delightful sounds, and finds out what this tells us about the evolution of rhythmic capabilities in

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26:14

#156: What you need to know in science and culture...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2023/01/05

To see in the New Year, host Rowan Hooper and the team look ahead to their science and cultural highlights for the coming months.We start with 2 big planetary science missions due for launch in 2023. JUICE, which will be visiting Jupiter to study some of its moons, and Psyche, which is making a journey to an asteroid made completely of iron.With covid still causing a huge burden of disease around the world, we find out how treatment of the disease is set to evolve this year, and what we can expect

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26:42

#155: Our five favourite New Scientist long-reads...

The World, the Universe and Us ·

2022/12/25

A holiday special of the podcast and a free-gift giveaway this week, as we celebrate five of New Scientist’s best front-page features of 2022. As well as discussing the features and why they chose to tackle them, the team chats about the beautiful cover artwork for each story.First up is the news that AI is helping to decode the lost stories of ancient Mesopotamia, revealing the secrets of ancient cuneiform texts - the world’s first known writing.Next are the blips recorded by the Large Hadron

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