x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

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 us is 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 on New Scientist’s unparalleled depth of reporting to put the stories that matter into context. Feed your curiosity with the

science

All Episodes

28:17

CultureLab: Carlo Rovelli on the link between quantum...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/07/29

Quantum theory describes the tiny building blocks that make up everything around us. It has made many successful predictions but could a new, more radical idea help us make better sense of the world around us? Could it even be the answer to creating world peace?Carlo Rovelli is an Italian theoretical physicist and writer behind the relational interpretation of quantum mechanics. His idea suggests that the fundamental building blocks of the universe are not particles or objects as many of us are

en

31:54

Weekly: Shocking source of deep sea oxygen; Alcohol...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/07/26

#260Most of us imagine plants when we think about the production of oxygen. But turns out, in the deep sea, metal-rich rocks also seem to generate oxygen. This surprising discovery suggests they may have a much more important role in their ecosystem than we originally thought – and is fueling more calls to ban deep sea mining, which would target these same rocks.Drinking a glass of wine once in a while can’t be that bad, right? Over the decades we heard that drinking a little alcohol might reduce

en

26:02

Dead Planets Society: Can We Burn Uranus?

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/07/23

What would it take to set Uranus ablaze? Is it even possible to burn it in the typical sense? If anyone can figure it out, it's the Dead Planets Society.Join Dead Planeteers Leah and Chelsea as they invite planetary scientist Paul Byrne back to the podcast, to join in more of their chaotic antics.This mission is less about destruction (though it’s definitely also about destruction) and more about advancing science. Uranus is an ice giant, one of the most common types of planets in the universe, so

en

26:11

Weekly: New human cases of bird flu; Sail away to...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/07/19

#259More people in the US are getting bird flu. Though numbers are small – just five new cases, all mild – every new case is a reason for concern. How and why is it being transmitted – and how is it being monitored?What if you could make a sailboat that’s pushed not by wind, but lasers? Breakthrough Starshot is a mission attempting to send a spacecraft to our nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, using such a lightsail. While lightsail designs have been too expensive and unworkable so far, a new

en

36:42

CultureLab: The incredible, intelligent abilities of...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/07/15

What if we told you plants can hear and see? And memorise information? And track time to adapt their pollination techniques? And even look out for their family members? These are just some of the remarkable behaviours plants are capable of – many of which we’re only just learning about now.Science journalist Zoë Schlanger’s new book The Light Eaters will make you question everything you currently assume about the green life around us, and even what “intelligence” can mean.In this episode, Schlanger

en

31:46

Weekly: Woolly mammoth jerky; Google simulates the...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/07/12

#258Fancy a bite of woolly mammoth jerky? A beef-jerky-like fossil of this prehistoric creature has been discovered – a metre-long piece of skin still covered in hair. And the most amazing thing is that the entire genome has remained intact, giving more insight into these creatures than ever before. Could this help bring woolly mammoths back to life?There is a way to make butter not from cows, not from vegetable oils or even microbes, but from pure carbon. And if you want a climate friendly way of

en

24:14

Dead Planets Society: Putting Black Holes Inside Stuff

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/07/08

Primordial black holes are tiny versions of the big beasts you typically think of. They’re so small, they could easily fit inside stuff, like a planet, or a star… or a person. So, needless to say, this has piqued the curiosity of our Dead Planeteers.Leah and Chelsea want to know, can you put primordial black holes inside things and what happens if you do?Black hole astronomer Allison Kirkpatrick at the University of Kansas is back to help them figure this one out. And it turns out, despite being

en

33:43

Weekly: World’s Oldest Ritual; Quantum Wi-Fi; Report...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/07/05

#257Two extraordinary findings have been unearthed about our ancient ancestors. The first is a discovery from a cave in Australia – evidence of what could be the world’s oldest ritual, practised continuously for 12,000 years. And the second is the discovery that the world’s oldest evidence of storytelling may be even older than we thought.We may be able to mine for nickel using flowers. The method is much more sustainable than traditional mining and is actually being used by some companies. Is it

en

37:35

CultureLab: Sonifying Mars, symphonically, with David...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/07/01

Despite humans having never set foot on Mars, scientists have been working for decades to paint a picture of life on the red planet. With the help of photos and videos from robotic rovers, scientists now know more than ever about its rocky terrain, early history and current climate.Now, experts are painting a fuller picture of the dusty planet by using audio recordings captured by these rovers. Composer David Ibbett has used that data in epic fashion: to create an immersive concert that harnesses

en

23:17

Weekly: Even more powerful gene editing than CRISPR;...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/06/28

#256A new gene editing technique may be more powerful than CRISPR. Bridge editing is still in its infancy, but could be revolutionary for its ability to more specifically target gene substitutions. This method of altering DNA may let us create single treatments for gene mutations across large groups of people – something even CRISPR can’t do.China’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft has returned to Earth with samples from the far side of the moon – the first ever. Hear what the samples may tell us about this

en

23:36

Dead Planets Society: Bringing Back Geocentrism

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/06/24

The ancient Greeks once proposed the Earth was at the centre of our solar system and everything orbited us. We like that idea. Let’s make it happen.But as Dead Planeteers Leah and Chelsea find out, if you bring back geocentrism, Earth would only be king of the universe for a very, very short time – before all hell breaks loose.It starts with enlarging the earth and potentially turning it into a black hole, we then have all the planets hurtling towards us through space, then it ends with a visit from

en

24:11

Weekly: Why some people never get covid-19; Chimps...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/06/21

#255Why do some people seem to be naturally immune to covid-19? We may finally have the answer and it’s to do with differences in the way immune cells function. Will the finding help us predict who’s immune and who isn’t – and more?Artificial intelligence is being used to tackle the problem of clearing mines from enormous swaths of Ukraine. Russia has scattered vast amounts of ordinance across Ukraine, tearing up agricultural land and leaving behind chemical contamination. The clean-up operation

en

38:39

CultureLab: The catastrophic health consequences of...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/06/17

We like to think of science and medicine as unbiased, unaffected by social constructs. But we see evidence to the contrary everyday, from false yet persistent claims that black people’s bones are denser to the reality that the covid-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted people of colour.In her debut book Systemic: How Racism is Making Us Ill, science journalist Layal Liverpool explores the health consequences of racism. She showcases how fatal stereotypes can leave people of colour in need of

en

36:52

Weekly: Elephants have names for each other;...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/06/14

We know elephants are smart, but it seems we’ve only scratched the surface in understanding their intelligence. It turns out African elephants seem to have unique names for each other – maybe even nicknames. If it’s true, humans would no longer be alone in this practice. A team has been analysing their rumbly greeting calls using AI. Is this a hint that we’ve been wrong about other animals, too?It’s a weather report like no other: two to three million years ago, the protective bubble called the

en

26:46

Dead Planets Society: How Many Moons Could Earth Have?

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/06/10

For the Dead Planeteers, one moon around Earth isn’t enough. They want to pack as many moons into the night sky as possible. But how many can you fit in orbit without everything becoming unstable and destructive?To answer this, Leah Crane and Chelsea Whyte enlist the help of astrophysicist Sean Raymond. Sean co-authored a research paper that sparked Leah’s New Scientist article titled: Moons can have moons and they are called moonmoons.So, not only do they work out how many moons we can fit around

en

28:29

Weekly: Why we should drill a massive hole in the...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/06/07

#253The moon may hold the answer to a decades-long physics conundrum – all we need to do is drill several kilometres into its surface. For years, physicists have been searching for protons that fall apart or decay into other particles, but they’ve always come up empty handed. So why do they think they might find them on the moon?A new update on the state of the world’s climate has not brought cheery news. A report looking at 2023 has revealed the world is warming at a record rate – with estimates

en

41:38

CultureLab: On the hunt for alien life with Lisa...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/06/03

If (or maybe when) we find alien life in the universe, will it look like us? As telescopes become bigger, our ability to peer into the cosmos is only getting better. So the question may not be “will we find something?” but rather “what exactly should we be looking for?”Lisa Kaltenegger is an astrophysicist and founding director of Cornell University's Carl Sagan Institute. She even works out of Sagan’s old office and shares the same optimism and enthusiasm he brought to the search for

en

33:09

Weekly: Google’s AI search problem; time is a quantum...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/05/31

#252It is not wise to stick cheese on your pizza with glue, even if Google tells you to do it. This is just one recommendation in a string of blunders made by Google’s new AI search engine. It uses a large language model to summarise your searches, but clearly it’s not always working as planned. Can (and will) the company fix it?No matter what language you speak, when you hear the word “bouba”, you probably imagine a round shape. And “kiki’ will likely make you think of a sharp shape. This example

en

24:31

Dead Planets Society: Removing Mars’s Iron With a Magnet

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/05/28

When you bring a giant magnet to Mars, apocalyptic eruptions are just the beginning. In an attempt to suck out all of the iron from the red planet, Leah Crane and Chelsea Whyte end up shattering it like an Easter egg.Their new cosmic plaything, a U-shaped Wile E. Coyote-esque magnet, is used in various different ways for the purposes of complete annihilation.With the help of science journalist and volcanologist Robin George Andrews, the team squeeze the core out like it’s toothpaste, turn the magnet

en

27:07

Weekly: Record hurricane season approaches;...

The world, the universe and us ·

2024/05/24

#251Hurricane season in the Atlantic ocean is set to be extremely active, according to forecasts. Expect to see as many as 25 named tropical storms, with many likely to become hurricanes. Find out how high sea surface temperatures and shifting El Niño conditions are creating the perfect conditions for a potentially record breaking season.The sun’s magnetic field may function quite differently to Earth’s. We’ve long assumed it originates from deep within but it seems the sun has a different way of

en

357 results

Similar Podcasts

Classic Radio Science Fiction

solgoodmedia.com

Mission to Mars

Inception Point Ai

The 365 Days of Astronomy

365DaysOfAstronomy.org

Creek Devil

william Jevning

UFO Chronicles Podcast

Nik Hunter