How High Can We Build?

Artemis II begins its mission to take humans farther into space than ever before, scientists in London unveil the first lab-grown oesophagus, the dangers of physical inactivity and why we urgently need to tackle it, and brain cells on a chip learn to play video games like humans. ... Show More

Across our planet, natural archives preserve the biological footprints of species long gone, from woolly mammoths at the macro scale, through plants and seeds, to dormant bacteria and viruses at the micro end of the spectrum. And one environment that safeguards some of this mater ... Show More

This week: social media's role in user harm and the plausibility of app addiction, a sunken Soviet sub revealing how nuclear materials behave deep underwater, a hidden "magnetic shadow" on the Moon that could improve space travel safety, and the science behind the famous "waggle ... Show More

Sign up for the Great Courses Plus today and enjoy the first month for free: https://bit.ly/podcast-great-courses-plus We know the history of this planet and asteroids isn't good...just ask the dinosaurs. So, what if we were faced with the same situation now? How much time wou ... Show More

After reading the science headlines this week, we have A LOT of questions. Is chocolate really that good for your health? How do solar flares affect life on earth? And what's the big deal about scientists identifying the chemical motivation for tsetse fly sex? Luckily, it's the j ... Show More

Is there a killer asteroid with Earth’s name on it? The dinosaurs ruled for many millions of years before coming to their violent end. Will humanity prevail or are we doomed to succumb like the dinosaurs? It’s a question that will keep you up at night. No wonder our listeners Zar ... Show More

Sign up for the Great Courses Plus today and enjoy the first month for free: https://bit.ly/podcast-great-courses-plus Not like we don't have enough things on our mind...but in case you don't, "What If we blew up an asteroid?". Assuming we'd be considering this, it'd be safe t ... Show More

Sign up for Policy Genius today: https://bit.ly/policy-genius-what-if-discussed The Hubble telescope has helped discover over 4100 exoplanets in recent years, some of those being categorized as "Super Earths". But what exactly does that mean? What makes them so "Super"? Are th ... Show More

Using lasers or asteroids to move our planet away from the sun may sound extreme, but a few scientists have come up with plans to do just that. The sun’s power is slowly increasing. Over the next billion years or so, the extra energy is going to boil off the oceans and make the e ... Show More

Earth is in a cosmic shooting gallery. With so many asteroids zipping around, how can we find them all before they find us?