logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2022
33m 40s

Babbage: Sequencing the future

The Economist
About this episode

Genomic sequencing has risen to prominence during the pandemic. But the technology has vast potential to transform many aspects of human health. Host Alok Jha investigates the rise of the genome and personalised medicine.


For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Nov 21
Flee country: Britain seeks to slash migration
<p>Britain’s home secretary Shabana Mahmood proposed a big shift in <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/11/20/will-britain-copy-asylum-policy-from-a-place-with-poor-integration?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discov ... Show More
23m 22s
Nov 20
War graft: scandal engulfs Ukraine
<p>Pentagon officials are meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv to discuss a <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/11/19/a-terrible-american-russian-proposal-to-end-the-war-in-ukraine?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_con ... Show More
25m 24s
Nov 19
Crown prince arming: Trump sells jets to MBS
<p>Muhammad bin Salman’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/11/18/saudi-arabia-is-in-no-hurry-to-join-the-abraham-accords?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-n ... Show More
21m 55s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2021
Babbage: Shooting out the messenger
The pandemic has fueled the rapid advancement of emerging biotechnologies. The Economist’s science editor explores the potential of RNA beyond covid-19. Also, theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli explains the implications of quantum physics on our interactions with objects. And, c ... Show More
26m 25s
Sep 2023
Babbage: The scientific quest to conquer ageing
How ageing happens and whether it can be slowed has recently become the subject of intense research and investment. Scientists are exploring differing approaches to reducing age-related deterioration, tech billionaires are experimenting with as-yet-unproven interventions. It is e ... Show More
39m 37s
Jan 2024
The Weekend Intelligence: Digital Ghosts
<p>As life moves progressively online, it is becoming increasingly possible to keep people alive in the digital sense. Tech companies are starting to use AI to simulate the personalities of the dead from the data they’ve left behind. <em>The Economist</em>’s science correspondent ... Show More
46m 42s
Oct 2023
Editor’s Picks: October 23rd 2023
<p>A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the <a href="https://www.economist.com/weeklyedition/2023-10-21" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">latest issue of <em>The Economist</em></a>. This week, why <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/10/19/t ... Show More
22m 12s
Mar 2024
The Intelligence: The power of positive tinkering
<p>The Bank of Japan has ended its grand experiment in unconventional monetary policy—how did it work, and what happens now that it has concluded? Ahead of Florida’s presidential primary our correspondent pays a visit, examining the state’s hard swing <a href="https://www.economi ... Show More
25m 45s
Dec 2021
Money Talks: Omicronomics
China’s economy is slowing while America’s overheats, prompting Jerome Powell to suggest this week that the Fed could act faster than planned. As the Omicron variant triggers a fresh wave of travel restrictions, is the world economy caught between a rock and a hard place? Host Pa ... Show More
31m 3s
Apr 2024
The Intelligence: Dengue’s grip on Latin America
<p>The dengue-fever case counts now break regional records every year—and the structural reasons behind <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2024/04/25/dengue-fever-is-surging-in-latin-america?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm ... Show More
22m 55s
Apr 2024
The Intelligence: Bear up
<p>In Russia inflation is under control, wages are on the up and supposedly tough sanctions have been successfully skirted. Why is the <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/03/10/russias-economy-once-again-defies-the-doomsayers?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium ... Show More
25m 6s
Feb 2024
The Intelligence: No water, no lights, no beds
<p>Hardened war-zone doctors say the situation in Gaza is the worst they have witnessed—and that will cost lives long after the current conflict is resolved. Numbers from America’s tight labour market suggest that long-standing gaps between black and white workers <a href="https: ... Show More
23m 52s