First up on the podcast, people are buying consumer-grade brain wave detectors ostensibly to help with sleep, concentration, and meditation. But as freelance investigative journalist Jonathan Moens describes, companies are getting more than the price of the devices in the exchange—including training data for artificial intelligence models—in many cases witho ... Show More
Oct 29
Destroying forever chemicals, hyperlocal pollution sensing, and an experiment in queer parenthood
First up on the podcast, thousands of tons of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been released into the environment. It’s not always that difficult to round them up, but what to do next has been a tougher call. Until now, the default has been to burn PFAS—but that ha ... Show More
50 m
Oct 22
Birds make decisions faster than we do, rewriting DNA’s history, and combining science and poetry
First up on the podcast, News Editor Tim Appenzeller joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about an x-ray image that is upsetting the narrative of DNA’s discovery as told by James Watson. A newly resurfaced photo taken by Rosalind Franklin—photo 49—shows she was aware of the helical st ... Show More
43m 34s
Oct 15
Cheese history, redating the Inca empire, and the source of the breath’s rhythm
First up on the podcast, producer Meagan Cantwell and Newsletter Editor Christie Wilcox discuss a few stories from ScienceAdviser, including why Nazi Germany was unlikely to ever make an atomic bomb, a gene that might prevent gray hairs, and 140 years of cheese history from a Swi ... Show More
56m 44s
Dec 2024
Migration, Migration, Migration
It’s the last weekend edition of Newscast of the year, and the government have decided to do their media round on migration.Laura’s been speaking to the Yvette Cooper, and her Conservative counterpart Chris Philp to find out how the main parties want to tackle the issue.Paddy, an ... Show More
31m 38s
Jan 2025
The rising threat of bird flu
More species infected than ever, an uptick in human cases, and some concerning biological modifications. How close are we to a bird flu pandemic? We digest the last year of bird flu changes with virologist Tom Peacock and public health journalist Melody Schreiber. Also this week, ... Show More
28m 8s