The 3 Best Science Weekly Podcast Episodes
1) Why do humans struggle to think of ourselves as animals?
The pandemic has demonstrated why humans are ultimately an impressive species. From monitoring the genetic evolution of Sars-CoV-2 to devising vaccines in record time, we have put our minds together t...Show More
2) Jaws made us scared of sharks but is a lack of sharks scarier?
Last week, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) world conservation congress took place in Marseille. Guardian biodiversity reporter Phoebe Weston was there and heard about the...Show More
3) Nasa’s new space telescope and its search for extraterrestrial life
On 22 December, if all goes to plan, the £7.5bn James Webb space telescope (JWST) will be blasted into space on top of a giant European Ariane 5 rocket. As it travels to its final destination – a poin...Show More
4) Unlocking the secrets of dreams and nightmares
Ian Sample puts listeners’ questions on dreams and nightmares to Dr Michelle Carr, director of the Dream Engineering Laboratory in Montreal’s Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, and author...Show More
5) How to sleep well in 2026
Ian Sample puts listeners’ questions on sleep to Dr Allie Hare, consultant physician in respiratory and sleep medicine at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals and president of the British Sleep Society. The...Show More
6) Our science predictions for 2026
Last year was full of unexpected science news, from the discovery of a new colour, to the interstellar visitor 3I/Atlas passing by our solar system, and a world-first treatment with a personalised gen...Show More
7) Crude appeal: why Trump wants Venezuela’s oil
The US capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Saturday left many people wondering why? Donald Trump hinted at an answer when he claimed the Venezuelan regime had stolen US oil rights...Show More
8) Revisited: the real science of weight loss
Kevin Hall spent 21 years at the US National Institutes of Health and became known globally for his pioneering work on ultra-processed foods. In April he unexpectedly took early retirement, citing cen...Show More
9) Revisited: do medicinal mushroom products actually work?
More of us are turning to products containing mushroom extracts, with the medicinal fungi market worth billions of pounds. Promises of mental and physical health benefits have seen its popularity spil...Show More
10) Revisited: is curiosity the key to ageing well?
Psychologists have typically believed that we become less curious as we age, but recent research has shown curiosity actually becomes more targeted and specific in our later years. In this episode fro...Show More