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) Fact-checking Trump’s autism announcement
In a televised press conference on Monday, Donald Trump and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr made a series of unproven claims about autism and its links to paracetamol use in pregnant women, and a...Show More
5) Is there hope on the horizon for patients with Alzheimer’s?
A trial is under way to find out if a £100 blood test could transform the way that the NHS diagnoses Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is the leading cause of dementia and diagnosis is currently costly...Show More
6) Is the US on the brink of a new era of political violence?
The murder of political activist Charlie Kirk has prompted fears about rising levels of political violence in the US after a number of high-profile assassinations and attempted assassinations of polit...Show More
7) Putin’s quest for longevity
At a recent ceremony for world leaders in Beijing, a hot mic picked up a surprising exchange between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about the possibility of living to 150. Putin suggested the secret mi...Show More
8) Shrinking states: a positive future with fewer people?
The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row – a trend mirrored across the world, with two-thirds of the global population now living in countries with below-replacem...Show More
9) Shrinking states: are we on a path to depopulation?
The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row. It is a story that is being repeated all over the world, with two thirds of the global population now living in countrie...Show More
10) Is curiosity the key to ageing well?
Psychologists have traditionally believed we become less curious as we age, but recent research has shown that curiosity actually becomes more targeted and specific in our later years. To find out why...Show More