New Scientist Podcasts

By: New Scientist
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  • Summary

  • Podcasts for the insatiably curious by the world’s most popular weekly science magazine. Everything from the latest science and technology news to the big-picture questions about life, the universe and what it means to be human. For more visit newscientist.com/podcasts
    © 2024 New Scientist Podcasts
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Episodes
  • Weekly: Is bird flu spreading between people? Plus 2024’s best science books

    Weekly: Is bird flu spreading between people? Plus 2024’s best science books
    Nov 29 2024
    Episode 278 Concerns about bird flu are rising as two cases in North America suggest the virus is adapting to humans. Evidence of human-to-human transmission is not yet conclusive but public health experts are worried. This year outbreaks have been found in both poultry and dairy cows in the US. Although it only causes mild symptoms in people at the moment, is there a chance it could evolve to become deadly? A last-minute deal has been struck at the UN climate summit COP29 – and people are not happy. Richer nations have agreed to give money to poorer nations to help them go green, but the financing promised doesn’t come close to what’s needed. Another year, another unsatisfactory outcome, once again begging the question is the COP process no longer fit for purpose? Fancy stock-piling a load of new books ahead of the holiday season? We present to you 5 of the best science books of 2024, fiction and non-fiction. On the list are A City on Mars, What the Wild Sea Can Be, Frostbite, Nuclear War: A Scenario and Question 7. Read the full article of 18 must-reads here. Sign up to the New Scientist Book Club here: https://www.newscientist.com/sign-up/bookclub/ Find more information about the Book Club here: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2442618-welcome-to-the-new-scientist-book-club/ To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    23 mins
  • Weekly: Why chimps are still in the Stone Age and humans are in the Space Age

    Weekly: Why chimps are still in the Stone Age and humans are in the Space Age
    Nov 22 2024
    Episode 277 Chimps are an intelligent species, capable of using tools and developing culture - so why have humans surpassed them to such a huge extent? How is it that we are busy exploring space while chimps remain stuck in the Stone Age? It’s long been thought it’s because their culture doesn’t evolve cumulatively, but that assumption has just been challenged. Hear from Cassandra Gunasekaram, the lead author of a paper that shows chimp culture develops in a more complex way than we realised. We also hear from primatologists Andrew Whiten from the University of St Andrews and Andrea Migliano of the University of Zurich. How often do you check the calories of your meal, before ordering at a restaurant? In 2020 in the UK it became mandatory for many restaurants to print calories on their menus, as part of an anti-obesity campaign - the question is, has it been effective or a complete waste of time? We dig into new research and the results may surprise you. We also explore why 85 per cent of overweight or obese people who lose a significant amount of weight end up putting it all back on again within a year. In a Black Mirror-like development, computer scientists have managed to create simulated replicas of 1000 real people. These digital twins were created using the model behind ChatGPT and can accurately simulate their personalities. The method is surprisingly simple to recreate - so should we be worried? To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    36 mins
  • Weekly: COP29: Are UN climate summits failing us and our planet?

    Weekly: COP29: Are UN climate summits failing us and our planet?
    Nov 15 2024
    Episode 276 Are the COP climate summits doing enough to help us avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change, or are they not fit for purpose, and designed to fail? COP29 is underway in petrostate Azerbaijan, headed by a CEO who was secretly filmed making oil and gas deals. Despite this, the team finds reason for optimism. They also hear from climate philosopher and activist Rupert Read, who runs the Climate Majority Project. He argues the COP process was designed to fail, that 1.5 degrees is dead and that adaptation - not mitigation - is the way to go. What do you think? Bird migration is an extraordinary feat of evolution - but how exactly do they do it? We know the Earth’s magnetic field has something to do with it, but we’ve only just discovered the astonishing level of detail birds are able to get from it. Raising questions about bird intelligence, the team also hears how birds evolved from dinosaurs. Gophers have an incredible capacity to shape their landscape. Gophers are small, burrowing rodents with long front teeth. And a decades-long study has shown that just one day of work by a gopher can completely revitalise soil in an area, changing its microbial diversity and preventing disease. Gopher productivity surely puts humans to shame. Hosts Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet discuss with guests Madeleine Cuff and Sophie Bushwick. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Learn about the Climate Majority Project here. Find Rupert Read’s book here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    31 mins

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