Science Weekly
Alok Jha and the Guardian's science team bring you the best analysis and interviews from the worlds of science and technology.
Deep Blue Notes: episode one
Wildlife recordist Chris Watson and spatial audio sound artist Prof Tony Myatt begin a three-part journey to the Sea of Cortez hunting for the song of the largest, and possibly loudest, animal that has ever lived – the blue whale. It’s also an animal that Chris has never managed to…
Covid-19: how vaccines lead to immunity – podcast
With a number of Covid-19 vaccines seemingly on the way, Nicola Davis talks to Prof Eleanor Riley about how they might help the body’s defence mechanisms fight the virus. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
A more accurate way of measuring the effect of computer games
The Guardian’s UK technology editor Alex Hern speaks to Prof Andy Przybylski from the Oxford Internet Institute about his new approach of looking at the impact of computer games on mental health. According to Prof Przybylski, this new approach is more objective – but it also depends on gaming companies…
From the archive: an interview with Nobel laureate Sir Roger Penrose (part 2)
The second part of Ian Sample’s 2016 interview with Prof Sir Roger Penrose, which includes a quantum theory of consciousness and the age-old question of whether mathematics is invented or discovered. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
From the archive: an interview with Nobel laureate Sir Roger Penrose (part 1)
In the first part of this episode from 2016, Ian Sample speaks with the acclaimed mathematician and physicist Prof Sir Roger Penrose about his then most recent book, Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe. Warning of the potential dangers of dogmatic belief and unheralded faith,…
Covid-19: what can we learn from the London blitz?
Ian Sample speaks to Prof Edgar Jones about the comparative psychological impacts of the blitz bombings of London and the Covid-19 pandemic. Including the role trust in government plays and what we might expect during the second wave of infections. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
Covid-19: what's up with the coronavirus cough?
Linda Geddes speaks to Prof Jacky Smith about one of Covid-19’s most consistent symptoms: the persistent dry cough. As winter arrives in the northern hemisphere, how do we tell the difference between the possible onset of the virus and the kind of routine coughs normally experienced at this time of…
Investigating the historic eruption of Mount Vesuvius
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79, the damage wreaked was catastrophic. Ash and pumice darkened the skies, and hot gas flowed from the volcano. Uncovering the victims, fated to lie frozen in time for 2,000 years, has shown they died in a range of gruesome ways. Nicola Davis speaks to…
Covid-19: How do you make a vaccine?
With any future Covid-19 vaccine requiring its manufacturing process to be signed off as part of its regulatory approval for use on the general population, Madeleine Finlay talks to Dr Stephen Morris from the Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub about how vaccines are made at the volume and speed required…
Journey into a black hole: part 2
They are among the most enigmatic phenomena in the universe, confounding physicists and mathematicians alike. Black holes pull in the matter around them and anything that enters can never escape. Yet they contain nothing at all. Guided by the physicist and author of the Black Hole Survival Guide, Janna Levin,…
Journey into a black hole: part 1
They are among the most enigmatic phenomena in the universe, confounding physicists and mathematicians. Black holes pull in the matter surrounding them and anything that enters can never escape. Yet they contain nothing at all. Guided by the physicist and author of Black Hole Survival Guide, Janna Levin, Madeleine Finlay…
From the archives: How do we save society?
With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to highlight health and economic inequalities, and the US election fast approaching, this week we return to the archive to explore how divisions in society arise and what we can do about them. In this episode from 2017, Ian Sample investigates where group splits come…
Covid-19: what can we learn from the HIV/Aids pandemic?
Prof Ravi Gupta’s career has informed HIV treatment and curative strategies in the UK and at the Africa Health Research Institute. His treatment of a London patient is, to date, only the second ever successful treatment of an HIV patient, where the person remains long-term virus free. Gupta talks to…
How do animals undergo metamorphosis, and why? – podcast
Metamorphosis – where a creature remodels itself between life stages – is one of the most astounding and bizarre feats of biology. It’s also surprisingly common. Why do animals bother undertaking this huge transformational change, and how do they rebuild their bodies from one form to another? Natalie Grover investigates…
Covid-19: training dogs to sniff out the virus
What does a disease smell like? Humans might not have the answer, but if they could talk, dogs might be able to tell us. Able to sniff out a range of cancers and even malaria, canines’ extraordinary noses are now being put to the test on Covid-19. Nicola Davis hears…
Are the world's national parks failing nature? (part two)
In this second episode of our age of extinction takeover, Patrick Greenfield and Phoebe Weston explore the impact that conservation and national parks can have on Indigenous communities and the biodiversity surrounding them If you haven’t already, go back and listen to Tuesday’s episode on the history of national parks…
Are the world's national parks failing nature? (part one)
In a special two-part takeover by colleagues from the age of extinction project, Patrick Greenfield and Phoebe Weston investigate whether national parks actually benefit the environment and biodiversity, or if there might be a better way of doing things. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
Do smart assistants need a feminist reboot? Part 2
According to a UN study published last year, smart assistants with female voices are often programmed with contrite and demure responses to verbal abuse or harassment, entrenching harmful gender biases. In the second of two episodes, Alex Hern takes a look at the sexualisation of female AI and robots, what…
Do smart assistants need a feminist reboot? Part 1
From Rosie the Robot in the 1960s animated sitcom The Jetsons to Siri and Alexa today, technologies that perform the roles of housekeeper and secretary are often presented as female. What does the gendering of these machines say about our expectations of who should be doing this kind of work?…
Covid-19: is it possible to predict how sick someone could get?
Nine months in, and with over 30 million people having been infected with Covid-19, we now know some of the main factors that put people at higher risk of a severe case of the disease, such as age and having other health problems. But there is still a lot to…