Summer picks: the science of ‘weird shit’

Loading player...
The psychologist Chris French has spent decades studying paranormal claims and mysterious experiences, from seemingly impossible coincidences to paintings that purportedly predict the future. In this episode from April 2024, Ian Sample sits down with French to explore why so many of us believe in what he terms ‘weird shit’, and what we can learn from understanding why we are drawn to mysterious and mystic phenomena. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
28 Aug English United Kingdom Science · Nature

Other recent episodes

Is our model of the universe wrong?

For the past 10 years cosmologists have been left scratching their heads over why two methods for measuring the universe’s rate of expansion provide totally different results. There are two possible solutions to the puzzle, known as the Hubble tension: either something is wrong with the measurements or something is…
16 Dec 17 min

Does Google’s ‘mindboggling’ new chip bring quantum computers any closer?

On Monday Google unveiled its Willow quantum computing chip. The new chip takes just five minutes to complete tasks that would take 10 septillion years for some of the world’s fastest conventional computers to complete. But despite its impressive power, it’s not clear the chip has any practical applications. So…
11 Dec 19 min

The science of laughing

Madeleine Finlay speaks to Sophie Scott, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London, to dig into the science of laughter. Sophie explains what exactly laughter is, the many different purposes it serves for humans and animals, and how prioritising it could make us all feel a little better…
10 Dec 20 min

Revisited: Secrets of the gut microbiome

Ian Sample speaks to colorectal surgeon and researcher James Kinross about the miraculous world of our gut microbiome, how modern life is impacting it, and what we can do to look after it Because of industrial action taking place by members of the National Union of Journalists at the Guardian…
4 Dec 24 min