Podcasts
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.
New Scientist Weekly is our flagship show where we discuss the week’s biggest breakthroughs with our internationally recognised team of journalists. Hosted from our New York bureau by Timothy Revell and Christie Taylor. New episodes every Friday.
Dead Planets Society Join Leah Crane, Chelsea Whyte, and some of the world's foremost experts as they discuss outlandish and mind-blowing what-ifs about the universe. What if Earth was actually cube shaped? Can we destroy the sun? Is it possible to make Pluto a planet again? New episodes every other Tuesday.
CultureLab is an array of delights from pop culture. Sometimes we interview the world’s most exciting authors about their fascinating books, other times we delve into the science behind a movie or TV show or just why we love it so much. New episodes every other Tuesday.
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When you’re asleep, you’re completely dead to the world, right? Well, it turns out we can actually communicate with people while they’re sleeping and even get them to smile or frown on command – at least some of the time., Why this window into the sleeping brain could have important implications for treating people with certain sleep-related health conditions, or even better insights into why and how we dream.
In space, scientists have discovered the source of the largest ever recorded marsquake, which rattled the red planet last year. Unlike other quakes on Mars, which does not have plate tectonics to explain seismic events, this one was not the result of an asteroid impact. And the oldest fast radio burst ever detected shocks researchers – a blast with power enough to microwave a bowl of popcorn twice the size of our Sun. What both these events can tell us about unearthly environments.
As a record bird flu outbreak continues to devastate bird populations across the globe, we’ve got a surprising finding about its origins. Unlike previous outbreaks, the virus currently circulating originated in Europe and Africa, not Asia. Why this geographical shift? And how can knowing its origins help prevent future outbreaks?
The world’s best known particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, is the largest machine on the planet. But it turns out particle accelerators don’t need to be so big. Scientists have made a truly miniature accelerator, so small it could fit into a pen tip, which could have hugely practical benefits for medical care.
Plus: How to reduce the energy footprint of massive data centres, why hitting ‘snooze’ on your alarm clock may not actually be a bad thing and how dung beetles can help us keep track of highly endangered lemurs.
And if you want one final chance to win a free copy of Rob Eastaway’s Headscratchers, email your guess for this week’s puzzle to podcasts@newscientist.com, or send a voice message to hear yourself on the show.
Hosts Timothy Revell and Christie Taylor discuss all of this with guests Clare Wilson, Alex Wilkins, Grace Wade and Karmela Padavic-Callaghan. To read more about these stories, visit newscientist.com.
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