Share

Nature Podcast
Politics of the life scientific
Science and politics are not easy bedfellows - "Stick to the science" is a three part series which aims to find out why.
In this episode we're asking how politics shapes the life of a working scientist. Be it through funding agendas, cultural lobbies or personal bias, there's a myriad of ways in which politics can shape the game; influencing the direction and quality of research, But what does this mean for the objective ideals of science?
Tell us what you think of this series: https://go.nature.com/2HzXVLc
This episode was produced by Nick Howe, with editing from Noah Baker and Benjamin Thompson. it featured contributions from many people, including: Mayana Zatz, Shobita Parthasarathy, Michael Erard, Peg AtKisson, Susannah Gal, Allen Rostron, Mark Rosenberg, and Alice Bell.
Further Reading
Brazil’s budget cuts threaten more than 80,000 science scholarships
Move to reallocate funds from scientific institutions in São Paulo
Backlash to “Shrimps on a treadmill”
Explanation of the Dickey Amendment
After over 20 years the CDC can now fund gun violence research
Spirometer use “race-correction” software
Black researchers less likely to get funding from the National Institutes of Health in the US
Black researchers may get less funding from the National Institutes of Health due to topic choice
Black researchers fill fewer academic roles in the UK
More episodes
View all episodes

Medical records could be revealed by AI training-data vulnerability
19:54|In this episode:00:46 How sensitive information can be gleaned from medical AIsResearch article: Knolle et al.11:31 Research HighlightsNature: A long-lived butterfly’s secret to graceful ageingNature: It slices! It dices! Sashimi-Bot handles seafood with ease13:57 Across the Universe, galaxies clump together more than physicists thought they shouldResearch article: Labini & GaloppoSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Briefing Chat: Testosterone and sperm may get a boost from obesity drugs
12:16|Nature staff discuss preliminary data on the effects of GLP-1 drugs on male fertility plus a two-year trial of a brain-computer interface.00:18 Brain-computer interface makes a life-changing impactNature: At-home brain implant gives man with motor neuron disease his daily life back05:39 The possible benefits of obesity drugs on testosteroneNature: The latest benefit of obesity drugs: boosting testosterone and sperm qualitySubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
DNA from hunter-gatherer teeth reveals secrets of ancient plague
26:42|In this episode:00:45 Ancient evidence of deadly plague outbreaksResearch article: Macleod et al.12:33 Research HighlightsNature: Bones of Iron Age skeleton were whittled into toolsNature: Giant crustacean of the deep sea steals a trick from bacteria14:52 A prototype atom interferometerResearch article: Baynham et al.Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Briefing Chat: The epic journey of Stonehenge’s central stone
11:20|In this episode:00:37 Evidence that Stonehenge's Altar Stone travelled by glacierBBC Science Focus: We may have just cracked one of Stonehenge's greatest mysteries05:44 Fossilized faeces reveal DNA from ancient ecosystemNature: Ancient ground squirrels feasted on carcasses like ‘zombies of the Pleistocene’Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Newly-discovered whale graveyard dates back millions of years
21:38|In this episode:00:46 A giant, ancient whale necropolisResearch article: Peng et al.News & Views: A vast whale necropolis has been found08:52 Research HighlightsNature: Babies’ birth weight improves with help of payments to parentsNature: Earliest signs of vision recorded in ancient sea-floor tracks11:11 Turning plant material into chemical building-blocksResearch article: Mains et al.Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Briefing chat: Spinosaurs with salt glands could have lived in marine environments
11:25|In this episode:00:23 Fossil evidence that spinosaurs had an aquatic lifestyleScience: Some spinosaurs cried salty tears to thrive in brackish waters04:57 The explosive immune cells that kill in minutesNature: Bang! Exploding immune cells splatter potent toxins everywhereSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Your phone can use tiny skin-colour changes to measure your heart rate
18:23|In this episode:00:57 How your smartphone’s camera could measure your heart rateResearch article: Liao et al.08:55 Research HighlightsNature: A star gone rogue tears through the GalaxyNature: Gold keeps glittering courtesy of surface chemistry11:04 Should you try something new in a restaurant? Maths has the answerNature: Feynman solved the ‘restaurant dilemma’ 50 years ago — now a study confirms his mathematicsSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Briefing Chat: When to trust eyewitness memory – according to science
17:14|In this episode:00:21 When witnesses identify suspects from police line-ups, confidence mattersNature: Memory on trial: the new science of when to trust eyewitness testimony07:15 Registered Reports: how this ‘double peer review’ process could benefit scientists and their resultsNature: Nature is expanding Registered Reports to all the fields in which we publish
Major Ebola outbreak is escalating: what happens next
12:01|On 17 May the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an ongoing Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Centred on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, the outbreak has seen mounting numbers of suspected cases and deaths linked to the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus.In this podcast we hear what's currently known about the outbreak and the efforts of clinicians, researchers and public health officials to halt its progress.Nature: Ebola outbreak is a global health emergency: what happens nextNature: Race begins to trial Ebola drugs amid current outbreakNature: Ebola outbreak spirals out of control: how might it have started?Nature: Will this Ebola outbreak be the biggest yet?