New Scientist Podcasts

The great auk was a flightless bird which was last spotted in Iceland in 1844. It is the subject of the book The Last of Its Kind: The Search for the Great Auk and the Discovery of Extinction. Written by Gísli Pálsson, an Icelandic anthropologist and academic, the book offers vital insights into the extinction of the species through accounts from the Icelanders who hunted them. Pálsson is on the shortlist for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize. In the lead up to the winner’s announcement, New Scientist books editor Alison Flood meets all six of the shortlisted authors.In this conversation, Pálsson recounts how British ornithologists John Wolley and Alfred Newton travelled to Iceland in search of great auk specimens, only to find the birds had already vanished. He also explores the origins of the term "extinction" and shares his personal motivations for telling the story of the great auk.The winner of the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize will be announced on the 24th October. You can view all of the shortlisted entries here:https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/science-book-prize/ To read about subjects like this and much more, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ 

Episode 270There may be hope for the survival of coral reefs, a vital part of the global underwater ecosystem that is under massive threat from climate change. At 1.5 C degrees of warming we’re at risk of losing 70-90 per cent of coral - and more than 99 per cent is estimated to die off at 2 degrees. But new research suggests corals may be more adaptable and resilient than we thought. Hear from two experts on the matter, Chris Jury of the University of Hawaii and Terry Hughes, director of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Australia.A new exoplanet has been discovered in orbit around Barnard’s star - Earth’s closest single stellar neighbour. But could it be home to extraterrestrial life? And in this, the golden age of exoplanet discovery, how close are we to finding one that looks like Earth?Remarkably preserved remains of a 16 month old toddler have been analysed, painting a detailed picture of life in ancient Italy. Despite being 17,000 years old, DNA samples have shown us the colour of the child’s skin, his eye colour, health conditions and even how closely his parents were related.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been dubbed the “first drone war”. As the war rages on, drone combat has shifted from ad hoc, random encounters to highly strategic and coordinated assaults. With the increasing capabilities of drones and a ramp up in the expertise of operators, is this the future of the war - and is it a good thing?Hosts Rowan Hooper and Chelsea Whyte discuss with guests Terry Hughes, Chris Jury, Alex Wilkins, Sam Wong and Jacob Aron.To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Get your tickets for New Scientist Live: https://www.newscientist.com/nslivepod

Everything Is Predictable: How Bayes' Remarkable Theorem Explains the World is a book about an 18th century mathematical rule for working out probability, which shapes many aspects of our modern world. Written by science journalist Tom Chivers, the book has made it onto the shortlist for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize. In the lead up to the winner’s announcement, New Scientist books editor Alison Flood meets all six of the shortlisted authors.In this conversation, Tom explores the life of Thomas Bayes, the man behind the theorem, and how he had no clue his discovery would have such sweeping implications for humanity. He explains the theorem’s many uses, both in practical settings like disease diagnosis, as well as its ability to explain rational thought and the human brain. And he digs into some of the controversy and surprising conflict that has surrounded Bayes’ theorem over the years.The winner of the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize will be announced on the 24th October. You can view all of the shortlisted entries here:https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/science-book-prize/ To read about subjects like this and much more, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ 

Women have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to have more sensitive noses, sharper hearing at high frequencies, and longer life expectancy than men. But why have women's bodies been so under-researched? It’s one of the many questions Cat Bohannon raises in her book Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution. Shortlisted for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize, Eve explores how women’s biology has shaped human history and culture. In the lead up to the winner’s announcement, New Scientist books editor Alison Flood meets all six of the shortlisted authors.In this conversation, we hear what motivated Cat to spend more than a decade researching and writing the book, how understanding the evolution of female traits can give us deeper insights into the workings of our species, and the overlap between sexism and science. The winner of the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize will be announced on the 24th October. You can view all of the shortlisted entries here:https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/science-book-prize/ To read about subjects like this and much more, visit https://www.newscientist.com/

Why We Die is a book about ageing and death, written by Nobel Prize-winning biologist and former president of the Royal Society, Venki Ramakrishnan.Venki is on the shortlist for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize. In the lead up to the winner’s announcement, New Scientist books editor Alison Flood meets all six of the shortlisted authors.In this conversation, Venki explores humankind’s unique ability to understand and contemplate our own mortality, why some animals live such short lives and others for hundreds of years, if ageing is simply an inevitable and evolutionary practical part of life and whether emerging technologies will make it possible for us to life forever - if that’s really what we want.The winner of the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize will be announced on the 24th October. You can view all of the shortlisted entries here:https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/science-book-prize/ To read about subjects like this and much more, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ 

As the heated race to settle humans on Mars continues, is it really a good idea? And what are the biggest challenges to making interplanetary life a reality?These are the questions Kelly and Zach Weinersmith explore in their book, A City on Mars. The pair have been shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize, and ahead of the winner's announcement, New Scientist books editor Alison Flood meets with all six shortlisted authors.In this conversation, Kelly and Zach dive into the potential and the perils of building a sustainable human colony on the Red Planet, shedding light on some of the biggest hurdles humans would face. We also hear what inspired them to write the book, and they answer the million dollar question… would they move to Mars? The winner of the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize will be announced on October 24th. You can view all of the shortlisted books here:https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/science-book-prize/ To read about subjects like this and much more, visit https://www.newscientist.com/

How often do you upload a picture of yourself online? And what happens to that photo long after it's been posted? The truth may shock you, as we find out in this episode.In Your Face Belongs to Us: A Tale of AI, a Secretive Startup, and the End of Privacy, New York Times journalist Kashmir Hill investigates the world of facial recognition technology and its implications for privacy. The book traces the story of Clearview AI, a mysterious startup selling cutting-edge facial recognition software to corporations and law enforcement.Shortlisted for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize, Your Face Belongs to Us raises urgent questions about the future of security and personal privacy in an age of pervasive surveillance.As part of the lead-up to the winner’s announcement, New Scientist Books Editor Alison Flood interviews all six shortlisted authors. In this conversation, Kashmir recounts her journey to uncover the truth behind Clearview AI. She explores the significance of their vast facial recognition database and its impact on our privacy in the digital age.The winner of the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize will be announced on the 24th October. You can view all of the shortlisted entries here:https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/science-book-prize/ To read about subjects like this and much more, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ 

Episode 269Could we re-freeze the Arctic… and should we? The Arctic is losing ice at an alarming rate and it’s too late to save it by cutting emissions alone. Geoengineering may be our only hope. A company called Real Ice has successfully tested a plan to artificially keep the region cold - but what are the consequences and will it work on the scale we need?Octopuses and fish have been found hunting together in packs in an unexpected display of cooperation. Not only do the fish scout out potential prey, they even signal to the octopuses to move in for the kill. And a fish doesn’t prove helpful? They get punched.The world’s oldest cheese has been found in China - and it’s 3,500 years old. As we get a fascinating look into the fermenting habits of ancient humans, find out how modern day fermentation is being repurposed to help us create biofuels, break down microplastics and more. We hear from Tom Ellis, professor of synthetic genome engineering at Imperial College London.Our bodies are littered with microplastics - they’re in our livers, kidneys, guts and even our olfactory bulb. How worried should we be? Microplastics have been linked to some pretty serious health consequences - but are they the cause?Hosts Rowan Hooper and Sophie Bushwick discuss with guests Madeleine Cuff, Michael Le Page and Grace Wade.To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Get your tickets for New Scientist Live: https://www.newscientist.com/nslivepod