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Science Weekly

Twice a week, the Guardian brings you the latest science and environment news

  • A protester with a gold Anonymous/Guy Fawkes mask and carrying a flare poses holding a sign calling for people to 'wake up'

    Could AI help fight conspiracy theories? – podcast

    Ian Sample speaks to Thomas Costello, an assistant professor of psychology at American University, who has published a study exploring the potential for AI chatbots to lead people away from conspiracy beliefs
  • 3D rendering of Covid-19

    Everything you need to know about Covid this autumn – podcast

    Madeleine Finlay is joined by Ian Sample, the Guardian’s science editor and Science Weekly co-host, to answer the questions we are all asking about Covid this autumn, from what is going on with the new variant XEC to how to get a vaccine and what scientists think the government should be doing differently
  • A train passes the cooling towers of Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station

    End of an era: Britain finally says goodbye to coal – podcast

    As Britain’s last coal-fired power station, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, powers down for the final time, Madeleine Finlay travels to Nottinghamshire with energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose for a last tour of the site
  • Underwater image of the beautiful marine environment, sea grass and fish species

    Is the ocean becoming too acidic to sustain life? – podcast

    Industrial civilisation is close to breaching a seventh planetary boundary, and may already have crossed it, according to scientists who have compiled the latest report on the state of the world’s life-support systems. They say ocean acidification is close to critical threshold, posing a threat to marine ecosystems and global liveability. Ian Sample speaks to Prof Helen Findlay, a biological oceanographer at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, to find out why the oceans have reached this state, and whether there is anything we can do to reverse the damage.
  • An elderly woman kisses a young girl on the cheek as they sit next to a birthday cake with the number 100 on top. Photo: Getty Images

    Are the world’s oldest people really that old? – podcast

    Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Saul Newman, an interdisciplinary researcher at University College London and the University of Oxford, who has just won an Ig Nobel prize – given to scientific research that ‘first makes people laugh, and then makes them think’ – for his work showing that many claims of people living extraordinarily long lives come from places with short lifespans, no birth certificates, and where clerical errors and pension fraud abound
  • A person shaking a robot's hand

    Live episode: will AI make a good companion? – podcast

    In a special episode recorded live at the British Science Festival, Madeleine Finlay and guests explore the question: will AI make a good companion? Madeleine is joined by the Guardian’s science editor, Ian Sample; Tony Prescott, a professor of computational robotics at Sheffield University; and Dr Mhairi Aitken, an ethics fellow at the Alan Turing Institute and visiting senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London
  • Two graphic illustrations of brain scans

    The sweeping reorganisation of the brain in pregnancy, and why it matters – podcast

    Ian Sample talks to Dr Laura Pritschet, a postdoctoral fellow of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, about her research using precision scans to capture the profound changes that sweep across the brain during pregnancy. She explains what this new work reveals about how the brain is reorganised in this period, whether it could it help us better understand conditions like pre-eclampsia and postnatal depression, and why women’s brains have often been overlooked by neuroscience
  • Semaglutide injection pen among rows of colourful pills of various shapes and sizes

    From dementia to heart disease: could weight-loss jabs transform chronic conditions? – podcast

    Study after study seems to suggest drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy could have all sorts of health benefits, leading some scientists to hail them a breakthrough that could transform many chronic diseases of ageing. Nicola Davis tells Madeleine Finlay what is known so far
  • Yellowing, transparent skin on a hand and forearm

    Transparent skin, bird flu, and why girls’ brains aged during Covid: the week in science – podcast

    Ian Sample and science correspondent Hannah Devlin discuss some of the science stories that have made headlines this week, from a new technique that uses food colouring to make skin transparent, to the first case of bird flu in a person with no known contact with sick animals, and a study looking at premature brain ageing in young people during Covid
  • Kangerlussuup glacier, Greenland

    Into the abyss beneath Greenland’s glaciers – podcast

    Environment editor Damian Carrington tells Madeleine Finlay about his recent trip to Greenland on board a ship with a group of intrepid scientists. They were on a mission to explore the maelstrom beneath Greenland’s glaciers, an area that has never been studied before, and were hoping to find answers to one of the world’s most pressing questions – how quickly will sea levels rise?
  • Gloved hands hold patient's bumpy hands

    The race to understand mpox – podcast

    Ian Sample talks to Trudie Lang, professor of global health research and director of the global health network at the University of Oxford, to find out what we still need to learn in order to tackle and contain the new strain of mpox behind the latest outbreak
  • Founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov making a speech

    The arrest of Telegram’s founder, and what it means for social media – podcast

    The arrest of Telegram’s founder and CEO in Paris last month has thrown the spotlight on the messaging app and its approach to content moderation. Madeleine Finlay hears from Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer and technology journalist Alex Hern about how the case could influence how social media companies approach problematic content on their platforms
  • A Ouija board

    Summer picks: the science of ‘weird shit’ – podcast

    Ian Sample sits down with Chris French to explore why so many of us end up believing in what he terms ‘weird shit’, and what we can learn from understanding why we are drawn to mysterious and mystic phenomena
  • Young female nurse and male vet examining happy looking labrador

    Summer picks: what can our dogs teach us about obesity? – podcast

    Science correspondent and flat-coated retriever owner Nicola Davis visits Cambridge University to meet Dr Eleanor Raffan and Prof Giles Yeo to find out how understanding obesity in dogs could help treat the obesity crisis in humans
  • A person in a lab works over a petri dish under a microscope

    Summer picks: why are so many science papers being retracted? – podcast

    Ian Sample speaks to Ivan Oransky, from Retraction Watch, and hears from blogger Sholto David, who made headlines this year when he spotted mistakes in research from a leading US cancer institute
  • Girl reads with her younger sister

    Summer picks: what does the science say about birth order and personality? – podcast

    Madeleine Finlay meets Dr Julia Rohrer, a personality psychologist at the University of Leipzig, to unpick the science behind birth order
  • A peacock butterfly

    What’s happened to all the butterflies? – podcast

    Phoebe Weston speaks to Dr Richard Fox, head of science for the charity Butterfly Conservation, and to Matthew Hayes, who is part of the Banking on Butterflies project, about what’s going on with butterflies and how we can all play a role in helping them survive extreme weather
  • Rose wine poured from a bottle into wine glasses

    Just how bad is alcohol for us? – podcast

    Madeleine Finlay hears from Tim Stockwell, a scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria, to find out why scientists once believed boozing could be good for us, and what the risks actually are
  • Keely Hodgkinson celebrating her victory

    How Team GB’s psychologist gets the athletes mentally ready – podcast

    Jess Thom, lead psychologist for Team GB, tells Madeleine Finlay how she prepares athletes for failure and success – and the challenges that arise when the games are over and they have to return to normal life
  • Woman and young girl embracing outdoors<br>Woman and young girl embracing outdoors - stock photo

    Secrets of ageing: making our last years count – podcast

    In the final episode of a special Science Weekly three-part mini-series on ageing, Ian Sample meets Dr Rachel Broudy, medical director at Pioneer Valley Hospice and faculty lead of eldercare at Ariadne Labs, to find out how we can stop fearing our old age, and perhaps even make it fun.
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