Science Weekly

Science Weekly episodes:

• 04.18.2024

  Who really wins if the Enhanced Games go ahead?

  Billed as a rival to the Olympic Games, the Enhanced Games, set to take place in 2025, is a sporting event with a difference; athletes will be allowed to dope. Ian Sample talks to chief sports writer Barney Ronay about...

  
• 04.16.2024

  Soundscape ecology: a window into a disappearing world

  What can sound tell us about nature loss? Guardian biodiversity reporter Phoebe Weston tells Madeleine Finlay about her visit to Monks Wood in Cambridgeshire, where ecologist Richard Broughton has witnessed the decline of the marsh tit population over 22 years,...

  
• 04.11.2024

  The senior Swiss women who went to court over climate change, and won

  This week, in a landmark case, the European court of human rights ruled that Switzerland’s weak climate policy had violated the rights of a group of older Swiss women to family life. Ian Sample talks to Europe environment correspondent Ajit...

  
• 04.10.2024

  Remembering physicist Peter Higgs

  The Nobel prize-winning British physicist Peter Higgs has died aged 94. The confirmation in 2012 of the existence of the Higgs boson particle, five decades after Higgs had first theorised its existence, paved the way for his 2013 Nobel win....

  
• 04.09.2024

  Horny tortoises and solar mysteries: what scientists can learn from a total eclipse

  For most people seeing a total solar eclipse is a once in a lifetime experience. But for scientists it can be a fleeting chance to understand something deeper about their field of research. Madeleine Finlay meets solar scientist prof Huw...

  
• 04.04.2024

  The science of ‘weird shit’: why we believe in fate, ghosts and conspiracy theories

  Psychologist Chris French has spent decades studying paranormal claims and mysterious experiences, from seemingly-impossible coincidences to paintings that purportedly predict the future. Ian Sample sits down with French to explore why so many of us end up believing in, what...

  
• 04.02.2024

  Hypermobility: a blessing or a curse?

  Being more flexible than the average person can have its advantages, from being great at games such as Limbo to feeling smug in yoga class. But researchers are coming to understand that being hypermobile can also be linked to pain...

  
• 03.28.2024

  The virus that infects almost everyone, and its link to cancer and MS

  On 28 March it’s the 60th anniversary of the discovery of Epstein-Barr virus, the most common viral infection in humans. The virus was first discovered in association with a rare type of cancer located in Africa, but is now understood...

  
• 03.26.2024

  What could a severe solar storm do to Earth, and are we prepared?

  The sun is currently ramping up to hit the peak of its 11-year activity cycle. In the past few days, powerful solar eruptions have sent a stream of particles towards Earth which are set to produce spectacular auroras in both...

  
• 03.21.2024

  Havana syndrome: will we ever understand what happened?

  In late 2016, US officials in Cuba’s capital began experiencing a mysterious and often debilitating set of symptoms that came to be known as Havana syndrome. As two new studies into the condition are published, Ian Sample speaks to the...

  
• 03.19.2024

  Should forests have rights?

  A growing movement of ecologists, lawyers and artists is arguing that nature should have legal rights. By recognising the rights of ecosystems and other species, advocates hope that they can gain better protection. Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s global...

  
• 03.14.2024

  A waterworld with a boiling ocean and the end of dark matter? The week in science

  Ian Sample and science correspondent Hannah Devlin discuss some of the science stories that have made headlines this week, from a new theory challenging the existence of dark matter to an alarming study about the possible impact of microplastics on...

  
• 03.12.2024

  Why do we lose our hair as we age, and what can we do about it? – podcast

  For some people, going bald or experiencing thinning hair can have a significant impact on mental wellbeing and self confidence. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Rudi Zygadlo about how it affected him and what he eventually did about it, and to...

  
• 03.07.2024

  What’s behind the rapid rise of cancer in the under-50s?

  Ian Sample speaks to the Guardian’s health editor, Andrew Gregory, about the worrying global rise in cancers in under-50s, and hears from Yin Cao, an associate professor in surgery and medicine at Washington University in St Louis, who is part...

  
• 03.05.2024

  Classic older child? What the science says about birth order and personality

  We all know the cliches about older siblings being responsible, younger ones being creative, and middle children being peacemakers. But is there any evidence our position in the family has an impact on our personality? Madeleine Finlay meets Dr Julia...

  
• 03.02.2024

  The Guardian’s new podcast series about AI: Black Box – prologue

  We wanted to bring you this episode from our new series, Black Box. In it, Michael Safi explores seven stories and the thread that ties them together: artificial intelligence. In this prologue, Hannah (not her real name) has met Noah...

  
• 02.29.2024

  The debilitating impact of tinnitus, and how a new app could help

  It’s thought that about 15% of us are affected by tinnitus, and despite its potentially debilitating impact on mental health and quality of life, there isn’t any cure for the condition. Madeleine Finlay speaks to John, who has used CBT...

  
• 02.27.2024

  How green are electric cars?

  Electric cars might seem like a no-brainer on a warming planet, but there are plenty of people who remain sceptical about everything from their battery life to their carbon impact and the environmental and human rights costs of their parts....

  
• 02.22.2024

  Mistakes, fakes, and a giant rat penis: why are so many science papers being retracted?

  A record 10,000 research papers were retracted in 2023. To find out what’s driving this trend, Ian Sample speaks to Ivan Oransky, whose organisation Retraction Watch has been monitoring the growing numbers of retractions for more than a decade, and...

  
• 02.20.2024

  Nitazenes and xylazine: what’s behind the rise of dangerous synthetic drugs?

  Social affairs correspondent Robert Booth tells Madeleine Finlay why a class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes, first developed in the 1950s, is leading to a worrying number of fatal overdoses in the UK. And she hears from toxicology and addiction...

  
• 02.15.2024

  What apes can tell us about the origins of teasing

  We all know people who find it hilarious to prod and poke, pinch and tickle, all in the name of fun. But are humans the only ones who like to tease each other? Or are other animals in on the...

  
• 02.13.2024

  Retinol, acids and serums for kids? A dermatologist’s guide to age appropriate skincare

  Last month the British Association of Dermatologists warned that children as young as eight years old were using potentially damaging anti-ageing skin care products. Madeleine Finlay speaks to consultant dermatologist Dr Emma Wedgeworth about where this trend has come from,...

  
• 02.08.2024

  Why are we still waiting for a male contraceptive pill?

  Despite research into a male contraceptive pill starting around the same time as its female counterpart, no product has ever made it to market. But that could soon change, with a new non-hormonal male pill entering human trials in the...

  
• 02.06.2024

  What happens now bird flu has reached the Antarctic?

  The moment scientists had been dreading arrived late last year, when H5N1, or bird flu, was found for the first time in the Antarctic. Last week a king penguin on the island of South Georgia became the first in the...

  
• 02.01.2024

  A fasting prime minister and a mind-reading billionaire: the week in science

  Ian Sample and science correspondent Hannah Devlin discuss the big science stories of the week – from news that Elon Musk’s Neuralink has implanted its first chip into a human, to research suggesting Alzheimer’s can pass between humans in rare...

  
• 01.30.2024

  Secrets of the microbiome: the skin

  The trillions of microbes living on and inside the human body are an important part of who we are, from mediating all of our interactions with the environment to determining our cancer risk and influencing who we fall for. And...

  
• 01.25.2024

  Secrets of the microbiome: the vagina

  The trillions of microbes living on and inside the human body are an important part of who we are, from mediating all our interactions with the environment to determining our cancer risk and influencing who we fall for. And scientists...

  
• 01.23.2024

  Secrets of the microbiome: the gut

  The trillions of microbes living on and inside the human body are an important part of who we are, from mediating all of our interactions with the environment to determining our cancer risk and influencing who we fall for. And...

  
• 01.18.2024

  How to stop doomscrolling and reclaim your brain

  If you’ve made a resolution to spend less time on your phone this year, help is at hand. The Guardian has launched a new newsletter, Reclaim your brain. Its co-writer and expert coach Catherine Price tells Madeleine Finlay how her...

  
• 01.16.2024

  Is guilt-free flying on the horizon?

  In November, a plane powered by 100% ‘sustainable’ jet fuel took off from London to New York. It was hailed by some as a milestone in reducing the carbon footprint of air travel, which accounts for about 2.5% of global...

  
• 01.11.2024

  Our science predictions for 2024

  Last year was a bumper year for science news, with the rise of weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy, record-high global temperatures, not to mention an attempted orca uprising. So what will this year bring? Ian Sample and science correspondent Hannah...

  
• 01.09.2024

  What the science says about how to get active (and make it stick)

  As parks and gyms fill with people hoping to make 2024 their year of fitness, Ian Sample speaks to Martin Gibala, professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Canada, about how much exercise we should be doing, the benefits of...

  
• 01.04.2024

  Revisited: Weight of the world, the climate scientists who hold out hope

  Science Weekly revisits episode three of this 2023 mini-series from Full Story. In the final part of this three-part series, the Australian climate scientists Lesley Hughes, Ove Høegh-Guldberg and Graeme Pearman take stock as they look back on their life’s...

  
• 01.03.2024

  Weight of the world revisited: the climate scientists who copped it

  Science Weekly revisits episode two of this 2023 mini-series from Full Story. In part two of Weight of the world, three Australian climate scientists reveal the professional and personal toll of their predictions. Lesley Hughes tells us about the axing...

  
• 01.02.2024

  Revisited: Weight of the world – the climate scientists who saw the crisis coming

  Science Weekly revisits episode one of this 2023 mini-series from Full Story. Pioneering Australian scientists Graeme Pearman, Lesley Hughes and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg saw the climate crisis coming. Pearman predicted the increase of carbon dioxide levels, Hughes foresaw the alarming number...

  
• 12.28.2023

  Best of 2023, Killing the Skydancer: episode three, An Open Secret

  In this special Age of Extinction mini-series from Science Weekly, which first aired in 2023, the Guardian’s biodiversity reporter, Phoebe Weston, explores the illegal killing of birds of prey on grouse moors, and asks why it is so difficult to...

  
• 12.27.2023

  Best of 2023, Killing the Skydancer: episode two, The Perfect Crime

  In this special Age of Extinction mini-series from Science Weekly, which first aired in August 2023, the Guardian’s biodiversity reporter, Phoebe Weston, explores the murky world of the illegal killing of birds of prey on grouse moors, and asks why...

  
• 12.26.2023

  Best of 2023: Killing the Skydancer episode one, Susie’s chicks

  In this special Age of Extinction mini-series from Science Weekly, which first aired in August 2023, the Guardian’s biodiversity reporter, Phoebe Weston, explores the illegal killing of birds of prey on grouse moors and asks why it is so difficult...

  
• 12.21.2023

  All the buzz and no hangover? The next generation of alcohol-free drinks

  What with Christmas parties and work drinks, this time of year can feel like one long hangover. But a new generation of alcohol-free alternatives is emerging which claim to offer the fun of alcohol without the painful morning-after. Madeleine Finlay...

  
• 12.19.2023

  Can machines ever be like us? Prof Michael Wooldridge on the future of AI

  Prof Michael Wooldridge has been an AI researcher for more than 30 years, and in the year that AI was supercharged by ChatGPT, he is giving the Royal Institution’s Christmas lectures on the truth about AI. The Guardian science correspondent...

  
• 12.13.2023

  Cop28: what just happened?

  A deal has been announced at Cop28 in Dubai, and depending who you talk to, it’s either a historic achievement or a weak and ineffectual agreement full of loopholes. Ian Sample speaks to the Guardian environment editor Damian Carrington, who...

  
• 12.12.2023

  The incredible world of animal perception, and what it can teach us

  Ian Sample meets Ed Yong, who recently won 2023’s Royal Society book prize for An Immense World, which delves into the incredible world of animal senses. From colours and sounds beyond our perception, to the weird and wonderful ways that...

  
• 12.07.2023

  All the drama from the first week of Cop28

  Madeleine Finlay hears from the biodiversity and environment reporter Patrick Greenfield, who is reporting for the Guardian from Cop28 in Dubai. He describes the rollercoaster first week of highs and lows, which included an important agreement on loss and damage...

  
• 12.05.2023

  Why are we still struggling to get contraception right?

  As the pill becomes available over the counter and free of charge in England, Madeleine Finlay talks to science correspondent Nicola Davis about the problems women in the UK face in getting access to appropriate contraception, and how unwanted side-effects...

  
• 11.30.2023

  Everything you need to know about Cop28 as the summit begins

  Every year the world’s leaders gather for the UN climate change conference, and after a year of record temperatures, this year’s summit has been called the most vital yet. As Cop28 begins in Dubai, Ian Sample hears from Guardian environment...

  
• 11.28.2023

  Weight of the world – the climate scientists who saw the crisis coming

  Science Weekly brings you episode one of a new mini-series from Full Story. Pioneering Australian scientists Graeme Pearman, Lesley Hughes and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg saw the climate crisis coming. Pearman predicted the increase of carbon dioxide levels, Hughes foresaw the alarming...

  
• 11.23.2023

  What have we learned from the James Webb space telescope so far?

  Madeleine Finlay sits down with science correspondent Hannah Devlin to discuss the amazing discoveries the James Webb space telescope has made in the year since it became operational. From planets that rain sand, to distant galaxies, Hannah explains how some...

  
• 11.21.2023

  Superyachts and private jets: the carbon impact of the ‘polluter elite’

  A new report from Oxfam has found that the extravagant carbon footprint of the 0.1% – from superyachts, private jets and mansions to space flights and doomsday bunkers – is 77 times higher than the upper level needed for global...

  
• 11.16.2023

  The mysteries of volcanoes: what’s going on beneath the ground in Iceland?

  As Iceland braces for a volcanic eruption, Madeleine Finlay hears from volcanologist Helga Torfadottir about how the country is preparing, and why this is happening now. She also speaks to Cambridge professor of volcanology Clive Oppenheimer about how scientists predict...

  
• 11.14.2023

  CBD: what’s the science behind the wellness trend?

  Last month the UK’s Food Standards Authority slashed the recommended safe daily intake of cannabidiol (CBD) from 70mg to 10mg. An estimated one in 10 people in the UK have used products containing CBD, and many users believe it can...