Podcast Episodes

How early climate models got global warming right

Since the 1960s, scientists have been developing and honing models to understand how the earth’s climate is changing. One such pioneer of early climate modelling is Syukuro Manabe, who won the Nobel …

Published on 10 hours ago

How organised crime infiltrated Brazil

At dawn on October 28, residents of Rio de Janeiro woke to the sound of gunfire. Battles continued throughout the day in the favelas of Alemão and Penha, as police mounted a huge operation targeting …

Published on 1 week ago

Ghosts vs demons: a 16th century Halloween showdown

In the 16th century, witches and demons weren’t just for Halloween. People were terrified and preoccupied with them – even kings.

In 1590, James VI of Scotland – who was later also crowned James I of …

Published on 2 weeks ago

Bitcoin buys: the risks and rewards of companies buying crypto

One American company called Strategy owns more than 3% of all bitcoin in existence. In August 2020, its executive chairman, Michael Saylor, pioneered a new business model where publicly listed compan…

Published on 3 weeks ago

The hidden sources of forever chemicals

As one of the birthplaces of the industrial revolution, the River Mersey in northern England is no stranger to pollution flowing into its waters. Now it's got a new problem: monitoring shows the amou…

Published on 4 weeks ago

Nobel laureate Shimon Sakaguchi on his immune system breakthrough

Back in the 1980s, when Shimon Sakaguchi was a young researcher in immunology, he found it difficult to get his research funded. Now, his pioneering work which explains how our immune system knows wh…

Published on 1 month ago

The diagnosis dimension to the rise in autism

As Donald Trump gives oxygen to unproven theories about what might be behind a recent rise in autism cases, experts repeatedly point to the changing nature of how autism is diagnosed and viewed.

A key…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

Pressuring the Fed doesn't end well

Donald Trump is not letting up pressure on the US Federal Reserve. He's taken efforts to fire one of its governors, all the way up to the US Supreme Court.

Trump's clash with the Fed echoes pressure …

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

Palestinian statehood: the route to recognition

With France, the UK, Australia and Canada expected to recognise an independent Palestinian state at UN General Assembly in New York, what are the origins of the state they plan to recognise?

In this …

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

The sovereign citizen movement's spread around the world

Police in Australia are continuing a huge manhunt in the mountains for Dezi Freeman, a man accused of killing two police officers and injuring a third in late August.

Freeman identifies as a sovereig…

Published on 2 months ago