Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchKeeping tabs on nuclear weapons
The US has withdrawn from a historic nuclear disarmament treaty. However the verification of such treaties has been under scrutiny for some time as they don’t actually reveal the size of nuclear stoc…
Published on 6 years, 1 month ago
The snowball effect of Arctic fires
Wildfires are an annual phenomenon across the arctic region, but this year they are far more intense than usual, we look at the drivers for these extreme fires and the consequences, in particular lon…
Published on 6 years, 1 month ago
The human danger – for sharks
A global project tracking sharks through the deep oceans has found they are increasingly facing danger from fishing fleets. Sharks used to be caught accidentally, but now there is a well-established …
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
The moon landing and another big space anniversary
It’s 50 years since the moon landing and 25 years since Shoemaker - Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter. The Apollo missions returned to earth with cargos of moon rocks and the comet crash showed us what hap…
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
'Free' water and electricity for the world?
Researchers in Saudi Arabia have developed a prototype solar panel which generates electricity and purifies water at the same time. The device uses waste heat from the electricity generating process …
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
Analysing the European heatwave
The recent European heatwave broke records, but how severe was it really and what were the underlying causes? Having run the numbers, climate scientists say global warming played a large part, and ma…
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
Is climate change driving Europe’s current heatwave?
As Europe experiences another record breaking heatwave, we look at the science of attribution. Usually it’s a long time after extreme weather events that scientists gather enough data to make a judge…
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
Iran’s nuclear plans
Iran’s nuclear programme is at the centre of a political row, with the country suggesting it could increase uranium production to above the levels permitted under an international agreement. We look …
Published on 6 years, 3 months ago
South Asia heatwave and climate change
South Asia has experienced a heatwave where the monsoon has been delayed and temperatures have reached over 50 degrees. Despite this the extreme heat has led to far fewer fatalities than previous hea…
Published on 6 years, 3 months ago
US foetal tissue research ban
The US has withdrawn funding for scientific research involving foetal tissue. Scientists point to the lack of feasible alternatives to using foetal tissue – which comes from embryos donated to scien…
Published on 6 years, 3 months ago