Science Weekly
Alok Jha and the Guardian's science team bring you the best analysis and interviews from the worlds of science and technology.
Covid-19 vaccines: anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theories
As Covid-19 spread around the world, conspiracy theories about its origin, severity and prevention followed closely behind. Now attention has turned to vaccines. False claims circulated among anti-vaxxer groups include the theory that Covid vaccines are being used to implant microchips in people and that they will alter a person’s…
Covid-19 vaccines: why are some people hesitant? (part one)
Less than a year since Covid-19 was genetically sequenced, vaccinations against it have begun. Despite being a cause for celebration, the vaccines have been met with some public hesitancy. In the first of a two-part exploration into Covid-19 vaccine scepticism, Nicola Davis speaks to Dr Samantha Vanderslott and Dr Caitjan…
Why should we listen to birds? (part two)
In this second episode of our Age of Extinction takeover, Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield explore how human noise is affecting birds, and what listening to birdsong can tell us about biodiversity. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
Why should we listen to birds? (part one)
Our colleagues from the Age of Extinction project, Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield, are back with two new episodes asking whether birdsong might be beneficial to both our mental and physical health – and if nature is so good for us, why aren’t we taking better care of it?. Help…
Covid-19: the relationship between stress and health
As we head into the pandemic’s winter months, Natalie Grover speaks to Prof Kavita Vedhara about the continued impact of Covid-19-related stress on long-term mental health and how this might affect our ability to fight off infection. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
Covid-19: getting public health messaging right
The alarming pattern of second waves of Covid-19 infection across the world, and the promise of vaccines on the horizon, has once again brought public health messaging into focus. So what has the pandemic taught us about what makes a successful programme? The Guardian’s health editor, Sarah Boseley, speaks to…
Deep Blue Notes: episode three
Wildlife recordist Chris Watson and sound artist Prof Tony Myatt conclude their three-part odyssey to the west coast of Mexico to record the songs of blue whales in the Sea of Cortez. In the port of Loreto, Chris and Tony visit a local organisation set up to protect local wildlife,…
Deep Blue Notes: episode two
Wildlife recordist Chris Watson and spatial audio sound artist Prof Tony Myatt continue on their three-part journey to the Sea of Cortez fishing for the song of the blue whale. Chris speaks to blue wales expert Dr Diane Gendron, and artists Diana Schniedermeier and Ina Krüger, who produce ocean sound…
Deep Blue Notes: episode one
Wildlife recordist Chris Watson and spatial audio sound artist Prof Tony Myatt begin a three-part journey to the Sea of Cortez hunting for the song of the largest, and possibly loudest, animal that has ever lived – the blue whale. It’s also an animal that Chris has never managed to…
Covid-19: how vaccines lead to immunity – podcast
With a number of Covid-19 vaccines seemingly on the way, Nicola Davis talks to Prof Eleanor Riley about how they might help the body’s defence mechanisms fight the virus. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
A more accurate way of measuring the effect of computer games
The Guardian’s UK technology editor Alex Hern speaks to Prof Andy Przybylski from the Oxford Internet Institute about his new approach of looking at the impact of computer games on mental health. According to Prof Przybylski, this new approach is more objective – but it also depends on gaming companies…
From the archive: an interview with Nobel laureate Sir Roger Penrose (part 2)
The second part of Ian Sample’s 2016 interview with Prof Sir Roger Penrose, which includes a quantum theory of consciousness and the age-old question of whether mathematics is invented or discovered. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
From the archive: an interview with Nobel laureate Sir Roger Penrose (part 1)
In the first part of this episode from 2016, Ian Sample speaks with the acclaimed mathematician and physicist Prof Sir Roger Penrose about his then most recent book, Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe. Warning of the potential dangers of dogmatic belief and unheralded faith,…
Covid-19: what can we learn from the London blitz?
Ian Sample speaks to Prof Edgar Jones about the comparative psychological impacts of the blitz bombings of London and the Covid-19 pandemic. Including the role trust in government plays and what we might expect during the second wave of infections. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
Covid-19: what's up with the coronavirus cough?
Linda Geddes speaks to Prof Jacky Smith about one of Covid-19’s most consistent symptoms: the persistent dry cough. As winter arrives in the northern hemisphere, how do we tell the difference between the possible onset of the virus and the kind of routine coughs normally experienced at this time of…
Investigating the historic eruption of Mount Vesuvius
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79, the damage wreaked was catastrophic. Ash and pumice darkened the skies, and hot gas flowed from the volcano. Uncovering the victims, fated to lie frozen in time for 2,000 years, has shown they died in a range of gruesome ways. Nicola Davis speaks to…
Covid-19: How do you make a vaccine?
With any future Covid-19 vaccine requiring its manufacturing process to be signed off as part of its regulatory approval for use on the general population, Madeleine Finlay talks to Dr Stephen Morris from the Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub about how vaccines are made at the volume and speed required…
Journey into a black hole: part 2
They are among the most enigmatic phenomena in the universe, confounding physicists and mathematicians alike. Black holes pull in the matter around them and anything that enters can never escape. Yet they contain nothing at all. Guided by the physicist and author of the Black Hole Survival Guide, Janna Levin,…
Journey into a black hole: part 1
They are among the most enigmatic phenomena in the universe, confounding physicists and mathematicians. Black holes pull in the matter surrounding them and anything that enters can never escape. Yet they contain nothing at all. Guided by the physicist and author of Black Hole Survival Guide, Janna Levin, Madeleine Finlay…
From the archives: How do we save society?
With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to highlight health and economic inequalities, and the US election fast approaching, this week we return to the archive to explore how divisions in society arise and what we can do about them. In this episode from 2017, Ian Sample investigates where group splits come…