Are you tired of hearing about coronavirus? Has lockdown left you worn out? Then perhaps it’s time to escape. Join Rowan Hooper and the team at New Scientist in this covid-free space, as they discuss all that’s right with the world - the stories that remind us of how wonderful this planet really is. Find out more at newscientist.com/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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This episode delves into the hidden forces and phenomena around us, starting with bats' ultrasonic echolocation and how their sounds are made audible. The discussion then moves to the mysterious, weakly interacting subatomic particles called neutrinos, exploring their origins and challenging detection methods. Finally, the team unveils the reality of invisibility technology, differentiating between theoretical "perfect" cloaks and practical, camouflaging shields.
The New Scientist team embarks on a journey to famous sites of elemental discovery, beginning with Ytterby, Sweden, a quarry where nearly 10% of naturally occurring elements were found. They then visit Strontian, Scotland, known for strontium, an element with a surprising comic book connection. The discussion extends to cutting-edge labs in Dubna, Russia, and Japan, where scientists synthesize new, superheavy elements like Moscovium and Nihonium, showcasing the ongoing quest to expand the periodic table.
Delve into the intricate ways we perceive the world. The team demonstrates the subtle complexity of hearing with an incredible binaural sound clip, then examines how quantum mechanics challenges our everyday perception, revealing a pixelated reality where particles lack definite positions. Finally, they explore metacognition – our understanding of what we know – discussing its measurement, brain regions involved, and potential links to mental health.
Celebrating the forgotten people behind history’s biggest scientific breakthroughs, this episode is an ode to unsung heroes. Starting with the American chemist Alice Ball, the team discusses her groundbreaking work on leprosy in the 20th century. They then remember the German mathematician Emmy Noether whose theorem is so impressive it puts Pythagoras to shame! And last but not least Mary Sherman Morgan gets the spotlight, an American rocket fuel scientist who helped the US enter the space race....
From music to nature to infinity, this episode is all about scales. The team opens with a keyboard ditty as they explore the science behind musical scales - and why major chords sound happy, while minor chords sound sad. They then find themselves tangled up in spider webs, finding out how various structures at different scales club together to give them their extraordinary strength. And finally, the team stares into infinity, visiting Hilbert’s infinite hotel, a mind-boggling thought-experiment ...
Get in the zone and find your zen - this week’s episode is all about flow. It may sound vague, but there’s a lot of fascinating science behind the concept. The team starts by explaining what’s going on in your brain when you find the “sweet spot” in an activity and lose all sense of time. They then explore how elite performers achieve flow in their sport through years of intense practise. And finally, they point out that you don’t actually have to be doing anything at all to get in the flow - th...
We’re shuttling you off planet for some true escapism this week to visit a few of our team’s favourite moons. Starting close to home, let’s sing the praises of our moon, Luna, which might be boringly inert but is too often taken for granted. Moving further out, to Jupiter, the team explore the thick ice sheets of the smoothest moon in the solar system, Europa. And they wrap up in the orbit of Saturn, with Titan, a peculiar moon which is like a mirror-Earth, and one of the best places in the sola...
From beetle explosions to the deep dark depths of the ocean, this episode is all about escape. The team discusses the amazing (and sometimes disgusting) way bombardier beetles escape predators. They explain what it takes for an object to reach escape velocity, celebrating the mathematical mind of Katherine Johnson while they’re at it. And they explore the daunting realms of free-diving, and the lengths people will go to for a bit of peace and quiet. On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Anna Demming and ...
From the quickest animal in the world to the fastest supercomputer, this episode is all about speed. Opening with the cries of the peregrine falcon, the team finds out how the bird has evolved to endure flying at more than 200mph. Then they explain how scientists, starting from Galileo, attempted to measure the speed limit of the universe, the speed of light, and how Einstein understood what it meant. And they explore the mind-blowing capabilities of Fugaku, the fastest supercomputer in the worl...
Keeping you cosy this week is an episode all about warmth - emotional, physiological and geological. We have an unexpected start to the show, with bees taking the spotlight, but it turns out these cold-blooded little insects can generate immense warmth when necessary. The team then takes a much bigger view of warmth, discussing the heat of the planet, and of the many uses of geothermal energy. Finally they wrap up by finding out what it takes to make a robot seem warm and friendly. On the pod ar...
Prepare to feel relaxed, tingly and amazed all in the space of 20 minutes. This episode is all about sound. We start with the musical tones of an elephant trumpeting, followed by a recording from Cornell University’s Elephant Listening Project , showing how they communicate at an infrasonic frequency, which humans can’t ordinarily detect. The team then attempts to send shivers down your spine by recreating ASMR, explaining why some people enjoy the sound of whispering, rustling crisp packets or ...
From some of the lightest creatures on earth, to the heaviest things in the cosmos, this episode is all about mass. It’s a magical opening to the show as the team discusses a group of insects called fairy wasps which are so light it’s near impossible to weigh them. They then turn to matters of massive proportions, discussing a little thing called dark matter. Finally the team wraps up by looking at the surprising, and slightly hilarious ways that a kilogram is measured. On the pod are Rowan Hoop...
This episode is all about music, so today’s journey of escapism comes complete with odd, relaxing, soothing and interesting sounds to guide you through. The team opens with the sounds of animals, specifically the singing - if you can call it that - of gorillas, and the jazzy birdsong of the thrush. They then treat you to the sounds of data sonification, courtesy of Milton Mermikides, who translates motion into music, like the swinging of a pendulum, the crystallisation of salt, or the orbits of ...
Delve into the fascinating world of alliances, beginning with the incredible symbiotic relationship of lichen and its critical role in shaping Earth's early atmosphere. Then, discover how carbon's unique atomic structure allows it to form an astonishing range of materials, from diamonds to graphene. Finally, meet the legendary mathematician Paul Erdős, known for his extraordinary number of collaborations and his nomadic pursuit of mathematical problems.
The New Scientist Escape Pod's inaugural episode takes listeners on a journey away from daily woes. It delves into the surprising self-awareness and complex communication of whales and dolphins, then marvels at the physics behind the seemingly impossible feats of gymnasts like Simone Biles. Finally, the discussion moves to the ancient board game Go, exploring its astronomical complexity and how AI, specifically AlphaGo, developed a creative 'intuition' that challenges human understanding.
New Scientist introduces "Escape Pod," a new lockdown podcast hosted by Rowan Hooper, offering a much-needed escape from coronavirus news. This podcast focuses on uplifting stories about the wonders of our planet, from the intelligence of marine life to incredible human achievements and mind-bending games, aiming to brighten your week.
