In this episode, how new discoveries continue to change our understanding of what dinosaurs looked like – and are helping to shed light on bigger questions about evolution. And after Israel’s fourth election in two years ended in another political stalemate, a foreign policy expert explains what this could mean for the Middle East. Welcome to episode 11 of The Conversation Weekly , the world explained by experts. Ever since palaeontologists started classifying fossils and bones as dinosaur...
Apr 15, 2021•40 min•Ep. 11
In this episode, why some economists are worried about a growing army of "zombie companies" with lots of debts – and what this could mean for the shape of our economies. And the researchers who've found a new way to prevent predators from eating the eggs of endangered birds – via a form of biological, psychological warfare. Welcome to episode 10 of The Conversation Weekly , the world explained by experts. With interest rates at record lows, many companies have been able to borrow money at v...
Apr 08, 2021•38 min•Ep. 10
This week, the inside story of how scientists working at Cern’s Large Hadron Collider found tantalising new evidence which could mean we have to rethink what we know about the universe. And an update on the situation for Rohingya refugees from Myanmar living in Bangladesh after a deadly fire swept through a refugee camp there. Welcome to episode 9 of The Conversation Weekly, the world explained by experts. In late March, particle physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a massive p...
Apr 01, 2021•39 min•Ep. 9
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly , four experts dissect the impact a year of working from home has had on employees and the companies they work for — and what a more hybrid future might look like. And we talk to a researcher who asked people to sit in bath tubs full of ice cold water to find out why some of us are able to stand the cold better than others. For many people who can do their job from home, the pandemic meant a sudden shift from office-based to remote working. But a year o...
Mar 25, 2021•36 min•Ep. 8
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast we drill down into the impact coronavirus lockdowns had on global carbon emissions – and ask what this means for the fight against climate change as governments turn their focus on the recovery. And we hear how the pandemic exacerbated the hardships faced by migrant workers in Canada. Corinne Le Quéré, Professor of Climate Change Science at the University of East Anglia, tells globla carbon emissions dropped 7% in 2020 – by 2.6...
Mar 18, 2021•37 min•Ep. 7
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, three experts in global health explain why COVID-19 has been a moment of reckoning for the World Health Organization (WHO), and where it goes from here. And to mark one year since the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic , we hear from Conversation editors around the world on the situation where they live right now. The WHO had a torrid 2020. Although it declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern in late January , much of ...
Mar 11, 2021•37 min•Ep. 6
This week, two experts explain how melting ice in the far north is bringing more light to the Arctic Ocean and what this means for the species that live there. And we hear from a team of archaeologists on their new research in Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge that found evidence of just how adaptable early humans were to the changing environment. Every summer, the sea ice in the Arctic melts -– but it's melting more and more each year. This dramatic loss is because the Arctic is warming two to thre...
Mar 04, 2021•34 min•Ep. 5
This week three experts explain why more people are thinking about leaving Hong Kong after China's clampdown on dissent – and the choices they face about where to go. And we hear about a new way to speed up the hunt for one of the universe's most elusive enigmas: dark matter. Welcome to episode 4 of The Conversation Weekly, the world explained by experts. Since China imposed a new National Security Law on Hong Kong in mid-2020, the situation for protesters has become much more dangerous. Many of...
Feb 25, 2021•36 min•Ep. 4
This week we’re talking to researchers about how COVID-19 vaccines are manufactured – and a battle over the intellectual property rights surrounding them. And we hear from a researcher looking into why China is closing down coal-fired power stations faster in some places than others. Welcome to episode 3 of a new podcast from The Conversation, the world explained by experts. While some of the world’s richest countries are racing ahead with large-scale programmes to vaccinate their populations, f...
Feb 18, 2021•37 min•Ep. 3
Welcome to episode 2 of a new podcast from The Conversation, the world explained by experts. This week we’re talking to researchers about Myanmar – and what it's like looking for COVID-19 in wild animals. Protests have rocked Myanmar in recent days as people took to the streets demanding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's de factor leader who was arrested during a military coup on February 1. We speak to two academics who study Myanmar, Adam Simpson , Senior Lecturer in International...
Feb 11, 2021•35 min•Ep. 2
Welcome to the first episode of a new podcast from The Conversation, the world explained by experts. This week we’re talking to researchers about Mars – and Belarus. For the past six months, three different space missions have been on their way to Mars. Now, all three – from the United Arab Emirates, China and the US – are due to arrive at the red planet in February within a few weeks of each other. We talk to three experts, Jim Bell , Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration ...
Feb 04, 2021•36 min•Ep. 1
Introducing The Conversation Weekly, the world explained by experts. Made by the team at The Conversation . Each week we talk to academics to help unpack the context behind the headlines – and hear from scholars carrying out brand new research about how the world works. Hosted by Gemma Ware in London and Dan Merino in San Francisco. Produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens and music by Neeta Sarl....
Jan 25, 2021•2 min
