Category Archives: Podcasts

Science: New W Boson Particle Measurement, Marine RNA Viruses

On this week’s show: A new measurement of the W boson could challenge physicists’ standard model, and an abundance of marine RNA viruses.

Staff Writer Adrian Cho joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss a new threat to the standard model of particle physics—a heavier than expected measurement of a fundamental particle called the W boson. They chat about how this measurement was taken, and what it means if it is right.

Next, Sarah talks about the microscopic denizens of Earth’s oceans with Ahmed Zayed, a research scientist in the department of microbiology at Ohio State University, Columbus. They talk about findings from a global survey of marine RNA viruses. The results double the number of known RNA viruses, suggesting new classifications will be needed to categorize all this viral diversity.

Reviews: The Week In Art

This week: Quiet as It’s Kept, the 80th edition of the Whitney Biennial, is now open to the public at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. 

The Art Newspaper’s associate editor Tom Seymour, Americas editor Ben Sutton and staff reporter Gabriella Angeletti gather to discuss it. As the latest incarnation of the show Afro-Atlantic Histories is unveiled at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, we speak to its curator, Kanitra Fletcher, about the gallery’s approach to this complex subject. And the National Gallery in London’s long-planned Raphael blockbuster, postponed due to the pandemic, is finally open, so for this episode’s Work of the Week, we speak to Tom Henry, one of the curators of the show, about the Self-Portrait with Giulio Romano (1519-20), one of the Renaissance master’s final paintings.

Morning News: French Election Polls, Russian Atrocities, Yemen War

We look at the polls ahead of the first round of this weekend’s French elections. Plus: the latest on the war in Ukraine, an update on Yemen as its president cedes power and Monocle’s Andrew Mueller on the week’s under-reported stories.

Morning News: China’s Zero-Covid Crisis, Prisons Sweltering, Time Disputes

China’s zero-covid policy is being stretched to breaking point as the virus makes its way through the city. Supplies are low, residents are angry and there is no end in sight. 

The debate about air conditioning in America’s sweltering prisons will only heat up further. And how a dispute about time from exactly a century ago remains timely today. 

Morning News: Russian Attacks On Citizens, EU Calls To Cut Russian Oil

Ukrainian journalist Iryna Matviyishyn gives us the latest from Lviv as more reports of Russian attacks on civilians emerge. Plus: Anna Rosenberg of Signum Global on calls for the EU to cut off Russian oil imports, a review of today’s papers and aviation news.

Analysis: Ukraine Victory Importance, Anti-Media In China, Social Influencers

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why a Ukrainian victory would transform the security of Europe, a terrible plane crash prompts a revealing anti-media backlash in China (11:20) and the serious business of social influencers (18:30).

Morning News: Russia Withdraws To East, Serbia & Hungary Elections

The latest on the war in Ukraine. Plus Monocle’s Europe editor-at-large, Ed Stocker, discusses two pivotal elections in Serbia and Hungary, and personal finance specialist Annabelle Williams has today’s top business stories.