Category Archives: Podcasts

Science: Probing Earth’s Inner Core, Complete Read Of Human Genome

On this week’s show: A journey to the center of the center of the Earth, and what was missing from the first human genome project.

Staff Writer Paul Voosen talks with host Sarah Crespi about the many mysteries surrounding the innermost part of our planet—from its surprisingly recent birth to whether it spins faster or slower than the rest of the planet.

Next, Sarah chats with Adam Phillippy about the results from the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium, an effort to create a complete and detailed read of the human genome. Phillippy, a senior investigator and head of the Genome Informatics Section at the National Human Genome Research Institute, explains what we can learn by topping up the human genome with roughly 200 more megabases of genetic information—practically a whole chromosome’s worth of additional sequencing.

See all the T2T papers.

This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.

[Image: V. Altounian/Science; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

[alt: An array of the human chromosomes showing newly sequenced parts from the Telomere-to-Telomere Consortium with podcast symbol overlay]

Authors: Sarah Crespi; Paul Voosen

Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq1885

Reviews: ‘The Week In Art’

This week: the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2022 is out—is the market’s recovery as good as it sounds? 

We talk to Melanie Gerlis, art market columnist for The Art Newspaper and the Financial Times, about the sixth edition of the market report, what the headline figures tell us and what we can read between the lines.

As the exhibition Hideouts: The Architecture of Survival, opens at the Zacheta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw—focusing on the spaces in Poland and Ukraine used by Holocaust survivors to escape Nazi persecution—we talk to the artist behind it, Natalia Romik. Though long planned, the show has gained a troubling topicality as the Russian invasion and destruction of Ukraine continues.

And in this episode’s Work of the Week, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Piet Mondrian’s birth, we discuss his painting Victory Boogie Woogie (1942-44). Caro Verbeek, the co-curator of Mondrian Moves, an exhibition opening this week at the Kunstmuseum den Haag in the Hague, the Netherlands, tells us about the feverish creation and unfinished nature of the Dutch artist’s final work.

Natalia Romik’s exhibition, Hideouts: The Architecture of Survival, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, until 17 July; TRAFO Center for Contemporary Art, Szczecin, Poland, 4 August-6 November

Mondrian Moves, Kunstmuseum den Haag, the Hague, Netherlands, 2 April-25 September. Mondrian Evolution, Fondation Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland, 5 June-9 October; K20, Düsseldorf, Germany, 29 October-10 February 2023

Morning News: Hungary Elections, College Fees In Britain, Ukraine War Film

Viktor Orban’s eight-year assault on the country’s institutions will help his bid for re-election. But the poll is far bigger than Hungary: it is a verdict on autocracies everywhere. 

 Britain welcomes the fees from its staggering number of Chinese university students; we examine the risks that dependence poses. And a prescient Ukrainian war film gets a new lease on life.

Morning News: Russia Regroups, China’s Zero-Covid Policy, Fake Profiles

The Russians are pulling some troops away from Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. But what exactly does this mean? China places the city of Shanghai on lockdown due to a surge in Covid-19 infections. And Stanford researchers uncover fake LinkedIn profiles being used by the sales industry.

Science: Navigating Life, Coastal Storminess, Boa Constrictors, Old Trees

Your ability to find your way may depend on where you grew up and how coastal storminess is changing.

00:47 Your ability to find your way may depend on where you grew up

Researchers have long been trying to understand why some humans are better at navigating than others. This week, researchers show that where someone grew up plays an important role in their ability to find their way; the more winding and disorganised the layouts of your childhood were, the better navigator you’ll be later in life.
Research article: Coutrot et al.

08:57 Research Highlights

How boas can squeeze without suffocating themselves, and why being far from humans helps trees live a long life.
Research Highlight: How boa constrictors squeeze and breathe at the same time

Research Highlight: Where are Earth’s oldest trees? Far from prying eyes

11:39 How coastal storminess is changing

Coastal flooding causes billions of dollars in damage each year. Rising sea levels are known to be a key driver, but the importance of another factor, storm surges, is less clear. Typically after accounting for increasing sea level, they’re not thought to make much of an impact. However new research suggests that this may not be the case.
Research article: Calafat et al.

16:10 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, a brain implant allows a person who is completely paralysed to communicate, and penguin-like bone density suggests Spinosaurus may have hunted underwater.
Science: In a first, brain implant lets man with complete paralysis spell out thoughts: ‘I love my cool son.’

National Geographic: Spinosaurus had penguin-like bones, a sign of hunting underwater

Video: A swimming dinosaur: The tail of Spinosaurus

Morning News: Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks, U.S.-Philippine Military Drills

The latest on Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Plus: Richard Heydarian on the significance of American-Philippine military drills, a flick through today’s papers and the latest business stories.

Morning News: Russia-Ukraine Talks, Israel-Arab Summit, Solomon Islands

We give you the latest on the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Plus: Antony Blinken’s role in the Israel-Arab summit, China’s growing influence in the Solomon Islands and a wave of Taliban reforms in Afghanistan.

Morning News: Ukraine’s Borders, Regime Change In Russia, Social Media

Ukraine insists on territorial integrity as talks loom, President Biden says he is not calling for regime change in Russia, and single dad receives kidney donation from total stranger who replied on social media.

Sunday Morning: Stories & News From Zurich, Tokyo, Majorca And London

Our weekend programme comes live from Monocle’s radio studio in Zürich, where Tyler Brûlé and a panel of special-guest thought leaders discuss key topics in front of a studio audience.