Category Archives: Podcasts

Sunday Morning: News From London & Zurich

Monocle’s Emma Nelson and panelists Caroline Frost, Vincent McAviney and Florian Egli on the weekend’s biggest news stories. Plus: what’s making headlines on the pages of ‘Süddeutsche Zeitung’.

Morning News: Taiwan Bolsters Military, Russian & Canadian Elections

We discuss why Taiwan is bolstering its defence capabilities and explore why this weekend’s election in Russia matters – despite being a foregone conclusion.

Plus: The last instalment of our Canadian election series and our weekly reflection on the weird and wonderful things we’ve learned over the past seven days.

Science: Potty-Trained Cows, Massive Sardines Run Off South Africa

Online News Editor David Grimm joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about the health and environmental benefits of potty training cows. 

Next, Peter Teske, a professor in the department of zoology at the University of Johannesburg, joins us to talk about his Science Advances paper on origins of the sardine run—a massive annual fish migration off the coast of South Africa. 

Morning News: Cabinet Shake-Up In Britain, Covid-19 Study & Stargazing

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has re-allocated a number of key government posts. We ask how the changes reflect his political standing and what they mean for his agenda. A first-of-its-kind study that deliberately infected participants with the coronavirus is ending; we examine the many answers such research can provide. And the rural places aiming to capitalise on their dark skies.

Science: Aquatic Foods To Aleviate World Hunger, Australian Wildfires

How aquatic foods could help tackle world hunger, and how Australian wildfires spurred phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean.

In this episode:

00:45 The role of aquatic food in tackling hunger

Ahead of the UN’s Food Systems Summit, Nature journals are publishing research from the Blue Food Assessment, looking at how aquatic foods could help feed the world’s population in a healthy, sustainable and equitable way.

We speak to Ismahane Elouafi, Chief Scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, who tells us about the role of blue foods in future food systems.

Immersive feature: Blue Foods

Nature’s Blue Food collection

12:27 Research Highlights

The ingestible capsule that injects drugs straight into stomach tissue, and a soft material that changes colour when twisted.

Research Highlight: An easily swallowed capsule injects drugs straight into the gut

Research Highlight: Flowing crystals for quick camouflage

14:52 How Australian wildfires spurred phytoplankton blooms

The devastating Australian wildfires of 2019-2020 released plumes of iron-rich aerosols that circled the globe, fertilizing oceans thousands of miles away. New research suggests that these aerosols ultimately triggered blooms of microscopic phytoplankton downwind of the fires, in the Southern Ocean.

Research Article: Tang et al.

Morning News: Economic Collapse In Afghanistan, Apple Lawsuit, Polluters

Economic collapse and halting international aid following the Taliban’s takeover have compounded shortages that were already deepening; we examine the unfolding disaster. 

The verdict in a blockbuster case against Apple might look like a win for the tech giant; a closer read reveals new battle lines. And the data that reveal how polluters behave when regulators are not watching.

Morning News: Elections In Norway & Canada, China Offers Aid To Afghanistan

We analyse the Norwegian election results and hear about China’s plans to send aid to Afghanistan. Plus: our Canadian election series shines a spotlight on Conservative leader Erin O’Toole.

Political Analysis: Bitter Legacy Of 9/11, Nations Failing Women & Pottery

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, America then and now: the bitter legacy of 9/11. Why nations that fail women fail, (9:42) and a forgotten revolution in pottery (17:58) 

Morning News: America’s Vaccine Mandate, Cities Shift & Ancient Finland

President Joe Biden’s requirements for employers to insist on vaccinations are a bold move amid flatlining inoculation rates. But will they work?

For decades the world’s cities seemed invincible, but the pandemic has hastened and hardened a shift in urban demographics and economics. And an ancient Finnish burial site scrambles notions of gender roles in the distant past.