Category Archives: Podcasts

Science Podcast: Fish Farming, Skin Microbes

These days, about half of the protein the world’s population eats is from seafood. Staff Writer Erik Stokstad joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about how brand-new biotech and old-fashioned breeding programs are helping keep up with demand, by expanding where we can farm fish and how fast we can grow them.

Sarah also spoke with Jan Claesen, an assistant professor at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute, about skin microbes that use their own antibiotic to fight off harmful bacteria. Understanding the microbes native to our skin and the molecules they produce could lead to treatments for skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis and acne. Finally, in a segment sponsored by MilliporeSigma, Science’s Custom Publishing Director and Senior Editor Sean Sanders talks with Timothy Cernak, an assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and chemistry at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, about retrosynthesis—the process of starting with a known chemical final product and figuring out how to make that molecule efficiently from available pieces. 

Covid-19 Podcast: Death Rates Are Falling – What This Means For Pandemic

The COVID-19 mortality rate is falling around the world. We discuss the reasons behind this – the role of new drugs, the treatment strategies the have been learned, or re-learned, and the ever-present worry that these hard won victories could be undone by rising infection rates.

In this episode:

00:44 An increase in survival rates

The COVID-19 mortality rate is falling around the world. We discuss the reasons behind this – the role of new drugs, the treatment strategies the have been learned, or re-learned, and the ever-present worry that these hard won victories could be undone by rising infection rates.

News Feature: Why do COVID death rates seem to be falling?

10:53 More vaccine good news

This week, Moderna released preliminary results for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the third positive indication from a string of vaccine announcements. Although the full data are yet to be published, do these results give us more reasons to feel hopeful?

News: COVID vaccine excitement builds as Moderna reports third positive result

Technology Podcast: Concerns Over Facial Recognition Technology

Scientists have grave concerns over ethical and societal impacts of facial-recognition technology. In this surveillance special, we dig into the details.

In this episode:

03:24 Standing up against ‘smart cities’

Cities across the globe are installing thousands of surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition technology. Although marketed as a way to reduce crime, researchers worry that these systems are ripe for exploitation and are calling for strict regulations on their deployment.

Feature: Resisting the rise of facial recognition

17:44 The ethics of researching facial recognition technology

Despite concerns surrounding consent and use, researchers are still working on facial recognition technology. Can this sort of work be justified? We hear some of the debates going on in academia about this field of research.

Feature: The ethical questions that haunt facial-recognition research

25:02 What do researchers actually think?

Nature surveyed 480 researchers who have published papers on facial recognition, AI and computer science. The results revealed that many researchers think there’s a problem.

Morning News Podcast: Cybersecurity Official Fired, Covid-19 Lockdown

The President fires top cybersecurity official who defended integrity of election, new coronavirus restrictions in place as record 73,000 hospitalized, and runaway dog from Canada crosses border into United States.

Morning News Podcast: 11 Million U.S. Covid Cases, SpaceX Launch & Colleges

U.S. COVID-19 cases cross 11 million as pandemic intensifies, 4 astronauts make history as SpaceX’s ‘Resilience’ launches for International Space Station, and Pennsylvania group delivers thousands of cookies to frontline workers during pandemic.

World News: Covid-19 Vaccine Prospects, Biden’s Potential & Princess Diana

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, Suddenly, hope: covid-19 vaccinesThe world and Joe Biden: Great Expectations (09:25) And, how Princess Diana shaped British politics (14:05).

Interview: Erika Fatland, Author Of ‘The Border – A Journey Around Russia’

One of Norway’s most exciting new travel writers, Erika Fatland has gained a reputation for telling unique, often overlooked stories. A social anthropologist by training, she has documented terrorism in Beslan and the 2011 terror attacks in her native Norway.

In her latest book, ‘The Border: A Journey Around Russia,’ she turns her attention to frontiers, recounting a fascinating trip through each of the 14 countries bordering the world’s largest country. 

Sunday Morning Podcast: News From Zurich, Hong Kong & London (Monocle)

A round-up of the weekend’s most interesting discussion topics with Monocle’s editor in chief Tyler Brûlé, Benno Zogg, Chandra Kurt and Marcus Schögel, plus a check-in with Kaius Niemi, senior editor in chief of Finland’s ‘Helsingin Sanomat’ newspaper.