President-Elect Biden charts course for new administration, Alex Trebek, host of ‘Jeopardy!’ for nearly 37 seasons, dies at 80, and it won’t be a year without a Santa Claus, as malls turn to portable igloos and virtual visits to save the holiday tradition.
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, what the 2020 results say about America’s future, is there an alternative to Huawei’s 5g technology? (09:25) And, global hipster culture is spreading to even the world’s poorest countries (14:15).
Former Vice President Joe Biden stops short of declaring victory but says he has a mandate as his lead increases. President Donald Trump’s efforts to get the courts to intervene in the election and change the outcome have yet to yield results. The number of new daily confirmed coronavirus infections top a record-breaking 120,000 cases.
First up, host Sarah Crespi talks with Staff Writer Adrian Cho about new gravitational wave detections from the first half of 2019—including 37 new black hole mergers. With so many mergers now recorded, astrophysicists can do different kinds of research into things like how new pairs of black holes come to be and how often they merge.
Sarah also talks with Sarah Davidson, data curator at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, about results from an Arctic animal tracking project that includes 3 decades of location information on many species, from soaring golden eagles to baby caribou taking their first steps. The early results from the Arctic Animal Movement Archive show that researchers can use the database as a baseline for future Arctic investigations and to examine the effects of climate on ecosystems in this key region.
NPR New Now reports: The Presidential election is too close to call, Trump campaign sues Pennsylvania to stop counting votes, and other top news.
Astronomers pin down the likely origins of mysterious fast radio bursts, Covid-19 in schools, octopuses taste with touch and the latest on what the US election means for science.
In this episode:
00:46 The origins of mysterious fast radio bursts
The detection of a brief but enormously-powerful radio burst originating from within the Milky Way could help researchers answer one of astronomy’s biggest mysteries.
Research article: Bochenek et al.; News: Astronomers spot first fast radio burst in the Milky Way
07:59 Coronapod
At the start of the pandemic, there were fears that schools could become hotspots for infections. We discuss the evidence suggesting that this is unlikely to be the case, and the rates of infection in children of different ages.
News: Why schools probably aren’t COVID hotspots
18:34 Research Highlights
Octopuses taste with touch, and a tool to watch dangerously-reactive metals grow.
Research Highlight: How octopuses taste with their arms — all eight of them; Research Highlight: How to make violently reactive metals and watch them grow
21:28 An update on the US election
Although the winner of this year’s US election is unclear, we discuss the current situation and what it might mean for science.
28:58 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, ancient genomes reveal the migration of man’s best friend, and a new polio vaccine looks set to receive emergency approval.
News: Ancient dog DNA reveals 11,000 years of canine evolution; News: New polio vaccine poised to get emergency WHO approval
Trump, Biden locked in close election contest, Democrats flip Senate seat in Colorado, Republicans win in Alabama, and why can’t we vote from our smartphone.
President Trump and Joe Biden target battleground states, schools weigh plans for rapid COVID-19 tests, and 6 ways small businesses can boost holiday sales in 2020 amid the pandemic.
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why it has to be Joe, green innovation (14:35) and the fight against Mexico’s Coca-Cola habit (20:10). Zanny Minton Beddoes hosts.
The weekend’s top news under scrutiny by Monocle’s editor in chief Tyler Brûlé, Rob Cox and Benno Zogg, with commentary from our editors in London and Tokyo. Plus: Christoph Amend of ‘ZEITmagazin’.
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