New Scientist Podcasts

New Scientist Podcasts

New Scientist

Podcasts for the insatiably curious by the world’s most popular weekly science magazine. Everything from the latest science and technology news to the big-picture questions about life, the universe and what it means to be human. For more visit newscientist.com/podcasts

Categories: Science & Medicine

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Episode 276 Are the COP climate summits doing enough to help us avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change, or are they not fit for purpose, and designed to fail? COP29 is underway in petrostate Azerbaijan, headed by a CEO who was secretly filmed making oil and gas deals. Despite this, the team finds reason for optimism. They also hear from climate philosopher and activist Rupert Read, who runs the Climate Majority Project. He argues the COP process was designed to fail, that 1.5 degrees is dead and that adaptation - not mitigation - is the way to go. What do you think? Bird migration is an extraordinary feat of evolution - but how exactly do they do it? We know the Earth’s magnetic field has something to do with it, but we’ve only just discovered the astonishing level of detail birds are able to get from it. Raising questions about bird intelligence, the team also hears how birds evolved from dinosaurs. Gophers have an incredible capacity to shape their landscape. Gophers are small, burrowing rodents with long front teeth. And a decades-long study has shown that just one day of work by a gopher can completely revitalise soil in an area, changing its microbial diversity and preventing disease. Gopher productivity surely puts humans to shame. Hosts Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet discuss with guests Madeleine Cuff and Sophie Bushwick. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Learn about the Climate Majority Project here. Find Rupert Read’s book here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous episodes

  • 343 - Weekly: COP29: Are UN climate summits failing us and our planet? 
    Fri, 15 Nov 2024
  • 342 - Weekly: The origins of writing revealed; world’s largest (and oldest?) tree 
    Fri, 08 Nov 2024
  • 341 - Weekly: Microbiome special: how to boost your vital gut bacteria 
    Fri, 01 Nov 2024
  • 340 - Weekly: The gruesome story of the Viking skeleton found in a well 
    Fri, 25 Oct 2024
  • 339 - Weekly: SpaceX makes history with Starship rocket; bringing thylacines back from extinction 
    Fri, 18 Oct 2024
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