Babbage from The Economist

The Economist

Babbage is The Economist’s weekly podcast on science and technology—named after Charles Babbage, the grandfather of computing. Explore the science changing the way we live from AI to genetics, particle physics and space travel with Alok Jha. This award-winning podcast features in-depth interviews with top scientists and special episodes investigating wellness trends. Published every Wednesday. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page here https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Nobel prizes: the 2025 science awards

    4 DAYS AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Nobel prizes: the 2025 science awards

    Since 1901, the Nobel prizes have been the pinnacle of scientific achievement. This week, nine more scientists joined the ranks of Albert Einstein and Marie Curie, as they were recognised for their work in immunology, quantum computing and inventing a new class of materials. Who are the scientists who earned those coveted phone calls from Stockholm? Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Guests: The Economist’s Natasha Loder, Geoff Carr and Tim Cross. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

    37 min
  2. John Pendry: the physics of invisibility

    30 SEPT • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    John Pendry: the physics of invisibility

    How do you make an object invisible? Professor Sir John Pendry worked out that it involves guiding and bending light in precise ways by changing the structure of the material it is travelling through. His subsequent work on the interactions between light and matter has led to a new class of materials, known as “metamaterials”, which enable seemingly impossible things to happen. In this episode, he tells us how they work and their applications in everything from 5G technology to simulating the conditions around black holes. Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Guest: Professor Sir John Pendry of Imperial College London. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

    45 min
  3. Critical chemistry: what makes rare earths so special?

    23 SEPT • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Critical chemistry: what makes rare earths so special?

    China sowed panic earlier this year when it restricted exports of rare-earth elements. The country has a near-monopoly on the critical minerals, which are used in everything from fighter jets to fibre optics. How does the unique chemical structure of rare earths make them so vital to so many different technologies—and how can western industry reduce its dependence on China for their supply? Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Guests: Andrea Sella of University College London; and The Economist’s Tim Cross and Anjani Trivedi. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

    40 min
  4. Life on Mars: how promising are the latest findings?

    16 SEPT • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Life on Mars: how promising are the latest findings?

    Scientists at NASA recently announced that they had found “the clearest sign of life” that has ever been discovered on Mars. The “potential biosignature” of ancient microbial life was found in a Martian rock sample. But to find out if it really is a sign of life, the sample needs to be brought back to Earth for further study—a task far more complicated than you might expect. Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Guests: Katie Stack Morgan of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Sanjeev Gupta of Imperial College London; and The Economist’s Oliver Morton. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

    39 min
  5. Well informed: how to get strong

    9 SEPT • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Well informed: how to get strong

    Conventional wisdom has it that you need to move your body regularly to stay fit. But these days scientists argue that you should probably trade in the treadmill for some dumbbells. Strength training is having a moment. In this episode, part of our “Well informed” series on wellness trends, we take an evidence-based look at three popular routes to maximising your strength: weightlifting, eating protein, and taking creatine supplements. The world of fitness is filled with powders and supplements that claim bold things, but what’s the real secret to becoming—and staying—strong? Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: The Economist’s Tim Cross, Richard Kreider of Texas A&M University. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

    28 min
  6. JUNO: the hunt for the universe’s most elusive particles

    2 SEPT • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    JUNO: the hunt for the universe’s most elusive particles

    Neutrinos are elementary particles that are extremely light and rarely interact with anything else. Mostly, they pass invisibly through the universe—hundreds of trillions of neutrinos will have passed through your body as you read this. For physicists, though, these ghostly particles present a big problem. The prevailing theory of particle physics, the Standard Model, predicts that neutrinos should have no mass—but this is not what physicists observe in the real world. Now, scientists at JUNO, an enormous new lab in China, have started to hunt for the elusive particles and, in doing so, they hope to solve this giant conundrum in fundamental physics. Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor, with Emilie Steinmark, The Economist’s science correspondent. Contributors: Juan Pedro Ochoa-Ricoux of the University of California, Irvine; Wang Yifang and Yuekun Heng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

    41 min
  7. No going back: climate tipping-points

    26 AUG • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    No going back: climate tipping-points

    What if the Amazon rainforest shrank to the point where it could no longer sustain itself? Or the ocean currents around Europe collapsed, freezing the continent? What if all this happened in just a few decades? Climate change is often perceived to be a disaster in slow motion, but a growing number of scientists worry about climate “tipping points”—thresholds in the climate system that, once crossed, could lead to sudden, catastrophic, irreversible changes. How can scientists predict how close such dramatic changes might be and how much devastation they might cause? Host: Rachel Dobbs, The Economist’s environment editor. Contributors: Jonathan Nash of Oregon State University; Jack Williams of the University of Wisconsin–Madison; James Veale and Liz Thomas of the British Antarctic Survey. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

    37 min
  8. Devi Sridhar: living a long life isn't a solo endeavour

    19 AUG • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Devi Sridhar: living a long life isn't a solo endeavour

    How long you live may be shaped less by your gym routine or diet plan than by the systems that surround you, from clean air and water to safe streets and accessible healthcare. In this episode, Devi Sridhar, a professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, argues that governments—not individuals—hold the greatest power to extend lives. She explains what people can learn from long-lived communities in Japan and Europe, how to curb the harms of ultra-processed food, the role of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, and how tackling inequality could help everyone live healthier into old age. Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor, speaks with Devi Sridhar, the author of “How Not to Die (Too Soon)”. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

    36 min
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About

Babbage is The Economist’s weekly podcast on science and technology—named after Charles Babbage, the grandfather of computing. Explore the science changing the way we live from AI to genetics, particle physics and space travel with Alok Jha. This award-winning podcast features in-depth interviews with top scientists and special episodes investigating wellness trends. Published every Wednesday. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page here https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Channel
    The Economist
  • Creator
    The Economist
  • Years Active
    2012 - 2025
  • Episodes
    556
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2023. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Babbage from The Economist
  • Provider

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