Babbage from The Economist

Babbage from The Economist

Babbage is our weekly podcast on science and technology, named after Charles Babbage—a 19th-century polymath and grandfather of computing. Host Alok Jha talks to our correspondents about the innovations, discoveries and gadgetry shaping the world. 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

  1. 22 OCT • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Europa Clipper: is there life on Jupiter's moons?

    NASA’s multi-billion-dollar Europa Clipper spacecraft is on its way to Europa, one of Jupiter’s mysterious icy moons. The mission will investigate whether the moon, whose icy crust conceals a vast ocean of liquid water, might harbour the kind of environment suitable for alien life. In their search for life elsewhere, scientists have in recent years become much more interested in the outer solar system's icy moons, once considered too far from the Sun to plausibly support life. Europa Clipper is one of several probes heading to (or planned to travel to) those faraway worlds. Will they find signs that life could exist there? Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Michele Dougherty and her team at Imperial College London; Nathalie Cabrol of the SETI Institute and the author of “The Secret Life of the Universe”; and The Economist’s Tim Cross. For more on this topic, listen to our podcast on the European Space Agency’s JUICE mission and our interviews with exoplanet hunters Didier Queloz and Jessie Christiansen. 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.

    43 min

Shows with Subscription Benefits

  • Get a daily burst of illumination from The Economist’s worldwide network of correspondents. Our reporters dig past the headlines to get to the stories beneath—and to stories that aren’t making headlines, but should be. A unique perspective on the issues and events shaping your world. Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ at http://www.economist.com/podcastsplus-intelligence. 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 at https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts

  • Take a seat at the table and learn about the biggest stories in financial markets, the economy and business. Each week our editors and correspondents explore how economics influences the world we live in and share their insights across a range of topics. From inflation and recession risk to all things crypto and even the commercial success of K-pop, we have you covered. Published every Thursday. 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 at https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts.

  • Every weekday our global network of correspondents makes sense of the stories beneath the headlines. We bring you surprising trends and tales from around the world, current affairs, business and finance — as well as science and technology.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • Checks and Balance unlocks American politics by taking a big theme each week and digging into the data, the ideas, and the history shaping the country. Join John Prideaux, Charlotte Howard, Idrees Kahloon and Jon Fasman as they talk to politicians, pollsters, academics and people across the country about the great experiment of American democracy. Published every Friday. 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.

  • The World in Brief tells you what’s on the global agenda in the coming day, what to look out for in business, finance and politics and, most importantly, what to make of it. Economist Podcasts+ subscribers and digital subscribers to The Economist should log in at economist.com/audio/podcasts/the-world-in-brief for access to the full World in Brief. Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ here: www.economist.com/podcastsplus-worldinbrief. 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.

  • The best bosses create systems for solving problems old and new—from navigating working-from-home demands to hiring the right people, from running good meetings to managing themselves.  Andrew Palmer, author of the Bartleby column, looks for advice on how to be a better boss by talking to people who have actually done the job. Listen to The Economist's seven-episode guide for managers. Episodes are out on Mondays. If you're not already a subscriber to The Economist, sign up for our podcast subscription, Economist Podcasts+ at economist.com/podcastsplus.

Subscribe via The Economist app for podcast access

About

Babbage is our weekly podcast on science and technology, named after Charles Babbage—a 19th-century polymath and grandfather of computing. Host Alok Jha talks to our correspondents about the innovations, discoveries and gadgetry shaping the world. 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

More From The Economist

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada