Babbage from The Economist The Economist

Earth’s southern pole has traditionally been neglected in the narrative around climate change, partly because scientists used to think that Antarctica was a relatively stable place. Their models, it turns out, were wrong. Some jaw-dropping events and extremes in recent years have shown that Antarctica is undergoing massive changes on land, sea and in the atmosphere. As a result, a new portrait of the continent is emerging which has, so far, received little attention. Polar scientists are warning of a “regime shift”.

Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Catherine Brahic, The Economist’s environment editor; Jonathan Bamber of the University of Bristol; Nadine Johnston of the British Antarctic Survey.

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Disinformation—falsehoods that are intended to deceive—is on the rise. AI is making it easier to create deceptive content, while social media enables it to spread faster than ever before. With half the world’s population heading to polls in 2024, this presents a growing threat to democracy. There is a glimmer of hope, though. Scientists are starting to understand the technology and tactics behind disinformation campaigns, opening up new possibilities to fight them. Can countries and companies come together to fend off fake media?

Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Tom Standage, The Economist’s deputy editor; Hollie Berman, a news editor at The Economist; Ainslie Johnstone, our data and science correspondent.

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Ever since there have been smartphones and social media, there have been concerns about how they might be affecting children. Over the past decade, doctors have seen a decline in mental health in the young in much of the rich world. But whether that rise can be attributed to technology is still a matter of fierce debate. Nevertheless, demands are growing to proactively restrict teenagers’ access to phones and social media, just in case. How concerned should parents and teachers be? Or is this just another moral panic? 
Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Tom Wainwright, The Economist's technology and media editor; Clare Fernyhough, co-founder of Smartphone Free Childhood; Carol Vidal of Johns Hopkins University; Pete Etchells, a psychologist at Bath Spa University and the author of “Unlocked: The Real Science of Screen Time”.
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Humans are master communicators. It’s the reason our species has become so successful. But if it's so innate to our behaviour, why do people so often mess it up? Author Charles Duhigg set out to answer this question in his new book “Supercommunicators”. He joins host Alok Jha to explain the psychology and neuroscience that shape human interaction—and the secrets of those who do it best. They also examine how conversations are changing in the digital age and whether AI can offer insights into the scientific understanding of how communication works.

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Scientists are still uncovering the myriad ways in which the gut microbiome affects human health. An out-of-kilter ecosystem of microbes can cause diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. But it has also been linked to obesity and conditions such as liver disease and Alzheimer’s. Understanding those connections opens up a new type of medicine. Is the era of microbiome treatments about to arrive?

Host: Gilead Amit, The Economist’s science correspondent. Contributors: Désirée Prossomariti and Simon Goldenberg of St Thomas’ Hospital in London; Glenn Gibson of the University of Reading; Debbie Shawcross of King’s College London; Matt Cheng, boss of Kanvas Biosciences; Natasha Loder, The Economist's health editor.

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Scenes of ghostly white coral reefs are among the most iconic images of the climate crisis. This year a mass coral bleaching event has hit the Great Barrier Reef, as global warming and the El Niño climate cycle have heated the Pacific Ocean to new extremes. Our science correspondent travels to Australia to meet some of the researchers on the frontlines of the fight to save these ecosystems.

Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Abby Bertics, The Economist’s science correspondent; Joanie Kleypas of the National Center for Atmospheric Research; Annika Lamb of the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

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