Babbage from The Economist

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. The bomb (part 4): the stewards of America’s nuclear weapons

    6 DAYS AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The bomb (part 4): the stewards of America’s nuclear weapons

    How is a new era of great-power rivalry affecting America’s nuclear security enterprise? Three national laboratories are tasked with keeping America’s warheads safe, modernising them and even building new ones. And, unlike during the cold war, they have to do it all without conducting explosive tests. With political tensions on the rise around the world, the labs’ mission has become more important than ever. This week, we investigate how the directors of the three labs are meeting this new moment. “The Bomb” is a four-part series which traces the scientific story of nuclear weapons. We go behind the scenes at America's nuclear-weapons laboratories to find out how the country is pushing the frontiers of extreme physics, materials science and computing to modernise its stockpile. In episode four, we ask the people who manage the bombs what it’s like to be responsible for such terrible and devastating weapons. Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Thom Mason of the Los Alamos National Laboratory; Kim Budil of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and Laura McGill of Sandia National Laboratories. Thanks also to Jennifer Hayden of America’s National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. 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
  2. The bomb (part 3): how to build a modern nuclear weapon

    29 JUL • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The bomb (part 3): how to build a modern nuclear weapon

    How are nuclear weapons maintained and modernised in the 21st century? America stopped explosively testing its warheads and bombs in 1992. Now the country relies on sophisticated computer simulations and energetic lasers to understand how these devices work and to keep them safe as they age. For the first time ever, America’s nuclear scientists are also having to design a brand new warhead using simulations alone. This four-part series traces the scientific story of nuclear weapons. We go behind the scenes at America's nuclear-weapons laboratories to find out how the country is pushing the frontiers of extreme physics, materials science and computing to modernise its stockpile. In episode three, we explore the vast scientific infrastructure in place to maintain, upgrade and build a new generation of bombs, all without setting off any devices. Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Mark Herrmann, Brad Wallin, Rob Neely and Kim Budil of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and Laura McGill of Sandia National Laboratories. 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
  3. The bomb (part 2): the atomic town

    22 JUL • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The bomb (part 2): the atomic town

    How did the atom bombs of the Manhattan Project become the nuclear stockpile of today? At the heart of America’s nuclear security enterprise lies a town: Los Alamos. It is where the first nuclear bomb was created. Today its national lab is tasked with designing and building America’s first new warhead in decades. This four-part series traces the scientific story of nuclear weapons. We go behind the scenes at America's nuclear-weapons laboratories to find out how the country is pushing the frontiers of extreme physics, materials science and computing to modernise its stockpile. In episode two, we look at the town that built the first nuclear bomb—and how the race to build better, more powerful nuclear weapons ended up building the town. Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Kristen Hollis and Todd Nickols of the Los Alamos Historical Society; Nic Lewis and Thom Mason of the Los Alamos National Laboratory; Ellen Bradbury Reid and Jim Bradbury, who grew up in Los Alamos. 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
  4. The bomb (part 1): were nuclear weapons inevitable?

    16 JUL

    The bomb (part 1): were nuclear weapons inevitable?

    Where did the world’s most devastating weapon come from? In a four-part series, we go behind the scenes at America's nuclear laboratories to understand how a scientific-mystery story about the ingredients of matter led to a world-changing (and second-world-war-ending) bomb less than five decades later.  Nuclear weapons have been central to geopolitical power ever since. Now America is seeking to modernise its stockpile and, in doing so, its scientists are pushing the frontiers of extreme physics, materials science and computing. In episode one, we look at the birth of nuclear physics—the science that emerged early in the 20th century to answer a mystery: what is an atom actually made of? Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Frank Close, a physicist and author of “Destroyer of Worlds”, a history of the birth of nuclear physics; Cheryl Rofer, a chemist who used to work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); and Nicholas Lewis, a historian at LANL. This episode features archive from the Atomic Heritage Foundation.  Listen to episode two here. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. This is a free episode. To continue listening to “The Bomb”, you’ll need to subscribe. 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.

    44 min

  5. 8 JUL • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Synth wave: designing proteins and genomes from scratch

    Proteins are the molecular machines that make life work. Each one in your body has a specific task—some become muscles, bones and skin. Others carry oxygen in the blood or get used as hormones or antibodies. Yet more become enzymes, helping to catalyse chemical reactions inside our bodies. Given proteins can do so many things, what if scientists could design bespoke versions to order? Novel proteins, never seen before in nature, could make biofuels, say, or clean up pollution or create new ways to harvest power from sunlight. David Baker, a biochemist and recent Nobel laureate in chemistry, has been working on that challenge since the 1980s. Now, powered by artificial intelligence and inspired by living cells, he is leading scientists around the world in inventing a whole new molecular world. Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: David Baker of the University of Washington; and The Economist’s Geoff Carr and Emilie Steinmark. 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+.

    38 min

  6. 1 JUL • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Vera Rubin Observatory, part two: astronomy enters its digital age

    The Vera Rubin Observatory is about to start a decade-long survey of the night sky. In the process, it will generate hundreds of petabytes of astronomical data. Hidden within that firehose of information will be clues about some of the universe’s deepest mysteries—from dark matter and dark energy to the evolution of galaxies. To help scientists unlock those new celestial tales, the Rubin Observatory's team had to invent a bespoke way to organise, analyse and share the data. That technology, which will usher in a new, automated era for astronomy, may be one of the observatory’s most important and enduring legacies. In the second of two episodes, we visit the Rubin Observatory, 2,700m high in the Chilean Andes, to uncover how the telescope’s data travel from the summit to astronomers’ desks around the world. Listen to the first episode here. Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: William O’Mullane, Yusra AlSayyad and Leanne Guy. Thanks to everyone we spoke to at the Vera Rubin Observatory, including Alysha Shugart, Guillem Megias, Marina Pavlovic and Kevin Fanning. You can see and explore the first images taken by the Vera Rubin Observatory on the SkyViewer platform. For more on the scientific questions that the Vera Rubin Observatory is seeking to answer, listen to our “cosmology in crisis” series. 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

  7. 23 JUN • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Vera Rubin Observatory, part one: rise of the discovery machine

    This week, the first images were released from the world’s most powerful digital camera, nestled in the heart of a brand new telescope at the Vera Rubin Observatory. From October, the 3,200 megapixel camera will begin to create a decade-long film of the entire night sky, and promise to unlock some of the deepest mysteries of our universe—from how galaxies form and evolve to the nature of dark matter and dark energy. In the first of two episodes, we visit the Rubin Observatory, 2,700m high in the Chilean Andes to hear what this new facility can do and learn about the monumental engineering required to build it. Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Victor Krabbendam, Stephanie Deppe and Leanne Guy of the Vera Rubin Observatory. Listen to our second episode from the Vera Rubin Observatory—uncovering how the telescope’s data get from the summit to astronomers’ desks around the world—here, or by searching for “astronomy enters its digital age” on your podcast app. 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

  8. 17 JUN • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Circuit breakers: how microwaves can knock drones out of the sky

    The evolution of drone technology in warzones, such as Ukraine, is showing no signs of slowing. But as drones have become more capable, the traditional ways to bring them down—such as electronic jamming or physically firing shots at them—are becoming less effective. Engineers have therefore had to get creative. Several companies are dreaming up devices that emit microwave radiation with the aim of disabling the electronics of drones. Could they really protect people from the threats swarming in the skies above? Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Thomas Withington of RUSI; Andy Lowery of Epirus; The Economist’s Benjamin Sutherland. For more on Ukraine’s drone war, listen to “The Weekend Intelligence: Inside Operation Spider Web”. 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
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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

Information

  • Channel
    The Economist
  • Creator
    The Economist
  • Years Active
    2012 - 2025
  • Episodes
    547
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2023. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Babbage from The Economist
  • Provider

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