Why?

Podmasters
  • 4.7 (27)
  • SCIENCE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Why?
PODMASTERS ORIGINALS

Get ad-free episodes, early + bonus content

£9.99/mo or £79.99/yr after trial

Have you ever wondered…Is the human race still evolving? Into what? Are we already receiving messages from aliens? Could an AI ever become our best friend – or even our lover? Why? Takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge. We ask the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. WHY? – a brand new podcast that answers the big questions from the frontiers of science.

  1. Will robot soldiers replace human armies?

    4 APR

    Will robot soldiers replace human armies?

    From Terminators and Cylons to the War Droids from Star Wars, military robots are staples of science fiction. But they’re already here in the real world too. The US, China and Russia are all investing efforts into military machines – but they won’t be the gun-toting humanoids we see onscreen. Would taking human fighters off the battlefield increase the peace? Or should we be gravely concerned about this new era of international war?   Today on Why?, Emma Kennedy speaks to Kelsey Atherton, an award-winning military-tech journalist and Chief Editor of the International Policy Journal.     • “Militaries are deeply invested in the idea that things flow from the top.... The more autonomy you give a machine the harder it is to put in command and control.” - Kelsey Atherton  • “If a robot makes an error, it’s on the person who programmed it… these weapons are brought to battle with errors built in.” - Kelsey Atherton    WHY? is written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Anne Marie Luff and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.    Instagram | Twitter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    32 min
  2. Could we live on the moon?

    28 MAR

    Could we live on the moon?

    It’s been 52 years since humans last stepped onto the moon, and NASA is determined to set up a permanent base there. But there are huge challenges to overcome - not least surviving brain-damaging solar radiation and bone-wasting partial gravity.   Today on Why?, Luke Turner speaks to Clive Neal, Professor of Planetary Geology at Notre Dame University currently working with NASA on their next moon mission and find out exactly how they plan to build a long-lasting habitat.     • “What we’ve learned during and since Apollo, is that the moon is a very hostile environment, but now we understand the nature of that hostility. And that understanding is key to being able to keep humans alive on the surface of the moon – not only to survive, but to thrive.” - Clive Neal  • “Radiation and humans don’t miss in the long term. Radiation is much more intense in the lunar environment. So a human habitat on the moon would have to be buried beneath about two meters of regolith to protect them.” - Clive Neal    Written and presented by Luke Turner. Produced by Anne-Marie Luff and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    29 min
  3. Should I be able to live forever?

    21 MAR

    Should I be able to live forever?

    Most of us would like to live for as long as possible, given we’re in good health. But the definition of a long life is changing, and the rapid advancement of anti-ageing technologies could transform the idea of immortality from fantasy to reality. So the question isn’t so much can we live forever, but should we? Anna Machin talks to Dr Stephen Cave, Director of the Institute for Technology and Humanity at the University of Cambridge, and co-author of Should You Choose To Live Forever? A Debate, to find out. • “If we’re serious about pursuing longer lives, we have to get really, really serious about making those lives sustainable”. • “With life-extension and anti-ageing technologies, the effects will be enormous. Many of them will be beyond what we can imagine right now. If we’re going to pursue them, we need to think of what we can do to maximise the benefits, and manage the risks.” WHY? is written and presented by Anna Machin. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard and Anne-Marie Luff. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production. Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    32 min

  4. 21 MAR • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Should I be able to live forever?

    Most of us would like to live for as long as possible, given we’re in good health. But the definition of a long-life is changing, and the rapid advancement of anti-ageing technologies could transform the idea of immortality from fantasy to reality. So the question isn’t so much can we live forever, but should we? Anna Machin talks to Dr Stephen Cave, Director of the Institute for Technology and Humanity at the University of Cambridge, and co-author of Should You Choose To Live Forever? A Debate, to find out. • “If we’re serious about pursuing longer lives, we have to get really, really serious about making those lives sustainable.” • “With life-extension and anti-ageing technologies, the effects will be enormous. Many of them will be beyond what we can imagine right now. If we’re going to pursue them, we need to think of what we can do to maximise the benefits, and manage the risks.” WHY? is written and presented by Anna Machin. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard and Anne-Marie Luff. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.

    28 min
  5. Could we really live on Mars?

    14 MAR

    Could we really live on Mars?

    Humanity has always been fascinated by the prospect of living on another planet – and our nearest neighbour is the prime candidate. Could we create livable space on Mars? What would we take with us? How would our lives be different? And how would human society change? As climate change and war make the question more urgent, we ask: Could humans really live on Mars? Anna Machin talks to Why?’s first husband-wife duo, A City on Mars authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, about life for the first Martian settlers.   • “People talk about Mars as a backup for humanity. But if it means taking so many steps back on human rights, I don’t want that backup. Let’s wait until we can support everyone who is up there.” - Kelly Weinersmith  • “If we do send humans to Mars, it needs to be done very slowly. It probably won’t happen in my lifetime.” - Kelly Weinersmith  Buy A City On Mars through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. Written and presented by Anna Machin. Produced by Anne-Marie Luff and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    31 min
  6. Would I survive a disaster?

    7 MAR

    Would I survive a disaster?

    With the news full of war, terror and natural disasters, it’s increasingly looking like the so-called Doomsday Preppers were on to something after all. But most of us still don’t have a clue what – or how – we’d do in a disaster scenario. So when catastrophe does strike, is there a science behind who is more likely to cope? And what can we do to increase our chances?   Luke Turner talks to Dr Sarita Robinson, Associate Dean at the University of Central Lancashire and an expert in survival psychology, to find out what it takes to survive when disaster strikes.     • “Our brain is very switched on to the idea of threats in our environment. Once we’ve established there’s something that will cause us harm, our bodies and brains are very quick to mitigate the risk.” - Dr Sarita Robinson  • “Cognitive flexibility and optimism are both really helpful to survival in emergency situations.” - Dr Sarita Robinson     WHY? is written and presented by Luke Turner. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard and Anne-Marie Luff. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.    Instagram | Twitter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    32 min
  7. When will humans go extinct?

    29 FEB

    When will humans go extinct?

    Everything goes extinct eventually. When will it be our turn? And will humans disappear because of shifting tectonic plates, catastrophic natural disasters, the earth being engulfed by the sun… or our own ruinous activities? Basically, how long have we got?  Dr. Henry Gee, senior editor at Nature and author of A Very Short History of Life on Earth, tells Olly Mann that it isn’t so much a question of if we will go extinct, but when and why.   • “My feeling is that humans will become extinct within the next 10,000 years or so.” – Dr. Henry Gee • “For most of human history, people have been living at a subsistence level. Populations of humans would become extinct quite regularly. Near-extinction is a feature of human evolution." – Dr. Henry Gee Buy A Very Short History of Life on Earth through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. WHY? is written and presented by Olly Mann. Produced by Anne-Marie Luff and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production. Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    28 min
  8. Am I living in a hallucination?

    22 FEB

    Am I living in a hallucination?

    You can trust what’s in front of your eyes, right? Turns out… not really. Everything we see is processed through a filter of our prior expectations. Our brains fill the gaps in the data they receive to create a “reality” that we can understand. If everything we see and hear is just a construct, are we all living in our own hallucinations?  Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex and author of Being You: A New Science of Consciousness, explains our world of illusions to Olly Mann.  • “There is a real world out there – but we experience it as a construction. We never experience things as they really are. We experience the world as WE are, not as IT is.” – Anil Seth • “We think our brains are ‘reading out’ the world but it is totally the other way around… The brain is continually making predictions about what is out there.” – Anil Seth Buy Being You: A New Science of Consciousness through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13277/9781399804516 WHY? is written and presented by Olly Mann. Produced by Anne-Marie Luff and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Music by DJ Food. WHY? is a Podmasters Production. Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    33 min
See All (43)

Trailer

Shows with Subscription Benefits

  • Making sense of our political hell every Tuesday and Friday! Oh God, What Now? is the no-bulls**t politics podcast, making the unbearable bearable with top quality guests and analysis, plus poor quality jokes.  Regulars include: Dorian Lynskey, author of The Ministry Of Truth: A Biography of Orwell’s 1984 and host of Origin Story • Writer and commentator Ros Taylor • Rachel Cunliffe of the New Statesman • Writer and host of This Is Not A Drill Gavin Esler • Social affairs journalist Hannah Fearn • Comedian Matt Green • The Lead's Westminster Editor Zoë Grünewald • Group Editor Andrew Harrison • Journalist Marie Le Conte • Podmasters Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis • New Statesman columnist Jonn Elledge • Guardian writer Rafael Behr Sign up and get ad-free shows earlier than anyone else: patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow. Oh God, What Now? is a Podmasters production

    • 4.7 (2345)
    • POLITICS

  • Your daily need to know on news and politics. Every weekday morning The Bunker cuts through the noise to make sense of what’s really going on, with smart explainers, interviews, fresh perspectives and under-reported stories to rescue you from everyday Punch and Judy news coverage. It’s the only way to start the day. From the producers of Oh God, What Now? Our regulars include: Gavin Esler • Ros Taylor.• Hannah Fearn • Andrew Harrison • Jacob Jarvis • Marie le Conte • Rafael Behr • Seth Thévoz. • Sign up to support the podcast and get episodes ad-free and early: patreon.com/bunkercast • Apple users: Get all of our core shows ad-free and early with the Podmasters Originals super-subscription. The Bunker is a Podmasters production.

    • 4.6 (892)
    • POLITICS

  • Have you SEEN the state of the papers today? PAPER CUTS has. In our now DAILY podcast, some of Britain’s sharpest commentators and funniest comedians come together to look at the madness, the strangeness, the obsessions, and – occasionally – the brilliance of our national press. Host Miranda Sawyer is joined by journalists and comedians like Jason Hazeley, Fin Taylor, Jonn Elledge, Alex Von Tunzelmann, Grainne Maguire, Rob Hutton, Athena Kugblenu, Marcus Brigstocke and many more. Illustrations by Modern Toss: https://moderntoss.com

    • 4.8 (357)
    • NEWS COMMENTARY

  • Does what’s going on in the American election scare and bemuse you in equal measure? Want to know what Harris and Trump are up to – without tearing your hair out? Then you need American Friction, the new podcast about the countdown to the big vote in November – from the makers of Oh God, What Now?, The Bunker and Paper Cuts. Every Friday, we’ll speak to leading experts and blockbuster commentators from the United States to explain the latest news and the big issues behind the vote with hosts Jacob Jarvis (ex-Newsweek), Chris Jones (Podmasters) and Nikki McCann Ramirez (Politics Reporter at Rolling Stone). Out every Friday.  Support us on Patreon, to get ad free and bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/AmericanFriction

    • 4.8 (45)
    • POLITICS

  • Exploring threats to global stability from Ukraine to China to the Middle East with host Gavin Esler – former BBC News presenter, Washington correspondent and host of Newsnight – plus Ukraine-based war reporter Oz Katerji and independent conflict analyst Emma Beals. This Is Not A Drill dives deep into the dangers, corruption, conflicts, disinformation, rivalries and ruthless realpolitik that are making our world ever more dangerous. Support This Is Not A Drill on Patreon from just £3 per month to get each episode early plus bonus material and exclusive merchandise. From Podmasters, the team behind Oh God, What Now?, Paper Cuts and The Bunker.

    • 4.9 (1492)
    • POLITICS

  • You probably think you know what life was like in Britain after the war. But what myths do we tell ourselves about the pre-digital world? From coal to contraception and ID cards to school beatings, Ros Taylor delves into the truth about British postwar life in Jam Tomorrow. From the makes of Oh God, What Now? Follow Jam Tomorrow on Twitter

    • 4.9 (97)
    • HISTORY
PODMASTERS ORIGINALS

Get ad-free episodes, early + bonus content

£9.99/mo or £79.99/yr after trial

View Subscription FAQs

4.7
out of 5
27 Ratings

About

Have you ever wondered…Is the human race still evolving? Into what? Are we already receiving messages from aliens? Could an AI ever become our best friend – or even our lover? Why? Takes you on an adventure to the edge of knowledge. We ask the questions that puzzle and perplex us, from the inner workings of the universe to the far reaches of our dreams. WHY? – a brand new podcast that answers the big questions from the frontiers of science.

Information

  • Channel
    Podmasters
  • Creator
    Podmasters
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    43
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    Podmasters ©2023
  • Show Website
    Why?
  • Provider
    Anmama Ltd

More From Podmasters

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