Babbage from The Economist

The Economist
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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. Life on Mars: how promising are the latest findings?

    -1 J • ABONNÉS UNIQUEMENT

    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
  2. Well informed: how to get strong

    9 SEPT. • ABONNÉS UNIQUEMENT

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

    2 SEPT. • ABONNÉS UNIQUEMENT

    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
  4. No going back: climate tipping-points

    26 AOÛT • ABONNÉS UNIQUEMENT

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

    19 AOÛT • ABONNÉS UNIQUEMENT

    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
  6. Arms race: how good is Chinese AI?

    12 AOÛT • ABONNÉS UNIQUEMENT

    Arms race: how good is Chinese AI?

    More than six months on from DeepSeek’s breakthrough, how much has China’s AI ecosystem evolved? As it turns out, quite a bit. In an extended interview with Alex Hern, The Economist’s AI writer, we examine the major players in China, their models and how Chinese AI stacks up against its Western rivals. Now that the White House has lifted restrictions on the export of high-end chips to China, how might the battle for AI supremacy unfold? Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor, speaks with our AI writer Alex Hern. 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.

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

    5 AOÛT • ABONNÉS UNIQUEMENT

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

    29 JUIL. • ABONNÉS UNIQUEMENT

    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
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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.

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  • Chaîne
    The Economist
  • Création
    The Economist
  • Années d’activité
    2012 - 2025
  • Épisodes
    553
  • Classification
    Tous publics
  • Copyright
    Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2023. All rights reserved.
  • Site web de l’émission
    Babbage from The Economist
  • Fournisseur
    The Economist Newspaper Limited

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