TrueSciPhi

Podcast Profile: NOVA Presents

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63 episodes
2020 to 2026
Median: 25 minutes
Collection: Science

Description (podcaster-provided):

Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):

This podcast delivers science reporting and long-form conversations designed to make current research and big ideas accessible. Across its episodes, it moves between explainers on timely topics and deeper interviews with working scientists, often focusing on how discoveries are made, what evidence supports them, and what open questions remain.

A major thread is space and fundamental physics. Listeners hear about how astronomers measure the universe, why different methods of estimating cosmic expansion can disagree, and what that implies for cosmology. Black holes recur as a lens on gravity and spacetime, including event horizons, gravitational waves from mergers, and links to quantum concepts such as entanglement and information. Other space-focused discussions look at galaxies, the Big Bang and inflation, and strategies for identifying exoplanets and recognizing potential signs of life beyond Earth.

Life sciences and Earth history are another core focus. The show explores evolution and development—how new species arise, how traits like venom evolve, and why model organisms such as fruit flies have been central to genetics. Paleontology and “deep time” appear through explanations of fossil formation, how to search for fossils, and what ancient plant evidence can reveal about past climates and ecosystems. Biotechnology and conservation also surface in conversations about ancient DNA, CRISPR-based genome editing, and the practical and ethical questions surrounding attempts to restore lost traits or revive extinct species.

The podcast also covers neuroscience and human behavior, including everyday brain phenomena, consciousness, creativity, addiction-related reward circuits, and the effects of psychedelics and meditation. In parallel, it examines modern technology’s societal impact, especially artificial intelligence: how deepfakes are generated and detected, how digital forensics approaches verification, and how automation may affect jobs and trust in media.

Additional episodes connect science to public-life issues such as climate and extreme weather, drought, energy technologies (including fusion and electric vehicles), public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, and emerging topics like cryptocurrency and cannabis research.

Episodes:

How Many Microbes Live on Earth? | Peter Girguis 2026-Feb-04 1 minute

Hunt for the Oldest DNA 2026-Feb-03 19 minutes

Why Tropical Trees Don’t Have Rings | Kirk Johnson 2026-Jan-28 1 minute

How Weight Loss Drugs Were Inspired by Gila Monsters | Sean B. Carroll 2026-Jan-21 5 minutes

Introducing NOVA Remix 2026-Jan-20 1 minute

De-Extincted” Dire Wolf Pups Are Growing Up | Beth Shapiro 2026-Jan-14 1 minute

How AI Is Taking “Future-Proof” Jobs | Hany Farid 2026-Jan-07 1 minute

Discovering Dark Energy and the Hubble Tension with Adam Riess 2025-Dec-18 75 minutes

Hubble Tension, Explained | Adam Riess 2025-Dec-17 8 minutes

Einstein’s “Biggest Blunder” | Adam Riess 2025-Dec-15 6 minutes

How Fame Affects the Brain | Heather Berlin 2025-Dec-11 9 minutes

How Fossils Form and How to Find Them | Kirk Johnson 2025-Dec-10 15 minutes

Why Only Some Species Can Talk—and Dance | Erich Jarvis 2025-Dec-08 9 minutes

Evolution of New Species, Venom, Wings, and More with Sean B. Carroll 2025-Dec-04 83 minutes

How the Fruit Fly Revolutionized Biology | Sean B. Carroll 2025-Dec-03 12 minutes

The Evolution of Venom & Antivenom | Sean B. Carroll 2025-Dec-01 12 minutes

A Black Hole Is a Place, Not a Thing | Janna Levin 2025-Nov-30 4 minutes

How To Recognize Alien Life | Peter Girguis 2025-Nov-26 9 minutes

Can We Make Animals Talk? | Erich Jarvis 2025-Nov-24 7 minutes

De-Extinction, Dire Wolves, and Jurassic Park with Beth Shapiro 2025-Nov-20 54 minutes

De-Extinction: A How-To Guide | Beth Shapiro 2025-Nov-19 12 minutes

How AI Deepfakes Are Really Made | Hany Farid 2025-Nov-17 13 minutes

What's My Brain Doing? Goosebumps & Other Strange Phenomena | Heather Berlin 2025-Nov-13 9 minutes

When Black Holes Collide | Janna Levin 2025-Nov-12 8 minutes

Leopard Spots on Mars? NASA’s Big Discovery, Explained | Peter Girguis 2025-Nov-10 6 minutes

Sinkholes in Florida Reveal Amazing Fossils | Kirk Johnson 2025-Nov-06 7 minutes

How to Detect Deepfakes: Recognizing AI-Generated Content | Hany Farid 2025-Nov-05 13 minutes

Extremophiles, the Deep Sea, and Alien Life with Peter Girguis 2025-Nov-03 70 minutes

Bird Song and the Evolution of Language with Erich Jarvis 2025-Oct-21 63 minutes

Neuroscience of Consciousness, Personality, and Creativity with Heather Berlin 2025-Oct-07 88 minutes

A Missing Law of Nature with Bob Hazen and Mike Wong 2025-Sep-23 70 minutes

Black Holes and Quantum Weirdness with Janna Levin 2025-Sep-09 79 minutes

Deepfake Detection and the Future of AI with Hany Farid 2025-Aug-26 84 minutes

Fossil Hunting, Sinkholes, and Paleobotany with Kirk Johnson 2025-Aug-26 96 minutes

Introducing Particles of Thought 2025-Aug-12 1 minute

The Big Bang: started from inflation, now we’re here 2021-Dec-02 33 minutes

Black holes: to the event horizon and beyond 2021-Nov-25 31 minutes

The hitchhiker’s guide to exoplanets and alien life 2021-Nov-18 30 minutes

How to make a Milky Way: the ultimate galactic recipe 2021-Nov-11 25 minutes

Fusion: Can we recreate the renewable power of stars down on Earth? 2021-Nov-04 27 minutes

This is NOVA Now Universe Revealed 2021-Oct-29 2 minutes

Would you eat insects to help the planet? 2021-Oct-28 29 minutes

Cryptocurrency: the future of money in a digital world? 2021-Oct-14 31 minutes

Cannabis: Discovering its effects on the body and brain 2021-Sep-30 31 minutes

The case of hurricanes and climate change 2021-Sep-16 19 minutes

Back to school during a pandemic: experts weigh in 2021-Sep-02 35 minutes

Electric vehicles: infrastructural needs and environmental effects 2021-Aug-19 21 minutes

Covid Vaccines & Variants: What will it take to get out of this pandemic? 2021-Aug-05 28 minutes

The science of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena 2021-Jul-22 28 minutes

Using technology to cope with drought 2021-Jul-08 27 minutes

The science of exercise—and getting back in the game 2021-Jun-24 29 minutes

Welcome to NOVA Now season 2! 2021-Jun-17 2 minutes

The science of positive motivation for the New Year 2020-Dec-31 25 minutes

How the future of satellites might affect life on Earth 2020-Dec-17 27 minutes

Covid vaccines are coming: What’s inside, and how and when you’ll get one 2020-Dec-03 27 minutes

The future of food 2020-Nov-19 30 minutes

The statistical science behind polling 2020-Nov-02 21 minutes

The science of fear 2020-Oct-22 31 minutes

Science in the courtroom 2020-Oct-08 29 minutes

Rising health risks from West Coast wildfires 2020-Sep-24 31 minutes

COVID meets CRISPR 2020-Sep-10 27 minutes

The hidden science of mail-in voting 2020-Aug-27 28 minutes

Welcome to NOVA Now season 1! 2020-Aug-13 2 minutes