Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
From saving the planet to understanding ourselves, this podcast sees experts discuss the major topics of our times. Hosted by IFLScience’s Dr Alfredo Carpineti, Rachael Funnell, Dr Russell Moul, Laura Simmons, and Eleanor Higgs.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Expert-led science deep dives • psychology of perception, paranormal, fear, imagination, consciousness • climate change, glaciers, Anthropocene, extinction, conservation • space and cosmology: black holes, antimatter, endings, space weather/junk • biotech, vaccines, longevity, diet • computing/quantum • language onlineThis podcast explores wide-ranging “big questions” through interviews and reported conversations with scientists, academics, and other specialists. Across its episodes, it focuses on how scientific methods are used to investigate both fundamental mysteries and practical challenges, often linking cutting-edge research to everyday life and public debate.
A major thread is Earth and environmental change: biodiversity loss, extinction risk, conservation genetics, and how human activity may be recorded in geology through proposed epochs and “technofossils.” Climate impacts are examined from multiple angles, including glaciers and ice cores, wildlife outcomes, and knock-on effects for human health, alongside possible technological responses such as alternative fuels and new approaches to food production.
Space and physics also feature prominently, with discussions of black holes, the composition and fate of the universe and solar system, antimatter, and hazards like solar storms, space weather, and orbital debris. These topics are complemented by episodes on emerging technology and its limits, including quantum computing and advanced materials relevant to future computation.
On the life sciences and medicine side, the show covers vaccination research, antibiotic discovery, nutrition and disease, the brain’s response to drugs and alcohol, and the biology of aging—sometimes extending to speculative frontiers like life extension or “de-extinction.”
Human behavior and perception recur as themes, including language change online, why people play competitive games, how imagination works, and why paranormal beliefs persist. The podcast sometimes uses culturally familiar topics (magic, ghosts, cryptids) as entry points to discuss attention, cognition, fear, misinformation, and how evidence is evaluated.