Tag: Science

Michael Blastland on The Hidden Half

Science Focus | 15 May 2019 | 0h 33m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Michael Blastland, author of The Hidden Half: How the World Conceals its Secrets. Discusses how, even in the most tightly controllable situations, we often still see random variations in outcomes. Argues that our unwillingness to admit uncertainty affects science, economics, politics and business, sometimes with disastrous consequences.

How Do We Know What Really Works in Healthcare?

Freakonomics Radio | 2 April 2015 | 0h 41m | Listen Later
A lot of conventional wisdom in medicine is nothing more than a hunch or wishful thinking. A new breed of data detectives is hoping to change that.

How To Clone A Mammoth

Ideas Books | 13 August 2015 | 0h 21m | Listen Later  | iTunes
Interview with Beth Shapiro, author of How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction. Discusses the benefits, ethics and risks behind the real and compelling science of what was once science fiction.

Andrea Wulf – The Invention of Nature

Channel History Hit | 26 February 2017 | 1h 10m | Listen Later 
Speech by Andrea Wulf about the ideas and adventures of scientist Alexander von Humboldt, the subject of her book The Invention of Nature: The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt, the Lost Hero of Science, which won the 2015 Costa and Royal Society Prize.

Scientific Culture and the Making of the Industrial West

Context with Brad Harris | 10 July 2018 | 0h 32m | Listen Later  | iTunes
Review of Scientific Culture and the Making of the Industrial West, by Margaret Jacob. Explains how scientific knowledge became integrated into the culture of Europe through the 1600s and 1700s, and how the different social and political conditions of different European countries influenced the application of science to material prosperity. Insight on why Britain’s distinctive approach to the utility of science enabled it to industrialize generations earlier than any other country.

Prehistoric Origins of Birds

Parsing Science | 10 July 2018 | 0h 33m | Listen Later  | iTunes
Bhart-Anjan Bhullar, from Yale University, talks about how the discovery of a 95 million-year-old Ichthyornis fossil in 2014 revealed unexpected insights into the origins of the minds and mouths of modern birds.

A Giant Crawling Brain: The Jaw-Dropping World of Termites

The Guardian’s Audio Long Reads | 28 September 2018 | 0h 32m | Listen Later  | iTunes
A lovely narrative about the world of termites, with perspectives on evolution, superorganisms, fungi, symbiotic relationships, and emergent systems.

1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created

Context with Brad Harris | 20 August 2018 | 0h 40m | Listen Later  | iTunes
Review of 1493: Uncovering the New World, by Charles C. Mann, which shows how Europeans emerged at the centre of a modern, globalized world by establishing the Columbian Exchange, which globalised commerce, ecology, food and disease.