Best Kelly Weinersmith Podcasts (2024)

1
A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith - Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize Conversations 14:10

7h ago14:10

14:10

As the heated race to settle humans on Mars continues, is it really a good idea? And what are the biggest challenges to making interplanetary life a reality? These are the questions Kelly and Zach Weinersmith explore in their book, A City on Mars. The pair have been shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize, and ahead…

1
The Last of Its Kind - Gísli Pálsson | Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize Conversations 15:23

2h ago15:23

15:23

The great auk was a flightless bird which was last spotted in Iceland in 1844. It is the subject of the book The Last of Its Kind: The Search for the Great Auk and the Discovery of Extinction. Written by Gísli Pálsson, an Icelandic anthropologist and academic, the book offers vital insights into the extinction of the species through accounts from t…

1
Weekly: Hope for the world’s coral; the first drone vs drone war 23:32

14h ago23:32

23:32

Episode 270 There may be hope for the survival of coral reefs, a vital part of the global underwater ecosystem that is under massive threat from climate change. At 1.5 C degrees of warming we’re at risk of losing 70-90 per cent of coral - and more than 99 per cent is estimated to die off at 2 degrees. But new research suggests corals may be more ad…

1
Everything Is Predictable - Tom Chivers | Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize Conversations 20:31

31m ago20:31

20:31

Everything Is Predictable: How Bayes' Remarkable Theorem Explains the World is a book about an 18th century mathematical rule for working out probability, which shapes many aspects of our modern world. Written by science journalist Tom Chivers, the book has made it onto the shortlist for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize. In the lead up …

1
Eve - Cat Bohannon | Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize Conversations 14:21

7m ago14:21

14:21

Women have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to have more sensitive noses, sharper hearing at high frequencies, and longer life expectancy than men. But why have women's bodies been so under-researched? It’s one of the many questions Cat Bohannon raises in her book Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution. Short…

1
Why We Die by Venki Ramakrishnan - Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize Conversations 17:12

1h ago17:12

17:12

Why We Die is a book about ageing and death, written by Nobel Prize-winning biologist and former president of the Royal Society, Venki Ramakrishnan. Venki is on the shortlist for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize. In the lead up to the winner’s announcement, New Scientist books editor Alison Flood meets all six of the shortlisted authors…

1
Your Face Belongs To Us - Kashmir Hill | Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize Conversations 13:03

1d ago13:03

13:03

How often do you upload a picture of yourself online? And what happens to that photo long after it's been posted? The truth may shock you, as we find out in this episode. In Your Face Belongs to Us: A Tale of AI, a Secretive Startup, and the End of Privacy, New York Times journalist Kashmir Hill investigates the world of facial recognition technolo…

1
Weekly: The case for Arctic geoengineering; world’s oldest cheese 25:05

4d ago25:05

25:05

Episode 269 Could we re-freeze the Arctic… and should we? The Arctic is losing ice at an alarming rate and it’s too late to save it by cutting emissions alone. Geoengineering may be our only hope. A company called Real Ice has successfully tested a plan to artificially keep the region cold - but what are the consequences and will it work on the sca…

1
What's Working in Washington - Ep 518 - Art amid Chaos and Compassion amid Crisis - Sebastian Smee & Nadia Bilbassy 43:23

5d ago43:23

43:23

This month’s episode explores how political expression takes shape. Introducing his new book “Paris in Ruins”, Sebastian Smee discusses how Impressionism emerged in a politically chaotic France, bringing democracy and authenticity to art. Then, Nadia Bilbassy, Bureau Chief at Al Arabiya News, describes what it's like to cover the Biden White House …

1
Kate Cohen believes atheists should be out and proud 1:20:21

6d ago1:20:21

1:20:21

Kate Cohen talks about her journey from privately knowing she was a non-believer to writing We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (And Maybe You Should Too). She discusses how being an atheist and a commitment to honesty informed how she raised her children, and how being forthright about her lack of belief in social interactions …

1
Weekly: Does loneliness really cause ill health?; A time-travelling photon; The supermassive mystery of early black holes 23:19

11d ago23:19

23:19

Episode 268 Research has long linked loneliness to surprising health conditions, including diabetes and some cancers. The assumption has been that loneliness in some way causes these issues, perhaps through increased stress or inflammation. But in a study of tens of thousands of people’s biomedical data, that link has gotten more complicated. Where…

1
Weekly: Thorin and the lost Neanderthals; Fish that use mirrors; SpaceX’s spacewalk 27:23

18d ago27:23

27:23

Episode 267 The remains of an ancient Neanderthal man discovered in France may be one of the last members of a lost line. Researchers analysing the DNA of the fossil nicknamed “Thorin” (named after the dwarven king in the Hobbit) made the surprising discovery that he’s possibly one of the last of his line. He may have been part of a group that live…

1
Greg Oliver asks: Why is religious discrimination official provincial educational funding policy? 58:16

20d ago58:16

58:16

5Greg Oliver, founder and president of the Canadian Secular Alliance, believes that governments should not favour one faith over another, nor believers over non-believers. That three Canadian provinces continue to this day to fully fund a Separate school system for a single faith - Catholicism - is an egregious violation of secular principles that …

1
CultureLab: Amorina Kingdon on the grunting, growling and singing world underwater 46:42

22d ago46:42

46:42

Have you ever heard a haddock knock? What about a cusk eel’s chatter? Sound travels four-and-a-half times faster through water than air and can be heard across huge distances. It’s how whales are able to communicate hundreds of kilometres apart. Yet, for all its wonder, much of the underwater acoustic world remains a mystery to scientists. Although…

1
Weekly: First living transparent mouse; lab-grown stem cells; Spy balloons 22:47

25d ago22:47

22:47

🎧 Episode 266 ⚡️ The first human blood stem cells have been created in a lab and successfully turned into functioning bone marrow. This research could revolutionise the treatment of blood cancers like leukaemia and lymphoma. So far it’s only been tested on mice, but researchers are hopeful it could work in humans too. ⚡️ In other mouse news, we are…

1
Weekly: Could mpox be the next covid-19?; Science of beat drops; Clothes made from potatoes 27:15

1M ago27:15

27:15

🎧 Episode 265 ⚡️ The latest mpox variant has infected a record number of people in central Africa, has been found in travellers in Sweden and Thailand, and the World Health Organization has now declared it a public health emergency of international concern – just 15 months after the previous such declaration for mpox expired in 2023. But is this vi…

1
What's Working in Washington - Ep 517 - Wall Street, Weight Loss, and Wealthy Universities 43:23

1M ago43:23

43:23

From AI hype to Dolly Parton releases, Jonathan Aberman and Mark Walsh explore this month’s trends in finance, culture, and politics. Also, Jonathan sits down with Paulina Bren, author of “She-Wolves”, to honor the women who defied the odds and left their mark on Wall Street in the 1960s and ‘70s. Drawing on Jonathan’s own experience on Ozempic, Jo…

1
CultureLab: Lucy Foulkes on how adolescence shapes us 37:31

1M ago37:31

37:31

Ever wondered how your teenage years shaped the person you are today? Or why certain rebellious behaviours, like underage drinking, seem almost inevitable, no matter which generation you look at? Adolescence is a crucial, yet often misunderstood, phase of life. Adolescent psychologist Lucy Foulkes’s new book ‘Coming of Age: How Adolescence Shapes U…

1
Weekly: 1 in 5 coma patients have awareness; How to end the opioid crisis; ‘Wow’ space signal…is lasers? 24:56

1M ago24:56

24:56

#264 Some people in comas can understand what’s happening around them. Previously estimated to be 1 in 10, that figure has now shot up to 1 in 5 – meaning this hidden awareness is much more common than we realised. Another new drug has been approved to reverse opioid overdoses. Zurnai is more powerful than previous medications, which may be useful …

1
Science Denial: Why It Happens and What To Do About It, with Gale Sinatra 1:07:27

1M ago1:07:27

1:07:27

Everyone is vulnerable to fallacies that can lead to misunderstanding scientific topics. In her book (written with Barbara Hofer), Science Denial: Why It Happens and What To Do About It, Gale investigates many of these, including: Cognitive biases Emotions Motivated reasoning Identities Gale also explains what all of us can do to increase our scien…

1
Anxiety Special: The science of anxiety and how to make it work for you 25:17

2M ago25:17

25:17

#263 Anxiety. We’ve all felt it – some worse than others. But what exactly causes anxiety and why are some of us more likely to be hit by it? Science is finally unpacking the ins and outs of this evolutionary response. Whether you experience anxiety getting on a plane or when doing something out of your comfort zone, understanding why it happens is…

1
CultureLab: The best science TV of the year – so far. 35:27

2M ago35:27

35:27

With so many new TV series and documentaries available, it can be tough to decide what's truly worth your time. That’s where our TV columnist Bethan Ackerley comes in. From the genetically-gifted superheroes of Supacell…to a sobering documentary about the ethics of assisted dying, she has a wealth of options for your next night in. Bethan and host …

1
Weekly: Deepest hole ever drilled in Earth’s mantle; Glitter on Mars; Quantum telepathy 27:00

2M ago27:00

27:00

#262 Geologists have just drilled deeper into Earth’s mantle than ever before. The hole is in an area of the ocean called Atlantis Massif, where the upper mantle is exposed. Reaching 1268 metres deep, this incredible sample core could help uncover secrets to the very origins of life. Ancient human ancestors called Homo floresiensis and known as the…

1
Anti-natalism with Mark Maharaj 59:34

2M ago59:34

59:34

Anti-natalism is the philosophical idea that choosing to have children is an unethical act. Mark explains what anti-natalism is, as well as what it isn’t, and describes how he came to subscribe to anti-natalist thought. Learn more about anti-natalism from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (https://iep.utm.edu/anti-natalism/) and Stanford Ency…

1
Dead Planets Society: Can We Move the Sun? 31:53

2M ago31:53

31:53

Earth and all the other planets in our solar system are being dragged on a joyride through the universe, as the Dead Planeteers attempt to move the sun. How slowly would you have to move the sun for its gravity to hold onto the planets? Would any planets end up flinging out of orbit? And which planets can we afford to lose along the way? To answer …

1
Weekly: The first life on Earth; Banana-shaped galaxies; When is smartphone use ‘problematic’? 31:08

2M ago31:08

31:08

#261 What was the first life on Earth like? Ancient fossils hint it could be a primitive kind of bacteria – but these 3.5 billion-year-old fossilised cells are controversial since they’re vastly bigger than any modern bacteria. But there’s now reason to believe that maybe, just maybe, they really are what they seem. Three game-changing drugs approv…

1
What's Working in Washington - Ep 516 - Powered by the People - Corey Brettschneider 43:23

2M ago43:23

43:23

Longer episodes, deeper dives! In our new one hour format, hosts Jonathan Aberman and Mark Walsh explore new trends, share media recommendations, and interview author Corey Brettschneider. "The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It" examines how citizen movements have resisted pres…

1
CultureLab: Carlo Rovelli on the link between quantum physics and world peace 28:17

2M ago28:17

28:17

Quantum theory describes the tiny building blocks that make up everything around us. It has made many successful predictions but could a new, more radical idea help us make better sense of the world around us? Could it even be the answer to creating world peace? Carlo Rovelli is an Italian theoretical physicist and writer behind the relational inte…

1
Weekly: Shocking source of deep sea oxygen; Alcohol really is unhealthy; ‘Green’ plastic downsides 31:54

2M ago31:54

31:54

#260 Most of us imagine plants when we think about the production of oxygen. But turns out, in the deep sea, metal-rich rocks also seem to generate oxygen. This surprising discovery suggests they may have a much more important role in their ecosystem than we originally thought – and is fueling more calls to ban deep sea mining, which would target t…

1
Kelly Weinersmith asks: Are we ready to live off-planet? 1:02:44

2M ago1:02:44

1:02:44

Dr. Kelly Weinersmith (@FuSchmu) is the co-author (with her husband Zach) of Soonish and A City on Mars. Kelly maintains that while having humans living off Earth would be awesome, we’re simply not ready for it yet. She answers many of Leslie’s questions: Why can’t we go to Mars if we have the will? Why can’t we all just get along? Why should we ex…

1
Dead Planets Society: Can We Burn Uranus? 26:02

2M ago26:02

26:02

What would it take to set Uranus ablaze? Is it even possible to burn it in the typical sense? If anyone can figure it out, it's the Dead Planets Society. Join Dead Planeteers Leah and Chelsea as they invite planetary scientist Paul Byrne back to the podcast, to join in more of their chaotic antics. This mission is less about destruction (though it’…

1
Weekly: New human cases of bird flu; Sail away to Alpha Centauri; Sea slugs hunt in packs 26:11

3M ago26:11

26:11

#259 More people in the US are getting bird flu. Though numbers are small – just five new cases, all mild – every new case is a reason for concern. How and why is it being transmitted – and how is it being monitored? What if you could make a sailboat that’s pushed not by wind, but lasers? Breakthrough Starshot is a mission attempting to send a spac…

1
CultureLab: The incredible, intelligent abilities of plants with Zoë Schlanger 36:33

3M ago36:33

36:33

What if we told you plants can hear and see? And memorise information? And track time to adapt their pollination techniques? And even look out for their family members? These are just some of the remarkable behaviours plants are capable of – many of which we’re only just learning about now. Science journalist Zoë Schlanger’s new book The Light Eate…

1
Designing Brain-Computer Interfaces w/ Conor Russomanno 29:03

3M ago29:03

29:03

Founder & CEO of OpenBCI Conor Russomanno shares his thoughts on what neurotechnology can teach us about being human, the ethical challenges of designing devices to measure brain activity, and the advantages of open-source brain-computer interfaces. Conor Russomanno is the founder and CEO of OpenBCI, a company working to build ethical brain-compute…

1
Weekly: Woolly mammoth jerky; Google simulates the origin of life; food without farming 31:46

3M ago31:46

31:46

#258 Fancy a bite of woolly mammoth jerky? A beef-jerky-like fossil of this prehistoric creature has been discovered – a metre-long piece of skin still covered in hair. And the most amazing thing is that the entire genome has remained intact, giving more insight into these creatures than ever before. Could this help bring woolly mammoths back to li…

1
The search for truth, with Carolyn Biltoft 1:03:42

3M ago1:03:42

1:03:42

Carolyn Biltoft received her PhD in World History from Princeton University in 2010. Her work fuses the tools of world history, intellectual history, cultural studies and critical theory. Carolyn has thought deeply about the nature of truth, and realized that each person necessarily has an incomplete understanding, because we only experience a smal…

1
Dead Planets Society: Putting Black Holes Inside Stuff 24:14

3M ago24:14

24:14

Primordial black holes are tiny versions of the big beasts you typically think of. They’re so small, they could easily fit inside stuff, like a planet, or a star… or a person. So, needless to say, this has piqued the curiosity of our Dead Planeteers. Leah and Chelsea want to know, can you put primordial black holes inside things and what happens if…

1
Weekly: World’s Oldest Ritual; Quantum Wi-Fi; Report from the Arctic 33:43

3M ago33:43

33:43

#257 Two extraordinary findings have been unearthed about our ancient ancestors. The first is a discovery from a cave in Australia – evidence of what could be the world’s oldest ritual, practised continuously for 12,000 years. And the second is the discovery that the world’s oldest evidence of storytelling may be even older than we thought. We may …

1
CultureLab: Sonifying Mars, symphonically, with David Ibbett 37:35

3M ago37:35

37:35

Despite humans having never set foot on Mars, scientists have been working for decades to paint a picture of life on the red planet. With the help of photos and videos from robotic rovers, scientists now know more than ever about its rocky terrain, early history and current climate. Now, experts are painting a fuller picture of the dusty planet by …

1
Weekly: Even more powerful gene editing than CRISPR; first moon samples from the far side; dangerous new mpox 23:17

3M ago23:17

23:17

#256 A new gene editing technique may be more powerful than CRISPR. Bridge editing is still in its infancy, but could be revolutionary for its ability to more specifically target gene substitutions. This method of altering DNA may let us create single treatments for gene mutations across large groups of people – something even CRISPR can’t do. Chin…

1
The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself, with Robin Reames 1:09:11

3M ago1:09:11

1:09:11

Robin Reames is the incoming Culbertson Chair of English at Indiana University. She researches and writes about the history of ideas, particularly lost ideas from the ancient Greek rhetorical tradition that can enrich our lives today. Leslie and Robin talk about her book, The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself: The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized …

1
Dead Planets Society: Bringing Back Geocentrism 23:36

3M ago23:36

23:36

The ancient Greeks once proposed the Earth was at the centre of our solar system and everything orbited us. We like that idea. Let’s make it happen. But as Dead Planeteers Leah and Chelsea find out, if you bring back geocentrism, Earth would only be king of the universe for a very, very short time – before all hell breaks loose. It starts with enla…

1
Weekly: Why some people never get covid-19; Chimps using herbal medicines; Largest ever Maxwell’s demon 24:11

4M ago24:11

24:11

#255 Why do some people seem to be naturally immune to covid-19? We may finally have the answer and it’s to do with differences in the way immune cells function. Will the finding help us predict who’s immune and who isn’t – and more? Artificial intelligence is being used to tackle the problem of clearing mines from enormous swaths of Ukraine. Russi…

1
CultureLab: The catastrophic health consequences of racism with Layal Liverpool 38:39

4M ago38:39

38:39

We like to think of science and medicine as unbiased, unaffected by social constructs. But we see evidence to the contrary everyday, from false yet persistent claims that black people’s bones are denser to the reality that the covid-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted people of colour. In her debut book Systemic: How Racism is Making Us Ill, sc…

1
Weekly: Elephants have names for each other; conspiracies and doppelgangers with Naomi Klein; an ancient galactic weather report 36:52

4M ago36:52

36:52

We know elephants are smart, but it seems we’ve only scratched the surface in understanding their intelligence. It turns out African elephants seem to have unique names for each other – maybe even nicknames. If it’s true, humans would no longer be alone in this practice. A team has been analysing their rumbly greeting calls using AI. Is this a hint…

1
What’s the point if there’s no god? Ralph Lewis has an answer. 1:17:38

4M ago1:17:38

1:17:38

Dr. Ralph Lewis is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, a practicing psychiatrist, and blogs for Psychology Today. Leslie and Dr. Lewis explore the themes in his book, “Finding Purpose in a Godless World: Why We Care Even if the Universe Doesn’t”, including addressing some key questions: Does the universe have a purpose? Why are we …

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