INSANE: 5 | Rare Historical Photos

Why mpox in Africa was ignored for too long and children are dying as a result – podcast

An epidemic of mpox in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is spreading quickly, particularly among young children. At least 20,000 people are known to be infected in the country, and more than 600 people have died, more than two thirds of them children. Cases have begun to appear…

The Conversation · Sep 12, 2024

The emotional toll of dating apps and why they’re no longer about finding love – podcast

Dating apps are having a rocky moment. In February, Bumble said it would lay off 30% of its workforce after disappointing results in 2023. Match Group, which has struggled to maintain paying subscribers for its most popular app, Tinder, in recent years, announced plans to cut 6% of its global…

The Conversation · Sep 5, 2024

Solar geoengineering: the risks and distractions of trying to reflect sunlight to cool the Earth – podcast

One technique involves releasing particles of sulphur dioxide high up in the stratosphere. Another involves trying to brighten the clouds over the sea by spraying salt water off the back of ships. Both are potential methods of solar radiation modification (SRM), a type of solar geoengineering aimed at trying to…

The Conversation · Aug 30, 2024

French and British politics experts discuss what their election results mean for the right – podcast

A few days after Labour leader Keir Starmer was elected British prime minister on July 4 with a landslide victory, ending 14 years of Conservative-led rule, a coalition of left-wing parties came out on top in the French legislative elections. It was a good week for the left in this…

The Conversation · Jul 11, 2024

Busy soundscapes of seagrass meadows and the animals that live there revealed in new recordings – podcast

Seagrass, a marine plant that flowers underwater, has lots of environmental benefits – from storing carbon to preventing coastal erosion. This 3D habitat is often a haven for wildlife but, with so many seagrass restoration projects now happening globally, success can be hard to quantify.

The Conversation · Jul 4, 2024

Who designed the FGC-9? Unmasking the man behind the world’s most popular 3D-printed gun – podcast

3D-printed guns are now appearing the world over, including in the hands of organised criminals in Europe and anti-junta rebels in Myanmar. Made using a 3D printer and a few metal parts that can be easily sourced online, these shadow guns are untraceable, and becoming a popular choice for extremists…

The Conversation · Jun 27, 2024

UK plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda may never happen but other European leaders still want to copy it – podcast

A controversial British government plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda has been central to the UK’s response to a recent sharp increase in the number of people making the dangerous journey across the English Channel in small boats. But if the Conservative party lose the general election in early…

The Conversation · Jun 20, 2024

Scientists can’t agree on how fast the universe is expanding – why this matters so much for our understanding of the cosmos

It’s one of the biggest puzzles in cosmology. Why two different methods used to calculate the rate at which the universe is expanding don’t produce the same result. Known as the Hubble tension, the enigma suggests that there could be something wrong with the standard model of cosmology used to…

The Conversation · Jun 13, 2024

Creative flow: what’s going on inside the brain when everything just clicks – podcast

If you’ve ever experienced a state of creative flow, perhaps when writing, playing music, or even gardening, you’ll know that it feels like everything just clicks into place. But what is actually happening inside the brain?

The Conversation · Jun 6, 2024

Breakthroughs and setbacks on the hunt for a universal snakebite antivenom – podcast

Snake bites kill tens of thousands of people around the world each year. However, we still use techniques invented in the late 19th century to make antivenom, and each bite needs to be treated with antivenom for that specific type of snake.

The Conversation · May 30, 2024