Science Weekly

The Guardian

#10 in Science this week

Twice a week, the Guardian brings you the latest science and environment news

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36 episodes
a few times a week
Avg 20 min
English

Episodes 36

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July 22 · 23 min
Revisited: A Scottish tea mystery, episode two – the list
Nicola Davis hears how Tam O’Braan’s network of Scottish tea growers began to have suspicions about what he was selling, and how science helped provide some answers
July 21 · 22 min
Revisited: A Scottish tea mystery, episode one – green shoots
Nicola Davis looks back on her first meeting with Tam O’Braan, who was selling Scottish-grown tea to some of the UK’s finest hotels, but something didn’t quite add up
July 16 · 18 min
Can a world-first gene therapy reverse ageing?
Madeleine Finlay hears from science editor Ian Sample and from Paul Knoepfler, professor of cell biology and human anatomy at the university of California, Davis.
July 14 · 16 min
Fungi: the invisible force protecting our planet
Ian Sample hears from professor of evolutionary biology Dr Toby Kiers about how fungi could be the key to our planet’s survival
July 9 · 14 min
Is male testosterone in freefall?
Men’s average testosterone levels have halved over the past 50 years, according to scientists, who say society is facing a male fertility crisis. Ian Sample speaks to science correspondent Hannah Devlin to find out how the work has been received and what the researchers want to see happen in response to their finding
July 7 · 16 min
‘A break from scrolling’: how Gen Z fell in love with birding
Madeleine Finlay hears from the writer Robert Macfarlane and from Jess Painter, a member of the RSPB’s Youth Council
July 2 · 16 min
‘Beautiful blobs’: can scientists build life from scratch?
Madeleine Finlay hears from co-host Ian Sample and from Kate Adamala, professor of genetics at the University of Minnesota
June 30 · 16 min
Reflecting pool algae: the science Trump needs to know
Ian Sample hears from co-host Madeleine Finlay and from Dr Linda May, a freshwater ecologist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
June 25 · 19 min
Nature or nurture: can genes make us behave ‘badly’?
Ian Sample talks to Kathryn Paige Harden, a behavioural geneticist and professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. In her book Original Sin she explores how nature and nurture combine to influence our likelihood of committing crimes, and asks whether the ‘cause’ of our actions matters for how we think about culpability
June 23 · 14 min
Extreme heat: is the UK becoming a 40C country?
Ian Sample hears from our Europe climate correspondent, Ajit Niranjan
June 18 · 16 min
The audacious plan to refreeze the Arctic
Madeleine Finlay is joined by environment editor Damian Carrington to discuss a bold attempt to refreeze the Arctic which is showing early signs of success
June 15 · 20 min
Should we ban social media for under-16s?
Ian Sample is joined by co-host Madeleine Finlay to explore what the evidence indicates about the harms of social media and the impact of banning it outright
June 11 · 14 min
‘The undruggable became druggable’: a gamechanging treatment for the world’s deadliest cancer
A daily pill can double survival time in patients with the world’s deadliest cancer, according to the results of a clinical trial that experts are saying is a gamechanger and one of the biggest breakthroughs in decades. To find out more about how daraxonrasib works and how life-changing it could be for patients, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Prof Naureen Starling, consultant medical oncologist at the Royal Marsden hospital
June 9 · 17 min
The dinosaurs who survived the asteroid
Palaeontologist Prof Steve Brusatte joins science correspondent Nicola Davis to trace the evolution of our feathered friends from their dinosaur origins
June 4 · 20 min
Heatstroke, sports washing and VAR psychology: the science of the World Cup
It’s just a week until the first whistle of the 2026 World Cup. To mark the occasion, Madeleine Finlay talks to Ian Sample about the science behind the tournament
June 2 · 14 min
The incredible science of the sleeping brain
Ian Sample talks to Prof Maiken Nedergaard about her groundbreaking work on the brain’s waste-disposal system and how subsequent research is building a picture of sleep as anything but a quiet, inactive state

Showing 21–36 of 36 episodes