Best Digital Universe Theory Podcasts (2025)

1
Is this the first step to cyborg brains? How drones are reshaping warfare forever; New Vera Rubin observatory goes live 31:23

2d ago31:23

31:23

Episode 307 Using new “ultrasoft” electronics, researchers at Harvard have effectively created tadpole cyborgs. A soft bioelectronic device has been implanted into their brains - one which grows with them as they develop into frogs. This neural implant is a first step in helping us better understand the inner workings of the brain. But could this w…

1
The Black University and Community Currencies, Pt. 2 2:05:46

2d ago2:05:46

2:05:46

In this episode, we share Part 2 of our coverage of The Black University & Community Currencies workshop (Click here for Part 1). Held April 25, 2025 on the campus of Morehouse College, the workshop fostered dialogue between students, faculty, and activists about the radical possibilities of public money for higher education, broadly, and for commu…

1
Expanding How We Learn with Professor Guy Claxton 31:00

5d ago31:00

31:00

What if learning isn’t just about what we know, but about who we become? Professor Guy Claxton joins Talking Teaching to unpack his fascinating journey through psychology and education, and discusses learning as a capacity, calling for a balance between explanation and exploration in teaching. In this episode, Professor Claxton together with our ho…

1
$1 trillion of platinum on the moon; how your brain distinguishes between reality and imagination; rise of the hyperworm 25:37

9d ago25:37

25:37

Episode 306 It’s been discovered that the moon is probably home to $1 trillion worth of platinum. Researchers suggest nearly 6500 of the Moon’s craters were made by asteroids containing commercial quantities of platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium. Does that mean space companies are going to head out on mining missions immine…

1
Women in the Federal Arts Project with Lauren Arrington 58:08

14d ago58:08

58:08

We speak with Lauren Arrington about her forthcoming book on women artists in the Federal Arts Project. The Great Depression rendered 140,000 women and girls across the United States homeless. In 1935, Franklin Delano Roosevelt founded the Works Progress Administration (WPA) that employed 8.5 million people over the course of eight years. Soon, the…

1
The real threat of AI - ethics, exploitation and the erosion of truth 34:43

17d ago34:43

34:43

Episode 305 As artificial intelligence grows into more and more aspects of our lives, it seems we’re just at the beginning of the boom. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being pumped into advancing AI capabilities, making it the best funded area in science. But, just like the dot-com revolution, is it a bubble waiting to burst? In this special ep…

1
Are smartphones really causing mental illness in teens?; More evidence of alien life; Digital oak trees 23:24

24d ago23:24

23:24

Episode 304 It seems the world is on heightened alert about the impact smartphones are having on our children’s brains. But are we right to be worried? Jonathan Haidt’s book the Anxious Generation has played a big role in this debate, with many researchers agreeing smartphones cause harm and action needs to be taken. But is there actually any scien…

1
Navigating AI in Mathematics Education: Insights for all educators 32:26

28d ago32:26

32:26

As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into schools, what does it mean for the way we plan lessons, support students, and teach mathematics? Dr Sophie Specjal explores the evolving role of AI in education with Dr Scott Cameron, Dr Carmel Mesiti, and Mr Luke Clift. They discuss the use of tools like ChatGPT in lesson planning, the impact…

1
China’s carbon emissions fall; norovirus vaccine; chaotic breakup of the solar system 27:55

1M ago27:55

27:55

Episode 303 China is becoming a de facto leader in the fight against climate change. Right now it’s the world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, but after years of keeping its emissions steady, they have finally begun to fall. And this is all while China’s power demands have increased - suggesting its efforts to build clean energy are paying off.…

1
Ocean wonders and the new arguments against deep-sea mining; biophotons emitted from living things; drumming chimps and the origin of religion 28:02

1M ago28:02

28:02

We dive into the mysterious world of the deep sea, sparked by a recent executive order aiming to ramp up offshore mineral extraction, as well as new research revealing that 99.999 per cent of the seabed remains unexplored. Experts discuss the surprising lack of deep-sea exploration, the ecological wonders already discovered, like hydrothermal vents…

1
Is our understanding of light completely wrong? Two consciousness theories go head-to-head; decoding dolphin whistles 28:45

1M ago28:45

28:45

Episode 301 Our understanding of the nature of light might be completely wrong. The double-slit experiment is one of the most famous experiments in physics and is how we’ve understood light for over 200 years. But a team is now suggesting we’ve got the interpretation all wrong - that light is in fact not a wave and is only made up of particles. If …

1
The Black University and Community Currencies, Pt. 1 1:26:14

2M ago1:26:14

1:26:14

In this episode, Money on the Left shares audio from "The Black University & Community Currencies,” a public workshop convened by Professor Andrew J. Douglas at Morehouse College on April 25, 2025. This episode presents Part 1 of the workshop. It features an introduction by Professor Douglas and two panels. The first panel is titled “What is Public…

1
Weekly: Why the climate crisis is an issue of injustice and inequality 41:50

2M ago41:50

41:50

Episode 299 In a climate justice special episode of the podcast, the biggest issue of the century is up for discussion. Find out the true impact of climate change on our planet and who should be paying to fix the crisis. Rowan Hooper and Madeleine Cuff are joined by two climate experts - Friederike Otto and Joyce Kimutai from the World Weather Attr…

1
Weekly: First brain engineering in a mammal; landmark in fossil fuel lawsuits, the legacy of Pope Francis 29:03

2M ago29:03

29:03

Episode 300 The first genetically engineered synapses have been implanted in a mammal’s brain. Chemical brain signals have been bypassed in the brains of mice and replaced with electrical signals, changing their behaviour in incredible ways. Not only did they become more sociable, they were also less anxious and exhibited fewer OCD-like symptoms. T…

1
Weekly: Have we really just found the strongest evidence for alien life yet? 17:59

2M ago17:59

17:59

Episode 298 Big news has just broken - astronomers claim they’ve detected the strongest evidence for alien life yet. The news has got the world’s media fired up with excitement - but is this really a “revolutionary moment”? Astronomers studying the atmosphere of a distant planet called K2-18b say they have detected a molecule called DMS that is onl…

1
Weekly: Dire wolves (not) brought back from extinction; US science in existential crisis; how to pour the perfect coffee 21:53

2M ago21:53

21:53

Episode 297 The “de-extinction company” Colossal Biosciences claims to have brought dire wolves back from extinction. This is an ancient animal that roamed Earth 10,000 years ago and famously is depicted in Game of Thrones. After gene editing grey wolves, three pups have been born. But is it right to call them dire wolves, or are these just grey wo…

1
Weekly: How plant skin transplants could supercharge crops; China’s pollution win spikes global temperatures; the oldest ivory tools ever found 27:10

2M ago27:10

27:10

Episode 296 There’s a strange phenomenon in the plant world that we’ve known about for ages - but have only just figured out how to make use of it. Thanks to a process that sometimes happens during plant grafting, we can give plants skin transplants. This process produces ‘graft chimeras’, which have been seen as mere curiosities for many years. Bu…

1
Digitizing the Fisc with Rohan Grey 1:42:53

3M ago1:42:53

1:42:53

Rohan Grey, Assistant Professor of Law at Willamette University, joins Money on the Left to discuss his urgent new paper, "Digitizing the Fisc." During our conversation, we recount the events surrounding Elon Musk & the DOGE boys’ unconstitutional takeover of the Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service, while explicating the right-wing theory of the "u…

1
Weekly: A remarkable view of pregnancy; how to waste less time on your smartphone; superacid diamond rain 22:45

3M ago22:45

22:45

Episode 295 The changes the body goes through during and after pregnancy have been examined in more detail than ever before. A landmark study is finally helping us to piece together some of the mysteries and myths surrounding this time – from how long it takes the body to go back to “normal” after birth to the extended periods of nutrient deficienc…

1
The Purpose of Education: In Conversation with Professor Gert Biesta 41:06

3M ago41:06

41:06

Renowned educator Professor Gert Biesta joins Talking Teaching to explore the deeper purpose of education beyond knowledge transfer. In this episode, Professor Biesta reflects on his journey from post-war Rotterdam to his influential academic career and introduces his three key dimensions of learning: qualification, socialisation, and subjectificat…

1
Weekly: Life on Mars; biggest dark energy discovery in decades; the mystery of dark oxygen 20:17

3M ago20:17

20:17

Episode 294 Markings discovered on rocks from Mars look to be good evidence that microbial life once existed on the Red Planet. NASA’s Perseverance rover spotted little speckles on rocks in part of Jezero crater, and minerals usually formed in the presence of water. New analysis suggests these markings also contain signs of organic compounds. Prese…

1
Weekly: America is turning its back on science and the cosmos; photosynthesis limits; mysterious memory illusion 27:43

3M ago27:43

27:43

Episode 293 The future of NASA and of US science is under threat, following cuts made by the Trump administration. Johns Hopkins University lost $800 million in grants this week which will impact the health of people all over the world. At the same time, there’s chaos at NASA where the budget is set to be cut in half, with multiple people losing th…

1
Weekly: Chimps, bonobos and humans have more in common than you might think 27:56

3M ago27:56

27:56

Episode 292 Chimps are often seen as our hyper-aggressive ancestral cousins, while bonobos are famously more peaceful and caring. But studies of their sexual habits and practices show they are much more alike than we realised. Both apes appear to use sex and genital contact not just to reproduce, but also to smooth tensions in the group, deal with …

1
Gaming Money with Raúl Carrillo 1:24:13

4M ago1:24:13

1:24:13

Money on the Left speaks with Raúl Carrillo, assistant professor of Law at Boston College, about gaming money. The $250 billion video game industry (the largest entertainment industry in the world) has rapidly developed an unregulated banking system. As online gaming becomes increasingly social and immersive, players build economies within games. G…

1
Weekly: How to finally get a good night’s sleep - with science 36:59

4M ago36:59

36:59

Episode 291 Who got better sleep - hunter-gatherers or modern-day humans? We’re constantly being told we’re in the midst of an epidemic of poor sleep, but were our ancestors spending any longer in bed than we are? The answer may well surprise you. We weigh up the pros and cons of sleeping in industrialised societies and explore the real reasons why…

1
Weekly: Life-saving mice perform first aid; tiny lab-grown human brains; making skyscrapers and hair condition from wood 25:48

4M ago25:48

25:48

Episode 290 Mice have been found saving the lives of their cagemates by performing a resuscitation technique similar to CPR. After opening the mouth of an unconscious mouse, the “attending mouse” yanks up its tongue to clear the airways and dislodges anything that’s stuck. This remarkable discovery shows that empathy and consolation behaviour is mo…

1
Weekly: Resurrecting frozen brains; giant asteroid heads to Earth; you really do have a ‘dessert stomach’ 31:53

4M ago31:53

31:53

Episode 289 Slices of mouse brains have been revived after being in deep freeze, hinting at the future possibility of reanimating humans who have been cryogenically preserved. While this is just a first step, researchers say the technique could one day be adapted to bring frozen human brains out of stasis. This may be good news for the more than 20…

1
Weekly: Trump’s war on science; How whale song resembles human language; How to boil the perfect egg with science 23:46

4M ago23:46

23:46

Episode 288 President Trump has launched what’s being described as an all-out assault on science and medicine. Given America’s impact on global science, this affects the entire world. Web pages referencing climate change and global warming are being deleted, words like “transgender” are being banned from medical publications and USAID has been labe…

1
Creative Lesson Planning: practical strategies to enhance learning and empower teachers 34:18

4M ago34:18

34:18

What does effective curriculum design look like in today’s classrooms? And how can planning approaches support both student engagement and teacher agency? Dr Sophie Specjal speaks with Auburn South Primary School’s Rhian ap Rees and Darien Hunte, along with Professor John Quay from the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Education. They explore a …

1
Odious Debt with Edward Jones Corredera 1:10:04

4M ago1:10:04

1:10:04

Money on the Left speaks with Edward Jones Corredera, author of Odious Debt: Bankruptcy, International Law, and the Making of Latin America (Oxford University Press, 2024). What are fallen tyrants owed? What makes debt illegitimate? And when is bankruptcy moral? Odious Debt shows how Latin American nations have wrestled with the morality of indebte…

1
Weekly: Is DeepSeek really the ChatGPT killer?; alarming scale of ocean warming; dolphin peeing contests 29:15

5M ago29:15

29:15

Episode 287 Chinese AI company DeepSeek unexpectedly stormed onto the scene just a few days ago - a move that has shaken the big US AI companies. The new large language model is similar to ChatGPT, but was developed for a fraction of the cost. How have they achieved this? We dig into the key technological innovations behind DeepSeek. We also discus…

1
Weekly: The Trump impact on climate and global health; the placebo effect’s evil twin; the mystery of dark oxygen 28:14

5M ago28:14

28:14

Episode 286 President Trump has signed executive orders pulling the US out of the Paris climate agreement, and out of the World Health Organization. Although he claims that withdrawing from Paris will save the US $1trillion a year, the reality is much less clear. As the world’s second largest emitter and amid bans on renewable energy permits, just …

1
Weekly: The truth about Iron Age women; Climate whiplash and the LA wildfires; Rebooting the world’s first chatbot 30:20

5M ago30:20

30:20

Episode 285 New archaeological evidence from Iron Age Britain has shaken up long-held beliefs about the role of women in ancient civilisations. By studying the genes of the Durotriges tribe, who lived in Dorset 2000 years ago, researchers have discovered women were the centrepiece of Celtic society - supporting evidence that they had high status ac…

1
Weekly: Gene-editing to make superhumans; first bird flu death in the US; perfect pasta with physics 28:07

5M ago28:07

28:07

Episode 284 Creating disease-resistant humans may before too long be a reality thanks to advancements in CRISPR gene editing. It’s now possible to make dozens - if not hundreds - of edits to different genes at once. As the field progresses rapidly, a controversial paper published in Nature explores just how powerful this technology could be in prot…

1
Weekly: All You Need To Know For Science in 2025 23:53

5M ago23:53

23:53

Episode 283 On this special episode of the podcast, we set you up for the year ahead. 2025 has been declared the year of humanoid robots. Futuristic robots that look like us are already being rolled out by companies like BMW and Tesla - and production is set to ramp up. One company is even planning to create an army of 10,000 warehouse robots calle…

1
Community Currencies with Jens Martignoni 1:28:14

6M ago1:28:14

1:28:14

Money on the Left speaks with Dr. Jens Martignoni, lecturer at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and chief editor of the International Journal of Community Currency Research (IJCCR). Community or complementary currencies are phenomena of great interest to monetary scholars and activists. We’ve spoken often about them on this show–whether ab…

1
Weekly: The Best of New Scientist in 2024: From Volcanic Diamonds to Immortal Brains 34:41

6M ago34:41

34:41

Episode 282 Looking back at some of the best stories New Scientist has published in 2024, this episode is a treasure trove of knowledge that will serve you well over the holiday season. Rowan Hooper hosts a panel of New Scientist journalists, as they take it in turn to highlight their favourite moments from the year. Head of features Josh Howgego k…

1
Episode 2 - The Universal Mesh: Architecture of Reality 16:13

6M ago16:13

16:13

What if time isn't flowing like a river, but ticking forward in discrete steps like frames in a cosmic movie? In this fascinating second episode of Digital Universe Theory, we dive deep into how our universe might operate like a sophisticated finite element simulation - and why this perspective could elegantly explain some of physics' most perplexi…

1
Weekly: Most Amazing Science Stories of 2024 | Live at the Science Museum 45:12

6M ago45:12

45:12

Episode 281 In this special episode recorded live at the Science Museum in London, we celebrate some of the best, most awe-inspiring science stories of 2024. Round one kicks off with the panelist’s stories of the year, including the discovery that thousand-year-old preserved brains are much easier to find than we realised, that metallic nodules fou…

1
A New Approach to Measuring Student Success with Melbourne Metrics 31:59

6M ago31:59

31:59

Talking Teaching explores how Melbourne Metrics is transforming student assessment by going beyond academics. We speak with Professor Sandra Milligan from the University of Melbourne, leading Melbourne Metrics, and Principal Jonathan Walter of Carey Baptist Grammar School, an early adopter. They discuss the limitations of traditional metrics like A…

1
Weekly: Does Google’s new quantum computer prove the multiverse exists?; 8 ways to keep your brain young 25:30

6M ago25:30

25:30

Episode 280 Google claims it has pulled ahead in the race for quantum supremacy. Its new Willow chip has completed a task in 5 minutes that a classical computer would take 10 septillion years to complete. But the biggest breakthrough is how it excels in error correction. Find out what this means and why some scientists believe this new quantum comp…

1
Episode 1 - Are we living in a simulation? 22:35

6M ago22:35

22:35

What if our universe, at its most fundamental level, operates like an incredibly sophisticated computer simulation? Not in the way science fiction portrays virtual reality, but as a precise mathematical framework that could explain some of physics' most puzzling mysteries. In this premiere episode of Digital Universe Theory, we introduce a fascinat…

1
Weekly: Antarctica special, brain implant made from living cells, best TV and film of 2024 32:22

6M ago32:22

32:22

Episode 279 Antarctic sea ice is melting at an unprecedented rate. A collapse like the one we’re seeing was given just a 1 in 700 billion year chance of happening, based on climate models - we basically thought it was impossible. Melting ice in Antarctica will have global scale, knock-on ecological and climate consequences. To address the crisis, f…

1
Law & Political Economy with Martha McCluskey 1:05:03

7M ago1:05:03

1:05:03

Billy Saas and guest-host Ben Wilson speak with Martha McCluskey about the ins and outs of the Law & Political Economy movement. McCluskey is Professor Emerita at the University at Buffalo School of Law and a progressive institution-builder. She has made foundational contributions to feminist research and activism in and beyond the academy, focusin…

1
Weekly: Is bird flu spreading between people? Plus 2024’s best science books 23:04

7M ago23:04

23:04

Episode 278 Concerns about bird flu are rising as two cases in North America suggest the virus is adapting to humans. Evidence of human-to-human transmission is not yet conclusive but public health experts are worried. This year outbreaks have been found in both poultry and dairy cows in the US. Although it only causes mild symptoms in people at th…

1
Weekly: Why chimps are still in the Stone Age and humans are in the Space Age 36:02

7M ago36:02

36:02

Episode 277 Chimps are an intelligent species, capable of using tools and developing culture - so why have humans surpassed them to such a huge extent? How is it that we are busy exploring space while chimps remain stuck in the Stone Age? It’s long been thought it’s because their culture doesn’t evolve cumulatively, but that assumption has just bee…

1
Weekly: COP29: Are UN climate summits failing us and our planet? 30:35

7M ago30:35

30:35

Episode 276 Are the COP climate summits doing enough to help us avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change, or are they not fit for purpose, and designed to fail? COP29 is underway in petrostate Azerbaijan, headed by a CEO who was secretly filmed making oil and gas deals. Despite this, the team finds reason for optimism. They also hear fr…

1
#136: Dan Mantz — CEO and Chairman of the Board for the Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation 39:16

7M ago39:16

39:16

It’s fair to say that the robots aren’t coming, they’re already here. Not a week goes by that we don’t see a brand new article about some new self-driving car, another A.I company bursting onto the scene, or full on i-Robot style machines marching down an aisle. It’s hard not to be unnerved by the impact robotics and machine learning can have on th…

1
Money, Modernism & Inflation in The Great Gatsby (Part 2) 1:51:33

7M ago1:51:33

1:51:33

Rob and Scott return to their dialog about modernism, inflation, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s celebrated 1925 novel The Great Gatsby (click here for Part 1). During their conversation, our co-hosts forge connections between the novel’s many complications of time and space and the attitudes to money and identity explored in the first part of this mini-…

1
Weekly: The origins of writing revealed; world’s largest (and oldest?) tree 34:02

7M ago34:02

34:02

Episode 275 The origins of the world’s oldest known writing system are being uncovered. Cuneiform was invented around 3200 BC in ancient Mesopotamia, but before it came a much simpler form of writing called proto-cuneiform. Researchers are now shedding light on how writing began along with the cultural factors that spurred on its invention. Just as…

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Digital Universe Theory Podcasts

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