Twice a week, the Guardian brings you the latest science and environment news
Latest episodes
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15 min
Perimenopause is everywhere. How do you know if you’re in it?
Perimenopause has become a hot topic, with celebrities sharing their experiences and doctors offering tips and advice online. But despite the benefits of growing awareness, a risin…
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17 min
Elizabeth Holmes is back in the spotlight: why can’t we look away?
You Can See Everything, a documentary about the disgraced health tech company founder Elizabeth Holmes, has enjoyed a record-breaking opening in the US. It is a testament to how fa…
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16 min
‘These risks are real’: the threat of AI bioweapons
In his annual speech on threats to the nation, Sir Ken McCallum, the head of the UK’s intelligence service, MI5, warned that AI had the potential to ‘change the stakes’ on existing…
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18 min
Is your boss watching you? The rise of AI surveillance at work
Workers have always been monitored by their bosses, first through output targets, and then via computer software labelled ‘bossware’. But AI is transforming the capabilities of the…
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17 min
The surprising psychology of morbid curiosity
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan has incurred condemnation from human rights groups and politicians on all sides. But accor…
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23 min
All the news and science from the 2026 Nobel prizes
This year’s Nobel prizes in chemistry, physics and physiology or medicine have celebrated work that has been used to develop countless drugs and transform modern medicine, allowed…
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14 min
Today in Focus: Should we be worried about a plague outbreak?
Several hospitals in eastern Russia are under quarantine after a lab worker fell ill at a plague research centre following a reported accident and died. Russia’s health watchdog ha…
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17 min
Narcolepsy: why you’ve been thinking about it all wrong
The sleep disorder has been the butt of jokes and a comedic plot point, but the reality of living with narcolepsy is anything but funny. Things could be about to change for people…
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21 min
The incredible science of memory manipulation
Madeleine Finlay hears from Steve Ramirez, an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University, whose book How to Change a Memory was shortlisted for th…
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18 min
Are household cleaning products damaging our health?
Our use of cleaning products has increased since the pandemic, but do we understand what they could be doing to our health? The journalist Rebecca Seal recently wrote for the Guard…
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22 min
Are baby girls more sociable? Super El Niño, meningitis outbreak explained
Madeleine Finlay sits down with her co-host and Guardian science editor, Ian Sample, to discuss three science stories from the week, including a study that offers a clue in the age…
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17 min
From paleo to intermittent fasting: are any diets actually good for us?
As diet trends proliferate on social media, it can be hard to work out which are backed by science and which should be ignored. From paleo to keto, raw food to intermittent fasting…
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16 min
The week that changed maths for ever
In early September, OpenAI announced it had solved a major mathematics problem that has stumped humans for nearly a century. The news left mathematicians reeling, and many expresse…
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19 min
Is collagen all hype?
Collagen powders, gummies and pills have boomed in popularity in recent years boosted by claims that they smooth wrinkles, promote glossy hair and help with joint pain. Amid the no…
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1 h 22
Live episode: how AI is reshaping our minds
In this episode of Science Weekly, recorded in front of an audience at the London podcast festival on 3 September, Ian Sample hears from Michael Safi, the host of the Guardian’s ch…
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17 min
‘One of the biggest discoveries in science’: have scientists found dark matter?
For decades physicists have been puzzling over the enigma of dark matter. We think it makes up 85% of the matter in the universe, but the mysterious substance cannot be seen or det…
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18 min
Are rich people really worse behaved? Here’s the science
Who’s more likely to steal sweets from a child? According to science, it’s the rich. A study seemingly confirming our suspicions about the moral behaviour of the wealthy was one of…
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40 min
Introducing Black Box: The Chatbots
From the Guardian Investigates team: Across the world, hundreds of people have come to believe they have made extraordinary scientific discoveries with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT,…
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14 min
There’s a quick way to slow climate change. Why isn’t everyone doing it?
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that traps more than 80 times as much heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period and causes 25% of global heating today. We definitely don’t…
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17 min
Could humans ever communicate with whales?
Ever since the earliest known recording of whale song was made in 1949, researchers have been captivated by the wails, rumbles, clicks, grunts and squeals of their communication. A…