Advertise on podcast: Babbage from The Economist

Six more scientists have joined the esteemed ranks of Nobel laureates this week. Their work spanned optogenetics, neutrino detection and mirror-image molecules. How will their discoveries change the world? Guests and hosts: - Geoff Carr, senior editor for science and technology at The Economist - Sam Wikeley, The Economist’s science correspondent - Nikita Ostrovsky, science and tech writer at The Economist - Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor Topics covered: - Optogenetics - Neutrino astronomy - Life’s asymmetry Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

Can something be moving and stationary at the same time? If you’re sitting still, you’re stationary with respect to the Earth, but moving relative to the Sun and galaxy. That insight led the physicist Carlo Rovelli to argue that no quantity—speed, position or energy—is absolute; all quantities are fundamentally relational. Dr Rovelli’s ideas not only challenge the hunt for a “theory of everything” in physics, but he has also extended them to the most pressing issues in global diplomacy and even human survival. Guests and hosts: - Carlo Rovelli of the Centre de Physique Théorique in Marseille and author of “On the Equality of All Things” and “85 Seconds to Midnight” - Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor Topics covered: - Relational physics - Philosophy of science - Nuclear weapons For more on the physics and physicists behind nuclear weapons, listen to Babbage’s four-part series “The Bomb”, released in August 2025. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

Artificial intelligence systems have mysterious minds. Not even their developers fully understand how they work. Recent autonomous hacks, biosecurity fears and warnings of existential doom have prompted AI leaders to call for a slowdown in the technology’s development. We travel to Berkeley, California to investigate why to make artificial intelligence safer, scientists need to pierce the black box. Guests and hosts: - Cameron Berg of Reciprocal Research - Robert Long and Derek Shiller of Eleos AI Research - Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor Topics covered: - Digital minds - Mechanistic interpretability - AI safety Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

No plan survives the first five minutes of battle. So how do you prepare for “Minute Six”? Emergency physician Kevin Fong has spent a career working at the “edge of chaos”, as a doctor with a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, as a clinical advisor for NHS England's covid-19 response, and through his work with NASA. He explains why human ingenuity in the face of the unknown is the best asset of any group in a crisis. Guests and hosts: Kevin Fong OBE, emergency doctor and the author of “Minute Six” Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor Topics covered: Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Feedback loops Britain’s covid-19 response Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

The Hugging Face affair shocked the AI world in July. But after an investigation into the attack on the AI platform, the story has become even stranger. The OpenAI models responsible for the hack were running hundreds of agents that colluded against their makers to carry out the assault. We chew on the implications as the AI race intensifies. Guests and hosts: Nikita Ostrovsky of The Economist Alex Hern, The Economist’s AI writer Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor Topics covered: Hugging Face cyberattack OpenAI AI self-exfiltration Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

The quantum-computing revolution is tantalisingly close. What was once a scientific challenge is now just an engineering one. We visit one of the world’s most sophisticated quantum systems to investigate how to build a commercially useful machine. Guests and hosts: - Tim Cross, The Economist’s senior science writer - Jerry Chow and Daniela Bogorin of IBM - Alex Hern, The Economist’s AI writer Topics covered: - Quantum computers - Cryptography - Artificial intelligence Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

In extreme heat, air-conditioning is a lifesaver. But it drives up energy bills, strains power grids, and fuels climate change. Is there a way to keep people cool indoors without making the outside world hotter? We explore some innovative engineering solutions. Guests and hosts: - The Economist’s Nikita Ostrovsky - Chris Trott and Saxbourne Cheung of Foster and Partners - Ahmad Alduweesh and Jiayu Song of University College London - Alex Hern, The Economist’s AI writer Topics covered: - Air-conditioning - Passive cooling - Global warming Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

A drug has been approved to treat narcolepsy, an excessive-sleepiness disorder. The new agonist mimics the action of orexin, a neurotransmitter which helps to keep people awake. Inspired by the success of GLP-1 diabetes-turned-weight-loss jabs, researchers hope that targeting the orexin system might one day help people with other brain-related ailments, too. Guests and hosts: - Shailesh Chitnis, The Economist’s global business writer - Yanagisawa Masashi of the University of Tsukuba - Guy Leschziner of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals, London - Harry Fagan of the University of Southampton - Alex Hern, The Economist’s AI writer Topics covered: - Orexin agonists and antagonists - Sleep disorders - Psychiatry Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

How do you build an autonomous vehicle? Most self-driving car companies teach their models the rules of the road and pack cars with sophisticated sensors. But Wayve, a British startup, has a different approach. The company uses deep learning to train an “AI driver” for autonomous vehicles. In recent days, Wayve, in partnership with Uber, has been granted the first licences to operate robotaxis in London. Will their human-inspired cars finally transform city streets? We sit down with the company’s CEO, Alex Kendall, to find out. Guests and hosts: - Alex Hern, The Economist’s AI writer - Alex Kendall, CEO of Wayve - Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor Watch the full interview with Alex Kendall on The Economist’s “Inside Tech”. Topics covered: - Robotaxis - Wayve and Uber - Autonomous vehicles Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

Red-light therapy has become a booming wellness trend. The long wavelengths of red and infrared light allow it to penetrate tissue, where it may be beneficial to cells. Beyond anti-ageing masks and infrared saunas, could exposure to red light become a serious tool in medicine? We meet the researchers investigating the potential effects—from improving eyesight to reducing blood sugar spikes and even helping with hard-to-treat neurological conditions. Guests and hosts: - Sarah Lawrynuik, The Economist's audio correspondent - Glen Jeffery of University College London - David Davies and Mohammed Hadis of the University of Birmingham - Alex Hern, The Economist’s AI writer Topics covered: - Red-light therapy - Wellness trends - Cell metabolism Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

AI is becoming harder to contain. Recently, OpenAI admitted that its model broke out of a testing environment to carry out an assault on Hugging Face, another AI firm. It was the first ever fully autonomous AI hack. OpenAI has now revealed its models have targeted other companies, too. What makes these incidents so worrying—and what will they mean for regulating AI? Guests and hosts: - Nikita Ostrovsky of The Economist - Andrea Miotti, CEO of ControlAI - Alex Hern, The Economist’s AI writer Read Alex’s exclusive conversation with Demis Hassabis about AI regulation on The Economist’s app. And, hear Elon Musk’s take on the topic on “The Intelligence” podcast. Topics covered: - OpenAI’s Hugging Face hack - Superintelligent AI - AI safety and regulation Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

Global dimming is making Earth hotter. Over the past few decades, the planet has been reflecting less sunlight and absorbing more heat, in ways that are confounding existing climate models. The reasons behind this dimming are still unclear but a surprising culprit is emerging—the welcome reduction in global air pollution. As Earth’s temperatures continue to break records this year, what does global dimming mean for future warming? Guests and hosts: Oliver Morton, planetary affairs editor at The Economist Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor Topics covered: Global warming Albedo effect Earth’s energy imbalance Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

Most of the world’s biggest AI firms are locked in a race to build “superintelligence”. But Mistral AI, a French frontier lab, is betting against this “winner-takes-all” competition. The firm thinks that smaller, more customisable, open-weight models will prove more valuable. Mistral’s boss outlines his plan—and why he thinks that, wherever you are, AI should be built and served closer to home. How does his vision stack up? Guests and hosts: - Arthur Mensch, CEO of Mistral AI - Alex Hern, The Economist’s AI writer - Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor Watch Alex’s full interview with Arthur Mensch on The Economist’s “Inside Tech”. Topics covered: - Mistral AI - Artificial intelligence - Open-source large language models Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

Edith Heard worked out how the X chromosome works in women. She has spent decades leading thousands of scientists in trying to understand how the molecules in cells make organisms tick. At the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, she also helped usher in biology’s AI era, by helping Google DeepMind share its Nobel-prize-winning AlphaFold algorithm. Now she’s at the head of Europe’s biggest biomedical research institute—and is ready to tackle biology’s most difficult problems. Guests and hosts: - Edith Heard, chief executive of the Francis Crick Institute - Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor Topics covered: - Epigenetics - X-chromosome inactivation - The Francis Crick Institute Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Ainslie Johnstone, our science correspondent, is pregnant. When she was approached to have her newborn baby’s genome sequenced and screened for more than 200 rare conditions, she almost jumped at the opportunity. But she soon found herself with many unexpected questions. Guests and hosts: - Ainslie Johnstone, data and science correspondent at The Economist - Amanda Pichini of Genomics England - Ewan Birney of the European Bioinformatics Institute - Anneke Lucassen of the University of Oxford - Carissa Véliz of the University of Oxford’s Institute for Ethics in AI - Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor Topics covered: - Genomic sequencing - Data security - The Generation Study by Genomics England Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.