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The Latest Breaking News from The Conversation Weekly

How close are quantum computers to being really useful? Podcast

Quantum computers have the potential to solve big scientific problems that are beyond the reach of today’s most powerful supercomputers, such as discovering new antibiotics or developing new materials.

The Conversation

How wildfire, humans and a warming climate led to the extinction of California’s big mammals 13,000 years ago – podcast

Firefighters in Los Angeles continue to battle devastating wildfires that have killed at least 27 people and left thousands of homes destroyed. A new fire also provoked evacuation orders north of the city.

The Conversation

Silicon Valley’s bet on AI defence startups and what it means for the future of war – podcast

From Gaza to Ukraine, today’s war zones are being used as testing grounds for new systems driven by artificial intelligence. Billions of dollars are now being pumped into AI weapons technology, much of it from Silicon Valley venture capitalists.

The Conversation

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How the world fell in love with plastic without thinking through the consequences – podcast

Every year, 400 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide, and every year, approximately 57 million tons of plastic pollution is created. And yet in November, the latest round of negotiations on the first legally binding international treaty on plastics pollution ended without an agreement.

The Conversation

Brain implants, agentic AI and answers on dark matter: what to expect from science in 2025 – podcast

In a special episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast to start 2025, we’ve brought together three science editors from The Conversation’s editions around the world to discuss what to look out for in the world of science and technology in the coming year.

The Conversation

Death penalty: how Zimbabwe reached the point of abolition – podcast

Zimbabwe is on the cusp of abolishing the death penalty after its Death Penalty Abolition Bill was approved by the Senate on December 12. The bill is now sitting on the desk of Zimbabwe’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, a known opponent of the death penalty, waiting for his assent. Once it…

The Conversation

Why distrust in powerful politicians is part of a functioning democracy – podcast

Surveys suggest that in many western democracies, political trust is at rock bottom. Scandals, corruption, faltering economies, conspiracy theories and swirling disinformation are all playing their part. But is it really such a bad thing for people living in a democracy to distrust their government?

The Conversation

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From grieving orcas to opposums playing dead: how animals respond to death – podcast

It was a story that pulled at the heartstrings. In 2018, an orca called Tahlequah was seen dragging the corpse of her newborn baby calf for 17 days, over 1,000 miles along the coast of North America. Eventually, Talequah let the baby go (happily, she’s had another baby since), but…

The Conversation

As Amazon workers prepare to strike on Black Friday, the story of one warehouse in the UK that pushed to unionise – podcast

Amazon workers in 20 countries are expected to strike or protest on Black Friday, pushing the company to respect their rights and commit to more action on the climate. The protests are coordinated by the Make Amazon Pay campaign, run by a global umbrella body of trade unions and workers’…

The Conversation

Fifty years after the discovery of Lucy, it’s time to ‘decolonise paleoanthropology’ says leading Ethiopian fossil expert – podcast

On November 24 1974, renowned American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson spotted “a piece of elbow with humanlike anatomy” poking out of a rocky hillside in northern Ethiopia. It was the first fossil of a partial skeleton belonging to “Lucy”, an ancient female hominin who took the story of human evolution back…

The Conversation

Why Canada’s decision to lift a ban on cod fishing in Newfoundland after 32 years is so controversial – podcast

For generations, cod fishing was a way of life in Newfoundland and Labrador, the easternmost province in Canada. But in 1992, after cod stocks in the north Atlantic plummeted, the federal government imposed a moratorium on cod fishing. It was to last for 32 years until it was lifted in…

The Conversation

Stories of gangsters who’ve left their life on the streets behind – podcast

What happens when a gangster leaves their life on the street? How do they transition to something new? In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we find out through the life stories of two people who joined gangs as young men and came out the other side.

The Conversation

Fear, hope and the economy: what is motivating Americans as they decide who to vote for – podcast

Amid deep political polarization and extreme campaign rhetoric, the U.S. presidential election on November 5 is likely to be decided by a small number of voters in swing states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan. But why is it so close?

The Conversation

How we solved the mystery of the pink sand on South Australia’s beaches – podcast

Take a walk along a beach in parts of South Australia, and you may come across unusual patches of pink sand. When a team of geologists began analysing samples of this mysterious sand to find out where it comes from, their search took them back through time to a previously…

The Conversation

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Victor Ambros on the team effort behind his Nobel-prize winning discovery of microRNA – podcast

Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were awarded the 2024 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine for their discovery of microRNA, tiny biological molecules that tell the cells in our body what kind of cell to be by turning on and off certain genes.

The Conversation

What Israel and its neighbours want now as all-out war looms in the Middle East – podcast

The Middle East is perilously close to all-out war. In the year since the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, millions of people have been displaced from their homes in Gaza, Israel, the West Bank and now Lebanon, and tens of thousands killed.

The Conversation

HIV prevention: why a new injectable drug could be such a breakthrough – podcast

A new drug to prevent HIV infection is showing hugely promising results in clinical trials when injected every six months.

The Conversation

Himpathy: the psychology of why some people side with perpetrators of sexual misconduct – podcast

In 2018, the Australian philosopher Kate Manne coined the word “himpathy” to describe what she called “the inappropriate and disproportionate sympathy powerful men often enjoy in cases of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, homicide and other misogynistic behavior”.

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A lonely and ancient plant needs a female partner and researchers are using drones and AI to find it – podcast

The only known specimens of Encephalartos woodii (E. woodii), a species of cycad, are all clones of the same male plant found over 100 years ago in a South African forest.

The Conversation

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

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

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

Geoengineering: the scientists who argue modifying the climate could buy the world time – podcast

With global temperature records broken for months on end, and the severity of extreme weather events routinely attributed to climate change, you might think any technological developments with the potential to stop global warming would be welcomed the world over.

The Conversation

Fightback gains pace against trade deals fossil fuel investors can use to sue countries over climate action – podcast

Momentum is growing against clauses in investment treaties that permit companies to sue a state if it decides to keep fossil fuels in the ground.

The Conversation

Chronic pain: emerging treatment options for patients after the opiod crisis – podcast

Chronic pain affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. But the opioid crisis in North America led many health care providers to realize they relied too heavily on drugs to help patients manage their pain.

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