A leap in supercomputing is a leap for science, cracking the dolomite problem, and a book on where patriarchy came from

First up on this week’s show, bigger supercomputers help make superscience. Staff Writer Robert F. Service joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss how the first exascale computer is enabling big leaps in scientists’ models of the world.

Next, producer Meagan Cantwell talks with the University of Michigan’s Wenhao Sun, professor of materials science and engineering, and graduate student Joonsoo Kim. They discuss solving the centuries-old problem of growing the common mineral dolomite in the lab.

Finally, books host Angela Saini is back but this time she’s in the hot seat talking about her own book, The Patriarchs: The Origins of Inequality. Science Books Editor Valerie Thompson and host Sarah Crespi chat with Angela about what history, archaeology, and biology reveal about where and when patriarchy started. See our whole series of books podcasts on sex, gender, and science.

This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.

About the Science Podcast

Authors: Sarah Crespi; Valerie Thompson; Angela Saini; Robert Service

Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn0660