Science, Spoken
WIRED
Get in-depth coverage of current and future trends in technology, and how they are shaping business, entertainment, communications, science, politics, and society.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 12, 2022 • 10min
The Physics of Wile E. Coyote’s 10 Billion-Volt Electromagnet
The famous cartoon schemer has an ingenious plan to lure Bugs Bunny out of his hole—and it involves a giant magnet and an iron carrot.
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Jan 11, 2022 • 11min
Covid Will Become Endemic. The World Must Decide What That Means
The task of 2022 will be figuring out how much action we’re willing to take and how much disease and death we’ll tolerate.
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Jan 10, 2022 • 6min
To Fight Climate Change, First You Need to Measure It
Scientists at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory are using monitoring equipment to track our impact on the planet more accurately than ever before.
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Jan 7, 2022 • 7min
Wildfires Are Digging Carbon-Spewing Holes in the Arctic
Soaring temperatures are rapidly thawing permafrost, leading to huge sinkholes called thermokarst. Northern fires are making the situation even worse.
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Jan 6, 2022 • 5min
A Clean Industrial Revolution Is the Only Way to Hit Net Zero
Governments and companies around the world are finally acting to create a green economy and avoid climate catastrophe.
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Jan 5, 2022 • 12min
2021 Was a Huge Missed Opportunity on Climate Action
The pandemic should have been a wake-up call—instead, emissions have climbed once more. Here's how the US could have seized the opportunity.
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Jan 4, 2022 • 9min
The Algorithm That Lets Particle Physicists Count Higher Than 2
Through his encyclopedic study of the electron, an obscure figure named Stefano Laporta found a handle on the subatomic world’s fearsome complexity.
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Jan 3, 2022 • 7min
The World Is Messy. Idealizations Make the Physics Simple
Even ordinary actions, like tossing a tennis ball, can be extraordinarily complex to calculate. The trick is knowing what to leave out.
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Dec 30, 2021 • 11min
Growing Peppers on the ISS Is Just the Start of Space Farming
The chili peppers thrived in a controlled microgravity environment. But to develop agriculture away from Earth, NASA will have to think outside the box.
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Dec 29, 2021 • 8min
These Lemurs Have Got Rhythm. Scientists Have Got Questions
Studying how and why rhythm evolved in these primates could help unravel the mysteries of human musicality.
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