Babbage from The Economist (subscriber edition)
The Economist
Babbage is our weekly podcast on science and technology, named after Charles Babbage—a 19th-century polymath and grandfather of computing. Host Alok Jha talks to our correspondents about the innovations, discoveries and gadgetry shaping the world. Published every Wednesday.If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription.For more information about Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page here https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 25, 2020 • 30min
Babbage: Another dose of good news
Following promising results from Pfizer and Moderna, why is a third vaccine, from Oxford University and AstraZeneca, so important in the fight against covid-19? Host Kenneth Cukier and The Economist’s health policy editor Natasha Loder investigate the different approaches to this immense challenge. And Nicholas Christakis, a doctor and network scientist at Yale University, explains how despite a vaccine the pandemic could change humanity for good.Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer
Nov 18, 2020 • 23min
Babbage: A grand bargain for tech
Is it time for a new, global politics of technology? Democratic countries need to establish a robust alternative to China’s autocratic technosphere. The news about potential covid-19 vaccines keeps getting better; we assess how the leading candidates differ. And, is there really phosphine on Venus? Kenneth Cukier hosts Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer
Nov 11, 2020 • 30min
Babbage: In it for the long-haulers
The arrival of vaccines to tame covid-19 now seems within reach, but the disease will continue to shape lives long after the pandemic. The Economist’s health policy editor Natasha Loder speaks to patients, doctors and researchers about the symptoms that make up “long covid”, the latest findings about its causes—and how to treat it.Subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions: www.economist.com/podcastoffer
Nov 4, 2020 • 25min
Babbage: Signal and noise
Social media platforms face one of the most testing weeks in their history as they try to filter the real election news from the fake—host Kenneth Cukier asks whether they are up to the task. In the data economy, does privacy equal power? And, how to harness the sound of the deep sea to power underwater devices.Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions: www.economist.com/podcastoffer
Oct 28, 2020 • 27min
Babbage: Life, the universe and everything
From precious moonwater to a handful of asteroid that could provide clues to the origins of life, recent discoveries in our solar system lead host Alok Jha to investigate fundamental questions about the universe. How did life on Earth begin? Could earthly evolution provide a guide to what life elsewhere might be like? And what about the end of everything—the death of the universe itself?Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer
Oct 21, 2020 • 28min
Babbage: Herd mentality
As new waves of covid-19 sweep around the world, scientists are clashing over the concept of herd immunity. Host Kenneth Cukier asks scientists on both sides of the debate whether covid-19 should be left to spread freely among the young and healthy? Also, the Department of Justice's federal antitrust lawsuit against Google—we search what this means for big tech.Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer
Oct 14, 2020 • 28min
Babbage: The Metaverse is coming
We explore computer-generated virtual worlds and their use in everything from film-making to architecture. What will it take to build a real Metaverse, a persistent virtual world that anyone can plug into? This vision, though born in the minds of science fiction writers, is shaping the real-world ambitions of much of the tech world. Host Alok Jha talks to author Neal Stephenson, VR pioneer Jaron Lanier and the VFX team behind The Mandalorian. Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer
Oct 7, 2020 • 27min
Babbage: Nobel minds
Host Kenneth Cukier explores the science honoured in this year’s Nobel prizes. Our correspondents assess the life-saving impact of the identification of hepatitis C, speak to one of this year’s winners for physics, Andrea Ghez, about her work unveiling the mysteries of the cosmos, and hear from Jennifer Doudna, co-developer of CRISPR-Cas9, on the potential of genome editing. Plus, can the awards adapt to modern science?Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer
Sep 30, 2020 • 25min
Babbage: Apple's Epic battle
This week a judge heard the first arguments in an antitrust case that could reshape the software ecosystem. Who will be the real winners and losers of this digital deathmatch? Quantum computers have limited capabilities, but the technology may yet live up to its promise. And, how understanding the evolutionary history of exercise could help get people moving. Kenneth Cukier hosts. Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer
Sep 23, 2020 • 27min
Babbage: Pandemic’s progress
As the global covid-19 death toll nears 1 million, The Economist’s healthcare correspondent and health policy editor explain what scientists are still investigating about the virus, how long-lasting is the immune response and how the pandemic can be tamed. And, the model of Taiwan—is it “post-pandemic”? Kenneth Cukier hosts Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer
