Babbage from The Economist (subscriber edition)

With attention diverted to covid-19, access to HIV medications has been disrupted. Host Kenneth Cukier talks to Meg Doherty, director of HIV programmes at the World Health Organisation, about the fight against the other pandemic. Also, hydrogen power has had many false starts. Could it be about to take off? And, scientist Ainissa Ramirez on the ways technology changes how people live, act, and think.  Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer

As covid-19 continues to devastate the world and scientists race to develop therapeutics and vaccines, Alok Jha investigates how to get ahead of the curve and prevent the next pandemic. Scientists explain how studying the relationship between animals and humans, and finding and genetically sequencing the millions of as-yet-undiscovered animal viruses in the wild, could stop future disease outbreaks becoming global health catastrophes. Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer

Contact tracing is one of the tools being used against covid-19, but in the age of the smartphone, technology presents a new way to improve the process. Kenneth Cukier explores why contact-tracing apps have not yet delivered on their promise, how they can preserve privacy and what today’s decisions mean for the future of technology in society.  Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer

A year-long, $160m expedition to the Arctic has passed its halfway mark and is amassing sobering data about the effects of climate change there. One of the scientists on board explains the discoveries so far. Also, Peter Schwartz, who imagined the future in Minority Report, shares his advice for forward planning in the age of covid-19. And, what next for facial recognition technology?Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer

Slavea Chankova and Kenneth Cukier investigate the ways in which SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes covid-19, wears the body down. Apart from pneumonia, there are other facets to the disease that are less understood such as damage to the kidneys, blood vessels and heart. And, how does covid-19 continue to harm the body—and patients' mental health— in the long term?Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer

Doctors enter augmented reality to help them treat patients with illnesses like covid-19. Host Kenneth Cukier speaks to the doctors leading a Hololens initiative at an Imperial College London hospital. Also, Dario Gil, director of IBM Research, on the future of scientific collaboration. And SpaceX has successfully sent two astronauts to the International Space Station—what’s next for commercial spaceflight? Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/radiooffer

How can mathematics help us understand our lives and predict the world around us? Host Alok Jha speaks to David Sumpter of Uppsala University about the equations that can help people make better decisions. Christl Donnelly, an epidemiologist at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London details the role mathematics plays in modelling covid-19. Moon Duchin of Tufts University explains how maths can stop gerrymandering. And physicist Graham Farmelo on why he thinks the universe speaks in numbers. For more on the pandemic, see The Economist's coronavirus hub.Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/radiooffer

An apparent spike in a rare childhood illness, Kawasaki disease, suggests the coronavirus may manifest very differently in children and raises questions over the role they play in spreading the pandemic. America’s latest offensive against Huawei pushes the global semiconductor industry into uncharted territory; it may also harm American interests in the process. And, flattening the other curve—could fossil fuels be added to covid-19’s casualty list? Kenneth Cukier hostsFor more on the pandemic, see The Economist's coronavirus hub.Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/radiooffer

Will humans ever discover intelligent life in space? Since the 1960’s, scientists have been working on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. They have not found it yet but their research is moving up a gear. Better telescopes, faster computers and more funding means that the chances of discovering ET in the next few decades have dramatically increased. Alok Jha hosts.For access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe: www.economist.com/radiooffer

Could repurposing existing drugs, such as remdesivir, be the answer to the search for treatments for covid-19? Also, the winner of this year’s Marconi Prize, Andrea Goldsmith of Stanford University, on her pioneering work in wireless communications technology. And, the mission to give rivers their wiggle back. Kenneth Cukier hosts. For more on the pandemic, see The Economist's coronavirus hub.Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/radiooffer