This year’s hurricane season was marked by three Category 5 storms—some of the most potent hurricanes ever documented—yet there were no landfalls on U.S. soil, leading to an unusual lull during the typically active period. These elements contributed to what many are calling a “screwball” season.
Atmospheric scientist Phil Klotzbach made this observation.
“It’s been quite an unusual year,” noted Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University. “Characterizing this year’s patterns has been challenging.”
The official end of hurricane season is November 30th. Notably, the year 2025 aligns with anticipated increases in storm frequency as climate change progresses. Late-season hurricanes formed, some escalating rapidly and producing some of the most intense storms recorded.
In many respects, it was simply puzzling. Although fewer hurricanes developed than anticipated, nearly all that did reached major storm status. For the first time in a decade, the U.S. mainland avoided any landfalls, underscoring the unpredictable nature of hurricane seasons, despite improvements in forecast accuracy. This is particularly true in a warming climate.
Hurricanes will occur less frequently but with greater intensity.
In May, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters predicted a stronger-than-usual season, estimating six to ten hurricanes, including at least three major storms classified as Category 3 or higher, with winds of 111 miles per hour or more.
Klotzbach independently confirmed this forecast, as did other hurricane monitoring organizations. We were on the same page.
Ultimately, while the number of hurricanes was lower than expected, four out of the five that formed (Erin, Gabriel, Humberto, Imelda, and Melissa) were classified as major.
Hurricane Imelda impacted Bermuda on October 1st.NOAA
“This marks the highest rate seen in the past 50 years,” remarked Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Ocean, Atmospheric and Earth Sciences.
Additionally, three of those storms reached the Category 5 level, the pinnacle of hurricane intensity.
Despite the limited number of storms, forecasters’ predictions of an above-average season held true, as measured by a metric called accumulated cyclone energy, which gauges the total intensity and duration of tropical cyclones throughout the season.
Klotzbach estimated the stored energy would be 125% of the 30-year average; the season concluded at 108%. This indicates that, given the fewer storms, each one was particularly powerful.
“It wasn’t about quantity this season; rather, it was about intensity,” he commented.
Klotzbach noted that nine of the last ten Atlantic hurricane seasons have been warmer than average, attributing this trend to rising ocean temperatures and the La Niña cycle, which generally weakens upper-level winds that inhibit hurricane formation.
McNoldy, who meticulously tracks Atlantic Ocean temperatures, stated that 2025 is expected to be “unusually warm.”
“Regardless of the storms we experienced, there was undoubtedly a significant amount of fuel available,” McNoldy said. Heat from the ocean promotes evaporation, driving warm, moist air upward and leading to convection. For hurricanes to develop, ocean temperatures must be at least 79 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you find yourself at your desk, feeling a bit fatigued and pondering where the weekend went, the thought of a four-day workweek might sound incredibly appealing. Just think about all you could accomplish with an extra day! You could finally tackle those odd tasks, enjoy some fresh air, or simply catch up on sleep.
This notion has circulated for years, but now the evidence is mounting. By trimming the workweek by just one day, you can reduce stress, enhance sleep quality, boost physical activity, and even improve productivity.
This concept is shaping a global movement toward rethinking the modern workweek, backed by trials occurring in Europe, North America, and other regions.
A recent study conducted by researchers from Boston College and University College Dublin tracked approximately 3,000 employees across 141 organizations in six English-speaking countries. For six months, these participants worked up to eight hours less per week, without any reduction in pay.
The results published in Natural Human Behavior were quite impressive. Employees reported enhanced mental and physical health, fewer sleep disturbances, and lower fatigue levels. Most companies found sufficient value in the results to continue with the new arrangements post-trial.
“We are observing global trends where workers experience burnout, extended hours, and minimal time for personal and family matters—not just in high-income nations but across many low and middle-income countries,” noted Wenfang, the study’s author and associate professor of sociology at Boston University, in an interview with BBC Science Focus.
“A four-day workweek offers a potential avenue for employees to rethink and restructure their work arrangements for better benefit.”
Hard Data
While many studies rely on employee surveys, recent research in Germany led by Professor Julia Bachmann aims to gather more concrete data. Her team monitored stress, activity levels, and sleep using Garmin fitness trackers worn by both participants in the four-day workweek and those maintaining full-time schedules.
The findings revealed that those in the four-day workweek group experienced significantly lower stress levels, as indicated by heart rate variability.
“The four-day workweek group showed significantly less stress on most days,” said Bachmann to BBC Science Focus. “Interestingly, even on weekends, they did not reach the stress levels of the control group.”
Interestingly, Saturday turned out to be the most stressful day, likely due to errands and family responsibilities, while Sunday was the least stressful. Participants also increased their walking, exercise, and gained an extra 38 minutes of sleep per week.
“They are more active, engaging in more sports. Their stress levels are lower, and they’re sleeping a bit more during the week,” Bachmann noted.
According to Bachmann, the early indicators point in a favorable direction; however, the data on sleep quality is still being analyzed.
Crucially, these physiological findings aligned with the self-reported data from participants. This is significant given the long-standing concerns about bias in self-reported data in other studies on the four-day workweek. “This is typically the main criticism,” Bachmann stated. “But now we have objective data that supports these self-reported outcomes.”
As part of the same study, researchers also gathered hair samples to analyze cortisol levels, a hormone linked to chronic stress. The results are pending, but Bachmann is hopeful they will be available later this year. If consistent with other findings, these results could provide further independent evidence of the health benefits of a four-day workweek.
The trial included 41 organizations across Germany, spanning from IT firms to healthcare providers. Not every employee transitioned to a four-day schedule within each company, as some departments within large corporations maintained full-time hours. Most who switched reduced their work hours without extending their workdays. Reports indicated that monthly overtime also decreased.
Fortunately, for any CEOs reading this, no significant revenue changes were noted during the four-day workweek, and both employee productivity and work intensity improved.
Importantly, this model gained widespread popularity: 73% of organizations expressed plans to continue with the four-day workweek in some capacity, and 82% of workers hoped to maintain it.
Fitness trackers were used to capture hard data on how four days of the week can improve your health – Credit: Getty Images
The Future of Work
So, is the Monday to Friday grind truly sustainable? According to Professor Cal Newport, a Georgetown University computer science professor trained at MIT and author of Deep Work, it’s not that straightforward. He agrees that a shortened week may offer some relief; however, he believes it lacks proper progression. “One of the key contributors to burnout among knowledge workers is overload,” he noted in an interview with BBC Science Focus. “Individuals juggle numerous projects, tasks, and obligations simultaneously.”
In other words, the focus should not solely be on how long we work, but also on the expectations attached to that work. “Transitioning to a four-day week only indirectly addresses this issue,” he asserted. “There’s anecdotal evidence suggesting that reducing workloads might lessen them somewhat. These new constraints can help people feel comfortable saying ‘no,’ making the most effective approach to managing workloads direct.”
Bachmann’s team is currently planning to streamline the four-day workweek concept further to explore how employees compress their tasks into four days compared to genuine reductions in total working hours.
Overall, the outlook for a four-day workweek is positive. Studies around the globe are converging on similar conclusions. Hopefully, a shorter workweek can enhance health and well-being without compromising performance.
However, as Newport emphasizes, the hours we work may matter less than the expectations we set. If a four-day week becomes a reality, it may require reevaluating our workloads rather than just adjusting our calendars.
Read more:
About Our Experts
Wenfang He is an associate professor in the Sociology department at Boston University, USA. His research has appeared in journals like Natural Human Behavior, Social Forces, Jobs and Occupations, and Advances in Life Course Research.
Julia Buckmann is the chair for co-direction at the Centre for Work Transformation and Business Transformation at the University of Münster in Germany. Before this role, she served as an assistant professor at the University of Dublin and LMU Munich. Having received several international awards, Julia is focused on the impact of social and technological change on (collaborative) work, leadership, and innovation.
Cal Newport is a computer science professor trained at MIT and teaching at Georgetown University in the United States. He writes extensively about technology, work, and the pursuit of depth in an increasingly distracting world. His publications include eight books such as Lower Productivity, Email-Free World, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work.
A four-day workweek can significantly enhance both your mental and physical well-being, which in turn boosts your performance. This is supported by a recent study conducted by researchers from the US and Ireland.
The most exciting part? Research published in the journal Natural Human Behavior ensured that participants did not experience any wage cuts during the trial. This is crucial, as pay reductions can lead to increased stress. Participants managed to maintain their typical productivity levels while experiencing fewer sleep disturbances and reduced fatigue, thanks to an improved work environment.
“Globally, we observe trends of burnout, long hours, and inadequate personal time for employees and their families—this issue is prevalent not only in high-income countries but also in many low- and middle-income nations,” noted study author Wenfang, an associate professor of sociology at Boston University in the United States, as stated in BBC Science Focus.
“Our four-day workweek could serve as a potential solution for rethinking work structures that not only benefit employees but society at large.”
The sociologists from Boston College and University College Dublin conducted a six-month study involving approximately 3,000 employees from 141 organizations across Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. Participants were offered reduced working hours ranging from 1-4 hours, 5-7 hours, or 8 hours.
Over the six-month period, employee wellness was evaluated across four categories: burnout, job satisfaction, overall psychological health, and physical health—key indicators of mortality risk.
Concurrently, they compared the outcomes for 285 employees from 12 companies that implemented reduced work hours with those who maintained the traditional workweek.
Significant health advantages were noted for employees in all three reduced-hour groups, particularly in terms of burnout and job satisfaction. Those who cut their working hours by eight saw the most substantial benefits. Furthermore, 90% of the companies that participated continued their four-day workweek after the trial concluded.
Globally, initiatives are underway to assess the effects of shorter workweeks on employee health and organizational productivity. One notable program is the 4DWG initiative, which has seen participation from 375 companies worldwide, advocating for a six-hour workday or a 20% reduction in total hours.
A potential limitation of this study is that it relied on companies volunteering to take part, primarily involving small businesses in English-speaking countries. Future studies aim to include government-sponsored trials for more randomized assessments.
Additionally, the researchers are exploring the environmental impact of a four-day workweek, as some employees have volunteered to monitor their carbon footprints.
Wen posits that both workers and employers could benefit environmentally, particularly with decreased pollution from commuting. She stated: “Countries adopting shorter working hours often report improved environmental outcomes.”
Read more:
About our experts
Wen Huang is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at Boston College, USA. Her research has been published in journals such as Natural Human Behavior, Social Forces, Jobs and Occupations, and Advances in Life Course Research.
The flooding began in Texas before rains hit North Carolina, New Mexico, and Illinois.
In just one week, at least four events classified as 1,000-year rainfalls occurred across the United States, a phenomenon expected to take place only about 0.1% of the time each year.
“It’s rare for these intense rainfall events to occur in any given year,” stated Kristina Dahl, vice president of science at Climate Central.
Some experts noted that this is a significant statistical observation, likely linked to climate change, and may become more frequent.
Last week, heavy rains led to catastrophic flash floods in central Texas, claiming at least 120 lives across six counties. The Guadalupe River near Carville rose over 20 feet within just 90 minutes, causing widespread destruction.
Days later, Tropical Storm Chantal brought heavy rain to North Carolina, with reports of severe flooding in the central region, where some locations received nearly 12 inches of rain within a mere 24 hours. Local officials are still assessing the death toll from the Thursday floods amidst ongoing monitoring.
In New Mexico, three individuals lost their lives on Tuesday due to a devastating flash flood that swept through a remote village in Ruidoso, situated approximately 180 miles south of Albuquerque.
On the same day in Chicago, 5 inches of rain fell in merely 90 minutes around Garfield Park, necessitating multiple rescue operations in the west side of the city.
While experts acknowledge that 1,000-year floods are statistically rare, they also highlight that significant rain events happen every year in the U.S.
“The probability for any specific location is only 0.1% annually, meaning it’s highly unlikely to experience such an event in your area, yet they do occur somewhere in the country each year,” explained Rus Schumacher, director of the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University.
He emphasized that climate change is likely to increase the frequency of these extreme flood incidents.
While pinpointing the exact impact of climate change on specific weather events can be challenging, scientists concur that a warmer atmosphere leads to more intense rainfall and severe storms.
“This area demonstrates a strong correlation because the underlying physics is relatively straightforward,” Schumacher noted.
A warmer environment can retain more water, leading to storms that can unleash vast amounts of rain. Research suggests that for every degree Fahrenheit that the planet warms, the atmosphere can hold about 3% to 4% more moisture.
“It’s mathematically certain that as the atmosphere retains more water, it can release more during storms,” stated Dave Gouchs, a hydrologist who directs forecast services for a company based in Mammoth Lake, California, focusing on snow and water resource measurements.
However, terrain also plays a critical role during heavy rainfall events, Gouchs added.
In Texas, the hills and canyons are particularly prone to flash flooding, as the thin soil above the bedrock limits water absorption, according to Gouchs.
In New Mexico, the village of Ruidoso was severely affected by last year’s wildfires, leaving burn scars that exacerbate runoff and heighten the risk of flash floods.
The recent events highlight the devastating consequences of climate change on extreme weather, as well as the urgent need for community protection measures both before and after such incidents, remarked Dahl from Climate Central.
She emphasized that recovery efforts could take years, with ongoing public health implications that may last even longer.
“These events come and go in the news cycle. We move on to the next story before fully grasping the impact,” Dahl pointed out. “For those affected, it’s easy to forget that healing from such events is a prolonged process.”
The entrepreneur expressed that she felt “humiliated” after departing from London Tech Week, the annual corporate gathering, while accompanying her baby daughter.
Davina Schonle was barred from entering the event on Monday after a three-hour journey of eight months and had to forgo a meeting with potential high-tech startup suppliers.
Schonle recounted to TheBusinessDesk.com that upon arriving at the entrance with her daughter in the stroller, she was asked if she was a VIP. She was informed that she could not enter with the baby. After attempting to retrieve her badge, she was redirected to an Informa State organizer who stated they lacked insurance.
This incident incited outrage and cast a pall over the event. Prime Minister Kiel Starmer addressed the gathering on the same day Schonle was denied entry. The tech industry is striving to distance itself from accusations of sexism and the perception that women are seen as second-class.
Schonle mentioned that this experience highlighted her worst fears regarding being a woman in this sector. She is the founder and CEO of HumanVantage AI, a startup leveraging AI technology to create conversational role-play corporate training platforms.
In a widely shared LinkedIn Post, Schonle remarked: “This moment was inconvenient, serving as a stark reminder that within the tech industry, we still have progress to make regarding inclusion beyond mere buzzwords.”
“Parents are integral to this ecosystem. Caregivers are innovators, founders, investors, and leaders. If a significant event like London Tech Week cannot accommodate them, what message does that send about who truly belongs in technology?”
London Tech Week, organized by Global Events Company Informa, addressed the situation in a statement: “We are aware that one of the participants was not allowed entry with children. As a business event, the venue is not equipped to accommodate specific needs, facilities, and safety measures for those under the age of 16.”
“We are appreciative of everyone’s support in the tech community during London Tech Week. We have reached out to the involved parties to discuss the incident and will use this experience to improve our approach at LTW in the future.”
Julia Hobbsbohm, a businesswoman and commentator on entrepreneurship and work-life balance, reacted to Schonle’s LinkedIn post, remarking: London Tech Week “The worst kind of tin ears.”
The private spacecraft is set to attempt a landing this week. Should the Japanese company ISPACE succeed on this attempt, it would mark a historic achievement as the first non-US enterprise to land on the moon, following a failed attempt in 2023.
ISPACE’s Resilience Lander embarked on its journey towards the moon on January 15th. It launched with the assistance of a SpaceX rocket and Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lander. While Blue Ghost made a successful landing on March 2nd, Resilience traveled a longer path, traversing deeper into space before entering lunar orbit on May 6th. This intricate route was essential for landing in the hard-to-reach northern plains of Mare Frigoris, which had been uncharted by previous lunar missions.
If the probe executes its landing operations successfully, it will commence its landing sequence on June 5th at approximately 7:20 PM BST, with a landing in Mare Frigoris scheduled an hour later. The landing attempt will be broadcast live on ISPACE’s YouTube channel.
The lander is outfitted with six diverse experiments, including a device capable of splitting moisture into hydrogen and oxygen for usable resources, a module for producing food from algae, and a radiation monitor for deep space studies. Additionally, it will deploy a 5-kilogram rover named Tenalious, tasked with exploring the lunar surface and capturing images during its anticipated two-week mission.
This marks ISPACE’s second attempt at a lunar landing, following the initial Hakuto-R spacecraft, which lost communication and crash-landed on the moon. The company asserts that it has enhanced Resilience with improved sensors leveraging data gathered from the initial mission, yet challenges remain, particularly in slowing the spacecraft from several hundred kilometers per hour to a complete stop in just three minutes. Should ISPACE choose to abort the landing on June 5th, there are three alternate landing sites and dates prepared as contingencies.
In less than a week, the second privately constructed US spacecraft is poised to land on the moon.
The robot lander, named Athena, was created by an intuitive machine based in Texas. It was launched into space on February 26th and has been traveling to the moon for the past week.
About the size of a dishwasher, the six-legged ship is set to land in the lunar Antarctic area, with plans to spend a week searching for possible water ice beneath the lunar surface.
The landing is scheduled for Thursday at 12:32 pm ET.
If successful, Athena will be the second vehicle to land on the moon in five days, following another robotic lander built by Texas-based Firefly Aerospace, which landed there on Sunday.
Both missions are part of NASA’s Commercial Moon Payload Services program, aimed at assisting private companies in developing Moonlander technology. Over a dozen US companies are involved in this initiative, which is crucial to NASA’s overarching goal of returning astronauts to the moon.
Athena’s landing will mark the second moonshot for the intuitive machine. The company previously made history in February 2024 by landing a commercially built spacecraft on the moon, becoming the first American spacecraft to land there in over 50 years since the 1972 Apollo 17 mission.
Athena’s Moon Lander. An intuitive machine
The Lander, known as Odysseus, experienced a successful landing despite tipping over afterwards.
Both intuitive machine missions are focused on the Antarctic region of the moon. Odysseus landed near a crater called Marapart A, while Athena is targeting a vast flat mountain plateau known as Mons Mouton.
Scientists believe that water ice is relatively abundant in the moon’s Antarctic region, making it a crucial resource for potential crew missions and long-term stays on the moon.
Athena is equipped with several rovers, including the suitcase-sized vehicles developed by Colorado-based Lunar Outpost called Mapp (Mobile Autonomous Research Exploration Platform). These rovers are designed to explore the landing site and capture 3D images of the terrain.
Furthermore, a thumb-sized rover named “Astroant,” created by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will assess the health of the map rover and take regular temperature measurements.
In addition, the mission includes releasing a drone named Grace, which will hop around the Athena landing site, covering approximately 650 feet in four hops to explore nearby craters and scan for hydrogen traces and ice deposits.
While on the moon, Athena will also test a 4G communications system developed by Nokia, which could facilitate communication and data transfer between spacecraft on the moon.
Moon exploration continues beyond this week, with a Lander and small rover from a Japanese company called Ispace set to land near the northern pole’s vast basin known as Male Frigolis.
As we approach February, Skywatchers have a final opportunity to witness the “Planet Parade” lighting up the night sky.
The celestial event, where all seven planets in the solar system, apart from Earth, are visible most weeks, is set to provide the best viewing chances for Skywatchers worldwide on Friday. This is because mercury, which only recently appeared on the horizon, will be at its highest point above the horizon.
Starting from Friday, mercury and Saturn will become too dim and too low on the horizon for most observers.
If the conditions are right, it should be possible to spot five out of the seven planets with the naked eye with mercury and Saturn in mind. However, a telescope is necessary to view Uranus and Neptune.
Planetary parades occur when multiple planets are visible simultaneously and spread out in an arc across the sky. While not uncommon, it is rare for all seven planets to be visible at the same time. Four planets were visible before sunrise in August, but NASA states that five will not be visible again until October 2028.
To observe the planets in the sky this week, it is best to find locations on clear nights with minimal light pollution.
Saturn is visible near the horizon (it sets below the sky, making it harder to see during moonrise). Mercury has been far from the sun in recent weeks, making it easier to locate. After sunset, near Saturn, it can be seen low in the western sky.
Venus is also situated in the western part of the sky and is usually the easiest planet to spot due to its brightness.
Jupiter can be observed at dusk. NASA. Mars, meanwhile, is the last planet to set before sunrise.
Michael Shanahan, planetarium director at Liberty Science Center in New Jersey, suggests searching for mercury and Saturn with binoculars near the sunset point shortly after dusk.
As it gets darker, Jupiter, the brightest star in the sky, can be seen overhead. Towards the east, Mars on Earth remains quite bright,” he added.
Shanahan also mentioned that beyond Friday, individuals can witness what he described as “Planetal Ballet against the Starry Background.”
“Around March 10th, Venus will appear too low. Currently, Venus is a bright spot resembling an airplane,” he noted.
Planetary alignments occur due to the planets orbiting the Sun in a relatively flat, disc-like plane. They move along this metaphorical racetrack at their own pace. Mercury completes its orbit in 88 days, Venus takes 225 days, and Saturn takes over 29 years to orbit the Sun.
When multiple planets align on the same side of the metaphorical track, Jackie Faherty, an astronomer and senior research scientist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, explained to NBC News earlier this month.
All of our solar system planets line up in the night sky once this week. This extraordinary celestial event will see the sky scattered with seven visible planets in what is called a great planet alignment, or what is called a “planet parade.”
The eight planets in our solar system first formed from the same disc of debris around the sun, thus bringing the sun into orbit on roughly the same plane. The lines that line this plane appear along the zodiac when the sun crosses the daytime sky, as the sun crosses the daytime sky, appear all along the zodiac when the planets appear in the sky. The orbit is slightly tilted, so it’s not the perfect line of the planet, but it’s pretty close.
This is less obvious than during planetary alignment. Normally, only a few planets share the night sky, but the unusual alignment of all seven planets will be visible around a few nights, around February 28, depending on your location.
The best time to see is right after sunset, and you will have the opportunity to see all the planets arching in the sky, but all of them are near the horizon except Mars, Jupiter and Uranus. These three will continue to stroll all night, but by the time the sky is completely dark, Mercury and Saturn will sink below the horizon, and Neptune and Venus will soon follow.
The main thing that prevents such alignments from being invisible all the time is the difference in orbital periods between planets, except for the weather. Mercury closest to the Sun takes about 88 Earth days to complete its orbit, but Neptune, most of the distant planets, takes nearly 165 Earth years.
It is only possible to have a large alignment if the planets are all relatively far from the Sun, so they can be seen at night, so they are all in roughly the same half of the sky, so they can be seen at the same time. It’s a coincidence of an astonishing trajectory. Sometimes there are multiple large alignments per year, sometimes even if there are no more than one year, it can pass. A similar event is not scheduled to occur until 2040.
“It’s great to see the interest that Planet Parade is creating.” David Armstrong At the University of Warwick, UK. “It’s all great to be involved in astronomy, look up at the sky and evaluate the wonders of our solar system. I encourage anyone interested in going out and looking at the planets with their own eyes if they get the chance in the next few days.”
Scheduled to appear in space this week, the Robot Moonlander is set to mark the second moon mission of a company that made history last year by becoming the first private company to successfully land on the moon’s surface.
The spacecraft, named Athena, was built by Intuitive Machines, a company based in Texas. It is equipped with a drill and various instruments to analyze the chemical composition of rocks and soil beneath the lunar surface.
The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Moon Payload Services Program, which aims to assist private companies in developing Moonlanders. The anticipated landing site is the plateau of the lunar Antarctic region, specifically a flat mountain known as Monsmouton.
NASA is particularly interested in the Antarctic region of the Moon due to the presence of water ice in permanently shadowed craters. The presence of water could be crucial for establishing permanent bases on the moon, and Athena’s mission will focus on searching for groundwater.
Athena is scheduled to launch on top of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday at 7:17pm from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The same rocket will also launch a lunar mapping satellite developed by NASA, called the Lunar Trailblazer.
In addition to these missions, NASA plans to send the Spherex Space Observatory into orbit on Thursday to study the origins of the universe. SpaceX’s Starship Megarocke is set for its eighth test flight on Friday, and another robot Moonlander developed by Firefly Aerospace will attempt to land on the moon over the weekend.
Following its release, the Athena Lander is expected to travel for about a week before landing, potentially as early as March 6th. The mission will also test a 4G communications system developed by Nokia on the moon’s surface.
During the mission, Athena Lander will deploy a drone named Grace to explore the landing site through a series of hops. The company aims to replicate their historic moon landing success from February 2024 near Marapart A crater in the Antarctic region of the Moon.
The goal is for Athena Lander to successfully land and fulfill its mission objectives, paving the way for future lunar exploration and potentially aiding in establishing human presence on the moon.
Over the past two weeks, EPA staff have had to compete with dramatic reforms at the agency.
Approximately 1,100 “probation” employees were said to be possible to be fired, and 168 staff working on environmental justice issues have been taken on leave.
Lee Zeldin, new manager at the EPA, said agency priorities include improving AI and automotive jobs.
Lee Zeldin led the Environmental Protection Agency in a short and a half weeks. HR movements shaking wildly, rattling some staff, like many others.
On the day of Zeldin's confirmation last week, the EPA notified about 1,100 “probation” employees that they could close at any time for less than one year.
Then on Thursday, the agency placed 168 staff members on administrative leave. The affected people were working on environmental justice issues across the EPA's 10 regional offices and headquarters.
This week, the agency removed an online mapping tool called EJScreen. It was being used by federal, state and local governments to make decisions that support environmental justice. The term explains the idea that people should have equitable access to a clean, healthy environment, and that some underserved communities face historically unbalanced environmental harms. It refers to. For example, state highway agencies You can use EJScreen Check demographic information for which the road construction project was planned.
Zeldin took on his post a day after a federal worker received a “road fork” email offering resignation shopping. Their deadline to accept the offer was Thursday night, but a federal judge put the initiative on hold that day, following legal challenges from the union. The program will be blocked until at least Monday.
“We accused Congress of being as efficient as possible with the taxes sent to us,” Zeldin said, adding that Americans “are feeling a lot of financial pain.” Ta.
His initial actions and the shock they inflict on staff suggest that Zeldin and the Trump administration are not wasting time dramatically reworking the EPA and redefine its purpose. .
Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Molly Vaserio said the EPA is focused on adhering to President Donald Trump's executive orders, including an order entitled “Extreme and Waste Government DEI Program.” Ta.
“The EPA is enthusiastically implementing President Trump's executive order and subsequent related implementation memos. President Trump has been elected to delegate from the Americans to do this,” Vaselio said. .
Several EPA staff members said fear and hype quickly permeated the agency.
“The past two weeks have been pretty scary,” said Marie Owens Powell, chairman of the U.S. Government Employees Federation Council 238, the union representing around 8,500 EPA staff. “Every day, it was something. It was exhausting.”
Powell worked As an EPA Storage Tank InspectorAdded that there were other recent surprises, such as when the pronouns of staff preference were removed from email signatures without notice.
Another EPA worker asked that his name not be made public due to fear of retaliation, but explained that the feeling was “limbo” or “purgatory.”
“We are afraid of doing work that can be seen as completely opposed to the executive order or against Trump's agenda. We want to speak up and push back. But the fear is obvious,” the staff said. “We're all waiting to see who's next.”
Vaseliou met with staff at the Career EPA to visit several disaster sites, including East Palestine, Ohio, and visited several disaster sites, including trains carrying chemicals in February 2023, and to visit several disaster sites, and toxins. He said he had spent his first few weeks of emitting smoke. He also went to Los Angeles. There, a wildfire that broke out last month raided thousands of homes and headed to West North Carolina where Hurricane Helene killed dozens of people.
In Zeldin's news release on Tuesday We laid out five priorities For the EPA under his leadership, including an effort to “pursuing energy independence,” we will develop “the cleanest energy on the planet” to ensure clean air and water. However, some of his agenda diverges from the core mission of the EPA, at least as it operates under past administrations. These include advances in artificial intelligence, reforming and reviving permits for auto work.
Jeremy Simmons, senior adviser to the Environmental Protection Network, a former EPA staff group, said he is worried about the direction the agency is on the lead, based on Zeldin's statement.
“If you're worried about toxic contamination in your community, it's difficult to see yourself on that agenda,” said Symons, who worked at the EPA from 1994 to 2001, in the service of the political agenda. ”
Congressional Democrats appear to be preparing for the fight for the future of the EPA. D-Mass. Sen. Ed Markey of the group attempted to enter agency headquarters on Thursday, calling for a meeting with representatives from Elon Musk's Government Efficiency Bureau.
“We just went in and asked for a meeting with a representative from Doge. We were denied and we were turned away,” Markey said at a press conference outside the building.
Vaseliou said he had not taken the appropriate steps necessary to allow Markey to enter headquarters and described the event as a “promotion stunt.”
A Markey spokesperson said Thursday that the senator has not received confirmation as to whether Doge's representatives are at the EPA. However, multiple sources say the names of workers that NBC News identified as members of Doge member Cole Killian were listed in the EPA directory.
Emails to Killian's EPA email requesting an interview were not immediately returned. Vaseliou did not answer questions about Killian or whether he was connected to Doge.
When asked about Marquee's concerns on Thursday, White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said Democrats were “gaslighting” about Doge's mission.
“To reduce waste, fraud, abuse and become a better steward of the hard-earned dollars for American taxpayers may be a crime for Democrats, but it's not a crime in court,” Fields said. I said that.
Last Sunday at 2:16 pm in California, US billionaire technical investor Mark and Leisen made a significant call. He declared, “Deepseek R1 is the AI equivalent of SPUTNIK,” on X.
In 2023, emerging companies in China, led by a group of mathematicians with centuries of expertise, unveiled new chatbots that rival the performance of major American models in just a few minutes.
Despite the CCP’s efforts to suppress all responses, from Taiwan’s status to the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, technology veteran Andreessen compared the Soviet Union’s shocking launch of the first satellite in 1957 to the current situation in the US.
The repercussions were felt the following day as shares of the world’s largest companies plummeted, marking the steepest decline in the US market’s history for microchip manufacturers, with losses nearing $600 million. Investors interpreted DeepSeek’s success as a sign that Chinese reliance on American chips was diminishing, potentially threatening or ending US hegemony in AI. Just a week prior, a Silicon Valley giant had announced a $500 million AI investment plan, spending more than necessary. Chinese AI Lab stated that the training cost for the basic model was only $5.6 million.
Since the release of Chatgpt in November 2022, the DeepSeek app had become the most downloaded application in the US and UK Apple app stores during the biggest AI week. Ta.
Speculation arose about the world’s largest dictatorship attempting to surpass the West in AI. This raised concerns about who would control technology that could potentially be exploited for cyber attacks, biological weapons, and thought control. With AI at the forefront of geopolitical competition, the ban on microchip exports hampering China’s progress could be a strategy to maintain hegemony.
Midweek saw significant developments from the DeepSeek research institute in Hangzhou, Shanghai’s suburbs. Experts were quietly impressed by the advancements led by Liang Wenfeng, Deepseek’s 40-year-old hedge fund boss. However, widespread recognition only came after the release of the Deepseek R1 model, boasting superior capabilities than Open AI’s 01 model in some aspects.
The unveiling of DeepSeek’s capabilities stood out from usual marketing hype from Google, Meta, and Openai with its focus on enhancing LLMS through reinforcement learning.
The model offered free usage and was a pioneering method designed for greater efficiency compared to Openai’s $20 inference model Chatgpt-O1. This approach reduced computational requirements by activating specific system components to respond to queries. It provided millions of performance capabilities at a fraction of the cost incurred by other companies.
In response, Openai announced the launch of a new inference model O3-mini on Friday, accessible to all users, including the layers of Chatgpt.
Lian’s team’s creation not only impacted the market but also potentially altered the landscape of AI dominance, economically, politically, and militarily, sparking speculation about the US and China’s future geopolitical rivalry. Reports suggested that Lian was on a Lunar New Year holiday while initiating geopolitical shifts. Experts worldwide sought to understand China’s quest for innovation and strategies to overcome chip shortages.
Jimmy Goodrich, a technology advisor at Rand Corporation, commented to Reuters, “It was well-known that DeepSeek had an exceptional team.”
Michael Urdridge, an AI professor at Oxford University, admitted, “They appear to have developed a GPT-like model that mirrors its capabilities.”
This development was likened to “pulling the rug out from under NVIDIA,” suggesting that more developers could now create AI models, expanding accessibility to the technology.
Mike Gualtieri, a principal analyst at Forrester Research, predicted an increase in startups creating unique AI models with elevated accessibility. However, major US tech companies possessed substantial data processing capabilities that could expedite their developments.
He elaborated, “Companies with abundant chip resources or access to them—such as OpenAI and Google—applying these [DeepSeek] techniques could iterate quickly.”
In London, conflicting sentiments of hope and fear emerged. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle expressed reluctance to download the Chinese app due to data storage concerns in China, where all companies are obligated to align with national information regulations, potentially linked to intelligence operations.
Nevertheless, he also expressed excitement at utilizing AI for economic growth, suggesting a shift in priorities from sheer computing power to breakthrough AI advancements, signaling positive prospects for the British tech industry.
By mid-week, DeepSeek vanished from the Italian Google and Apple app stores following demands from data protection authorities for enhanced security measures in handling personal data. Dublin’s Data Protection Committee sought clarification from DeepSeek regarding “data processing activities related to Irish data.”
In the US, a Presidential order signed by Donald Trump aimed to reinforce the nation’s leadership in AI. DeepSeek’s arrival was deemed a pivotal moment, prompting Trump to emphasize the need for a competitive stance to secure victory in the AI race. This drew comparisons to a “Morning Call in our industry” or “Return to Code Mine,” as one X user interpreted.
Soon after, doubts emerged. White House AI Advisor David Sacks expressed skepticism:
Openai founder Sam Altman initially welcomed new competition but later raised concerns about Deepseek potentially misrepresenting the model.
Deepseek also faced real-time challenges regarding politically sensitive or controversial topics with CCP. Users across various regions raised questions highlighting the suppression of freedom of speech in China, including discussions on protests in Hong Kong, censorship of Xinjiang re-education camps, and China’s Social Credit System.
In scenarios where China actively suppressed dissent, the chatbot’s responses were altered, raising concerns about DeepSeek’s compliance with Chinese censorship and the impact on free speech. The veiled responses without deliberate intent shed light on the complexities of AI interactions and their repercussions.
The bizarre world of AI grew even more peculiar as uncertainties continued to mount, setting the stage for another eventful week.
The annual Quadrantids meteor shower is scheduled to reach its peak early Friday morning.
This will be the first meteor shower in 2025.
The crescent moon sets before the shower peaks, so future shows won’t be overshadowed by moonlight.
Ring in the new year with the first meteor shower of 2025.
The annual Quadrantids meteor shower is scheduled to peak early Friday morning, before dawn. Showers have already begun to fall, but that’s when people in the northern hemisphere will have the best chance of seeing shooting stars. The celestial show will continue until January 16th, although some lucky ones might be able to find some photos on New Year’s Eve.
The Quadrantids meteor shower is caused by a piece of an asteroid called 2003 EH1, which takes more than five years to complete one orbit around the sun.
The Quadrantids meteor shower is known for producing brighter, and sometimes more colorful, fireball meteors because they originate from larger pieces.
By the peak of the rain early Friday morning, the crescent moon has already set, so there’s no danger of the shooting stars being obscured by the bright moonlight.
The Quadrantids meteor shower will be best visible in mid-northern to far northern latitudes on Friday before sunlight begins to shine. For ideal viewing, pack your bags and go somewhere with a clear, unobstructed view of the sky, away from city lights.
Meteors can be seen with the naked eye without the need for special equipment.
In both clear and dark conditions, people were able to spot about 120 meteors per hour during the peak of the shower. According to NASA.
Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through huge streams of debris from comets and asteroids. When these pieces of rock and space dust collide with the planet’s atmosphere, they flare up and streak the night sky as shooting stars.
While most other meteor showers take two or more days to reach their peak, the Quadrantids’ peak is short, lasting only about six hours. NASA says this is because the debris cloud is relatively thin and Earth’s orbit is such that the planet passes through it at a perpendicular angle.
Meteor showers are usually named based on where in the sky the shooting stars appear to originate from. For example, Perseid meteors appear to come from the constellation Perseus, and Geminid meteors appear to originate from the constellation Gemini.
However, the Cygnids meteor shower is named after a now-defunct constellation known as the Cygnus. This group of stars was not included when the International Astronomical Union compiled its list of recognized modern constellations in 1922, but the meteor shower retained its name.
The former constellation Quadrans Muralis was located near the Big Dipper. Although meteors may appear to come from this point in the sky, people should be able to see them across the sky without looking in a specific direction.
The next major meteor shower this year, following the Cygnids meteor shower, is the Lyrid meteor shower, which occurs in April.
II’m writing this from a room slowly orbiting the Earth. Behind a screen that floats in front of me, through a huge opening where a wall should be, a planet slowly rotates and appears close enough to take up most of my field of vision. To my right it’s morning in Australia. The first vestiges of India and Europe are illuminated and dotted to my left. The soft drone of the air circulation system hums quietly behind me.
I spent a week using a virtual reality headset to do everything I could: work, exercise, compose music. This was the year that VR threatened to go mainstream as prices became more affordable and Apple entered the market. So I wanted to see how far VR has come since I first tried it in the mid-2010s, when the main experience was available. It was a nauseating roller coaster simulator. I used Meta’s latest model, called the Quest 3, and the conclusion was clear. This means it works now. It feels a little unfinished, but we’ve finally reached the point where VR is possible. It becomes really useful.
The biggest surprise was working in VR. This is not recommended. When you put on the headset, you can summon multiple screens, all connected to your computer, and make them as large as you want and place them anywhere in your environment. “Pass-through” – the ability to see digital objects superimposed on the real world, enabled by a camera built into the front of the headset – means you can cut out a window from the virtual environment to see the keyboard. You can also choose any number of work environments, from minimalist cafes to mountain huts, and switch between them at will. I quickly reached the point where if I was working alone, I would rather work in virtual reality than in real life.
The main problem is the overall lack of polish. The headset doesn’t feel like a finished product. It’s probably 10% too heavy, like a lab prototype that hasn’t been improved yet. The battery alone won’t last the entire day. Sometimes the controller disconnects without explanation. I brought it on a plane to do some work, but the challenge of connecting to my laptop using the onboard Wi-Fi proved insurmountable.
But watching movies in VR while flying was nothing special. Yes, I felt the need to apologize to my neighbor in a very British way. Wearing a headset in public has not yet become socially acceptable. But as soon as I pressed play, I realized I would never be able to go back to in-flight entertainment. I was sitting in a movie theater with the lights dimmed and several rows of seats separating me from a giant screen on a virtual wall. In long periods without turbulence, we really forgot we were flying. The one downside is that I was so engrossed in it that I almost missed the breakfast cart passing by.
“Today, the key to getting the most out of VR is to use it for activities you do yourself, even if you’re not a gamer.” Photo: Marissa Leshnoff/The Guardian
Of course, the movie theater was empty except for me – by design. Other apps are intentionally less sparsely populated. I downloaded one that promised a live virtual concert. Upon entering the virtual lobby, I discovered that there was no concert going on and no sign of one being scheduled. No problem. It also provided a space for people to mingle when acts weren’t performing. I loaded it. It was a beautifully designed virtual world, all domes and arches and curved slopes. But it was a ghost town. I was the only one there. And this is considered to be one of the most popular apps for live music on the internet.
When most people think of VR, they often think of Ready Player One. This is a science fiction novel and film about a world where people spend most of their time in a shared virtual reality, where they gather as avatars to interact, talk, and watch sports and music. together. This feels like a long way off. There are games that give hints about this group experience, such as “Gorilla Tag,” where children gather together after school to play tag as gorillas, talking to each other and moving around by waving their arms. However, VR adoption has not yet become widespread enough to make Ready Player One’s vision a reality. Now, the key to getting the most out of VR is to use it for activities you do yourself, even if you’re not a gamer.
For at least some types of knowledge workers, work is one such activity, and someone closely involved in the industry recently told me that it is considered the fastest growing use case. It is being I feel that productivity can be easily improved with VR. Gone is the office clutter, replaced by a calming environment that matches your mood for the day. Monitors that would cost thousands of dollars in the real world are displayed in front of you on demand. A virtual forest in the mountains is far better than the gray walls of my study as a place to sit down at my keyboard and write music. All distractions disappear from view.
Another thing is exercise. I was doing a personal training session in my garden, and a virtual trainer was floating in the air right in front of me. Passthrough, which was only recently added to Quest, is important here because it means you can use weights. This was not a smart idea in previous models as it completely obscured the real world. While many people have tried to join a gym temporarily and failed, it’s not unreasonable to hope that on-demand personal training at home might help them get back to exercising regularly.
Apple’s Vision Pro headset, launched earlier this year, was meant to be the starting gun for VR. That wasn’t the case. It’s a marvel of engineering and has magical uses, but it’s still lacking in compelling apps. £3,500 price tag For most people that is ruled out. Stories of headsets gathering dust or being returned have led some to believe that VR is nothing more than a hype bubble created by a tech industry desperate to find the next big thing.
But VR isn’t all hype. Sure, there are kinks that need to be smoothed out. But I think we’ve reached a tipping point. It’s really useful if you’re bringing this in for single player and something you don’t really use in public. Work, entertainment, exercise – everything is already great in VR. Don’t rely on tiny rectangular screens as a way for humans to communicate with machines.
Ed Newton-Rex is the founder of Fairly Trained, a nonprofit organization that certifies generative AI companies that respect the rights of creators, and a visiting scholar at Stanford University.
Legacy: Charles Dickens Wondery, weekly episodes This week, we recommend listening to the fascinating stories of Charles Dickens, the Godfather of Christmas. Afua Hirsch’s latest podcast subject and Peter Frankopan’s biographical series shed light on both the successes and struggles of this Victorian novelist. Despite his literary achievements and social impact, Dickens faced financial difficulties, rumored scandals, and publisher disputes. Holly Richardson
Dateline: Deadly Mirage 2 episodes per week, widely available Discover the chilling tale of how a supposed “happiest place” in California turned into a crime scene. With thorough investigative reporting, Dateline uncovers the shocking events leading up to the tragic murders in this gripping six-part series. Hannah Verdier
Afua Hirsch, one half of the Legacy Podcast. Photo: Cheese Scientist/Alamy
promenade Wide range of weekly episodes available Step into the world of short, evocative audio pieces with Promenade. Explore diverse narratives, from encounters with Paul McCartney’s barber to intimate reflections by Louise O’Neill, in this third season of captivating storytelling. HV
Watch Dogs: The Truth Audible, all episodes now available Immerse yourself in a thrilling audio drama featuring AI, government surveillance, and audience interaction. Join the stellar cast, including Russell Tovey and Freema Agyemang, as you navigate a world of fake news and civil liberties at stake. HV
President Trump’s conditions Wide range of weekly episodes available Stay informed about the latest political developments with this NPR podcast, delving into the intricacies of power dynamics and pressing issues in the new administration. From abortion rights to campaign strategies, get a comprehensive look at the issues shaping our world today. HV
There’s a podcast for that
Pod Poetry…George Mpanga, better known as Poet George. Photo: Suki Dhanda/Observer
Rachel Aroesti select the top five experimental podcastsfrom personal poetry to unconventional interview formats.
internal organs Explore a unique audio zine format with “Offal,” a podcast that challenges traditional podcast delivery. Dive into a mix of eerie apocalypse dramas, cultural satire, and haunting soundscapes created by feeding AI scripts. Expect a captivating blend of horror, sketch comedy, and immersive storytelling.
Have you listened to George’s podcast? Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of poetry with George the Poet’s thought-provoking series. Through rhyming couplets and evocative soundscapes, George delves into profound topics like black trauma in pop culture and personal reflections on identity and ambition. HV
11th Experience a dynamic podcast series that surprises you with each new episode. From anthologies to unique audio experiences, “11th” offers a diverse range of content, including personal stories, audio dramas, and intriguing explorations that keep listeners engaged.
everything is alive Delve into the world of inanimate objects with “Everything is Alive,” a heartwarming and humorous podcast that brings everyday items to life. Through quirky interviews and imaginative storytelling, this podcast offers a fresh perspective on the world around us.
80,000 steps Embark on a unique listening experience with “80,000 Steps,” an immersive podcast that can only be accessed through a specialized pedometer app. This series unfolds compelling immigrant and refugee narratives against the backdrop of a walking journey, inspired by personal stories of resilience and exploration.
Challengers is one of the films that the podcast Ordinary Unhappiness studies using psychoanalytic theory. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Photo
Explore thought-provoking podcasts that delve into psychoanalytic studies, lost music, cultural influences, and personal stories. Ammar Kalia presents the top picks to stimulate your mind and spark new insights.
name drop Dive into the impact of names with engaging storytelling that highlights the significance of personal names and their societal implications. Discover the power and complexities behind names in a captivating series that explores identity and self-expression.
Have you heard of this? Uncover hidden music gems and untold stories in the vast landscape of the music industry. Delve into the rich history of music with immersive storytelling and investigative journalism that reveals overlooked artists and musical legacies.
complete english Reimagine British cuisine and its sociocultural significance with Chef Louis Bassett’s illuminating podcast. Explore the evolution of British culinary traditions, from historical influences to contemporary food trends, in a series that invites you to savor the complexities of British gastronomy.
What on earth is my job? Embark on a journey through diverse career experiences with candid narratives of everyday work life. From quirky job roles to personal anecdotes, this podcast offers a light-hearted look at the joys and challenges of different professions.
ordinary misfortune Explore the depths of pop culture and politics through a psychoanalytic lens with “Ordinary Unhappiness.” Delve into the subconscious influences that shape media consumption and societal trends in this compelling podcast that analyzes cultural phenomena with depth and insight.
Why not try it…
intersectionExperience the intersection of men’s and women’s soccer in a captivating podcast by former England captain Steph Houghton and Arsenal hero Ian Wright.
best idea everUncover the fascinating stories behind game-changing innovations, from Happy Meals to Jacuzzis, in this intriguing podcast series.
SpaceX is preparing for the sixth test flight of Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket. The company has a “fail fast, learn fast” approach to research and development that is more akin to the world of Silicon Valley than the aerospace industry, and the pace of launches appears to only be accelerating.
When is the next flight?
SpaceX says on the website The company said it aims to conduct Starship’s sixth test flight as early as November 18. This claim is supported by the Federal Aviation Administration issuing a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen). rocket launch warning SpaceX launch pad area in Boca Chica, Texas. The 30-minute launch slot opens at 4pm local time (10pm Japan time).
It took SpaceX 18 months to conduct Starship’s first five test flights, with the fifth taking place in mid-October. When the airline launches its sixth flight next week, it will be just over a month since the last flight, making it the fastest flight ever.
What will SpaceX try with Flight 6?
In many ways, Flight 6 is a repeat of Flight 5, but with some key differences.
The booster stage will again attempt a “chopstick” landing, grabbing and securing the aircraft as it returns to the launch pad so it can be lowered to the ground. This approach is designed to ultimately allow boosters to be reused multiple times and significantly reduce the cost of putting payloads into orbit.
The upper stage will reach space, complete a partial orbit, re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and splash-land in the Indian Ocean. But this time, the upper stage will attempt to reignite one of the Raptor engines during its stay in space in order to gather valuable operational data. It also plans to test new heat shield designs during atmospheric reentry.
Another difference is that because the launch will take place later in the day, the upper stage’s landing in the Indian Ocean can be photographed during daylight hours, allowing for more detailed images. Previous missions had landed at night, so while the footage was cinematic and dramatic, it didn’t provide engineers with as much insight as footage from daytime landings.
What happened on previous Starship launches?
During the first test flight on April 20, 2023, three of the 33 engines in the booster stage failed to ignite. The rocket then became uncontrollable and self-destructed.
During the second test flight on November 18, 2023, the flight progressed further and gained enough altitude to separate the booster and upper stage as planned. The booster stage ultimately exploded before reaching the ground, and the upper stage self-destructed before reaching space.
Test Flight 3 on March 14, 2024 was at least partially successful as the upper stage reached space again, but it did not return to Earth unscathed.
The next flight was on June 6, when the upper stage reached an altitude of more than 200 kilometers and flew at speeds of more than 27,000 kilometers per hour. Both the booster and upper stage completed a soft landing at sea.
Test Flight 5 was the most ambitious yet, with Starship’s super-heavy booster dropping onto the launch pad and being safely caught by “chopsticks” on SpaceX’s launch tower, known as Mechazilla. It is equipped with “chopsticks” that can be used to grab and fix a specific position on the aircraft and lower it to the ground.
Part of a mountain and glacier along Greenland’s Dikson Fjord in August 2023 (left), and the same location after a landslide in September 2023
Soren Lisgaard/Danish Army
On September 16, 2023, earthquake monitoring stations around the world picked up a strange signal that weakened over time but remained detectable for nine days.
“We thought, ‘Oh, this signal is still coming. This is definitely not an earthquake.'” Stephen Hicks Researchers at University College London have dubbed the object an “Unidentified Seismic Object,” or USO.
Hicks and his colleagues found that the signal was caused by water moving across the 1.7-mile-wide Dikson Fjord in eastern Greenland. The wave was triggered by a massive landslide, which produced a 360-foot-high tsunami.
Earthquake signals typically last only a few minutes and are a mix of different frequencies, Hicks said. USO’s frequency is about 11 millihertz and repeats every 90 seconds. When it became clear that the signal started at the same time as the Greenland landslide, Hicks and his colleagues thought there was probably a connection.
Many objects, such as bells, vibrate at a particular resonant frequency when struck. The same is true for bodies of water, from swimming pools to oceans. Disturbances such as earthquakes or wind can cause a body of water to shake, setting off a kind of standing wave called a seiche.
Based on its width and depth, the researchers calculated that Dikson Fjord has a resonant frequency of 11 millihertz, which matches the signal. What took them longer to figure out was why the fjord continued to oscillate for so long.
Immediately after the tsunami, the seiche rose seven metres on both sides of the fjord. Within a few days it receded to a few centimetres, but this was so small that it went unnoticed by a Danish navy ship sailing up the fjord three days after the landslide.
But the seiche didn’t stop, likely continuing long after the nine days had passed and becoming undetectable by distant seismic stations, Hicks said. “No seiche has ever been reported before that lasted that long or that the energy dissipated that slowly.”
The team’s computer modelling suggests that the shape of the fjord was a crucial factor: The landslide occurred 200 kilometres inland, and the fjord is blocked by a glacier at one end and curves sharply at the other. The fjord’s rounded bottom acts like a rocking chair, allowing the water to flow through with little resistance.
All these factors caused the wave to have a high degree of energy trapped inside, rather than dissipating quickly as it normally would, Hicks said.
The slide itself was a direct result of climate change. A steep glacier supported the mountainside. As the glacier thinned, it collapsed, sending an estimated 25 million cubic meters of rock and ice into the fjord. It was the first landslide ever recorded in eastern Greenland.
No one was in the area at the time, but cruise ships were traveling up the fjord. The tsunami destroyed equipment used to monitor the area and two abandoned hunting lodges.
As the planet continues to warm, we’ll likely see more of these kinds of landslides, Hicks said, noting that the findings show that climate change is affecting not just the atmosphere and oceans, but also the ground beneath our feet. “For the first time, we’re looking down at our feet and seeing some of the devastating effects of climate change,” he said.
Joanne McNally investigates… Was Furby spying on us? BBC Sounds, weekly episodes Why was Furby, the cute talking toy from the ’90s, banned from the Pentagon? Could Furby be a secret listening device for the Chinese government? The comic’s latest fun, self-aware “investigation” finds her calling aviation authorities and heading to the home of a Furby collector who hangs Furby skins out to dry on a clothesline. It’s fun and silly. Alexi Duggins
Doubt everything Widely available, with weekly episodes Brian Reed, of S-Town and The Trojan Horse Affair, is launching a new show that explores journalism’s place in the modern world. The show was inspired by the reaction to S-Town, which saw Reed have to prove in court that his podcast was journalism. It’s an admirable and forthright take on an important issue, and the striking first episode sees Reed confront one of his biggest critics: advertisement
A visitor walks past the Furby exhibit at the Hasbro booth at the Tokyo Toy Show 2024. Photo: Franck Robichon/EPA
Night shift Widely available, with weekly episodes Jake Adelstein returns to his Missouri hometown in the 1990s, when patient deaths soared at his local hospital. This is a depressing story of a hospital that smelled of “soap and cigarettes” and provided solid medical care, only to be hit by a rise in “Code Blue” alarms. Adelstein tells the story without being exploitative. Hannah Verdier
The Road to Joni Widely available, with weekly episodes Carmel Holt travels the US to explore Joni Mitchell’s appeal across ages and generations. She meets Joni fans like Hozier, Esperanza Spalding, and Don Was to ask them how they got into Joni and where she’s taken them. Lovingly written and delightfully rambling, this is a wonderful tribute to an utterly unique artist. Phil Harrison
Dealcraft: Insights from Great Negotiators Widely available, with weekly episodes Ready for a raise? Join host Jim Sebenius for “Cool Deal” tips from negotiation gurus. Proving that negotiating is never boring, attorney John Branca shares how he helped Michael Jackson get access to his master recordings that were traditionally held by his record company. HV
There is a podcast
Cybertruck: Shaping the future of automobiles? Photo: Tesla/Reuters
this week, Charlie Lindler Top 5 podcasts selected futureFrom climate-conscious programming to policing tech excesses
How to save the planet “What if there was an uplifting show about climate change?” asks Gimlet’s Climate Change Podcast, hosted by Alex Blumberg and his “geek gang.” The show focuses on solving environmental problems now and in the future. The podcast ended two years ago, but fortunately (or unfortunately), the topics Blumberg and company explore with a positive, optimistic attitude remain relevant. Should I get rid of my lawn? How can I buy less? Is fast fashion really that bad for the planet? Listen in and find out.
Managing the future of work Hold on, come back! Yes, this podcast is as business-focused as you’d expect from a show produced by Harvard Business School. Sure, there are episodes on HR databases, supply chains, and AI in the workplace. But thanks to an engaging host and knowledgeable guests, there’s a rich back catalogue of real, usable, relevant research on how work is changing our lives, and vice versa. Start with computer scientist and author Cal Newport’s talk on “The Productivity Deficit” and you’ll be hooked.
Easy to understand English This political and cultural podcast from journalist Derek Thompson, less tech-driven and more focused on humanity, quickly became a favorite of mine when it launched in 2021. The content delivered by not only Thompson’s guests but the host himself makes every episode rich with interaction and always leaves you smarter than before you started listening. Thompson has a talent for putting names to social phenomena you’ve felt but can’t quite pinpoint. Fittingly, the title of the first episode, about the metaverse, NFTs, and everything in between, is “The Future Is Going to Be Crazy Weird.”
Concentrate your full attention Produced by the Center for Humane Technology, the show closely monitors the ever-expanding, unregulated tech industry and asks whether we are truly using our advancements for good. Host Tristan Harris, a former Google design ethicist, was a compelling commentator in Netflix’s excellent documentary The Social Dilemma, which explores how social media manipulates our minds. Here, he continues the sobering thought process with guests including authors Yuval Noah Harari, Kara Swisher, and Esther Perel, who comments on the impact of technology on intimate relationships.
All the future If you have any doubts, just listen to The Wall Street Journal’s all-encompassing podcast. From modern bookstore design to how the Tesla Cybertruck is impacting auto manufacturing to scientists developing artificial breast milk, this long-running, award-winning podcast covers cutting-edge technological advances. While the AI portion may be too much for many listeners, a quick browse through the show’s extensive archives will find enough to fill your commute, all in 15-minute, digestible episodes.
Give it a try…
From family group chat etiquette to helping your child get their first period, This is so awkward They’re there to hold the hands of nervous, sweaty parents.
The origins of Cush Jumbo Widely available, with weekly episodes Cush Jumbo is always a joy to be around during press appearances for her films (The Good Wife, Criminal Record, Hamlet), but she’s just as great now that the tables have been turned for her first podcast. She talks to stars like Kate Nash, Harlan Coben, and David Schwimmer about their origin stories, and in episode one, she interviews Anna Wintour, who says she hates people who are ambivalent and recalls being fired from Harper’s Bazaar for not being able to pin a dress on. Holly Richardson
Rebellious Spirit Widely available, with weekly episodes Comedian Akila Hughes returns to her Kentucky hometown and takes on a light-hearted yet serious mission: changing her high school’s racist mascot from a Confederate general to a biscuit. Can she drag her school into the modern era? And what will the change mean for her and the other students? Hannah Verdier
Origins host, Kush Jumbo. Photo: Darren Gerrish/WireImage for Royal Academy
Sarah and Cariad’s Weird Book Club Widely available, with weekly episodes For those who don’t fancy discussing books over cheese and wine, Sara Pascoe and Carrier Lloyd have gone beyond the usual selections for the second season of their book club. First up is Róisín Conaty’s Standard Deviation, a lovely novel by Katherine Haney about an mismatched couple doing their best to raise children. HV
Then and Now Widely available, with weekly episodes Would parenting and childhood have been better when Babatunde and Leonie Aleche were younger? The couple’s new podcast looks at the changes in parenting and is packed with laughs and chemistry. Babatunde is a comedian, but his wife is no less, and doesn’t hesitate to poke fun when needed. HV
Transmission: The Definitive Story of Joy Division and New Order Widely available, with weekly episodes Fans of New Order are in for a treat with this second season, which tells the story of the band’s journey “from black and white to color” with “Power, Corruption & Lies.” Band members and famous fans tell incredible stories about working with Arthur Baker, absorbing the beginnings of Ibiza dance culture, and the new era that saw the birth of World in Motion become a reality. HV
There is a podcast
Star Trek: The Next Generation: LeVar Burton’s Surprising Host at the LeVar Burton Reading Photo: Ronald Grant
this week, Graham Virtue 5 best podcasts Science fictionfrom alternate Marvel universes to star-studded tech thrillers.
Escape Pod The sci-fi stories featured on Escape Pod often depict dizzying or unsettling futures. But this treasure trove of lovely speculative fiction is almost prehistoric for a podcast that first launched in 2005. Each episode delivers a mix of original short stories and fiction gleaned from other sci-fi mediums, delivered in a no-frills audiobook style. With episodes averaging 30 minutes in length, you could cycle through the rise and fall of an entire galactic empire in the time it takes to walk a dog. The back catalogue of over 900 stories is mind-boggling (here Where to start), but the Escape Pod has never lost its DIY origins.
Ad Rusem The world of podcasts is a treasure trove of sci-fi audio dramas with impressive sound design and at least one big Hollywood star. The sleek yet unsettling conspiracy thriller Ad Lucem is a cutting-edge example, though its dark themes and occasional expletives may not be for everyone. Set on the eve of a transformative technology launch in 2032, its roots lie in the touch-deprived trauma of a pandemic. The show asks the question: What if a voice assistant could hug you? Olivia Wilde, Chris Pine and co-creator Troian Bellisario star in the lead roles, but veterans Fiona Shaw and Clancy Brown also deliver flawless supporting performances.
Read by LeVar Burton Actor and director LeVar Burton (pictured above) will forever be associated with science fiction after his lengthy role in Star Trek: The New Generation. But before he played chief engineer Geordi La Forge, Burton hosted the US educational television show Reading Rainbow, helping to improve literacy for generations of primary school children. These two careers came together in LeVar Burton Reads, a collection of fantastical short stories that ran for over 200 episodes before wrapping up earlier this year (finishing with a Ray Bradbury classic). As you’d expect, Burton is a skilled and emotive storyteller, and at the end of each story he also offers his own reactions and reflections, adding to the haunting intimacy of each one.
Marvel’s Wastelanders Tired of superheroes in spandex? Good news. In the world of Wastelanders, most of the Avengers are brutally killed in a surprise attack. Decades later, the United States is a patchwork of villain-ruled fiefdoms in a post-apocalyptic world. This Mad Max version of the Marvel Universe is the grim backdrop for a vivid character study of five aging survivors. Goofy space cops Star-Lord (Timothy Busfield), a bitter circus act Hawkeye (Stephen Lang), The Lone Spy Black Widow (Susan Sarandon), the angry loner Wolverine (Robert Patrick) And the tyrant sidelined Doom (Dylan Baker) The immersive worlds and rich satirical humor make each series enjoyable even before the ragtag band of misfits teams up. One last time.
Clarks World Magazine In the 1940s, science fiction magazines began publishing stories that popularized the genre. Fast forward to today, and science fiction magazines have largely replaced the mainstream of the 1970s. Asimov’s science fiction Digital Anthology Lightspeed Magazine – Create an audio spin-off. Clarks World Magazine The podcast offers a wide scope that broadens the horizons of science fiction and fantasy stories, often shedding light on international tales in translation. Episodes range from 10-minute snapshots to multi-part novellas, and if there’s a captivating sense that anything could happen, Kate Baker, the podcast’s host and narrator since 2009, provides a consistent, delightful flow.
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Football Weekly presenter Max Rushden teams up with comedian David O’Doherty What did you do yesterday? So they ask their famous friends how they’ve spent the last 24 hours.
Miracle Ranch, a California wellness center, promises its patients better, healthier lives through an “alkaline diet.” Chameleon: Doctor Miracle It details the fatal consequences.
BBC satire Everything is news It pairs a former diplomatic correspondent (played by real-life journalist-turned-comedian Helen Price) with a fallen cabinet minister (actor Michael Clarke) to critique the “centrist dad podcast” genre.
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pictureRon Musk isn’t stopping tweeting. In just seven days last week, he made nearly 650 posts on the social network he bought in November 2022 and reluctantly rebranded as X. He also spent nearly three hours wrestling with technical issues in what he would later conclude was the result of an unproven hacking attack while trying to host a “conversation” with Donald Trump, and livestreamed himself playing Blizzard’s sword-and-sorcery game Diablo IV for several hours.
The volume of his content alone is impressive enough, but even for someone who was so into posting that he spent more money on a site than the Manhattan Project budget, Musk’s consistency is astonishing.
In the week of tweets analysed by The Guardian, there was a 90-minute period when he posted nothing, between 3am and 4:29am local time, but he tweeted at least once every other half hour throughout the day and night: at 4:41am on Saturday morning, 2:30pm on Wednesday night, and at 11pm on six of the seven days.
The longest Musk went without tweeting that week was seven and a half hours, when he slept until 8:10 a.m. after a late-night posting session. On Saturday night, Musk logged out after retweeting a meme likening the Metropolitan police to the SS, then returned online four and a half hours later to retweet a tweet from a cryptocurrency influencer complaining about the prison sentences of British protesters.
Awesome, awakened, cool
Not all of Musk’s posts on X are loaded with meaning. Most are simple one- or two-word replies to fans, followers and allies. Two minutes after he replies “Cool” to a construction influencer’s AI-generated photo of himself, he replies “Cool” to a montage of photos of the Tesla Cybertruck driving through North America, and a minute later an AI-generated cartoon of himself points to a sign that reads “Criticism is welcome on this platform” and replies “💯.”
One-word replies can sometimes be a good thing and a bad thing. Musk, who has never been one to follow traditional “online etiquette,” occasionally replies to messages with a “😂” emoji and then copies the exact same thing to his own feed without credit. It’s unclear why some posts get Musk’s treasured retweets while others get stolen and reposted.
Musk is sometimes careful with his praise, especially when it comes from users he’s not comfortable being too vocal about. An End Wokeness post about a California early release bill, a Malaysian far-right influencer’s post about Haitian criminals, and a Libs of TikTok post about another California bill have all been marked with a simple “!!” by Musk, while a post by Dom Lucre, a far-right influencer who was banned from the site for posting child abuse imagery, doesn’t even get that mark. Personally covered In 2023, I received just one “!” from a billionaire.
Riot and Grok
Musk’s outrage over the UK riots seems to be deepening his ties to the far-right: Over the past week, he has begun a conversation with Canadian influencer Lauren Southern, one of three anti-Muslim activists named in the UK riots. Banned from entering the UK It was launched by Theresa May’s government in 2018. Though the pair share a distrust of the media, Musk is now a paying subscriber to her feed, supporting her – along with more than 160 other users – for £4.92 a month.
But Musk’s crazy behavior makes sense. A showman, the memes and chatter he retweets and reposts are full of promotions he wants to make that day. Sometimes, it’s professional. On Wednesday and Thursday, when his AI company xAI released the latest version of its large-scale language model, Grok, a significant percentage of his posts were sharing quotes and images generated by it.
In the UK in 2030, you could be executed for posting a meme…
And then there are the riots. During the week, Musk’s attention was diverted from tensions in the UK, but the spate of rulings handed down over the weekend meant he was primed for a bit of mayhem.
He latched onto right-wing memes about Keir Starmer promoting a “two-tier” policing system and downplayed their contribution to the violence while constantly drawing attention to the punitive sentences given to rioters. Early on Friday morning, he expanded on his criticism of the SNP's Humza Yousaf, calling the former Scottish First Minister a “super super racist” and challenging him to take legal action in response.
Trump and Tesla
On Monday and Tuesday, Musk drew attention to his conversation with Donald Trump, sharing posts before the livestream in which fans excitedly wondered how many people would tune in and what the two smartest people in the world would discuss, then reposting posts after the livestream in which fans were upset that biased media wouldn’t write more positive headlines and asking fans to shorten the conversation into a more manageable hour-long highlights reel.
Despite this friction, another side of Musk shows up when he talks about his two biggest companies, Tesla and SpaceX. With Tesla being a public company, Musk has to be careful with what he says. He has a fiduciary duty to shareholders and legal obligations on how to disclose material information. Those obligations came to a head when the SEC sued him over his infamous tweets in which he falsely claimed he had “secured funding” to take Tesla private. In a subsequent settlement with regulators, Musk agreed to have his lawyers review all of his tweets about Tesla, a deal he has since regretted.
But after an appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, the deal remains valid, meaning Musk’s final chance to escape the “Twitter guards” may be… It was scrapped in April this year.His posts about Tesla have been surprisingly muted. Shortly after his conversation with Trump, he posted a lengthy, mostly standard, statement retracting some of his comments about climate change: “To be clear, I believe global warming is real.” He startedWhat he meant was that even without global warming, high levels of CO2 It was dangerous.
“Guardians are trash…”
Musk also used the opportunity to take aim at another favorite target, The Guardian. After the paper quoted experts in what he called “the dumbest climate change debate in history,” Musk slammed others he follows who shared the article, telling author Stephen King that “The Guardian cannot be considered objective” and entrepreneur Vinod Khosla that “The Guardian is rubbish.”
JUICE spacecraft may be visible from Southeast Asia during unprecedented operation
European Space Agency
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) will land on Earth in what the European Space Agency (ESA) calls a “double world first.” It is scheduled to fly past Earth and the Moon on August 19 and 20, the first of several complex maneuvers along a looping path to Jupiter. You may be able to see the spacecraft in the sky as it speeds past.
JUICE was launched on April 14, 2023, and has been orbiting the Sun almost parallel to Earth ever since. But on August 19, its journey will start to get interesting: it will pass within 700 km of the Moon's surface, slowing down slightly using a method called gravity assist. The next day, it will drop to less than 7,000 km above Earth's surface, curving its orbit even further. That's when eagle-eyed astronomy fans in Southeast Asia may get a glimpse of the spacecraft.
All of this is necessary because if JUICE were to fly in a straight line to Jupiter, it would need more than 60,000 kilograms of fuel to get there, and even more to slow down and enter orbit once there. With the entire spacecraft's mass unfueled at 2,420 kilograms, this just isn't feasible. Instead, upcoming Earth-Moon flybys will send the spacecraft to Venus, where it will begin to accelerate, then fly past Earth twice to get it just fast enough to reach Jupiter in 2031.
The first maneuver may be the most complex of the entire mission, as JUICE must pass precise points relative to both the Earth and the Moon to en route to Venus. “It's like going through a very narrow corridor very fast, with the accelerator at full speed with only millimeters of clearance on the side of the road,” said ESA's Ignacio Tanco in statementA dual Earth-Moon flyby has never been attempted before, nor has a dual gravity assist been performed.
If all goes well, JUICE will not only head to Venus and then Jupiter, but it will also perform the first major tests of its scientific instruments. For some of the probes, this will be their only chance to observe the planet's surface and iron out any kinks before they reach orbit around Jupiter and begin their mission to search for hints of possible life on the planet's giant moons.
Struggling with my ancient Nokia 3210, I tried to finish my text after 10 minutes of furious tapping. This “detox” phone, part of a new trend for those seeking relief from tech stress, was really testing my patience.
Sending a message while on a school trip to the Museum of London Docklands, I tried to avoid looking at my phone. The kids with me were puzzled by my texting struggles and the outdated phone.
Despite feeling embarrassed, I pressed on with a semi-urgent message to a friend, as more people opt for simpler phones due to concerns about mental health and technology overload.
As I prepare to start boarding school without my smartphone, I reflect on the ban on new students bringing them. This shift towards low-tech devices raises questions about our dependence on technology.
Cut off from my work email and limited internet access, I grapple with significant news events offline, highlighting the challenges of disconnecting in a hyper-connected world.
Unable to use predictive text and facing the drawbacks of a basic phone, I grapple with the loss of convenience brought on by smartphones. Stepping away from technology reveals both freedom and discomfort.
The reintroduction of Nokia 3210 and similar devices underscores the nostalgia for a simpler time when conversations mattered more than social media likes. These “detox” phones offer a reprieve from the digital noise of modern smartphones.
Zoe Wood with a Nokia 3210: “Perfect for people who don’t want to be in touch or who are on holiday.” Photo: Linda Nylind/The Guardian
Disconnecting from my smartphone lifestyle forces me to rely on traditional methods for daily tasks. This shift highlights the convenience of smartphones but also the unique benefits of simpler technology.
While low-end phones offer relief from the constant demands of smartphones, their limitations and price point present challenges for those accustomed to the conveniences of modern devices.
RDust off your cream polo shirts and put away those Bruce Springsteen football chants whose lyrics have absolutely no relation to reality. Euro 2024 is over. Apart from the actual football (which is probably the best), this is a total first for the tournament. The level of interest in what actually happened on the pitch was easily rivalled by the debate over the pundit podcast commentary.
Well, maybe “expert commentary” isn’t the exact word to use, considering Gary Lineker made a lot of headlines when he said England’s match against Denmark was “terrible”. The rest is soccerBut it was worth noting that the podcast caused a furor (albeit one that relied on out-of-context quotes) culminating in the England captain being cornered at a press conference. There were articles trying to create a “Battle of the Garrys” pitting Lineker’s podcast against Gary Neville’s. There were also articles analysing how much money was being made from making nasty comments about England into people’s earpieces (imagine that! Being paid to be an honest pundit about bad football!).
This time, what was happening on the Euro 2024 podcast was more interesting than what was happening at Euro 2024. And as podcasts grow, the importance of shows about soccer tournaments will become more prominent. Maybe the next England manager’s goal is to build a team that’s more entertaining than what you can listen to on Spotify. It might be harder than they think…
In other podcast news, this week we have some truly outlandish stories, including members of ZZ Top impersonating another band for money and an extortion plot involving Charlie Sheen’s former bodyguard. We also have the second season of a fantastic show introducing us to a London life coach who convinced a number of women to betray their families, and inspiring people who tried to make a difference in the early days of the AIDS epidemic.
Alexi Duggins Deputy TV Editor
This week’s picks
(Real) zombies. Photo: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy
The truth about fake zombies Widely available, with weekly episodes
In 1969, St. Albans-based band The Zombies had a hit single in the US and began playing gigs around the country. But they’d split up years earlier, never known success, and never really toured. This show is both a fanboy homage and a deep dive into how two separate groups (including two members of ZZ Top) ruthlessly pretended to be The Zombies for money. It’s a vibrant slice of pop history set against the backdrop of a wild story. Alexi Duggins
The lawyer who defended Matthew McConaughey after he was caught playing the bongos naked at 2 a.m. An FBI informant. Charlie Sheen’s former bodyguard. There’s a wealthy Texan who was the target of blackmail for having an affair with an escort, and who ended up spiraling out of control and leaving two people dead. advertisement
Welcome to the dark side of healing. This podcast delves into the world of upper-class young women in London who all turn to the same “self-help coach.” But as Grace Hughes-Hallett discovers, a pattern soon emerged in which these women were turning their backs on their families. Holly Richardson
The second season of Dane Stewart’s podcast focuses on pioneers who tried to make a difference in the early days of the AIDS epidemic but were thwarted by prejudice. It’s fascinating to hear the story of Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, who cured the mysterious disease that was affecting gay men in New York at the time. Hannah Verdier
Super psychotherapist Esther Perel has compiled some of her best observations about love with beach listening in mind. She sits down with couples in therapy as they air their feelings about big questions about love, including dilemmas around polyamory, reproduction, and divorce. Perel’s thought-provoking questions will get you into the therapy room, and her wise asides will take you out of it. HV
There is a podcast
Kathy Burke, host of “Where There’s a Will, There’s a Wake.” Photo: Linda Nylind/The Guardian
Peppa Pig Play-Along Podcast All episodes available now on Audible The Pig Queen has been an icon to toddlers around the world for 20 years, so it’s about time she entered the world of podcasting. Kids and their parents can enjoy together as Peppa Pig explores big emotions, long drives, and what to do when you’re not tired at bedtime. From the creator of hits like Peace and Harmony, it’s packed with catchy tunes and, of course, some digging into Daddy Pig. Hannah Verdier
Hysterical Wondery+, weekly episodes When a group of girls at an upstate New York school started experiencing convulsions, tremors, and other mysterious symptoms, doctors were baffled. Was it all in their imagination? Or was social media to blame? Now Dan Taberski (Missing Richard Simmons) is investigating the outbreak, which he’s dubbing “mass hysteria,” to uncover links to other unexplained occurrences. HV
Mummy Pig, George Pig, Daddy Pig and, best of all, Peppa Pig will be making their podcast debut. Photo: Everett Collection/Alamy
Pop Culture Debate Club BBC Sounds, weekly episodes If you still miss Call Your Girlfriend, Aminatou Saw’s show puts two pop culture fans head-to-head in a fun debate about important issues. Would you rather spend time with the cast of New Girl or Community? Which is the better sports movie, Space Jam or D2: The Mighty Ducks? Saw has the final say. HV
Coatbridge: The disappearance of Moira Anderson All episodes available now on Audible In 1957, 11-year-old Moira Anderson disappeared during a snowstorm in Coatbridge, a small town near Glasgow. Journalist Rachel Rebes helps Moira’s old neighbour Sandra Brown share her memories. What begins as grief for a missing schoolmate unravels as Brown worries about her own father and discovers a cycle of abuse. HV
The Master: An Indictment Against Neil Gaiman Tortoise, all episodes now available The four-part series reveals the facts that two women have alleged sexual abuse against the author, juxtaposing the accusers’ testimonies, Gaiman’s denials, and conflicting accounts of events (based on consensual relationships) to create a confusing and sometimes difficult story to listen to. Alexi Duggins
There is a podcast
Author and critic Maggie Nelson is a guest on the Commonplace Poetry Podcast. Photo: Deirdre O’Callaghan/The Guardian
this week, Amar Kalia select The 5 Best Poetry PodcastsFrom exploring classic works to the creative secrets of contemporary authors Poetry exchange The easiest way to become familiar with poetry is to listen to it read aloud, analyzed, and explained. Interesting people reading poetry This show does just that, as artists and writers share their favorite poems and briefly discuss their emotional resonance. If you want to dig a little deeper, you can also try this fascinating podcast, where hosts Fiona Bennett and Michael Shaffer first ask their guests to share a meaningful poem, then delve into the poem’s personal meaning and importance to the reader. Hear everyone from actors Brian Cox and Andrew Scott to poet Sarina Godden talk about the power of poetry in everyday life.
commonplace In this long-running series, author Rachel Zucker not only talks about the magic of poetry itself but also interviews poets about their craft and how their everyday encounters influence their creativity. In conversations that can last more than two hours, Zucker offers insight into life and how to navigate it, asking questions about everything from writers’ morning routines to how much sleep they get. Among the poets interviewed are former US presidential candidate Eileen Myles, best-selling author Maggie Nelson, and US Poet Laureate Ada Limon. Perfect for a long journey or a lazy morning, Zucker’s passion for art in all its forms is captivating.
A mouthful of air For an in-depth analysis of a university lecture, check out poet Mark McGuinness’ series, “A Mouthful of Air.” Weaving together interviews with contemporary poets about their work and original explorations of classics such as Chaucer, Emily Dickinson, and D.H. Lawrence, McGuinness doesn’t shy away from textual analysis but rather walks his audience through concepts and teases out myriad meanings from the pages. For a more comprehensive analysis, check out The Poetry Foundation’s Poetry Talk The podcast is also rigorous with roundtable discussions between a group of scholars and writers analyzing classic works and forgotten greats.
Poems that fell off the shelf Focusing on contemporary poetry, this Poetry Foundation series is packed with amazing work by living authors you’ve probably never heard of. Striking the perfect balance of analysis and freewheeling conversation about a writer’s life and inspiration, host Helena De Groot’s episodes include everything from interviews with authors to in-depth reviews of new anthologies to tributes to recently deceased poets. With over 100 episodes to choose from, recommended primers include translator Emily Drumsta’s look at the rhythm of different languages, Hawaiian poet No’u Revilla’s importance of place in one’s work, and Mahogany L Browne’s attempted censorship of the children’s book “Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice.”
Slow down With each episode only five minutes long, The Slowdown has created a genre of its own across 1000 episodes. Combining ASMR relaxation with poetry lessons, the show features a daily reading of a new work by host and poet Major Jackson, accompanied by a brief introduction to the subject. Jackson strays from Western staples to take a broader look at world literature. Read in his soothing baritone, the episodes are incredibly relaxing and meditative, but thankfully, they’re so short they can easily be replayed for fresh insights.
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From Jameela Jamil to former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, Rylan Clark’s new BBC podcast has some seriously interesting guests. How to get noticed.
The Economist’s new series boom! It examines how the Baby Boomer generation has influenced politics, including the current U.S. presidential election.
With England taking part in the Euro 2024 final this weekend, now’s the perfect time to listen to the Guardian’s Football Weekly podcast, which is turning into Football Daily for the duration of the tournament.
It backfired Audible, weekly episodes Slow Burn, Think Twice, Fiasco – Leon Neyfakh has produced several high-quality podcasts in the past. Currently, he is focusing on e-cigarettes and his struggles to quit smoking. These podcasts narrate the journey of finding a cigarette that is less harmful. It’s interesting to note the difference in approach between the UK, where e-cigarettes are promoted as a tool to quit smoking, and the US, where there are efforts to ban flavored e-cigarettes. Hannah Verdier
A better paradise Widely available, with weekly episodes An atmospheric near-future podcast from the creators of Grand Theft Auto. Featuring a talented cast, Andrew Lincoln plays Dr. Mark Tyburn who tries to create an addictive video game but abandons the project halfway. Years later, when he is rediscovered, will the game finally see the light of day? HV
Leon Neyfakh’s “Backfired” explores the rise of e-cigarettes. Photo: Nicholas T Ansell/PA
Because the boss is ours Widely available, with weekly episodes Bruce Springsteen may not be the first person you think of when it comes to queer pop idols, but hosts Jesse Lawson and Holly Cascio, “two queer nerds” who are fans of the Boss, delve into this fun and insightful podcast to explore Springsteen’s status as a queer icon. Holly Richardson
Pulling the Thread: Wild Life Widely available, with weekly episodes This captivating series from Drake’s production company follows investigative journalist Lunako Serena and the spy known as “Wolf” as they uncover the truth about Africa’s largest wildlife trafficking ring. The journey takes them from an environmental conference in The Shard in London to infiltrating criminal networks involved in the ivory trade in Uganda. Alexi Duggins
Festival Hall Widely available, with weekly episodes A new series from the creators of the confessional-based X Account, featuring a range of content from ranking secrets of the week to insightful interviews with Philippa Perry about the psychology behind anonymous sharing of secrets. advertisement
There is a podcast
Afua Hirsch, host of “We Need to Talk About the British Empire.” Photo: Suki Dhanda/Observer
this week, Rachel Aroesti Pick the top 5 PodcastsUnited KingdomFrom Armando Iannucci’s irreverent take on Westminster to Afua Hirsch’s reflections on the complex legacy of the British Empire London Grad London is clearly a cosmopolitan city, but there are moments in this darkly fascinating podcast from Tortoise Media’s Paul Caruana Galizia that make you wonder which country has the most influence over our capital. The first series of the show focused on Russian money flowing into London through real estate and, in the case of the Lebedev family, the purchasing power of its ultra-rich investors in multiple newspapers, while in series two the focus shifted to Iran and the government-mandated “death squads” that have repeatedly attempted to assassinate London-based critics of the regime on British soil.
We need to talk about the British Empire Afua Hirsch’s 2018 book, Brit(ish), is both a deeply personal memoir and an insightful analysis of British history, making it essential reading for anyone wanting to gain a deeper understanding of black history and politics in the country. In this podcast series, the author broadens the perspective even further, using her guests’ personal stories to illuminate the legacy of colonialism from different angles. Anita Rani offers insight into Partition, the late Benjamin Zephaniah talks about the Windrush, Diana Rigg talks about growing up at the end of the British colonial era, and musician Emma Lee Moss (formerly Emmy the Great) reminisces about her childhood in Hong Kong under British rule.
Rethinking Westminster Armando Iannucci is one of Britain’s leading satirists, and he’s spent his career lampooning the country’s follies and weaknesses, from the chaos of government with The Thick of It to the banality of mid-level broadcasting via Alan Partridge. In this podcast series for the New Statesman, he and the magazine’s UK editor Anoush Chakerian (who also hosts the magazine’s flagship podcast) take a slightly less-than-modest look at Britain’s most pressing political issues. Topics range from Britain’s “ramshackle” constitution and the old, machismo energy of party politics to the shortcomings of lobby journalism and the deterioration of our supposedly special relationship with the US.
Northern News Edinburgh Award-nominated stand-up comedians Ian Smith and Amy Gledhill are northerners who moved to London but are still keen to hear news from their home town – Gledhill is originally from Hull, Smith from nearby Goole. For Northern News, the pair combine easy-going chatter with local newspaper readings, focusing on the weirdest, most ridiculous and sentimental news they can find. They also host a host of guest comedians who share their own quirky local anecdotes.
The rise and fall of Britpop The story of Britpop is much more than the tabloid-shattering rivalry between Oasis and Blur. It’s a story that has much to say about the traditions and history of British pop culture from the 1960s to the present day. Steve Lamacq and Joe Whiley, co-hosts of Radio 1’s hip show The Evening Sessions when the scene first took off 30 years ago, are perfectly suited to tell the tale. With help from guests including Stuart McOnie and Alex James, the pair take a trip down memory lane to trace Britpop’s journey from an unpopular alternative to trendy US grunge to a cultural force that redefined our national identity.
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Alexander Skarsgård’s new pod explores startups taking innovative approaches to environmental and social issues How to solve this.
From remote work to immigration, The Atlantic Good on Paper It raises the big questions behind the inevitable topics.
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Where everyone knows your name Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson ( sometimes) Widely available, with weekly episodes
The two Cheers stars reunite and rekindle their friendship while chatting with their interviewees, and as you’d expect, there’s plenty of laughs. Starting with Will Arnett, the host is questioned about his comedic prowess just as much as his guests, including a great anecdote about Harrelson and Arnett playfully upsetting Bono at a celebrity dinner party. Alexi Duggins
Steve Fishman was an intern at a local Connecticut newspaper in the ’70s when he was hitchhiking with a man named Robert Carr III. While writing his story, he discovered that the man was the murderer of three people. Fishman uses confession tapes and interviews with detectives to recount what happened. Holly Richardson
New podcast “Animal” features stories of hamsters, puffins and more. Photo: Irina Vasilevskaya/Getty Images
animal Widely available, all episodes available now
A warm and personal look at the beauty of the animal kingdom, the show is full of magic, from helping a baby puffin escape a cliff and back into the sea to the charming tale of a dog rescuing a lost hamster. Come see the adorable animals and hear their amazing stories. advertisement
Sam Smith’s new podcast is named after their childhood bedroom, the haven they retreated to after so many hard days. Now they’re sharing those feelings with celebrity guests. The first guest is Elliot Page, who gives a moving talk about coming out, the joy (and anger) of being trans, and not feeling shame. Hannah Verdier
American satirist Jon Stewart is releasing a news-heavy podcast to coincide with the turmoil of the US election. The first episode is about corruption, which naturally brings up Donald Trump, and Stewart hosts thoughtful monologues with knowledgeable guests about the dysfunction of democracy, economic reform and challenging conventional wisdom. HV
There is a podcast
Coco Khan and Nish Kumar, hosts of the pod “Save the UK”. Photo: Lucy North/PA
this week, Hannah Verdier 5 best podcasts election From open-minded analysis of the US elections unfolding on both sides of the Atlantic to Nish Kumar and Koko Khan asking the all-important questions in the UK
Election dysfunction Just in time for an election-packed year, Beth Rigby guides Conservative MP Ruth Davidson and Labour’s Jess Phillips (with special guests on the campaign trail). With their feet firmly in the thick of British politics, the trio can offer real insight into the US and UK election campaigns. With an informed, gossipy approach, they share perks like theories on why Rishi Sunak chose the 4th of July, how leaders are preparing for TV debates, and a chat with Angela Rayner.
Run Up On all things related to the US election, host Astead W. Herndon takes a measured approach and covers a wide range of opinions in this New York Times show. Some of the opinions may surprise you. Is Donald Trump “over-prosecuted”? Yes, that’s the accusation that Conway made when Herndon asked Kellyanne Conway and Serinda Lake what women voters really want. What do the youngest voters think of the oldest president? Can celebrities help swing the election? And what’s next? If you want to catch up on all the dramatic developments in the election campaign in a 30-minute episode, this podcast is for you.
Oh God, what’s next? Every Tuesday and Friday, the political podcast modestly promises to “make the unbearable bearable with the highest quality guests, analysis and bad jokes” (“Gloomy people on the dance floor,” “What’s the story? Conservatives in mourning,” and “Things are only getting wetter, anyone?). There will also be bonus episodes in which the team will respond quickly to the latest election campaign gaffes and surprises, starting with Rishi Sunak’s pesky national service scheme for lazy young people. Additional panel shows are scheduled during election week, ensuring lively debate.
Pods will save the UK Crooked Media’s Save America features four former Barack Obama aides offering insider insight, while Nish Kumar and Koko Khan (above) provide laughs in the UK version. If you’re into the left, the hosts are relentless, with Khan especially delivering some scathing criticism in his heavyweight interviews. Important questions are asked, like “Would you kiss a Conservative?” With the countdown to the election on, a thoughtful episode addresses the human side of policy, asking what trans and non-binary people need now.
Politics Weekly UK Could Sunak lose his seat in the election? That’s just one of the questions posed by John Harris on The Guardian’s politics podcast as the election looms. Harris cleverly describes the election as “the political equivalent of a 12-hour wait at the emergency room” and asks why Sunak’s campaign is so chaotic and bleak. The conversation is candid and features quality guests from across the political spectrum, so the show doesn’t have to rely on comedy to make the election fun. Guests include reporters in the middle of the election, such as The Guardian’s Pippa Crerar and The Spectator’s Katie Bowles. The Guardian also has short election episodes every weekday on its Today in Focus feed.
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New series from former Invisibilia presenter Yowei Show ProxyIt’s about honest, human conversations with strangers.
Comedian Chloe Petts delves into the big history of small rooms in a Radio 4 series. Toilet Humor.
By Monday morning, firefighters had built containment lines around three-quarters of the fire.
“The humidity is starting to drop,” Kurth said. “We’re seeing an increase in grass fires.”
He noted that the heat wave that began this week is not unusual for Central California in August, but because it started so quickly, it could become more severe because “people aren’t used to the heat.”
“If a heatwave occurs early in the season, the impact on people could be greater,” he said.
He said high early-season surf could also increase the risk of drowning in the Western mountains, where people often flock to rivers and streams fed by melting snow.
“The water is pretty cold and the currents are strong,” Kurth said. “Please be careful and wear your life jackets.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted last month that 2024 will be one of the five warmest years on record and could easily be the hottest year on record.
Last year, a prolonged heatwave hit much of the South and Southwest, causing a sharp rise in deaths.
Adrian Mata stands in a little shade while waiting for a bus in Phoenix on July 15. Brandon Bell/Getty Images file
More than 2,300 people who died in the United States last summer mentioned heat on their death certificates, the highest number in 45 years, according to an Associated Press analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States, but its impact can be obscured in death certificate data because heat often aggravates underlying conditions like heart, respiratory and kidney disease. Researchers at Texas A&M University estimated that heat was responsible for 11,000 deaths last year that would not have occurred otherwise, according to the Associated Press.
A weather pattern, such as a ridge of high pressure that is expected to develop this week, is responsible for many of these deaths.
Temperatures in the Phoenix area topped 110 degrees Fahrenheit every day except one last July, according to data from the National Weather Service. Scientists later concluded that would be “virtually impossible” without the effects of climate change. At least 645 people died from heatstroke in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and many of its suburbs, last year, a 52% increase from the previous year.
Tesla has reduced prices on three of its five models in the U.S. and globally, including in China and Germany, due to declining sales, a Cybertruck recall, and increasing competition in the electric vehicle market. The price cuts have affected the Model Y, Model X, and Model S, while the Model 3 and Cybertruck prices remain unchanged.
The Model Y now starts at $42,990, the Model S at $72,990, and the Model X at $77,990 following the price reductions. Tesla also slashed the price of its “fully self-driving” software in the U.S. from $12,000 to $8,000.
In China, the starting price of the updated Model 3 was reduced by 14,000 yuan ($1,930) to 231,900 yuan ($32,000). Meanwhile, in Germany, the price of the rear-wheel-drive Model 3 dropped to 40,990 euros ($43,670.75) from 42,990 euros.
The price cuts extend to many other countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as Tesla tries to boost sales following a decline in global car deliveries in the first quarter of the year.
The series of price reductions come amidst challenges for the company, including a Cybertruck recall due to issues with the gas pedal. This incident has added to Elon Musk’s recent troubles, with Tesla stock dropping and criticism from investors mounting.
Analysts are awaiting the release of the Model 2, a smaller electric car expected to cost around $25,000. Reports of Musk canceling the project have created uncertainty, but he has denied these claims.
Tesla is set to announce its first quarter results soon, with expectations of a significant drop in sales compared to the previous year, marking the first decline in quarterly sales in about four years for the company.
Bumblebees may be more resilient than previously thought
Aaron Bastin/Alamy
A lab error has revealed that hibernating bumblebees can survive for at least seven days even when completely submerged in water. This ability suggests that beleaguered insects are more resilient than previously thought.
Sabrina Rondeau I came across this discovery by chance while researching eastern bumblebees (St. impatiens) in a laboratory at the University of Guelph, Canada. One week, she was checking on the hibernating queen bees kept in a hibernation chamber, a tube filled with soil in the refrigerator, when moisture overflowed into the tube and four queens were submerged in the water. I noticed that I was sinking. “I was a little surprised,” she says. “I was sure the queens were dead.”
To everyone's surprise, after draining the water, the bees woke up unharmed. Rondeau had a hunch that undiscovered abilities were at work.
She systematically drowned 21 queens over seven days, and 17 of them, or 81%, survived the flood. “This is a very high survival rate, not much different than before. [hibernation survival] When there’s no water,” Rondeau says. This achievement is probably due to the fact that dormant bees reduce their metabolic rate. This means that bees require very little oxygen, which can be met by air stored within their bodies.
“Wow, the fact that you can submerge a land animal in water for a week and find that it's still alive is really amazing,” he says. Lars Chitka at Queen Mary University of London.
Male bees and worker bees die before the winter, but the queen bee endures the cold for up to eight months by hibernating, waking up in the spring to begin building a new nest. The number of queens that survive is directly related to future population growth.
These bees hibernate underground, so extreme weather can destroy their safe haven. “It's a pinch point in their life cycle,” he says Nigel Lane, Dr. Rondeau's supervisor at the University of Guelph, Canada. This is a problem because about a third of all bumblebee species are already in decline. Finding that they are physically adapted to survive potential flooding is “really, really good news,” he says.
serial Wide range of weekly episodes available The OG of podcasting returns for an amazing Season 4 with Sarah Koenig and Dana Chivis’ History of Guantanamo. This is a story they’ve wanted to tell for years, but haven’t been able to move much beyond the official boundaries until now. Today, staff and detainees are ready to talk. While the former report partying “pissed off,” the latter, whose response costs each $13 million a year, discuss their fears. Hannah Verdier
die for Widely available, all episodes now available Seduction and “sexual exploitation” may sound like the stuff of male fantasy, but Neil Strauss gives a Russian woman a chance to talk about the trappings of surveillance and love. First, he has to figure out if she’s the real deal, since she claims to be a “victim who was brainwashed into thinking I’m a hero.” HV
hidden heroes of history Wide range of weekly episodes available There’s nothing better than hearing Helena Bonham Carter (pictured below) tell the story of Ida and Louise Cook. In an archival interview with Sue McGregor, Mills & Boon novelist Ida talks about romance, then Bonham Carter talks about the pair’s relationship with opera stars and helping Jews escape from Nazi Germany. Explore the lives of the sisters. HV
Helena Bonham Carter. Photo: Theo Wargo/FilmMagic
It’s like a joke Wide range of weekly episodes available Hearing Katie Kershaw, Tien Tran, and ER Fightmaster talk about “all things queer, trans, and pro-women in sports” is a workout for your gossip muscles. The trio of friends talk about bad coaches, being called dykes by rival teams, and sports moments that made them gay, and they say some funny and outrageous things. HV
murder in hollywood hills Wide range of weekly episodes available Christy Johnson was 21 when a man made a charming advances on her at a Los Angeles shopping mall, saying he was a film producer looking for the next Bond girl. He took her to a photo shoot in his sports car, but his girlfriend was never seen alive again. The series, hosted by NBC’s Keith Morrison, tells the story of women who band together to find and trap a smooth-talking predator. Holly Richardson
There’s a podcast for that
Quest love. Photo: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust
this week, Ammar Kalia Our picks for the 5 best podcasts on hip hopfrom The Roots founder’s interviews with rap stars to Romesh Ranganathan’s ode to the genre.
questlove supreme Questlove, the Oscar-winning director and founder of the hip-hop group The Roots, has become something of a rap authority. His Instagram profile includes a treasure trove of tributes to lesser-known and recently deceased artists, while his series of podcasts asks living greats to share the highs and lows of their careers. I’m interviewing you about time. Eschewing the aimless chatter of other hip-hop celebrity podcasts, Questlove Supreme always brings selected anecdotes from his guests, keeping the content scholarly without losing its enthusiastic flair. Highlights include a deep dive into LL Cool J’s superstardom, the genius of producer J Dilla by writer Dan His Charnas, DJ Marley’s commentary on his ’80s hip-hop with Mar, and more. included.
Louder Than riot Hip-hop has existed for the past 50 years as an important means of social and political expression, alongside a reputation for excess and controversy. Louder Than a Riot explores how this vibrant artistry born in some of America’s most neglected communities is being policed, coinciding with the rise of mass incarceration and… is examining in detail whether they have expressed prejudice within their own ranks. Hosts Rodney Carmichael and Sidney Madden combine fascinating reporting and interviews to explore how rappers have often run afoul of the criminal justice system, before dissecting misogyny and homophobia within hip-hop. I’ll explore.
blog era Brothers Jeff and Eric Rosenthal host this fascinating series that dissects a niche but pivotal year in hip-hop history. After the birth of the Internet, but before the streaming era took off, blogs could make or break a rap artist, and the frenzied writing of blogs began to influence the very type of music that was made. Some people do. In “The Blog Era,” the Rosenthal brothers cover the music he made between 2007 and 2012 (after which SoundCloud became a dominant force), featuring appearances from J. Cole to Kid Cudi. It features people and depicts the fate of the editor who ran the site. .
dissect This long-running series from host Cole Cucina takes a break from the genre’s larger history and focuses on hip-hop one album at a time. In each series, by revealing the lyrics, music, and contextual information of a different record, Cucina draws on her songwriting training to explore how artists like Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West work on beats. It explores the details of the flow and explains the intent of the lyrics. Dissect has already covered everything from Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” to West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” to Tyler, the Creator’s “Igor.” , an exhaustive but essential listening experience for existing fans, and an ideal entry point for casual listeners as well.
hip hop saved my life Hip-hop may have started out as a distinctly American genre, but 50 years after its creation, it now has a legacy that spans the globe. The series by comic Romesh Ranganathan takes a tongue-in-cheek yet encyclopedic approach to hip-hop fandom, exploring his love for hip-hop while interviewing British celebrities and artists. Masu. Grime star Kano talks about her uniquely British spin on the genre, Mercury Prize winner Little Simz talks about her rise as a woman in hip-hop, and the late Jamal Edwards talks about pioneering grime. He talked about the establishment of the platform SBTV.
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Chameleon: Gallery of Lies is a six-episode tale into a world of deceit, deceit, and the possibility of redemption.
The Mediator actor James Buckley and his wife Claire discuss the nitty-gritty details of marriage and non-negotiable relationships Both when sick and when healthy.
Professional wrestler Ashley Massaro died by suicide in 2019. Ashley vs WWE, Tracing the events leading up to her death and investigating allegations of abuse during her time at the company.
Mike Lynch, known as ‘Britain’s Bill Gates’ and the top technology entrepreneur in Britain, reached the pinnacle of his career when he transformed his software company into an $11bn (£8.6bn) acquisition by a Silicon Valley giant. More than a dozen years later, the acquisition has become the focus of a trial in San Francisco that began last Monday.
Lynch is facing 16 charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy by U.S. authorities, alleging that Hewlett-Packard’s purchase of Autonomy was based on deceitful information. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison. Lynch has pleaded not guilty.
The trial will center on the events of 2011 when HP acquired Autonomy. In the coming weeks, jurors will hear from numerous witnesses in a courtroom directly above the former Autonomy skyscraper site in San Francisco.
Once hailed as “Britain’s Bill Gates,” Lynch spent the first week of his trial quietly listening as federal prosecutors targeted his former empire. He occasionally interacted with his lawyer or worked on his laptop, at times wearing a smile.
1. 2011 Revisited
In 2011, David Cameron was still in office, Barack Obama was president, and movie buffs were enthralled by the final Harry Potter film.
Lynch has consistently claimed that HP mishandled the Autonomy acquisition, leading to its downfall. However, Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the trial’s focus should not include the aftermath of the deal.
Explaining financial transactions and complex arguments from over a decade ago to a new jury presents a significant challenge.
The trial started with the prosecution highlighting a crucial meeting in early 2011 where Lynch allegedly misled HP executives about Autonomy’s success, leading to the $11 billion fraud accusation.
The defense painted Lynch as a tough but brilliant inventor who delegated tasks to talented managers, minimizing his involvement in daily operations.
2. Simplifying the Complex
Government prosecutors accused Lynch of repeatedly lying to investors and auditors, orchestrating a multi-year fraud through deceptive accounting practices.
As the trial progresses, Lynch’s team plans to portray him as a hands-off leader who was unfairly blamed for HP’s struggles and the Autonomy deal.
Who will replace Avril Lavigne? BBC Sounds, weekly episodes “I know what you’re thinking. She’s definitely dead.” Joan McNally, the very funny comedian, said that in 10 years, Avril Lavigne died or retired and was replaced by a doppelganger. I’m obsessed with internet conspiracies. So she set up an office at her “current” boyfriend’s home and began this investigation. She’s not even a fan of Lavigne, but that only adds to the hilarity of her Stacey Dooley-like ambition. Holly Richardson
Very famous person: George Michael Wide range of weekly episodes availableThis three-part series, hosted by the feisty duo Emily Lloyd-Saini and Anna Lyon Brophy, looks at George Michael’s life through the lens of ‘Post-Wham!’ baby”. Ideal for those who don’t remember how tough his 80s height of fame was. In this bonus episode, Russell Tovey talks about Michael’s life and legacy. Hannah Verdier
Election workers in Berlin during an anthrax alarm in Germany in 2001. Photo: Michael Dalder/Reuters
A place to be a woman BBC Sounds, weekly episodesWhere and how can women live their best lives? Skaachi Kuhl and Sophia Smith Gaylor talk to women around the world about body image, parental leave, and friendships to find out who gets the best deal. In an age where wellness is promoted as something you can buy, they get to the heart of what women need. HV
sports agent New episodes widely available on Tuesdays and ThursdaysGabby Logan and Mark Chapman are the hosts of this new behind-the-scenes sports podcast from the same stable as Newsagents. Familiar voices in the arena, both of whom have considerable experience at the Euros, Wimbledon and the Olympics, promise to bring big-name guests and analysis to a crowded sporting calendar.HV
Cover-up: The anthrax threat Wide range of weekly episodes availableHow would you feel if you knew that just opening the mailbox could kill you? After 9/11, envelopes filled with anthrax started falling on the desks of journalists and politicians, and it became a reality. became. Josh Dean, who was working in New York at the time, is currently on a seven-year investigation to find the culprit. HV
There’s a podcast for that
Cariad Lloyd and Sarah Pascoe. Photo: David M Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Ghost Fragrances
this week, Rachel Areosti Our picks for the 5 best podcasts on Bookfrom Cariad Lloyd and Sarah Pascoe’s Book Club for Weird People to Pandora Sykes’ Exploration of Old Classics
good reading Radio 4’s long-running series reviews three books each time. Two of his books were recommended by the episode’s celebrity panelists, and another by the pleasantly authoritative (and, at this point, frighteningly well-read) host Harriet Gilbert. Part of the appeal comes from the collision of worlds. Guests range from writers and comedians to chefs and doctors, and their recommendations are just as diverse. Alan Titchmarsh chose PG Wodehouse’s Summer Lightning. Musician Lauren Mayberry appears in Yoko Ogawa’s “Memory Police.” Explorer Ella al-Shamahi chose Abdulkader al-Ghuneyd’s The Prison of Sana’a. Criticism is relentless, advocacy passionate, and debate flammable. If you find yourself adrift among the vague opinions and random noise of other book review podcasts, this is for you.
strange book club The origin story of a book podcast couldn’t be better. Comedians Sarah Pascoe and Cariad Lloyd met while studying English at the University of Sussex in the late 90s. They are now reviving student literary conversation in a medium that had not yet been invented at the time. Pascoe’s “Weird Book Club,” named after her recently released debut novel, sees her pals discuss old and new titles with each other, with friends, and sometimes with the people who wrote them. Let’s discuss. Hear Nish Kumar talk about Sheena Patel’s I’m a Fan of Her, Monica She Hey, and more. About her divorce comedy “Really Good, Actually” and the hosts getting hooked on Iris Murdoch’s “Under the Net.” The guests are good too, but Pascoe and Lloyd are her USP. Wonderfully funny and sophisticated, yet convincingly casual, with the kind of joint banter that only decades of friendship can foster.
Book a chat This literary discussion show from journalists Pandora Sykes and Bobby Palmer is built on one important rule: That means the books featured must be at least two years old. That means no breathtakingly hyped debut novels or thrillers topping the bestseller charts. Instead, they looked beyond the zeitgeist, from Zadie Smith’s White Teeth (2000) to Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City (1978). It refreshingly pokes fun at the blockbuster hits of the past few decades, while also revisiting smaller titles. Recent works include Sarah Winman’s The Tin Man and Meena Kandasamy’s When I Hit You. It’s an approach that makes Book Chat feel like a peaceful respite from the chaotic hustle and bustle of the next big culture.
LRB Podcast The London Review of Books contains some of the most compelling and interesting essays and criticism. He has a firm demeanor but is never formal, serious but often irreverent. This series is essentially a magazine in podcast form. Hosted by LRB staffers Thomas Jones and Marin Hay, it features conversations with published authors about the latest riffs on recent literature. The focus is usually nonfiction, and the subject matter is diverse to the point of eclecticism. Amia Srinivasan on octopuses, Rosemary Hill on Mount Vesuvius, Tom Crewe on wrestling, Deborah Friedel on J. Edgar Hoover, Jonathan Coe on British humour, and more. But the end result is that it teaches you something you didn’t realize you needed to know, and it’s the same every time.
Reserved Reading, by its very nature, is a solitary activity, and the books we consume become lifelong companions that no one else has. This podcast by journalist and novelist Daisy Buchanan goes some way towards capturing our intimate relationship with literature. Buchanan joins guest authors each week to peruse their imaginative bookshelves and discover the books that captivated them as children and teens (Naomi Klein, it was an interview with Oriana Fallaci’s History ), the novels they didn’t do well (Andrew Hunter Murray can’t stand Mitford), and the books that set them on the path to professional writing (Susie Dent looked up the dictionary) in our mutual friend).
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If you were sent back in time, would you survive and thrive? Would you invent electricity in ancient Rome or teach Napoleon rock and roll? Find out Master of the past.
Join botanist turned actor Alisha Wainwright When science finds a way She meets pioneering scientists and researchers who are changing the world.
Soulbare Sessions – Where’s Mom? digs deep into one person’s extraordinary life story and provides a platform for them to speak freely about overcoming a difficult start in life.
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electoral dysfunction Wide range of weekly episodes available
Sky News politician and poker star Beth Rigby is sandwiched between Conservative MP Ruth Davidson and Labor MP Jess Phillips in this promising new podcast leading into a ‘prolific election year’. What voters want, leadership, and the sorry state of things are all on the table. This trio offers a refreshing change from the usual daddy cast, valuing heart and insight over political point-scoring. There’s also a story about Priti Patel’s kindness… Hannah Verdier
tard cast Widely available, on sale now “A lot of people actually wanted to listen to the podcast…and you mostly know why.” Joe Lycett announced the poop pod as a campaign prank against sewage leaks, but Gary Lineker’s Thanks to demand for more details on World Cup poop, it’s now actually here. It’s so funny that it makes your stomach hurt, and it also includes the shocking revelation that “Gaza was often left alone in the public bath.'' Holly Richardson
Indira Varma. Photo: Suki Dhanda/Observer
A tiger tamer who went out to sea Wide range of weekly episodes available Victorian superstar Bob Carlyle was fired from the circus for drunkenly walking a tiger around town on a leash, but at least he had the stamina of a pushcart to get back on his feet. This isn’t your typical history podcast where Dave his Dr. Musgrove chronicles Carlisle’s very interesting life.HV
significant other Wide range of weekly episodes available Our new series of podcasts about lesser-known figures in history begins with the story of Peggy Shippen. History books remember American Revolutionary War general Benedict Arnold for switching allegiance, but in reality it was his wife who motivated the rebellion. Host Liza Powell O’Brien examines how “America’s Most Handsome Woman” influenced events. HV
The Spy Who… Wide range of weekly episodes available starting Tuesday Indira Varma (pictured above) hosts a dive into “a dank, murky world full of dark corners, sinister motives and rotten morals” occupied by spies. The first is the story of Dusko Popov, the spy whose playboy ways inspired Ian Fleming’s James Bond. The scenes from that time are dramatically recreated, making it irresistibly cinematic. HV
There’s a podcast for that
Twelve boys and their coach rescued from a cave in Thailand have mourned the loss of a former Navy SEAL who died while taking part in the mission. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
From escaping a grizzly bear attack to a 2018 cave rescue in Thailand. Ella Braidwood Choose 5 podcasts about survival stories
vice versa
Since 2021, Against the Odds has been exploring some of the most famous survival stories from past and present. Adventurers Mike Corley and Kathy de Pecol take turns hosting each story, each told in detail over several episodes. The podcast is based on historical research, but dramatizations are used to bring headline-grabbing stories to life. For example, there is a five-part series about the 2018 cave rescue in Thailand, and a four-part series about the famous Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash in 1972, when 16 people were forced into the Andes Mountains. He survived for 72 days in the camp. He turns to cannibalism.
real survival story The weekly podcast, narrated by actor John Hopkins, launched this year and explores stories of “ordinary people forced into extraordinary circumstances.” Hopkins is a smooth storyteller, and his musings are deftly interspersed with audio excerpts from the survivors themselves. Among those featured is a paraglider caught in a storm. A prospector trapped in a gold mine 100 feet underground. and a couple caught in a wildfire while on vacation. Background music adds suspense, and stories are drawn from around the world, including the Rocky Mountains, Hawaii, and New Zealand.
special live While it’s not just about survival stories, this podcast focuses on the amazing stories of people who have overcome extraordinary circumstances. In each episode, LADbible’s former creative director, Ben Powell-Jones, sits down with an interviewee and reveals what happened to them. Mr. Powell-Jones has a calm demeanor that allows his interviewees to speak candidly about their experiences. Video footage for each episode is available at: YouTube. Highlights include an interview with journalist Sean Langan, who was taken hostage by the Taliban;Park Ji Hyun person who fled from North Korea And now I live in the UK. and Nick Yarris, who was wrongly convicted of murder and spent 22 years on death row.
out alive Backpacker Magazine’s biweekly podcast features short episodes featuring outdoor tips from experts, interspersed with inspiring survival stories. The episodes, hosted by editor Louisa Albanese, tell stories of people who have survived amazing events, from a man who fell 50 feet into a hidden ice cave to a runner who became stranded after falling on a trekking pole. We are featuring interviews. Some of the brief episodes debunk some of the most common questions about survival, and others about the rise in bear attacks. Transcript too You can read it online.
not today Since launching their podcast in 2020, husband and wife team Steph Fitt and Alex Hunt have grown their following. Features It was in the top 1% of most followed podcasts on Spotify last year. Hosted by Fit and Hunt, this podcast features recent and more historical survival stories. In one episode, Fit tells listeners about Lydia Tillman. Her brave escape led to her conviction. travis forbes In 2011, he was charged with crimes against her and the murder of Kenya Monge. A more historical episode is the one about the Titanic.The other is about entertainers Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn, the latter of whom was once attacked by a tiger on stage.
sound off Conversation with Katie Henriksen features deep conversations that explore creativity at the intersection of art, music, and literature.
A mix of comedy, tragedy, and everything in between. possession Focuses on the world of professional sports ownership with former NBA player Rex Chapman.
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Wide range of weekly episodes available “Themes are for cowards,” says the outspoken host of this new freeform chat series with three Glaswegian comedy buddies, Frankie Boyle, Susie McCabe and Christopher MacArthur Boyd. There are frank discussions about the ethics of sex with Tories, whether Billy Connolly would have been radicalized had he grown up in the internet age, and whether Boyle’s date with a “neo-Nazi” constituted sexual assault. There is a high possibility that it will develop into love. Alexi Duggins
Wide range of weekly episodes available Delve into the delusions of Daily Mail readers’ brains in this witty, high-spirited piece, where you hear celebrity guests comment on the news stories they’ve covered and guess which one it’s related to. I’ll try. Our first guest is Dani Dyer, who talks about his father’s love of Chinese restaurants, babysitting Keira Knightley and blow-drying fake eyelashes on Love Island. advertisement
Wide range of weekly episodes available Before his death, American filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich was working on an interview podcast. Now, thanks to his ex-wife and collaborator Louise Stratten, the work has seen the light of day. The guest list is impressive, with Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo del Toro, Greta Gerwig, Julie Delpy and more talking about other greats in filmmaking. Hannah Verdier
‘Themes are for cowards’…Frankie Boyle (pictured) has launched a new podcast with Susie McCabe and Christopher MacArthur-Boyd. Photo: Paul Hansen/Observer
football greats Wide range of weekly episodes available Was Ian Wright a better footballer than Alan Shearer? How do players communicate with foreign teams who only know the word “Bobby Charlton”? Geoff Stelling discusses these questions with guests including Paul Merson, Glenn Hoddle and Sir Geoff Hurst. In the first episode, Stelling reunites with Soccer Saturday partner Chris Kamara and relives many fond memories, including the origin of that iconic “I can’t believe it, Jeff!” Catchphrase. Hannah Verdier
Blindspot: Plague in the Shadows Wide range of weekly episodes available This podcast focuses on New York, where misinformation and misinformation were rife in the early days of the HIV epidemic. WNYC’s Kai Wright has been a reporter on the ground since 1996, and is not critical of how people in need are denied access to medical care. Dr. Anthony Fauci was among those interviewed, along with activists from the 1980s. HV
On January 6, 2021, supporters of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. Photo: Mandel Gunn/AFP/Getty Images
capture the kingpin BBC Sounds, weekly episodes If you enjoy a podcast filled with drug dealing, corruption, and encrypted phone networks, then this six-part show about the Metropolitan Police’s biggest organized crime bust is for you. As host Mobeen Azhar puts it, the story becomes “increasingly shocking” as we uncover inside stories from the squad that infiltrated key figures in the criminal organization. HV
less is better Episodes will be widely available weekly starting Sunday, January 14th Is it better for your health to eat high-quality meat or eat less meat? This month, promoting vegan curiosity and positive health messages, Katie Revell and Olivia Oldham explore what it’s like to raise and slaughter animals, and how culture and education influence people’s preferences. Find out whether it is easy to give and buy good things. HV
January 6: America’s Story Wide range of weekly episodes available As we mark the third anniversary of the storming of the U.S. Capitol and with Donald Trump set to become the next Republican nominee, Our Body Politics on the people of color who helped lead the committee investigation on January 6th is an insightful series. They talk about their experiences, starting with why they chose to protect a country that doesn’t always protect them. Holly Richardson
There’s a podcast for that
Oprah Winfrey speaks on Oprah’s “2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus” tour. Photo: Steve Jennings/Getty Images
this week, Rachel Aroesti Our picks for the 5 best podcasts featuring true storyfrom a chronicle of LGBT heroes to the remarkable rise of Oprah Winfrey.
unusual life Truth is always stranger than fiction, this fascinating series from the BBC World Service delicately unearths some of the most remarkable stories of human endeavor. I am amazed at the determination of Tariq Mehmood, one of the bradford 12, He was arrested as a young man for trying to protect himself from skinhead violence and became a novelist. In the drama “Prison His Break'' Jaibet uses his knowledge of Papua to escape from an inhumane immigration camp in New Guinea as he is overwhelmed by Nous of Elom. And just as amazed by the courage of Laura Dekker, who decided to travel around the world alone at the age of 13 (much to the surprise of the Dutch authorities).
making gay history Journalist Eric Marcus established himself as a leading authority on 20th century gay life with his award-winning 1992 book Making History. In this moving podcast, he revisits his extensive archive of interviews to allow key figures in the LGBT rights movement to tell their own stories. Celebrities like early transgender activist Sylvia Rivera, playwright Larry Kramer, and television host Ellen DeGeneres, as well as lesser-known figures whose activism has made the world a safer place for queer people. I’ll listen to you.
CEO diary Money can’t buy happiness. And just because you make millions doesn’t automatically mean you’re considered an inspirational person. But it’s also true that entrepreneur Stephen Bartlett’s hit interview podcast frequently serves as motivational rocket fuel. Since 2017, Bartlett has relentlessly questioned business leaders about their childhoods, work habits, and the philosophies they live by, unearthing practical, life-changing advice for his listeners. Since then, he has expanded his remit to include headline-grabbing celebrities including Davina McCall, Maisie Williams, Liam Payne, and Jesse Lingard.
hidden heroes of history From energetic secret agent Virginia Hall and her epic prison escape to Surrey banker Eric Roberts’ hunt for Nazi sympathizers, this thrilling podcast narrated by Helena Bonham Carter explores perseverance from the second world. Relive some of the most amazing feats and stories of damnation. war. Along with stories of spies, we hear about the remarkable artistic resistance of Claude Cahan and Marcel Moore, and the pioneering feminism of Major Charity Adams, the first black officer to serve in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.
blue origin aims to finally end the more than 15-month grounding of its New Shepard suborbital rocket, with the company today announcing it will fly unmanned missions as early as Dec. 18.
The company confirmed its release social media accounts Followed by Bloomberg reporting Content of internal email for new target date. The mission, called NS-24, will carry 33 scientific research payloads and other cargo.
The new Shepard has been grounded since September 2022, when an engine nozzle problem triggered an automatic shutdown and released the unmanned capsule from its booster. The capsule landed safely. The booster was destroyed upon crashing to Earth. (This mission was also unmanned.)
The Federal Aviation Administration formally closed its investigation into the crash in September and directed Blue Origin to take 21 corrective actions, including redesigning engine and nozzle components and “organizational changes.”
This new launch date means Blue Origin has implemented all measures and received a revised launch license from the FAA. The amended license expires in August 2025 and is limited to launches only from Blue Origin’s West Texas facility, according to the regulator’s website.
Blue Origin has ambitious projects in development, including a heavy-lift rocket called New Glenn, which aims to take flight late next year, and a lunar lander called Blue Moon, for which it is seeking a $3.4 billion contract from NASA. The Shepard Flight Program is the only one currently in operation. To date, the vehicle has flown over his 22 flights, taking 31 people (including CEO Jeff Bezos himself) to the edge of space and back.
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