There are so many science podcasts out there that choosing one can feel overwhelming. We’ve scoured the internet for classics and little-known gems covering a wide range of topics from space to food to cybercrime. Here are our top picks.

Should you switch to a gluten-free diet? Is artificial intelligence really out of control? This podcast digs into trends and hot topics in the news to expose the science behind them, separating fact from fiction. In a typical episode, science journalist Wendy Zukerman, the creator and host, talks to scientists and experts and cites research in the field in a style that is upbeat and engaging. The idea for the show came about in 2015 when actor Gwenyth Paltrow suggested that women should steam their vaginas for an energy boost, to rebalance hormones and keep clean. Zukerman felt compelled to bust the myth and has been fact-checking fads on her show ever since.

You’ve probably heard of RadioLab. Launched in 2002, the award-winning podcast, currently co-hosted by science journalists Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser, recounts a different science or technology-related story every week, often exploring different angles. The show incorporates interviews with experts and first-person accounts by guests into captivating narratives. Recent episodes have delved into a strange internet law that lets tech companies off the hook for what happens on their platforms, the cause of the mysterious Tunguska impact that hit Siberia in 1908 and whether disabled people could actually be the ideal astronauts. Highly recommended for curious people with diverse interests.

It might just be the best podcast name out there. With weekly episodes, the official podcast of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas features in-depth conversations with astronauts, scientists and engineers about the latest developments in human spaceflight. The show just celebrated its 300^th episode with special guests talking about what the future holds for humans visiting low-Earth orbit, recorded in front of a live audience. Previously, the show has discussed NASA’s near-term goal to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon’s surface. It often focuses on different aspects of this plan, such as new lunar spacesuits and the first space station to orbit the moon being developed by NASA, called Gateway, which is aiming to support long-term human visits as well as deep space exploration. Each instalment is typically about an hour long, allowing for topics to be covered in detail.

Want to take a deep dive into a specific branch of science? The podcast’s name stems from the suffix ‘ology’ – the study of something – and consists of long chats between host Alie Ward and experts on diverse and often obscure disciplines, from sciuridology (the study of squirrels) to diabetology (the research and treatment of diabetes). Ward poses questions that bring out little-known aspects of each field while also touching on personal aspects, such as how guests chose their speciality, which often leads to interesting stories.  The idea for the podcast was sparked by the word curiology – writing with pictures. Ward recently dedicated two episodes to this field by delving into emojis, from the origin of the smiley face to behind-the-scenes drama and stats on usage and trends. I give it a thumbs-up.

A generation of young people is now grappling with the climate crisis – often considered to be the most pressing problem humanity is currently facing. This podcast, which is in its third season, is produced by and for young people and aims to bring their stories to light. While early episodes focused on the experiences of young climate activists, the show is now broader in scope. In the latest episode, storyteller Reece Whatmore imagines a world in which buildings are conceived in collaboration with nature, rather than having human-made materials dominate city landscapes, and talks to biomaterial designers, scientists and engineers who are working to accomplish this goal. By being solution-focused, Inherited tackles a daunting topic in a hopeful way.

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Food collides with science and history in this bi-weekly podcast co-hosted by journalist Cynthia Graber and author Nicola Twilley. In the most recent episode, the pair examines where fungi and bacteria in a sourdough starter come from by taking part in an experiment in Belgium with microbiologists and bakers. The show also delves into farming, for example by looking at how human faeces could save agriculture and the planet, and new developments, such as lab-grown meat, which made its debut in a US restaurant in July. The show often takes inspiration from listener requests and is sure to fascinate inquisitive food-lovers.

Efforts to undo human-induced damage to wildlife by allowing nature to take over again, called rewilding, have taken off in in recent years. In this podcast hosted by James Shooter, a photographer and filmmaker, listeners are taken behind the scenes of various rewilding initiatives across Europe as he travels to visit them during a year-long trip. Monthly episodes tell the stories of people trying to recover nature, for example experts in the Greater Cîa Valley in Portugal, who are trying to improve the co-existence of animal species such as rabbits, Iberian wolves and dung beetles. The host’s passion for conservation makes the show both informative and engaging.

Through the ages, people have often tried to treat medical problems in odd, disgusting or simply ineffective ways. Hosts Sydnee and Justin McElroy, a doctor and comedian, respectively, were therefore inspired to create a podcast that uncovered some of these proposed treatments by digging through the annals of medical history. With new episodes out every Friday, the show also looks at the latest therapeutic fads, such as a pungent plant resin, called asafoetida, which some claim can has a range of medical benefits, and an egg-shaped sound-therapy chamber called a Harmonic Egg. The latest instalment examines the sudden recent uptick of cases of leprosy in Florida, looking at the history of the disease and current treatments. May not be suitable for squeamish people.

A true crime show for tech geeks. Hosted by Jack Rhysider, who was previously a network security engineer, the podcast showcases stories about the dark side of the internet told by hackers and those who have been hacked. In a recent episode, a member of the Dominican Republic’s cybersecurity incident response team explains the process he went through when he investigated a major cyberattack aimed at his country’s government. Another instalment follows a man who breaks into buildings for a living to test whether they are secure or not. The show is compelling and binge-worthy.

żìĂš¶ÌÊÓÆ” Podcasts

It is shameless self-promotion, but you may just enjoy our podcasts too. żìĂš¶ÌÊÓÆ” Weekly, our flagship show hosted by Timothy Revell and Christie Taylor, takes a closer look at the most fascinating science news stories of the week. If you’re looking for something a bit more off-beat, Dead Planets Society explores crazy ideas such how we could punch a hole in a planet or whether we could destroy the sun – from a physics perspective, of course. And we’ve also got CultureLab, a podcast that could be interviewing the world’s most exciting authors about fascinating books one week and delving into the science behind a movie or TV show another. All available on the main żìĂš¶ÌÊÓÆ” Podcasts feed.

IN THE 1980s, often stuck his finger into the cages of baby snakes to see how often he was bitten. It was part of a test he had devised to measure the agreeableness of garter snakes – and some were definitely more aggressive than others. Herzog, now a psychologist at Western Carolina University in North Carolina, knew he was studying animal personality, but at that time it was controversial. “I did not have the moral fortitude to announce that in scientific journals,” he says.

Herzog is the first guest on a new podcast called Anthropomania, which sets out to explore the complex relationship humans have with other living things. For example, personality, the focus of the first episode, was once thought to be unique to humans. Today, it is accepted that animals of the same species living in the same conditions have different characters and behaviours, some bolder and others more fearful, for instance. Herzog says he now wouldn’t hesitate to describe his snake research as a study of personality.

The podcast, hosted by science communicators Jay Ingram, Niki Wilson and Erika Siren, is inspired by anthropomorphism, the attribution of human characteristics or behaviours to other species. When it comes to personality, people often apply human traits to animals, with one survey showing that many pet owners consider their animals to have a good sense of humour. “Going overboard on their humanness may give us an unrealistic picture of what they really are,” says Ingram.

The show highlights our various motivations for engaging with animals. Aside from research, some people want to domesticate or protect animals, and some collect rare and dangerous species to flaunt their wealth and power.

There are many consequences. The demand for exotic pets fuels a multibillion-dollar trafficking industry. And many parts of the world lack animal ownership laws, so animals can be neglected or even become invasive in non-native countries, as in the case of the hippos that escaped from drug lord Pablo Escobar’s private zoo. Many now live in Colombia’s waterways.

As more exotic animals become celebrities on social media, the podcast’s hosts hope this will educate people rather than just entertain them. Ingram worries that the desire to own and see novel beasts may lead people to create cross-breeds with no regard for welfare. White tigers, for example, are bred for their looks although inbreeding often causes health problems.

Our relationship with plants can also be human-centred. In an episode called Smarty Plants, the hosts look at how plants have been perceived over time. Research shows that plants communicate with each other and even learn, but whether that means they are intelligent is still a moot point.

According to guest , a plant researcher at the University of Missouri, the problem is we think that a human nervous system is required for complex abilities. However, plants and even bacteria appear to “solve” problems, and they can acquire information and respond to their environment in an appropriate way, he says.

While Anthropomania‘s episodes are only about 30 minutes long, each packs in lots on a single topic. The podcast is thought-provoking, engaging and explores different perspectives. I’m hooked!

Sandrine Ceurstemont is a science and technology writer based in Morocco

Critical Frequency

GRETA THUNBERG has been the star of the youth climate movement since her first school strike in 2018, in which she sat outside the Swedish parliament to demand action on the Paris climate agreement. Yet she is just one of millions of young people coming to terms with a crisis they inherited.

“There are tons of young people fighting today, and many who have fought before, and we all feel the same terrifying weight,” says writer and audio producer Georgia Wright in an episode of Inherited, a podcast she co-hosts and produces with Julianna Bradley. The show shares the experiences of teenagers and twenty-somethings dedicating their lives to the climate emergency.

Its four-episode pilot season features guests telling their own stories, bringing the challenges and emotions they face to life while also touching on the origins of the crisis.

Age is often a barrier because it prevents young people being taken seriously. Inherited‘s first episode follows the early days of the , a political group led by young people in the US aiming to stop climate change. One member was described as “young and naive” when she challenged a politician about action on the issue, spurring the group on to disprove the patronising remark. The result was a protest organised in 2018 that was a turning point for Sunrise.

At that time, the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had just been released, warning that society had 12 years to control climate change. Yet Nancy Pelosi, then incoming speaker of the US House of Representatives, didn’t seem to be making climate a priority in the next session of Congress. Sunrise organised a sit-in at her office, attracting a lot of media coverage. Since then, the movement has bloomed and it has helped elect climate-minded politicians.

The success of Sunrise touches on another theme of this podcast: community. Many young people suffer from climate grief, anxiety and guilt. Climate activist Xiye Bastida, a guest on the show, recalls how she collapsed after hearing that US president Donald Trump was rolling back certain environmental regulations. But connecting with others experiencing the same thing can help. “We are in a climate crisis, but we can’t live in a state of crisis,” says Bastida. “If we go through our days with hopelessness, we’re not going
 to get anything done.”

It can be difficult, however, to convince some people that climate change is real. In one episode, a guest named Jenna describes how her community in the Rockaways area of New York City was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. A day after the storm, local houses were flooded and fires raged. She didn’t go back to school for three weeks and the relief effort took years.

Although the hurricane changed her life and drove her to pursue a climate-related career, some who lived through the disaster still denied the links to climate change. “Often [humans] prefer to shut off these big abstract thoughts
 focusing on challenges that are more manageable,” says Bradley.

Inherited highlights how informed and dedicated many young people are when it comes to climate change. The season ends on a hopeful note. Past generations may be responsible for the crisis, but the message is that today’s youth can choose what comes next. “Instead of resigning ourselves to a terrible fate, we’re dreaming up a new path,” says Bradley.