Best Spreading Rumours Podcasts (2025)

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Viral spread: how rumours surged in revolutionary France 24:44

Play Pause

13d ago24:44

24:44

00:48 How the 18th-Century 'Great Fear’ spread across rural France In the late 1700s, rural France was beset with rapidly spreading rumours of aristocratic plots to suppress revolutionary ideas. But how, and why, these rumours were able to spread so quickly has puzzled historians. Now, using modern epidemiological modelling, a team suggests that a …

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Research misconduct: how the scientific community is fighting back 52:13

17h ago52:13

52:13

In 2016, Brian Wansink wrote a blog post that prompted scientific sleuths to investigate his work. They found evidence of data manipulation, and, after several news articles and two investigations by his institution, he would found to have committed misconduct, as defined by Cornell University. His work had been used to inform US policy around food…

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Nature goes inside the world’s largest ‘mosquito factory’ — here’s the buzz 10:57

4d ago10:57

10:57

Raising mosquitoes to tackle disease might sound like an odd concept, but that’s what a facility in Brazil is aiming to do. Millions of mosquitoes are produced there every week, but these insects carry harmless Wolbachia bacteria that curbs their ability to spread deadly human viruses. Nature reporter Mariana Lenharo visited the facility and told u…

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Two ants, two species, one mother 27:06

6d ago27:06

27:06

00:45 The ant queen that can produce two different species Researchers have made an unusual observation that appears at odds with biology: an ant, known as the Iberian Harvester Ant can produce offspring of two completely different species. Many ants need to mate with other species to produce workers that are a genetic mix of the two, known as hybr…

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Audio long read: How to detect consciousness in people, animals and maybe even AI 19:57

11d ago19:57

19:57

The search for signs of consciousness has expanded, thanks to advanced neuroimaging techniques. These tools allow researchers to detect consciousness in unresponsive humans, and now researchers are looking to develop tests that work in animals and perhaps even artificial intelligence systems of the future. This is an audio version of our Feature: H…

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Fusion energy gets a boost from cold fusion chemistry 19:57

20d ago19:57

19:57

00:46 Electrochemical fusion Researchers have used electrochemistry to increase the rates of nuclear fusion reactions in a desktop reactor. Fusion energy promises abundant clean energy, but fusion events are rare, hindering progress. Now, inspired by the controversial claim of cold fusion, researchers used electrochemistry to get palladium to absor…

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Controversial climate report from Trump team galvanizes scientists into action 13:05

25d ago13:05

13:05

In this Podcast Extra, we discuss a report released by the US Department of Energy, which concluded that global warming is “less damaging economically than commonly believed”. However, many researchers say that the report misrepresents decades of climate science. We discuss how scientists are trying to coordinate a unified response amidst concerns …

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Sun-powered flyers could explore the mysterious mesosphere 31:53

27d ago31:53

31:53

00:46 Tiny solar flyer Researchers have used a phenomenon known as thermal transpiration to create a solar-powered flying device that can stay aloft without any moving parts. The diminutive device, just one centimetre across, consists of two thin, perforated membranes that allow air to flow through the device, generating lift. Although only a proof…

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Underwater glue shows its sticking power in rubber duck test 28:14

1M ago28:14

28:14

00:45 Researchers develop a new glue and test it on a rubber duck Aided by machine learning, researchers have developed a super-sticky compound that works as an underwater adhesive. Inspired by animals like barnacles, the team developed a new kind of a material called a hydrogel. The material is capable of securely fastening objects together even w…

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Earth's deepest ecosystem discovered six miles below the sea 33:03

1M ago33:03

33:03

00:45 The deepest ecosystem ever discovered Researchers have dived down to more than 9,000 metres below the surface of the Pacific and discovered surprisingly complex communities of life living in deep ocean trenches. The new research shows an array of animal life that appears to be using methane as a source of energy. The researchers are planning …

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Giant laser heats solid gold to 14 times its melting point 35:38

2M ago35:38

35:38

00:46 How hot can solid gold get? A new study suggests that gold can be superheated far beyond its melting point without it becoming a liquid. Using an intense burst from a laser, a team heated a gold foil to 14 times its melting point, far beyond a theoretical limit put forward in previous studies. The team suggest that the speed at which they hea…

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AI, bounties and culture change, how scientists are taking on errors 49:19

2M ago49:19

49:19

A simple methodological error meant that for years researchers considered drinking moderate amounts of alcohol to be healthy. Now plenty of evidence suggests that isn't the case, but errors like this still plague the scientific literature. So, how can the scientific literature become more error-free? In the first episode of this two-part series, to…

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‘Stealth flippers’ helped this extinct mega-predator stalk its prey 32:50

2M ago32:50

32:50

In this episode: 00:48 The ancient mega-predator with a ‘stealth mode’ The extinct marine mega-predator Temnodontosaurus had specialised adaptations to stealthily hunt its prey, suggests an analysis of a fossil flipper. Although Temnodontosaurus was a member of a well-studied group of marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs, its lifestyle has been a my…

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Three weeks in a hide to spot one elusive bear: the life of a wildlife film-maker 12:47

2M ago12:47

12:47

Vianet Djenguet is an award-winning wildlife film-maker and camera operator whose work has featured in a number of major nature documentaries. In this podcast, Vianet joins us to talk about his career, how wildlife film-making have changed, and his experiences working with local researchers to capture footage of endangered animals on the new televi…

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Ancient DNA reveals farming led to more human diseases 37:06

2M ago37:06

37:06

00:48 The past 35,000 years of disease Ancient DNA evidence shows that the advent of agriculture led to more infectious disease among humans, with pathogens from animals only showing up 6,500 years ago. The DNA, extracted from human teeth, shows the history of diseases present in Eurasia over tens of thousands of years. The approach used could be a…

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Audio long read: How to speak to a vaccine sceptic — research reveals what works 16:13

2M ago16:13

16:13

Questions and doubts about vaccines are on the rise worldwide and public-health specialists worry that these trends could worsen. But while the shift in public attitudes towards immunizations can leave scientists, physicians and many others feeling disheartened, a surge of research on vaccine hesitancy is starting to offer ways to address the issue…

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3D-printed fake wasps help explain bad animal mimicry 27:19

2M ago27:19

27:19

In this episode: 00:45 Why animals evolve to be imperfect mimics Many harmless animals mimic dangerous ones to avoid being eaten, but often this fakery is inaccurate. To help explain why evolution sometimes favours imperfect mimicry, a team 3D printed a range of imaginary insects. The novel creatures were designed to mimic wasps with varying degree…

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Is AI watching you? The hidden links between research and surveillance 31:30

3M ago31:30

31:30

We’d like to learn more about our listeners, please help us out by filling in this short survey. In this episode: 00:45 Is AI-research being co-opted to keep track of people? A significant amount of research in the AI field of computer vision is being used to analyse humans in ways that support the development of surveillance technologies, accordin…

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Flight simulator for moths reveals they navigate by starlight 30:37

3M ago30:37

30:37

We’d like to learn more about our listeners, please help us out by filling in this short survey. In this episode: 00:45 The tiny moths that use the stars to navigate Bogong moths use the stars to help them navigate during their enormous migration across Australia, according to new research. Every year, billions of these nocturnal moths travel up to…

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Hundreds of physicists on a remote island: we visit the ultimate quantum party 9:07

3M ago9:07

9:07

According to legend, physicist Werner Heisenberg formulated the mathematics behind quantum mechanics in 1925 while on a restorative trip to the remote North Sea island of Heligoland. To celebrate the centenary of this event, several hundred researchers have descended on the island to take part in a conference on all things quantum physics. Nature r…

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This stretchy neural implant grows with an axolotl's brain 36:55

3M ago36:55

36:55

00:45 A flexible neural-implant that grows with the brain Researchers have developed a soft electronic implant that can measure brain activity of amphibian embryos as they develop. Understanding the neural activity of developing brains is a key aim for neuroscientists, but conventional, rigid probes can damage growing brains. To overcome this, a te…

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Trump wants to put humans on Mars: what scientists think of the plan 11:47

3M ago11:47

11:47

In this Podcast Extra, we examine President Donald Trump's calls for NASA to land humans on Mars. Although the White House has proposed spending some US$1 billion in 2026 on Mars plans, critics say the final cost will likely be hundreds of billions of dollars spread over a number of years. This call comes amidst plans to drastically reduce NASA's f…

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Male mice can grow female organs — if their mothers lack iron 30:08

3M ago30:08

30:08

00:45 Iron’s role in mice sex determination Iron deficiency in mice mothers can sometimes result in their offspring developing female sex organs despite having male sex genes, according to new research. While genetics has been thought to be the primary factor in determining offspring sex in mammals, the new work shows that a lack of iron disrupts a…

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Audio long read: Three ways to cool Earth by pulling carbon from the sky 15:59

3M ago15:59

15:59

With the world looking likely to blow past the temperature targets laid out in the 2015 Paris climate agreement, a growing number of voices are saying that carbon removal technologies will be necessary if humanity is to achieve its long-term climate goals. If these approaches succeed, they could help nations and corporations to meet their climate c…

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AI linked to boom in biomedical papers, infrared contact lenses, and is Earth's core leaking? 20:11

3M ago20:11

20:11

00:33 Was a boom in papers driven by AI? A spike in papers formulaically analysing a public data set has sparked worries that AI is being used to generate low quality and potentially misleading analyses. Nature: AI linked to explosion of low-quality biomedical research papers 08:07 Lenses that give humans infrared vision Researchers in China have c…

Spreading Rumours Podcasts

1
Nature Podcast

Springer Nature Limited

1
Spreading Rumours by Kristen Hanby

Kristen Hanby

1
BOOM Podcast

BOOM

1
Murder in the Granite City

The Scottish Sun

1
Viral spread: how rumours surged in revolutionary France 24:44

1
Research misconduct: how the scientific community is fighting back 52:13

1
Nature goes inside the world’s largest ‘mosquito factory’ — here’s the buzz 10:57

1
Two ants, two species, one mother 27:06

1
Audio long read: How to detect consciousness in people, animals and maybe even AI 19:57

1
Fusion energy gets a boost from cold fusion chemistry 19:57

1
Controversial climate report from Trump team galvanizes scientists into action 13:05

1
Sun-powered flyers could explore the mysterious mesosphere 31:53

1
Underwater glue shows its sticking power in rubber duck test 28:14

1
Earth's deepest ecosystem discovered six miles below the sea 33:03

1
Giant laser heats solid gold to 14 times its melting point 35:38

1
AI, bounties and culture change, how scientists are taking on errors 49:19

1
‘Stealth flippers’ helped this extinct mega-predator stalk its prey 32:50

1
Three weeks in a hide to spot one elusive bear: the life of a wildlife film-maker 12:47

1
Ancient DNA reveals farming led to more human diseases 37:06

1
Audio long read: How to speak to a vaccine sceptic — research reveals what works 16:13

1
3D-printed fake wasps help explain bad animal mimicry 27:19

1
Is AI watching you? The hidden links between research and surveillance 31:30

1
Flight simulator for moths reveals they navigate by starlight 30:37

1
Hundreds of physicists on a remote island: we visit the ultimate quantum party 9:07

1
This stretchy neural implant grows with an axolotl's brain 36:55

1
Trump wants to put humans on Mars: what scientists think of the plan 11:47

1
Male mice can grow female organs — if their mothers lack iron 30:08

1
Audio long read: Three ways to cool Earth by pulling carbon from the sky 15:59

1
AI linked to boom in biomedical papers, infrared contact lenses, and is Earth's core leaking? 20:11