Best Microbe Minded Podcasts (2025)

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Sonair built its 3D ultrasonic sensor with robotic safety in mind, and Terra Oleo’s oil-producing microbes could replace destructive palm oil plantations 8:39

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5d ago8:39

8:39

As robots increasingly enter human spaces, robotics companies will need to think about safety differently than they did when robots were largely siloed from their human counterparts. Sonair thinks its sensors can help robotics companies reach their safety goals — with a solution that is both better and cheaper than popular LIDAR technology. Also, W…

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Raising A New Generation Of Bat Conservationists In West Africa 18:41

7h ago18:41

18:41

Nigeria is home to 100 known species of bats—about a third of Africa’s bat species—but scientists don’t know much about them. Ecologists Iroro Tanshi and Benneth Obitte, collaborators and life partners, are trying to change that. In addition to studying and protecting the bats of their homeland, they’re also working to raise up a whole network of b…

2
Trump says Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch might invest in TikTok deal, also, Google isn’t kidding around about cost cutting 6:28

9h ago6:28

6:28

The Trump administration has been talking up a potential TikTok deal this weekend, with President Donald Trump telling Fox News on Sunday that Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan are “probably” going to be involved. Also, Google is ending its enterprise subscription to the Financial Times, and it’s not the only enterprise media subscription on the c…

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Mastodon has a new plan to make money: Hosting and support services for the open social web 4:00

6m ago4:00

4:00

Mastodon, the non-profit organization that maintains the software powering the decentralized alternative to social networks like Threads and X, has a new plan to make money. Instead of relying entirely on donations and grants as before, the company announced Friday that it will now offer paid hosting, moderation, and support services for organizati…

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How Conservation Efforts Brought Rare Birds Back From The Brink 18:11

4d ago18:11

18:11

The overall state of birds can seem rather grim. Almost a third of North American bird species are in decline, and in the last five decades, more than 100 species have lost over half of their populations. This is primarily due to lack of food—fewer insects to eat—and habitat loss, like the development of grasslands. But there’s a bright spot: Some …

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US government charges British teenager accused of at least 120 ‘Scattered Spider’ hacks; plus, OpenAI’s research on AI models deliberately lying is wild 9:56

4d ago9:56

9:56

The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday unsealed federal charges against British teenager Thalha Jubair, who prosecutors accuse of being involved in at least 120 cyberattacks, including the U.S. Courts system, and the extortion of dozens of U.S. companies. In other news, Every now and then, researchers at the biggest tech companies drop a bombsh…

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Nvidia buys $5 billion stake in Intel, planning AI chip collaboration, also,Bumble BFF’s revamped app is here, focusing on friend groups 5:55

4d ago5:55

5:55

Nvidia has agreed to buy a $5 billion stake in Intel as part of a broader deal to together develop “multiple generations” of data center and PC products. Also, With friendship apps continuing to gain popularity, Bumble announced on Wednesday the relaunch of its Bumble For Friends app. With younger generations seeking to expand their social circles,…

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Teamwork Between Species Is The Key To Life Itself 18:31

5d ago18:31

18:31

Codependency between humans gets a bad rap. But in nature, species often rely on each other for survival. While humans think they’re in control of relationships between other species, like dogs and even the yeast for our breads, the opposite is often true. Host Flora Lichtman speaks with ecologist Rob Dunn, whose new book, The Call of the Honeyguid…

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Amazon launches AI agent to help sellers complete tasks and manage their businesses, also, Lyft and Waymo are partnering to bring robotaxis to Nashville 5:22

5d ago5:22

5:22

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it’s introducing an always-on AI agent that will help sellers on its platform run their businesses. The company is updating Seller Assistant, its AI tool for third-party sellers, to help handle tasks on the seller’s behalf. Waymo has struck a deal with ride-hailing company Lyft to launch a robotaxi service in Nash…

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The Man Teaching Microbes to Dream 1:18:41

5d ago1:18:41

1:18:41

Support the show: https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_US 🚨🚨Curious about the future of psychedelics? Imagine if Alan Watts started a secret society with Ram Dass and Hunter S. Thompson… now open the door. District216 Marquee Event: District216 "Death & Psychedelics" Marquee Event Sher Ali Butt From the dawn of time, humanity has leane…

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If An Asteroid Were Headed For Earth, Would We Be Ready? 18:39

5d ago18:39

18:39

You might remember news reporting from earlier this year that a 180-foot asteroid had about a 3% chance of hitting Earth in 2032. And if it did, it would unleash energy equivalent to hundreds of nuclear bombs. After further observations, astronomers revised that probability way down, to close to zero. So what is our current capability to spot Earth…

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Silicon Valley bets big on ‘environments’ to train AI agents 12:03

5d ago12:03

12:03

For years, Big Tech CEOs have touted visions of AI agents that can autonomously use software applications to complete tasks for people. But take today’s consumer AI agents out for a spin, whether it’s OpenAI’s ChatGPT Agent or Perplexity’s Comet, and you’ll quickly realize how limited the technology still is. Making AI agents more robust may take a…

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Calm launches standalone iOS app for sleep support, also, Google launches new protocol for agent-driven purchases 6:40

6d ago6:40

6:40

Calm is launching a new standalone app for more personalized sleep support, the company announced on Tuesday. The new Calm Sleep app is available on iOS and is designed to help people wind down, sleep better, and wake up refreshed. On Tuesday, Google announced a new open protocol for purchases initiated by AI agents — automated software programs th…

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A Trailblazing Geneticist Reflects On Her Life And Work 48:13

6d ago48:13

48:13

It’s common knowledge that many diseases and conditions have some kind of genetic link. But that wasn't always the case. In 1990, long before the Human Genome Project tied so many health issues to differences in genetics, researchers identified a gene called BRCA1. It was the first gene linked to a hereditary form of any common cancer. People with …

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Awake’s new app requires heavy sleepers to complete tasks in order to turn off the alarm ... and more tech news 4:53

7d ago4:53

4:53

A new iOS app called Awake, designed specifically for heavy sleepers who must complete missions to turn off their alarms, launched Monday. The app is only available to users with the iOS 26 update, which also came out on Monday. he U.S. has reached a “framework” deal with China for social media platform TikTok, CNBC reported, citing Treasury Secret…

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The Next Evolution of A.I. - Building Computers From Living Neurons 1:02:29

7d ago1:02:29

1:02:29

Support the show: https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_US 🚨🚨Curious about the future of psychedelics? Imagine if Alan Watts started a secret society with Ram Dass and Hunter S. Thompson… now open the door. District216 Marquee Event: District216 "Death & Psychedelics" Marquee Event Dr. Ewelina Kurtys From the white-hot frontier where sc…

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‘Selling coffee beans to Starbucks’ – how the AI boom could leave AI’s biggest companies behind ... and more 9:17

7d ago9:17

9:17

How much do foundation models matter? It might seem like a silly question, but it’s come up a lot in conversations with AI startups, which are increasingly comfortable with businesses that used to be dismissed as “GPT wrappers,” or companies that build interfaces on top of existing AI models like ChatGPT. Also, following its long-awaited launch of …

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What The Label Of ‘Genius’ Tells Us About Our Society 18:41

7d ago18:41

18:41

What makes someone a genius? Are they the smartest, most creative, most innovative people? Those with the highest IQ? Who we consider a genius may actually tell us much more about what we value as a society than any objective measure of brilliance. A compelling or quirky life story often shapes who is elevated to genius status. Host Ira Flatow unpa…

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Pilot union urges FAA to reject Rainmaker’s drone cloud-seeding plan 7:08

2h ago7:08

7:08

Rainmaker Technology’s bid to deploy cloud-seeding flares on small drones is being met by resistance from the airline pilots union, which has urged the Federal Aviation Administration to consider denying the startup’s request unless it meets stricter safety guidelines. The FAA’s decision will signal how the regulator views weather modification by u…

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Round Table 19: Aliens Among Us? Debating UFOs, Microbes & Ancient Visitors 1:06:31

3d ago1:06:31

1:06:31

Three paranormal investigators debate the existence of extraterrestrial life, weighing scientific evidence, personal UFO encounters, historical accounts, and ancient myths. The episode explores microbial life on other worlds, modern UAP reports, famous abduction cases, and the late Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum's contributions to cryptozoology and Bigfoot re…

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Molecules of Tomorrow: Psychedelic Science at the Edge of Innovation 2:27:19

9d ago2:27:19

2:27:19

Support the show: https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_US 🚨🚨Curious about the future of psychedelics? Imagine if Alan Watts started a secret society with Ram Dass and Hunter S. Thompson… now open the door. District216 Marquee Event: District216 "Death & Psychedelics" Marquee Event Tonight we stand at the edge of science and story, with…

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Apple’s latest iPhone security feature just made life more difficult for spyware makers 7:26

8h ago7:26

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The feature is called Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) and is designed to help stop memory corruption bugs, which are some of the most common vulnerabilities exploited by spyware developers and makers of phone forensic devices used by law enforcement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices…

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Whistleblowers in the Kingdom of Lies 1:43:25

10d ago1:43:25

1:43:25

Support the show: https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_US 🚨🚨Curious about the future of psychedelics? Imagine if Alan Watts started a secret society with Ram Dass and Hunter S. Thompson… now open the door. District216 Marquee Event: District216 "Death & Psychedelics" Marquee Event Jamie Morey & Graham Moore In the cracked sidewalks of …

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The Human Obsession With Aliens Goes Way, Way Back 25:23

11d ago25:23

25:23

A video shown on Capitol Hill on September 9 reportedly shows an American hellfire missile attacking and simply bouncing off a UAP (the military term for a UFO). When videos like this come out, speculation about aliens often follows. But our obsession with aliens isn’t new—and it didn’t begin with 1950s alien invasion movies like “The Day The Earth…

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Justice Department sues Uber for allegedly discriminating against people with disabilities, also, FTC launches inquiry into AI chatbot companions 6:37

10d ago6:37

6:37

The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Uber, accusing the ride-hailing company of violating federal law by discriminating against people with physical disabilities. In particular, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) civil rights division claims that the company and its drivers “routinely refuse to serve individuals with disabilities,…