Plague pandemics conjure images of dirty medieval cities. But new evidence has revealed the oldest known outbreak of the disease—more than 5,000 years ago—showing that dense settlements were not necessary for the bacteria to spread and become lethal. It is the latest example of how sequencing ancient genomes can open up a wealth of new data for archaeologists and historians. It is a technique that is rewriting the history of our species.

Guests and hosts:

• Sam Wikeley, The Economist’s science correspondent
• Eske Willerslev of the University of Cambridge and the University of Copenhagen
• Pontus Skoglund of the Francis Crick Institute
• Julietta Steinhauer of University College London
• Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

The Francis Crick Institute’s exhibition, “We Go Way Back”, showcasing their ancient DNA research, opens on July 16th in London.

Topics covered:

• Ancient DNA
• Plague pandemics
• History

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What happens if AI models get so good that they can build their own successors? So model A builds a better model B, which then builds an even better model C, without any humans to slow things down? The answer could be a high-speed rush towards an AI superintelligence that is beyond human understanding, and possibly beyond human control. This process, known as recursive self-improvement, may be much closer than people realise—perhaps just a couple of years away. So is the world ready for an artificial intelligence explosion?

Guests and hosts:

• Max Tegmark, MIT physics professor, co-founder and leader of the Future of Life Institute
• Alex Hern, The Economist’s AI writer
• Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Recursive self-improvement in AI
• Anthropic’s Fable 5
• US export ban

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

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Working out what might be going wrong inside your gut can involve invasive tests. What if you could swallow a pill to monitor your health instead? Engineers are developing miniaturised, ingestible electronics to diagnose, monitor—and even treat—medical conditions. In the future, these electronics could even be made entirely from food.

Guests and hosts:

• Giovanni Traverso of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• David Adam, a journalist for The Economist
• Reza Ghodssi of the University of Maryland
• Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Medical technology
• Targeted drug delivery

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

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There’s a lot of medical misinformation online. How do you know who, or what, to trust? To help you think through the fog, we’re bringing you two conversations on health, medicine, evidence and trust in the digital age. In this second episode, we discuss how scientists build consensus and what that can teach the rest of us about navigating an era of confusing, social-media-driven health advice.

Guests and hosts:

• Helen Pearson, author of “Beyond Belief” and a senior editor at Nature
• Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Evidence-based medicine
• Clinical trials
• Artificial intelligence

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

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Many people turn to the internet for medical advice. But there’s a lot of misinformation out there. To help you think through the fog, over the next two weeks we’re bringing you two conversations about health, medicine, evidence and trust in the digital age. In the first episode, we diagnose the problem: how online influencers and AI diagnoses are turning people away from evidence-based advice.

Guests and hosts:

• Deborah Cohen, author of “Bad Influence”
• Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Wellness trends
• Healthcare technology
• Artificial intelligence

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

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A rare disease spreading on a cruise ship triggered memories of covid-19. But while people worried about hantavirus cases reaching their shores, a much larger outbreak of Ebola took hold in central Africa. The two outbreaks have come in the wake of a series of worrying developments for international public health agencies: America has left the World Health Organisation and the country has also gutted its spending on international aid. How should pathogenic threats be handled in this post-aid era?

Guests and hosts:

• Slavea Chankova, The Economist’s health-care correspondent
• Nicole Tischler of Fundación Ciencia & Vida, Chile
• Tom Geisbert of the University of Texas Medical Branch
• Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Andes hantavirus
• Bundibugyo Ebolavirus
• Pandemic preparedness

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Not long ago, AI models struggled with basic arithmetic. Now, they’re solving complex mathematical conjectures. But researchers want to go further. They think AI could help them organise the mathematical literature into a common language—thereby finding connections between hitherto-disparate fields and, perhaps, even making completely new discoveries in one of the most fundamental areas of human inquiry.

Guests and hosts:

• Anjani Trivedi, The Economist’s global business correspondent
• Terence Tao of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
• Patrick Shafto of America’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
• Maryna Viazovska of L'École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
• Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Mathematics
• Large language models
• Autoformalisation

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What is consciousness? It’s a question scientists have been struggling to answer for decades. Author Michael Pollan has been searching for scientific evidence that could unlock the mystery. His journey extends from humans to animals and even plants. But could consciousness ever exist in machines?

Guests and hosts:

• Michael Pollan, author of “A World Appears”
• Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor

Topics covered:

• Consciousness
• Sentience
• Neural correlates of consciousness

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

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