Best Undark Magazine Podcasts (2025)

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Wrapping Up Season 1 21:20

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7M ago21:20

21:20

This week on Entanglements: What did we learn from our first season? What’s on deck for the future? Our hosts explore these questions and more in conversations with a special guest.By Undark Magazine

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Is Fluoride Toxic at Low Levels? 50:14

7M ago50:14

50:14

This week on Entanglements: Is fluoride toxic at low levels? Our hosts explore this question in conversations with a professor from the University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry and a neuropsychologist and professor at York University.By Undark Magazine

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Should We Unleash GMO Mosquitoes? 31:38

7M ago31:38

31:38

This week on Entanglements: Should we unleash GMO mosquitoes? Our hosts explore this question in conversations with a molecular biologist from the University of California, San Diego, and a social scientist from North Carolina State University.By Undark Magazine

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Is the Misinformation Crisis Overblown? 31:21

7M ago31:21

31:21

This week on Entanglements: Is the misinformation crisis overblown? Our hosts explore this question in conversations with a social psychologist from the University of Cambridge and a cognitive scientist from the Intstitut Jean Nicod.By Undark Magazine

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Cannabis and Severe Mental Health Disorders 32:20

8M ago32:20

32:20

This week on Entanglements: Is cannabis safe for people with severe mental health disorders? Our hosts explore this question in conversations with a psychiatrist from Yale School of Medicine and a neuroscientist from the University of Calgary.By Undark Magazine

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Is It Likely that Covid-19 Came From a Lab? 43:20

8M ago43:20

43:20

This week on Entanglements: Could the Covid-19 pandemic have been sparked by a lab leak? Our hosts explore this hot-button question in conversations with a Weill Cornell microbiologist and a Broad Institute scientist who is an avid lab-leak proponent.By Undark Magazine

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Risky Science and Public Consent 28:23

8M ago28:23

28:23

This week on Entanglements: Should citizens decide on risky science? Our hosts talk to an Oxford political scientist and a former law and ethics professor about how democracy should play a role in high-stakes decisions.By Undark Magazine

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Will Artificial Intelligence Kill Us All? 32:41

8M ago32:41

32:41

This week on Entanglements, hosts Brooke Borel and Anna Rothschild talk to a former OpenAI employee and a Princeton professor about AI and doom. Could AI really become an existential threat to humanity? Or is the possibility — highlighted by some 300 AI experts in an open letter last year — overhyped?…

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The Undark Podcast Returns — as "Entanglements" 1:13

9M ago1:13

1:13

The Undark podcast is back with a new format and a new name: Entanglements. Tune in as our hosts explore some of the most contentious topics in science today. Our first 8-episode season will launch November 11, with new episodes dropping every Monday through the end of the year.By Undark

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Ep. 63: For Deep Ocean Mining, Questions Abound 35:29

3y ago35:29

35:29

This month: Some regions of the deep ocean contain vast amounts of key minerals, like cobalt and nickel, that are needed to power clean energy technologies. But some scientists warn that mining them could have tremendous consequences, not just for underwater ecosystems, but for the planet as a whole.…

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Ep. 62: Restoring Landscapes and Livelihoods in Western Bosnia 31:50

3y ago31:50

31:50

This month: Twenty-six years after the end of the Bosnian War, farmers in Livno are once again making cheese the traditional way, grazing herds of sheep on the wide-open plains. The animals' return is restoring natural wetlands, leading to cascading impacts on the environment and the economy.By Undark

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Ep. 61: When Accents Speak Louder Than Words 35:25

3y ago35:25

35:25

For scientists who come from abroad to live and work in America, accents can be personal. It's discouraging to be misunderstood, even when they think they’re speaking clearly. Sometimes, it could even be a career liability. Is the problem the accent, or those on the receiving end?By Undark

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Ep. 60: Cascading Effects of Pollution in Lebanon’s Litani River 37:39

3y ago37:39

37:39

Residents of Lebanon's Beqaa Valley say pollution in the Litani River is responsible for a host of chronic health problems. While a causal link is hard to prove, cleanup efforts are precarious amid the country's economic crisis and shifting blame between refugees and government inaction.By Undark

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Ep. 59: Water Cremation Ignites Debate Over Dignified Death 29:32

3+ y ago29:32

29:32

Alkaline hydrolysis is an end-of-life option that’s gaining popularity in Canada and the U.S. It’s marketed as a greener form of cremation — a way to still end up with ashes, but without sending harmful emissions into the air. But getting the technology approved by lawmakers has proven difficult.By Undark

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Ep. 58: When an Intellectual Disability Means Life or Death 37:41

3+ y ago37:41

37:41

When Pervis Payne was sentenced to death more than three decades ago, it was permissible to execute someone with an intellectual disability. A Supreme Court decision changed that in 2002, but Payne's disability was acknowledged only last year. Why did it take so long to remove him from The Row?By Undark

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Ep. 57: In Lagos, Vulnerable Communities Buried by Urbanization 32:49

3+ y ago32:49

32:49

Urbanization in Lagos, Nigeria, is moving at a rapid clip — burying mangrove forests and wetlands under mounds of sand to make way for wealthy subdivisions. Without strong regulations around how that sand is harvested, the social, economic, and environmental consequences are vast.By Undark

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Ep. 56: Understanding a Terrorist's Brain 31:57

4y ago31:57

31:57

Scientists and counterterrorism experts believe understanding the underlying motivations of radical extremists will help them deradicalize people. Now, one group has studied the brain activity of active extremists after asking them to contemplate the values they are willing to fight and die for.By Undark

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Ep. 55: In Pursuit of Climate-Friendly Refrigerants 23:40

4y ago23:40

23:40

In December of last year, Congress passed legislation that gives the Environmental Protection Agency authority to phase out most hydrofluorocarbons — potent greenhouse gases that keep refrigerators cool — over the next 15 years. But there's no perfect alternative to replace them.By Undark

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Ep. 54: Translating Portugal’s Approach to Drugs and Addiction 29:19

4+ y ago29:19

29:19

Twenty years ago Portugal decriminalized all drugs as part of a bigger national strategy to fight addiction. Last month Oregon became the first U.S. state to do the same, in a policy modeled off Portugal’s approach — but many questions about how success may translate remain unanswered.By Undark

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Ep. 53: ‘Mainstreaming’ Psychedelic Drugs to Treat Mental Health 30:43

4+ y ago30:43

30:43

Amid a worldwide mental health emergency, the discovery of new pharmaceuticals to treat conditions like depression has stalled. But researchers and therapists are showing that when paired with therapy, psychedelic drugs like LSD and magic mushrooms are a new class of promising treatments.By Undark

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Ep. 52: In India, Mismanaging the Monkey Menace 31:48

4+ y ago31:48

31:48

In India, macaque monkeys are a menace — attacking people for food, breaking into offices, and in one state, damaging at least 54 million dollars worth of crops. A sterilization program aimed to curb the population, but some experts and locals question if it’s working or even the right approach.By Undark

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Ep. 51: A Scramble to Define ‘Habitat’ — and the Future of Conservation 30:49

4+ y ago30:49

30:49

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on the dusky gopher frog now has conservationists and developers squaring off over the legal definition of the term ‘habitat.’ The accepted meaning will guide American lawmakers in designating protected areas for endangered species across the country.By Undark

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Ep. 50: Studying and Surviving the Pandemic's Collective Trauma 28:43

4+ y ago28:43

28:43

In South Africa, trauma researchers are studying — and working to ease — the psychological toll of Covid-19, while trying to endure the pandemic themselves. They warn the widespread and long-lasting impacts of this collective trauma could span generations and cross national borders.By Undark

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Ep. 49: When Wildfires and a Pandemic Collide 25:39

4+ y ago25:39

25:39

As smoky summers resulting from wildfires have become the new normal across much of the West Coast, communities have tried to put better systems in place protect their most vulnerable residents. But this year, they didn’t plan on dealing with a smoke wave in the middle of a pandemic. How are they coping?…

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Ep. 48: Capturing the Songs of a Changing Climate 26:48

5y ago26:48

26:48

This month: Acoustic ecologists are racing to record Earth’s shifting soundscapes before they disappear. Some researchers are using their recordings to answer questions about how the environment and its inhabitants are changing, while others are sounding the alarm on pressing conservation issues.By Undark