The Science Hour
Produced by the BBC’s World Service, this weekly podcast keeps you abreast of the more startling discoveries made by the planet's lab-coated boffins, giving you more pub ammo than you’ll know what to do with. From “weird ice dunes” on Pluto to the unearthing of an unknown human-like species, it’s all here – and all amazing.
Radiolab
For a more eccentric, less news-based take on science, this popular US podcast from journalists Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich offers a unique blending of scientific discussion, philosophical posers and suitably leftfield music. You’ll feel your dinner-party-convo stock rising almost instantly.
StartUp
Currently on its second season, StartUp offers fascinating insights into what happens when “someone who knows nothing about business starts one”. Host Alex Blumberg covers areas such as “How not to pitch to a billionaire”, “How to name your company” and “How to value your startup”.
The Jay & Farhad Show
The Bang and Olufsen of tech podcasts. Farhad Manjoo of the New York Times and Jay Yarow of Business Insider get you up to speed with the latest happenings in apps, gadgets and the internet. If you want/need to know what Google, Apple, Samsung and the rest are going to do next, Jay and Farhad are yer boys.
Startalk Radio
Want to expand your mind out to the very corners of the universe? Beloved US science personality Neil deGrasse Tyson unravels the mysteries of the cosmos while staying the right side of accessible and entertaining. Tyson’s star-sized gravity pulls in some serious guests: most recently, exiled whistleblower (and self-confessed space-geek) Edward Snowden.
99% Invisible
You might not think an audio series about a subject as visual as design would work, but whaddya know, it does. Served up as snack-sized 15-minute episodes, 99% Invisible finds host Roman Mars (cool name) revealing the design processes and eureka moments that went into objects both everyday and esoteric: from high heels to Freud’s couch, shopping malls to airport carpet.
The Math Dude
“Math can be confusing and scary,” says Dr Jason Marshall, “but it doesn’t have to be!” Marshall takes migraine-inducing subjects – vectors, permutations, imaginary numbers – and makes them feel accessible and even fun. He’ll even teach you how to bang out percentage calculations in your head. One thing, though, Jason: it’s maths. With an S.
TEDTalks Health
TED conferences and broadcasts have brought us some of the most thought-provoking and *cough* “disruptive” presentations of recent times, and this video podcast series offers words of newfound wisdom from doctors and researchers operating out at the cutting-edge of keeping us humans healthy.
TEDTalks Health
TED conferences and broadcasts have brought us some of the most thought-provoking and *cough* “disruptive” presentations of recent times, and this video podcast series offers words of newfound wisdom from doctors and researchers operating out at the cutting-edge of keeping us humans healthy.
The Tim Ferriss Show
If you're into life-hacks that are actually useable in everyday life, Tim Ferriss – author of books such as 4-Hour Chef and 4-Hour Work Week – has got some killer tips for you. Insightful but kinda cheeky with it, he gleans pearls of wisdom from his long-form interviews with everyone from neuroscientists to investors to Pixar cofounder Ed Catmull.
