Nature Podcast

In this episode, we speak with Hernan Diaz whose most recent novel Ply blends a vision of a dystopian future with questions about selfhood and asks whether advanced physics could be used to unravel the fabric of spacetime itself.

Ply Hernan Diaz Picador (2026)

Music supplied by SPD/Triple Scoop Music/Getty Images
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High-speed footage of takeoffs reveal that the butterfly markings mislead the eye, making them harder to catch.

00:45 Butterflies in flight create confusing motion cues that baffle birds
Research Article: Hancock et al.

14:09 Research Highlights
Research Article: Menezes and Podos
Research Highlight: Huge hoard of metal bars hints at vast Iron Age trade

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In this episode

00:23 How detecting lead could help researchers read damaged Roman scrolls
Nature: Watch scientists decipher burned scrolls without unrolling them

06:42 A biodegradeable, paper-inspired battery
Nature: Edible batteries power medical devices in the body

Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the Nature Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or your favourite podcast app. An RSS feed for the Nature Podcast is available too.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:45 Investigating the day-to-day impacts of Financial Abuse

Nature: Trendl et al.

Support organizations
UK: Surviving Economic Abuse
US: National Domestic Violence Helpline

12:14 Research Highlights
Nature: Mercury is shrinking with age — faster than thought
Nature: Cognitive resilience helps to predict Alzheimer’s dementia

14:55 How opposing forces in the Earth's core alter how the planet spins
Nature: Gravitational tug-of-war inside Earth is changing the length of our days

Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the Nature Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or your favourite podcast app. An RSS feed for the Nature Podcast is available too.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:

00:22 Could secret rooms lie beyond Tutankhamun's tomb?
Nature: Exclusive: New evidence for hidden chambers beyond Tutankhamun’s tomb

05:55 A multifunctional brain–computer interface
Nature: ‘Multifunctional’ brain implant translates speech and gestures in real time

Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.