📢 New Episode Alert!

This week, I chatted to Dr. Simona Aracri from the National Research Council of Italy about innovative robot designs for oceanography and environmental monitoring. 🤖 🐟

Listen now: www.robottalk.org/2026/04/10/e... #Robots #Robotics #Environment #Marine

Glad you enjoyed the article! It’s such an intriguing phenomenon.

Today is Jane Goodall Day. Her movement continues. April 3 now carries a different kind of weight. It was always Jane Goodall’s birthday. Now it is also a marker—a point in the year when people are asked not just to remember her, but to do something w...

April 3, now recognized as Jane Goodall Day, is a day of action to carry forward the habits and responsibilities she encouraged, rather than simply commemorate her

A long-time @mongabay.com advisory board member, we got to know this legend & bask in her glow, and carry her message of hope forward:

‪
🌳 Do you want to contribute to research on how humans perceive forests? Take this quick, anonymous 10-min survey 🌲

👉 www.biodiful.org#/forest

This will help us explore how people experience forest biodiversity!

Please share on 🦋 & tag @biodiful.bsky.social to reach more participants 🙏💚

🌐🌍🦤🦑🪴🍁🧪

Promising breakthrough creates plastics that self-deconstruct on cue: Study Plastics have a gigantic built-in problem: They’re tenacious, which is very good for a milk jug or a car bumper. But they don’t easily break down, which is bad for the environment. From the 1950s,…

Chemists have developed a "self-deconstructing" plastic that can be programmed to break down on cue.

Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a method to modify materials so they break down into molecular components at a specific time or in response to triggers.

Story by Claire Asher.

Promising breakthrough creates plastics that self-deconstruct on cue: Study Plastics have a gigantic built-in problem: They’re tenacious, which is very good for a milk jug or a car bumper. But they don’t easily break down, which is bad for the environment. From the 1950s, whe...

Plastic pollution is a global environmental crisis, but what if we could design plastics that automatically break down after use? 🧪

My latest article for @mongabay.com looks at a recent study that used clever chemistry to do just that.

news.mongabay.com/2026/03/prom... #CircularEconomy #Plastics

A photo of Andy wearing a white shirt with an embroidered pattern.

Curious about #robots inspired by insects? 🤖

Later this season, I'll be chatting to Prof. Andrew Philippides from @sussex.ac.uk about what we can learn from ants and bees to improve robot navigation.

Send me your questions for Andy in the comments below!

Agroforestry offers market-based way to boost Amazon rains & farmer incomes (analysis) The Amazon Rainforest generates its own weather. Each day, the forest’s 390 billion trees release approximately 20 billion metric tons of water vapor into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration,…

Brazil has cleared vast Amazon areas, and the impacts go beyond biodiversity loss.

Further deforestation could push it toward a tipping point. Agroforestry offers a path to restore forests while producing commodities, according to a new analysis.

** Views are author's.

This International Day of Women and Girls in Science I'm celebrating all the amazing women in robotics that I've had the pleasure of chatting to on Robot Talk. Their achievements have made the world a better place. #WomeninScience #February11

Amazon deforestation may rise 30% as major traders exit historic soy pact As global soy giants walk away from a landmark pact, land grabbers move in to clear the forest for new crops.

Major soy traders including Cargill, ADM and Bunge are exiting the Amazon Soy Moratorium — a move that could raise deforestation by 30% by 2045.

Observers warn it sends a “green light” to land speculators, even as forest loss threatens rainfall, yields and long-term market stability.

Perfect. I'll send you an email on Monday. Thanks! 😊

📢 New Episode Alert!

This week, I chatted to Dr. Amir Patel from @ucl.ac.uk about designing robots with the agility and manoeuvrability of a cheetah. 🤖

Listen now: www.robottalk.org/2026/01/16/e... #Robots #Robotics #BioInspired #Environment #Wildlife

Leaving academia: insights from evolutionary biologists on their career transitions and job satisfaction Abstract. Many who have obtained PhDs in evolutionary biology will ultimately pursue careers that fall outside a narrow definition of an academic career. A

The #editorschoice for this month is Forum Article:

Leaving academia: insights from evolutionary biologists on their career transitions and job satisfaction

Betancourt et al.
@claireasher.bsky.social
@liverpooluni.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...

UPDATED – Factcheck: How ‘scary-sounding numbers’ are being used to mislead the UK about net-zero | @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org

Read here: buff.ly/Be7nHfA

Ants need urgent protections from global trade, conservationists say As the recent seizure of more than 5,000 endemic ants in Kenya reveals, ants have become part of a thriving global wildlife trade. Transnational traffickers are mopping up ants from the wild to sell…

After Kenyan authorities seized 5,000+ endemic ants, conservationists warn ants are now part of a growing global wildlife trade.

Traffickers target rare species for hobbyists, risking ecosystem damage and invasive outbreaks — yet no ant species are protected under CITES.

Hi Josh! I'm very interested in this opportunity, but it won't let me DM you (I hadn't completed the age verification and the system to do that seems to be down currently!). Is there an email address I can use to contact you?

Ooh this looks great! Thanks for bringing it to my attention 😊

📢 New Episode Alert!

This week, I chatted to Dr. Christine Evers from @unisouthampton.bsky.social about helping robots understand the world around them through sound. 🤖

Listen now: www.robottalk.org/2026/01/09/e... #Robots #Robotics #Sensing #MachineLearning

‘Internet of Animals,’ a unified wildlife tracker, set to resume after hiatus A global system dubbed the “internet of animals,” which tracks wildlife via satellite, is one step closer to becoming a reality. Project ICARUS, an initiative that taps into advances in wireless…

After a three-year hiatus, Project ICARUS has resumed operations. The satellite-based system aims to create an “internet of animals,” using advanced trackers to monitor wildlife movements, behavior and interactions with ecosystems worldwide.

📢 New Episode Alert!

This week, I chatted to Prof. Stefano Mintchev from @ethz.ch about robots to explore and monitor the natural environment. 🤖

Listen now: www.robottalk.org/2025/12/19/e... #Robots #Robotics #Environment #UAV

Comedian Robin Ince quits Radio 4 show, claiming BBC found his views ‘problematic’ Ince says he resigned as co-host of Infinite Monkey Cage because of what he described as his lack of ‘obedience’

Beautifully said: “They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness [and] empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn’t pamper myself with the luxury of silence.”
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/d....

‘Silent epidemic of chemical pollution’ demands radical regulatory redo, say scientists An international team of scientists has issued a stark warning that current toxicology and chemical regulatory regimes are failing to protect public health and the environment from a host of toxins…

A team of 43 scientists says pesticide and plastic regulation needs a major overhaul. Full commercial formulations—often containing petrochemical waste and heavy metals—can be far more toxic than the tested active ingredients.

They call for stricter limits, full-formulation testing, & public data.

How solar storms that cause the Northern Lights have the power to wreak havoc on Earth The aurora borealis can bring stunning night skies, but hidden dangers can accompany the Northern Lights to disrupt life on earth as Chris Fawkes explains.

How the solar storms that cause the Northern Lights can wreak havoc on Earth. 🔭 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti...

Why There’s No Such A Thing As A ‘Perfect Green’ | Femi Oluwole | Zack Polanski YouTube video by Bold Politics with Zack Polanski

And this week's episode of @boldpolitics.bsky.social is with @femi-oluwole.bsky.social

Loved this conversation and welcome to the party, Femi!

youtu.be/UTmCzWMalWA?...

A photo of Claire (host of Robot Talk) wearing headphones, with a microphone in front of her. Text reads: "Join the Robot Talk community on Patreon. Use the code WINTER25 for 50% off!".

📣 This festive season, I'm offering 50% off your first month's membership of the Robot Talk community on Patreon!

Just use the code 🎟️ WINTER25 to apply the discount to your chosen membership tier: www.patreon.com/ClaireAsher

How To Platform Socialist Ideas Through Billionaire Owned Channels | George Monbiot | Zack Polanski YouTube video by Bold Politics with Zack Polanski

I really loved this conversation with @georgemonbiot.bsky.social - I've thought about it lots ever since.

Hope you enjoy it too!

youtu.be/3xx6lNFx8tI?...

The secret to building a global newsroom? Lead with impact, says Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler “We only get so much time on this planet, and I want to make the most of it.” That sense of urgency has driven Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler since his teens, when he visited a…

Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler reflects on 25 years of impact-driven journalism — from a hand-coded site in 1999 to a global newsroom today.

Butler says the next 25 years of Mongabay will focus on strengthening impact and empowering the next generations of leaders in environmental journalism.

The Moon Was an Inside Job

NEW: Not long after Earth formed, it received a giant sucker punch when an object named Theia crashed into it, unleashing debris that made the Moon. But where did Theia come from—the outer solar system?

Nope. The Moon-making impact was an inside job.

Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/s...

mars rover socks showing zoomed in view perseverance rover analysing a rock and ingenuity flying above

james webb space telescope christmas ornament

jwst jewelry set featuring earrings and pendant necklace based on the 18 hexagon primary mirror

Curiosity rover wheel pendant necklace in sterling silver being held in hand

🎂 It's #ScienceSocks 6th anniversary! 🥳

Celebrate with me by raising money for #STEM! 🤑

For the next 48h I will donate:

* 20% of sales on sciencesocks.co 👈
* $1 per repost

Get a head start on #holiday shopping 😎

Please like, repost and let's party🕺💃

🔭🐡🧪🎨#bsnm

A photo of Amir wearing a dark blue shirt and a grey backpack.

What would you love to know about bio-inspired #robot movement? 🤖

Later this season, I'll be chatting to Dr. Amir Patel from @ucl.ac.uk about designing robots with the agility and manoeuvrability of a cheetah.

Send me your questions for Amir in the comments below! #Robotics