Every decision we make involves some level of risk, yet we seldom think about it. Our innate risk perception system is always on alert, but mostly at a subconscious level. This week, it's Skeptic Check: Feeling Risky: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ske...
From perception gaps in the risks we take as individuals to society’s assessment of the possible existential risks posed by AI and climate change, Seth Shostak and David Ropeik discuss the psychology of risk on this week’s episode. bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ske...
We like to believe that we are rational when assessing risks, whether that applies to seat belts or climate change. But our decisions are strongly influenced by our emotions, and not simply by facts. It’s “Skeptic Check: Feeling Risky.” bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ske...
From 40,000-year-old writing, to 6-million-year-old ice, to rock formed soon after Earth did, how does understanding these venerable objects have us rethinking our very place on this planet? bigpicturescience.org/episodes/old...
For hundreds of millions of years, Earth, under constant bombardment from space rocks, was inhospitable. So when did Earth turn into a blue planet that could support life? @VicUniWgtn.bsky.social geologist Simon Lamb says the answer is embedded in ancient rocks. bigpicturescience.org/episodes/old...
“Rocks are quite fascinating, and if you're prepared to sort of spend a bit of time looking at them, they are a window on a world that you would never know existed,” says @VicUniWgtn.bsky.social geologist Simon Lamb. Earth’s oldest rocks, on this week’s episode: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/old...
The hunt for old ice recently exceeded expectations when COLDEX the collaborative NSF-funded research center and Oregon State project yielded six-million-year-old Antarctic ice cores. What the oldest ice cores reveal about climate, on this week’s episode: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/old...
Don't forget to vote for Big Picture Science to win a Webby award! It's the last day to vote! vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting...
Having a time machine is handy if you want to understand how our planet has changed over millions of years. Paleoclimatologist Ed Brook tells us how the team at the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX) extracted one out of a block of Antarctic ice. bigpicturescience.org/episodes/old...
A team of Antarctic scientists have extracted a core of the oldest ice on Earth. Now they’re reading the trapped ancient gas bubbles in this block of ice to learn about our changeable climate. On this week’s episode, we go Old School. bigpicturescience.org/episodes/old...
Dots and dashes inscribed into ancient artefacts may be unintelligible to us, but consider how future archeologists might wonder about modern flags, barbershop stripes, or even emoji? Every culture has meaningful symbols says archeologist Huw Groucutt. bigpicturescience.org/episodes/old...
When Roland Pease asked University of Matla archeologist Huw Groucutt if we should consider a series of 40,000-year-old dashes, marks and crosses etched on artefacts to be the birth of writing, he said, “It depends what we mean by writing.” bigpicturescience.org/episodes/old...
The recent discovery of 40,000-year-old notches carved into artifacts suggests that human writing began earlier than thought. On this week's episode, find out what this protowriting suggests about the emergence of complex thought. bigpicturescience.org/episodes/old...
Earth’s oldest ice and rocks hold record of its deep past. Our deep past includes the discovery of the earliest symbolic writing from 40,000 years ago. We consider the big picture of deep time when we go Old School on this week’s episode: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/old...
Great news! We've been nominated for a Webby Award! Our three-part Katrina series is a finalist for Best News & Politics limited series podcast. Now, we need your help. Voting open until Thursday, April 16th!
Cast your vote at bit.ly/webbybipisci
We've been nominated for a Webby!! And you can help us win! To vote, just follow the link, create an account, and confirm your email to make your vote count. Deadline is April 16. Thanks for your support! vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting...
The Arctic may feel far away for many of us, but the changes happening there have an impact around the world, explains glaciologist Twila Moon. "Those of us far away from the Arctic are directly feeling the changes there." More on this week's episode: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ama...
As the Arctic permafrost thaws, ancient plant matter and microbes are exposed, and the landscape is changing rapidly. As Jon Waterman describes in his latest book, Into the Thaw, it's "as if you left frozen spinach out on the counter." bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ama...
The Arctic is warming four times faster than anywhere else on the planet. Glaciologist Twila Moon, deputy lead scientist at @nsidc.bsky.social, joins us to explain the science behind why the Arctic circle is particularly vulnerable to warming. bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ama...
Rising sea levels and other changes in the Arctic climate are putting indigenous villages and cultures at risk, explains Jon Waterman. "People are being forced to relocate, and to change their identities." Learn more on this week's episode: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ama...
Most people are aware that warming temperatures are melting sea ice in the Arctic. But climate change is also creating a phenomenon known as the "greening" of the Arctic. What risks does this pose to an icy landscape? This week, it's "Amazing Arctic" bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ama...
When Jon Waterman returned to the Arctic in 2021, after a nearly 30 year absence, the changes he saw astonished him. He returned the following year to document the transformation for his book, "Into the Thaw." Hear all about it in this week's episode: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ama...
Much of the Arctic is technically a desert, explains author Jon Waterman. But that doesn't mean it is devoid of wildlife. From noisy herds of caribou, to fast-moving wolves, and even the elusive polar bear, we explore the Arctic in this week's episode: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ama...
When author and naturalist Jon Waterman first journeyed to the Arctic in 1983, he said its unlimited horizons and expansive tundra "captured his soul." Journey to one of the world's last wild places in this week's episode, "Amazing Arctic" bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ama...
The beauty of the Arctic is difficult to describe unless you've witnessed it yourself. Environmental writer and former mountaineering ranger Jon Waterman discusses the majesty that can be found at the top of the world in the "Amazing Arctic" bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ama...
As the Arctic warms four times faster than the rest of the planet, an environmental writer describes what it’s like to witness changes to one of the last wild places on Earth. It’s “Amazing Arctic” bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ama...
Witnessing beauty and climate change from the top of the world. It’s “Amazing Arctic” this week on this week's episode: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ama...
Improving crop efficiency could be one answer to solving global food shortages, says Professor Stephen Long. But how exactly are scientists tinkering with photosynthesis? This week’s episode is “Flower Power” bigpicturescience.org/episodes/flo...
Despite being around for billions of years, photosynthesis is not a very efficient process. So much energy gets lost, only 2% ends up being available for the plant. But now, scientists are attempting to change that. This week’s episode is “Flower Power” bigpicturescience.org/episodes/flo...
To see some Flower Power in action, Molly visited the Morcom Rose Garden in Oakland and talked with rosarian Royal Krieger about their many varieties of roses. Some are named after famous people, like JFK and Julia Child. There’s even an “Our Molly” rose! bigpicturescience.org/episodes/flo...