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Nature Podcast

15 August 2019: Atomic espionage in the Second World War, and exploring the early Universe

Nature Podcast

podcast@nature.com

News, Science, Technology

4.5893 Ratings

🗓️ 14 August 2019

⏱️ 26 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, spilling nuclear secrets, and a mysterious period in the Universe’s history.


In this episode:


00:46 "The most dangerous spy in history"

We hear the story of Klaus Fuchs, who gave away the details of building an atomic bomb. 

Books and Arts: The scientist-spy who spilt secrets of the bomb


08:00 Research Highlights

Environmental impacts of electric scooters, and the Goliath frog engineers. 

Research Highlight: Trendy e-scooters might not be as green as they seemResearch Highlight: Enormous frogs heave rocks to build tadpole ‘nests’


10:33 Signals from the ancient Universe

Researchers hope that radio signals from ancient hydrogen will further their understanding of galaxy formation 

News Feature: The quest to unlock the secrets of the baby Universe


18:17 News Chat

Changes to the US Endangered Species Act, and what a microbe might tell us about the evolution of complex life. 

News: Trump administration weakens Endangered Species ActNews: Scientists glimpse oddball microbe that could help explain rise of complex life


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Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:23.7

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0:28.8

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0:36.4

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0:38.4

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0:40.4

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0:41.6

They had no idea

0:43.1

But now the data's

0:44.3

I find this not only refreshing

0:47.2

But at some level astounding

0:49.3

Nature

0:52.3

Welcome back to the Nature podcast.

0:58.4

This week we'll be hearing about atomic espionage during World War II

1:02.5

and finding out more about the early universe.

1:06.0

I'm Nick Howe.

1:06.8

And I'm Benjamin Thompson.

1:22.3

Okay. And I'm Benjamin Thompson. I have taken occasion to speak to you tonight because we have reached one of the climacterics of the war.

1:31.0

It's June 1941 and Winston Churchill is addressing the people.

1:36.8

At four o'clock this morning, Hitler attacked and invaded Russia.

1:42.1

This would be the beginnings of an alliance between the UK and Russia,

...

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