If you’ve ever experienced a state of creative flow, perhaps when writing, playing music, or even gardening, you’ll know that it feels like everything just clicks into place. But what is actually happening inside the brain?This week, we're re-running an episode first published in June 2024 featuring neuroscientist John Kounios at Drexel University in the US. He scanned the brains of jazz musicians as they were improvising, and revealed the secret ingredients need to achieve a state of creative flow.This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware. Sound design and mixing by Eloise Stevens and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Read the full credits for this episode and sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.
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LSE IQ: is AI destroying the planet?
AI is transforming the world around us, offering increased productivity and promising to tackle difficult problems like global warming. But behind the scenes, its environmental costs are mounting. From massive energy use to vast quantities of water required to cool data centres, AI’s footprint is growing fast. So, in an age of water scarcity and climate crisis, can we justify this technological boom?As The Conversation Weekly team takes a production break in August, we're delighted to bring you an episode of LSE IQ, an award-winning, monthly social science podcast produced by a team from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Each episode they ask leading social scientists and other experts to answer one intelligent question and speak to people affected by the issues explored. Like artificial intelligence. In this episode of LSE IQ which aired in early May, producer Anna Bevan sets out to find out the environmental costs of AI. This episode was produced and edited by Anna Bevan, with script development from Sophie Mallet and on location sound recording from Oliver Johnson. Mixing help for this episode for The Conversation from Eloise Stevens. Subscribe to LSE IQ here.
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Teaching animals irrelevant skills can reveal the secrets of cognition
Scientists can get animals to do the strangest things. They’ve taught goldfish to drive cars, primates to perform calculations with Arabic numerals and giraffes to do statistical reasoning. But what’s the point?In this episode, biologist Scarlett Howard from Monash University in Australia – who has taught bees to tell the difference between odd and even numbers – defends the importance of these seemingly ecologically irrelevant experiments.She argues that they can help us understand the secrets of animal cognition, and even potentially unlock future technological developments for humanity too.This episode was written and produced by Katie Flood. The host and executive producer is Gemma Ware. Sound design and mixing by Eloise Stevens and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Read the full credits for this episode and sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.
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How the world got hooked on plastic
Countries around the world are meeting in Geneva in August to negotiate a global plastics treaty aimed at curbing plastic pollution. The last round of negotiations failed last November after oil-producing countries refused to sign up to a clause calling for the world to reduce its production of plastics. But how did the world become hooked on plastic in the first place? This week, we're re-running an episode we first aired in January 2025 featuring an interview with Mark Miodownik, professor of materials and society, at UCL in the UK. He explains the history of plastic, how it’s shaped our lives, and what can be done to make sure more plastic is recycled and less ends up polluting the planet.This episode was written and produced by Katie Flood and Gemma Ware with assistance from Mend Mariwany. Sound design and mixing by Michelle Macklem and Eloise Stevens and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Read the full credits for this episode and sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.
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How Rupert Murdoch helped to build brand Trump
Donald Trump is suing Rupert Murdoch, alongside the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones and others, for libel after the Journal published an article alleging that Trump once wrote a “bawdy” birthday letter to the convicted sex offender, the late Jeffrey Epstein. Trump is seeking US$10 billion in damages. Trump and Murdoch have a transactional friendship that goes back decades. Despite past tensions, this rupture is something new in a relationship that has continued to serve both men’s interests.In this episode, professor of journalism Andrew Dodd at the University of Melbourne takes us back to where their relationship began in 1970s New York, to understand how Murdoch helped to build brand Trump.This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware with editing help from Ashlynne McGhee. Sound design and mixing by Eloise Stevens and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Read the full credits for this episode and sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.
A show for curious minds. Join us each week as academic experts tell us about the fascinating discoveries they're making to understand the world, and the big questions they’re still trying to answer. A podcast from The Conversation hosted by Gemma Ware.
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