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After a two-year hiatus, the Undark podcast returns with a new format and a new name: Entanglements. Join science journalists Brooke Borel and Anna Rothschild as they invite guests with both expertise and divergent opinions on some of the most contentious and politicized areas of science today, from vaccines and GMOs to deep sea mining, AI, and the origins of Covid. Their goal: To see if they can break through the discord and find common ground. Far from an exercise in false balance, Entanglements, like Undark, seeks to bring civil discussion — and a bit of fun and wonder — back to the intersection of science and culture.
After a two-year hiatus, the Undark podcast returns with a new format and a new name: Entanglements. Join science journalists Brooke Borel and Anna Rothschild as they invite guests with both expertise and divergent opinions on some of the most contentious and politicized areas of science today, from vaccines and GMOs to deep sea mining, AI, and the origins of Covid. Their goal: To see if they can break through the discord and find common ground. Far from an exercise in false balance, Entanglements, like Undark, seeks to bring civil discussion — and a bit of fun and wonder — back to the intersection of science and culture.
Episodes

Wednesday Oct 08, 2025
How to Cover Science Under Trump
Wednesday Oct 08, 2025
Wednesday Oct 08, 2025
In the Season 2 finale, our hosts talk to Tom Zeller Jr., Undark’s editor-in-chief, about covering science under the Trump administration. While the podcast's topics are always politically charged, they have become even more so in the current political climate.

Wednesday Oct 01, 2025
Do We Know Enough to Use Psychedelics As Medicine?
Wednesday Oct 01, 2025
Wednesday Oct 01, 2025
This week on Entanglements: Do we have enough scientific evidence to approve psychedelics as medicine? Our hosts unpack the data with Albert Garcia-Romeu, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Bertha Madras, a professor of psychobiology at Harvard Medical School.

Wednesday Sep 24, 2025
What Should We Risk to Settle Space?
Wednesday Sep 24, 2025
Wednesday Sep 24, 2025
This week on Entanglements: Should we live on Mars, and beyond? Our hosts talk to Tiffany Vora, a biologist and space advocate who has done three analog Mars simulations, and Kelly Weinersmith, a biologist and the co-author of the book “A City on Mars."

Wednesday Sep 17, 2025
Should Companies Decide Our Tech Future?
Wednesday Sep 17, 2025
Wednesday Sep 17, 2025
This week on Entanglements: Should tech companies — and the billionaires that often run them — decide for the rest of us how artificial intelligence is deployed? Our hosts dig into the topic with two book authors who have covered AI from essentially opposing perspectives: Greg Beato and Adam Becker.

Wednesday Sep 10, 2025
Should We Revamp Our Voting System?
Wednesday Sep 10, 2025
Wednesday Sep 10, 2025
This week on Entanglements: Should we switch all U.S. elections to ranked choice voting? Our hosts discuss the pros and cons with Deb Otis, director of research and policy for Fair Vote, a non-profit that works on election reform, and David McCune, a professor of mathematics at William Jewell College in Missouri.

Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
Should We Change Our Planet's Climate...On Purpose?
Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
This week on Entanglements: Should we run outdoor geoengineering experiments? Our hosts dive into this fiercely debated topic with an atmospheric chemist from Harvard University and a planetary physicist from Oxford University.

Wednesday Aug 27, 2025
Should We Try to Prevent Autism?
Wednesday Aug 27, 2025
Wednesday Aug 27, 2025
This week on Entanglements: Should we try to prevent autism? Our hosts speak with Jill Escher, a philanthropist, president of the National Council on Severe Autism, and parent of two young adults with severe nonverbal autism, and Eric García, the Washington bureau chief at The Independent, who himself is autistic.

Wednesday Aug 20, 2025
Kicking Off Season 2: Should We Make Viruses More Dangerous – For Science?
Wednesday Aug 20, 2025
Wednesday Aug 20, 2025
We're back! This week on Entanglements: Should we make viruses more dangerous? Our hosts discuss this question, and its contentious history, with a microbiologist from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and a virologist from the Pasteur Institute in Paris.

Monday Dec 30, 2024
Wrapping Up Season 1
Monday Dec 30, 2024
Monday Dec 30, 2024
This week on Entanglements: What did we learn from our first season? What’s on deck for the future? Our hosts explore these questions and more in conversations with a special guest.

Monday Dec 23, 2024
Is Fluoride Toxic at Low Levels?
Monday Dec 23, 2024
Monday Dec 23, 2024
This week on Entanglements: Is fluoride toxic at low levels? Our hosts explore this question in conversations with a professor from the University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry and a neuropsychologist and professor at York University.
