Anthropology podcasts

Experiments using a giant wave machine test how salt marshes protect shorelines during extreme storms. The episode also explores evidence about Denisovan faces, orangutan mothers arranging play encounters, and the unequal effects of medieval lead exposure.

Nature’s science-prize roundup discusses the research recognised by the 2026 Nobel prizes: light-based control of neurons, detection of cosmic neutrinos and the emergence of handed organic molecules. A further segment examines what gut microbes can reveal about ancient human populations and journeys. Research highlights address young viewers of online sports videos and observations of black-hole jets. The episode connects neuroscience, particle physics and chemistry with evolutionary questions about the human microbiome.

This edition of The Science Show covers extinct big cats and early humans, the material properties behind durable Roman concrete, the history of technological disruption by space weather, and methane-consuming microorganisms living in tree bark.

Hosted by Robyn Williams, Belinda Smith

Meagan Cantwell and Andrew Lawler discuss archaeological evidence for psychoactive substances in pre-Inca Andean cultures, including how improved residue analysis informs interpretations of ancient rituals. Sarah Crespi then speaks with Noam Angrist about implementation science in education: moving from controlled studies to interventions that governments can deliver at scale in lower- and middle-income countries. The publisher provides the full episode, transcript and external audio.

Hosted by Sarah Crespi

Nature editors discuss nearly 400 structures that reveal the scale of the Aquiry civilization and tiny fossils of an early squid ancestor.

A Nature Podcast episode examines a compact orbital detector designed to identify hidden nuclear devices and research on threats to Indigenous plant knowledge.

Thomas Hylland Eriksen discusses meaning, relationships and human experience through anthropology and personal reflections. Conversation in Norwegian.

Thomas Hylland Eriksen discusses broad accounts of human history and questions conventional narratives about the development of complex societies. Conversation in Norwegian.

Erik Tunstad and Vibeke Riiser-Larsen discuss Neanderthals and how evidence has changed accounts of their lives and relationship with humans. In Norwegian.