Neuroscience podcasts

Madeleine Finlay interviews Boston University neuroscientist Steve Ramirez about locating, activating and removing rodent memories, and possible applications in humans.

Hosted by Madeleine Finlay

Chris Smith presents research on individual differences in fruit flies, colour-linked pupil responses in synaesthesia, and how mating patterns broaden cognitive variation in chickadees. The episode also examines which species succeed in cities and how DNA organisation changes in cancer. The publisher provides a full episode player and individual interview transcripts.

Hosted by Chris Smith

This Nature Podcast episode examines human brain organoids transplanted into mice lacking a cerebral cortex, where extensive cellular integration could create an in-vivo platform for testing therapies and studying human neurobiology. It also covers research highlights and Paper2Agent, an AI system that turns research papers into interactive virtual corresponding authors able to answer questions and support complex scientific tasks.

The Science Show reviews a new approach to detecting and measuring concussion, a repurposed satellite for mapping the Universe, intervention to conserve a potentially sterile native plant, AI support for people with dyslexia, and how recommendation algorithms influence reading choices.

Hosted by Robyn Williams, Belinda Smith

Carolyn Bertozzi explains why sugars on cell surfaces matter for communication between cells and how new chemical methods make these complex molecules accessible to research. The discussion connects this work to neuroscience, biological aging and drug development.

Hosted by Nicholas Weiler

Marco Facchin discusses how neuroscience and philosophy explain cognition, including embodied and enactive approaches, the importance of biological detail, and limits of computational accounts. The conversation also examines predictive processing, representation and the role of AI in understanding brains and minds.

Hosted by Paul Middlebrooks

Corey Keller discusses how transcranial magnetic stimulation can probe and influence brain networks. He explains efforts to measure the brain's response to stimulation and to understand why treatment outcomes differ, outlining the opportunities and remaining uncertainties in developing more precise psychiatric interventions.

Hosted by Nicholas Weiler

Andrew Huberman and Fei-Fei Li discuss how artificial intelligence works, spatial intelligence, human cognition, creativity, learning, health and human agency.

Nature staff discuss evidence from whales and mole rats suggesting that DNA repair may contribute to longevity, and how COVID-19 can reactivate dormant viruses.

Ishmail Abdus-Saboor explores why touch can feel painful or pleasurable and how scientists study those experiences. The conversation connects sensory pathways to social behavior and evolution, including work with unusual animal models and the challenge of interpreting subjective experience through experiments.

Hosted by Janna Levin

Andrew Huberman explains how key neuromodulators shape motivation, energy, focus and mood, with science-supported behavioral, nutritional and supplement strategies.

Alison Barth explains how distinct neuron types contribute to cortical function and how learning can be used as an experimental window into the organization and plasticity of cortical circuits.

Andrew Huberman and immunologist Max Krummel discuss immune function, sleep, emotions, memory, the thymus, autoimmunity, cancer and immunization.

Leanne Williams explores how brain imaging could help explain biological differences among people with similar mental-health symptoms. She describes research on brain-network patterns in depression and the possibility of using those measurements to support more individualized diagnosis and treatment.

Hosted by Nicholas Weiler

Nature staff discuss evidence that young tyrannosaurs hunted from birth, the weapons used by ancient Egyptian princesses and London’s emerging role in artificial-intelligence safety.

Nature reporters discuss evidence for a distant Jupiter-mass exosatellite and the discovery of a rare transmissible cancer in wild catfish.

Nature staff discuss the discovery of a four-carbon sugar molecule in interstellar space and a newly decoded formula that identifies a Maya mathematician.

Julia Kaltschmidt investigates whether signaling between the gut and brain helps explain persistent fatigue. She describes research on the enteric nervous system and sickness responses, including a proposed reflex that could connect infection to longer-lasting symptoms and guide future work on biomarkers.

Hosted by Nicholas Weiler

Nature reporters discuss the chemical signal used by naked mole-rat queens to maintain reproductive hierarchy and how people reason when learning unfamiliar games.

Kathryn Nave discusses how living systems acquire meaning and intelligence through organization, constraints, and active inference. The conversation connects the free-energy principle and organizational closure to questions about brains, cognition, agency, and the boundaries of intelligent life.