{"podcast":{"title":"The World, the Universe and Us","slug":"the-world-the-universe-and-us-601524","podcast_index_feed_id":601524,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/ARML6831509338","website_url":"https://www.newscientist.com/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/f22f7b82-8d70-11ef-9557-7b534e653208/image/090b01ebf055769a0cfc5e9ac956962b.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"New Scientist","episode_count":444,"summary":"From the evolution of intelligent life, to the mysteries of consciousness; from the threat of the climate crisis to the search for dark matter, The world, the universe and us is your essential weekly dose of science and wonder in an uncertain world. Hosted by journalists Dr Rowan Hooper and Dr Penny Sarchet and joined each week by expert scientists in the field, the show draws on New Scientist’s unparalleled depth of reporting to put the stories that matter into context. Feed your curiosity with the podcast that will restore your sense of optimism and nourish your brain. For more visit newscientist.com/podcasts","last_synced_at":"2026-06-13T02:20:08.188658+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-world-the-universe-and-us-601524"},"episode":{"title":"We Now Have Early Warning Signal Of Ocean Current Collapse","slug":"we-now-have-early-warning-signal-of-ocean-current-collapse","published_at":"2026-03-09T00:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-world-the-universe-and-us-601524/we-now-have-early-warning-signal-of-ocean-current-collapse","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-world-the-universe-and-us-601524","url":"https://tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML1307272364.mp3?updated=1772797546","audio_url":"https://tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML1307272364.mp3?updated=1772797546","summary":"Episode 349 One of the most vital systems of ocean currents - needed to keep life in northern Europe stable - is at risk of collapse. And now we can predict when it’s going to happen. Thanks to the work of climate scientists, we now have a model that tells us when major shifts in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) are expected. The AMOC is the Atlantic conveyor belt that keeps northern Europe temperate. If it turns off, northern Europe would be plunged into freezing conditions that would decimate agriculture and upend life as we know it. And it’s becoming clear that it is already weakening. Rowan Hooper is joined by climate journalist Alec Luhn. Together they explain how the AMOC and gulf stream work, why fears of a “tipping point” have been growing in recent years, and how this new model helps us prepare for the worst. Also hear from climate scientist René van Westen, who co-authored the report in Nature. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Listen to the latest episode of New Scientist CoLab: https://newscientist.com/eternalpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"Episode 349 One of the most vital systems of ocean currents - needed to keep life in northern Europe stable - is at risk of collapse. And now we can predi…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1511,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-world-the-universe-and-us-601524/episodes/we-now-have-early-warning-signal-of-ocean-current-collapse/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-world-the-universe-and-us-601524/we-now-have-early-warning-signal-of-ocean-current-collapse.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}