
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 u... more
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 402 | Founded | 6 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | ScienceNews | |||

Episode 335
Exercise has been shown to shrink tumours by 60 per cent. A new study shows another link between regular exercise and cancer prevention, this time revealing that muscle cells may outcompete cancer cells for energy - basically starving th... more
Episode 334
Which sperm is the oldest sperm - the ancestor sperm that came before all others? Well, you might think it links back to an ancient animal that came before us, but the oldest sperm may actually predate animals altogether. We explore this... more
Episode 333
It’s not often you get to see or hear someone playing music on a conch shell. So prepare yourself for a musical treat with musician and podcaster Steve Pretty, who brings into the studio a trumpet and a collection of his favourite conche... more
Episode 332
For only the second time, the genome of an ancient Denisovan has been sequenced - thanks to the discovery of a 200,000-year-old tooth found in a Siberian cave. This ancient member of the human family has long been a mystery, so this geno... more
People also subscribe to these shows.





This is a great podcast for anyone wanting to get a clear and accessible introduction to the latest developments in science. The hosts do a wonderful job of guiding listeners through complex ideas in a way that’s both engaging and entertaining. I especially enjoy listening to Dr Penny’s sweet voice, which makes the experience even more delightful. Keep up the excellent work! ❤️
Looking forward to it every week! Love the hosts, I could listen to them talking about science and being super fun and witty for hours. I recommend listening to everyone -- keeps you informed, questioning, and lifts the mood!
I’ve been listening on and off for a few years and in that time I’ve been consistently surprised by a luddite, sceptical undercurrent in these discussions. Take for example a recent episode on LLMs, where the bulk of the time focused on how poorly they function and how unethical it is to use them. I can imagine if this were set 140 years ago, we would be hearing about how unreliable the automobile functions compared to horses or the velocipede and how unethical it is to even try driving one.
I love the revamped show. Still keeps the New Scientist integrity, but also sets itself apart. Two thumbs up!
Always informative and fun. And btw - since this weeks episode was on the subject - listening to NS is one of the best ways to use your smartphone or tablet
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #239 | |
Spotify | #20 | |
Apple Podcasts | #27 | |
Apple Podcasts | #136 | |
Apple Podcasts | #64 | |
Apple Podcasts | #10 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
Covering a wide array of topics from the evolution of intelligent life to the intricacies of climate change, this podcast invites listeners to feed their curiosity and explore scientific wonders in an engaging and accessible manner. Each episode typically features expert guests alongside the knowledgeable hosts, offering insights that blend current scientific research with relevant global challenges. Discussions often touch on emerging technologies, environmental issues, and the quests to uncover unfathomable mysteries like dark matter, creating a rich tapestry of information for those seeking to understand the world around them. Particularly notable is its ability to balance complex topics with a sense of optimism while maintaining a conve... more
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for The world, the universe and us. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to The world, the universe and us and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for The world, the universe and us, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for The world, the universe and us, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers The world, the universe and us has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with The world, the universe and us:
1. Science In Action
2. BBC Inside Science
3. Science Weekly
4. The Naked Scientists Podcast
5. The Life Scientific
The world, the universe and us launched 6 years ago and published 402 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for The world, the universe and us from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of The world, the universe and us. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on The world, the universe and us include:
1. Steve Pretty
2. Bill Bryson
3. Turi King
4. Alex Kay
5. Carissa Wong
6. Daniel Yon
7. Anjana Khatwa
8. Chamkaur Ghag
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.