The Information Entropy Podcast

This week on The Information Entropy Podcast, we’re diving into the science behind the 2025 Nobel Prizes — the discoveries that shaped this year’s biggest scientific headlines.

Firstly, Tom apologises for his audio, we double checked everything but sadly audacity glitches strike again. But if you can bear it, it was a very fun episode!

In Physics, we explore how researchers made quantum mechanics go big, building superconductin...

This week we return for some planetary defence chat with some tangents along the way! The boys start off speaking about the changing nature of AI use and its real-world implications. Once on topic they turn to discussing how one might go about avoiding interstellar catastrophe. Is it possible to move large objects in space out of the way, what about using stellar engines to move the sun and all the planets along with it? What are t...

This week on we’re looking at how Earth protects itself from dangers that come hurtling out of space. Mitch takes us through NASA’s DART mission and what it means for defending the planet against near-Earth objects — those asteroids and comets that occasionally pass a little too close for comfort. Meanwhile, Tom explores solar storms: massive eruptions from our Sun that could knock out satellites, fry power grids, and disrupt life ...

From the phone in your pocket to the car on your driveway, batteries quietly power modern life. But how do these tiny boxes of chemistry actually work? In this episode we crack open the science of batteries — from the basics of anodes, cathodes, and electrolytes, to the differences between lithium-ion, alkaline, and lead–acid cells. We explore why voltage and current matter, how thousands of cells are scaled up to run electric cars...

Join us on this episode as we delve into the stealthy threat of appendicitis. We explore the anatomy of the appendix, why its obstruction turns emergency, how symptoms can mislead even seasoned clinicians, and what scores like Alvarado and AIR add to the diagnostic toolkit. We’ll guide you through the treatment landscape— from keyhole surgery to antibiotic-first strategies—highlighting the risks, benefits, and when each is appropri...

Ever wonder why you keep scrolling, buying, or clicking — even when you know you shouldn’t? In this episode, we dive into the science of attention and the clever tricks marketers and social media platforms use to capture it. From supermarket layouts and clever packaging to TikTok’s endless scroll and online ads, we explore how your brain is being subtly steered and why compulsive behaviours like doomscrolling are so hard to resist....

The universe is vast—hundreds of billions of stars, trillions of planets—so where is everyone? This week we dive into the Fermi Paradox, the puzzling question of why we haven’t found any signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life despite the overwhelming odds. We break down the science behind the paradox, explore the Drake Equation, and examine possible explanations for the cosmic silence—from civilizations being short-lived to the...

This week we’re back in the world of dog minds, digging into whether dogs really understand the words we say, or if we’re just wishful-thinking pet parents. We explore why they might ignore our commands, whether their so-called “bad behaviour” is actually intentional, and how different training styles affect behaviour. It’s dog psychology with a healthy dose of science, scepticism, and sympathy for the little chaos machines we love

The UK’s Online Safety Act just went live — and it's got nothing to do with safety. In this episode, we break down how this sweeping new law threatens free speech, demands intrusive age checks, and opens the door to mass surveillance.

We’ll expose the tech behind the ID dragnet, unpack the VPN boom, and ask the big question: is this the end of online privacy in Britain?

Plug in, encrypt everything, and hit play — your digital freed...

This week we dive into the minds of dogs — exploring how they interpret human gestures, what their behaviour might reveal about their emotions, and whether breed really shapes personality. We break down the science of training, cognition, and attachment — and ask what’s really going on behind those puppy-dog eyes. Turns out, your dog might be understanding more than you think. And probably judging you a little less than you fear. M...

This week we dive into the twisted psychology behind reality TV. From enforced gender stereotypes to the dark influence of producers, we explore how contestants are pushed, manipulated, and reshaped for the cameras. What makes people obey, conform, or completely lose themselves on screen? Think Love Island meets the Milgram experiment—with a dose of online misinformation, social pressure, and the false belief that everyone else thi...

What makes perfectly sane people eat bugs, betray teammates, or forget their own name on national TV? This week, we dive into the wild world of game show psychology—from group conformity and mob mentality to time pressure and full-blown cognitive collapse. We unravel the science behind why the game format lowers our guard, how 30% of a group can flip the entire consensus, and why your brain starts short-circuiting the moment a buzz...

Welcome to this very special episode of the Information Entropy Podcast: Episode 150! Today we take a bit more of a relaxed approach to the structure of the episode exploring a variety of topics that we find interesting such as new space telescopes and their discoveries as well as the influence that games are having and will have on our technology in the future. Thank you to each and every one of you who tunes in, whether for a few...

In this episode of The Information Entropy Podcast, Tom explores one of the biggest mysteries in modern cosmology: the Hubble tension. Why do we get different answers while measuring the expansion rate of the universe? Is our standard model of the cosmos missing a crucial piece of the puzzle?

Join Tom as he journeys from the discovery of cosmic expansion and the Big Bang, through the ingredients of our universe, to the Nobel Prize-...

In this episode of The Information Entropy Podcast, we explore the science of ageing—what it is, why it happens, and how it affects the body and brain over time. We dig into cellular damage, stem cell decline, and metabolic theories like the Rate of Living Hypothesis. Plus, we ask why animals like Greenland sharks live for centuries while others burn out in months, and why time seems to speed up as we get older. Packed with biology...

We’re back for round two on conservation — and this time we’re naming names. From habitat loss and invasive species to climate chaos and pollution, we break down the Big Five threats that are pushing species to the brink.

Mitch digs into the Svalbard Seed Vault, the planet’s frozen backup drive for food and biodiversity, and we unpack the economics of conservation — who pays to save the planet, who profits from wrecking it, and whe...

This week, we’re getting into the wild world of conservation — the science of saving stuff before it disappears forever. But it’s not all noble rangers and panda logos. Conservation is complicated. It’s where ecology crashes headfirst into politics, economics, and some big ethical questions about what we value and why.

We break down what conservation really means today, why it’s not just about protecting animals but entire ecosyste...