HAVE YOU HEARD? // New Scientist Weekly

Have You Heard? is a series in which the team from Pod Bible meet the people behind the podcasts you may not have heard of yet. While the Oh. My. Pod. section in the magazine gives a quick shout out to shows of that ilk, Have You Heard aims to go deeper in an effort to spread awareness for shows that deserve more exposure! In this week’s edition we sat down with Rowan Hooper to discuss their podcast, New Scientist Weekly.

POD BIBLE: Who are you, what is your podcast called, and what’s it about?
ROWAN HOOPER: I’m Rowan Hooper, I’m a New Scientist journalist and I host New Scientist Weekly, the show that gives you your weekly fix of must-know, compelling and just mind-boggling science stories. 

PB: Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?
RH: We wanted to connect with anyone interested in science in a chatty and immediate way, and get our content out to a podcast audience. 

PB: What’s the first podcast you ever listened to?
RH: It was probably Radiolab but the first one I got really hooked on was Serial. 

PB: Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?
RH: It’s not a science show but I like Pod Save America because of the depth of expert, insider knowledge that you get from listening. That’s something we want to get over on our show. 

PB: Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?
RH: We’ve probably had our dream guest – Greta Thunberg. I’ve been asking Elon Musk for an interview but he’s always busy…same with the Dalai Lama.

PB: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?
RH: Our show is a conversation and we’ve learned to try and make it informal and accessible to everyone but also totally authoritative. 

PB: Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?
RH: I love episode 15, where we look at how music will change in the future, using Nancy Sinatra, Radiohead and Aphex Twin as examples, AND we hear about the mystery of powerful radio waves detected from across the universe. 

PB: Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?
RH: New Scientist Weekly is available at all the usual podcast places and Newscientist.com/podcasts also via the podcast’s Twitter or mine.

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