Anything but Pedestrian – Courtney Coughenour & Jenny Pharr

Making robots more human than ever

Scientists develop a thin sensor that can provide robots and prosthetic devices a dynamic sense of touch, simultaneously detecting pressure and deformation similar to human skin.

The job costs of automation

Each additional robot replaces about 3.3 workers low- and middle-skill manufacturing jobs, and also lowered wages by roughly 0.4% during the same time period.

Mindless vs. distracted eating

Engaging in some forms of “distracted” eating may cause people to eat less, whereas engaging in “mindless” eating may cause people to eat more.

Why writing was invented

Was writing invented for accounting and administration or did it evolve from religious movements, sorcery and dreams?

Coronavirus could disrupt weather forecasting

Data on temperature, wind and humidity from airplane flights has been cut by nearly 75%-90% due to groundings from the coronavirus pandemic.

Closest black hole to Earth

Astronomers discover a black hole lying just 1,000 light-years from Earth, with two companion stars visible to the naked eye.

Life's more stressful than in the 1990s

People between 45 and 64 years old report experiencing more than 15% more stress than the general population.

Upcoming guests

Emily Ho from Northwestern University joins us to discuss her article "Measuring information preferences" [to be recorded April 15, 2020]

Daniel Field from The University of Cambridge joins us to discuss his article "Late Cretaceous neornithine from Europe illuminates the origins of crown birds" [already recorded]

Amalia Bastos from the The University of Auckland join us to discuss her article "Kea shows three signatures of domain-general statistical inference"  [already recorded].