More or Less - Has a company really discovered a million new species?

Have a million new species just been discovered?

That’s the claim made by Dr Oliver Vince, co-founder of a company called Basecamp Research, who are collecting genetic data to train AI systems. The hope is that they’ll be able to use this to discover new medicines.

But is this number a good one? Rob Finn, from the European Bioinformatics Institute, explains what is being counted and how you go about counting them.

Credits: Presenter and producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Dave O’Neill Editor: Richard Vadon

The Commentary Magazine Podcast - Mergers and Inquisitions

Today we discuss Paramount Skydance's seemingly successful outbidding of Netflix in the race to purchase Warner Bros. and the grim reality of a media that refuses to adapt to the shifting digital landscape. Plus, the massive American military buildup in the Middle East as war with Iran inches closer.

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Pod Save America - 1127: Trump’s Dangerous War Games

The White House debates going to extreme lengths to get the American public to stomach a war with Iran, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tries to force Anthropic into letting him use their AI model to operate autonomous murder drones. Jon and Dan react with horror and then discuss the rest of the news, including the administration's new fraud-focused message, the draft executive order that the administration may use to declare a national emergency before the midterms, and a new report that Trump's Justice Department removed some documents from the Epstein files that accused the President of sexually abusing a minor. Then, Tommy talks to an organizer in Arizona about Vote Save America's effort to recruit people like you to run in down-ballot races in the Grand Canyon State and all over the country.

NPR's Book of the Day - A psychoanalyst and a priest share insights in ‘Love’s Labor’ and ‘Work in Progress’

New books by a psychoanalyst and a priest have something in common: They draw on the experience of holding other people’s stories. Stephen Grosz says his book, Love’s Labor, is a collection of “hard-won truths” he’s arrived at through sessions with his patients. In today’s episode, he speaks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about his observations on love, work and relationships. Then, Father James Martin joins NPR’s Scott Detrow for a conversation about Work in Progress. They discuss the litany of odd jobs Martin held before becoming a priest – and what ultimately led him to the church.


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