After a two-year hiatus, the Undark podcast returns with a new format and a new name: Entanglements. Join science journalists Brooke Borel and Anna Rothschild as they invite guests with both expertise and divergent opinions on some of the most contentious and politicized areas of science today, from vaccines and GMOs to deep sea mining, AI, and the origins of Covid. Their goal: To see if they can break through the discord and find common ground. Far from an exercise in false balance, Entanglements, like Undark, seeks to bring civil discussion — and a bit of fun and wonder — back to the intersection of science and culture.
Below is the transcript of a preview to the new format. Our first 8-episode season will launch November 11, with new episodes dropping every Monday through the end of the year. You can also subscribe to Entanglements at Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
[Intro music]
Brooke Borel: Hi, Undark listeners. I’m articles editor Brooke Borel.
Anna Rothschild: And I’m science journalist Anna Rothschild.
Brooke Borel: We decided it was high time to reboot our podcast, but we’re trying something new.
Anna Rothschild: Modern science is filled with heated debates.
Brooke Borel: Will AI kill us all?
Daniel Kokotajlo: I mean, I think it might kill us all. I think I’d probably put like, I don’t know, 20 percent chance of that.
Arvind Narayanan: People talking about AI doom have a track record of being wrong for 70 years. So why do we think they’re right this time around?
Anna Rothschild: That’s why, on our new podcast, Entanglements, we’re bringing together experts on opposite sides of an issue and attempting to find common ground.
Brooke Borel: The point is to have an actual conversation about what gets overlooked in these online fights.
Anna Rothschild: Fights like, ‘Should we mine the deep sea’ and ‘Did Covid come from a lab?’
Brooke Borel: Will we get the experts to agree? You’ll have to tune in to find out.
Anna Rothschild: Our first season launches on Monday, November 11th. So listen to Entanglements wherever you get your podcasts.