Everything you learned in science class is being reconsidered

This week on On The Line, Jen Gerson sits down with Philip Ball, one of the world’s most respected science writers, for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of modern science and the art of explaining it. Ball reflects on his journey from laboratory scientist to science communicator, and what it means to challenge old assumptions about the world around us.

This episode is brought to you by Universities Canada. From cancer treatments and clean water technologies to quantum computing and AI, university research is driving discoveries that change lives. These breakthroughs start in Canadian university labs, but their impact is felt in every community. Universities carry out nearly 40 per cent of Canada’s research and development, generating more than $55 billion in economic impact each year. Every dollar invested returns benefits for Canadians: new treatments, stronger industries, and thriving communities. But research requires sustained federal support. Without it, Canada risks losing talent and ideas abroad. To learn more, visit Univcan.ca.

Gerson and Ball talk about how the science many of us learned in high school is being reconsidered — from the Big Bang to the origins of life — and how even the most fundamental ideas are far less settled than they once seemed. Along the way, the discussion touches on the mysteries of consciousness, the shifting relationship between science and culture, the role of critics in keeping the field honest, and the challenge of making complicated ideas understandable without losing their meaning.

This episode is also brought to you by the Daily Bread Food Bank. Working-age Canadians with disabilities experience poverty and food insecurity at twice the rate of the general population. The Canada Disability Benefit was designed to address this, but at $6.67 a day, it fails to cover essentials like food, housing, and medication. Daily Bread Food Bank and coalition partners urge the federal government to fully fund the benefit to lift those it was meant to serve out of poverty. Join thousands of Canadians calling for change to help ensure people with disabilities can live a life of dignity. Take action at FundTheBenefit.ca.

It’s an engaging conversation about curiosity, humility, and why the pursuit of knowledge never really ends.

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