The Swiss Connection
Discover science and innovation in Switzerland with the Swiss Connection Podcast! From the tiniest particles to the vastness of space, satisfy your scientific curiosity and join our journalists while they talk to researchers working on projects ranging from rocket building and AI to medicine and climate solutions.
This podcast is produced by SWI swissinfo.ch, a multilingual public service media company in Switzerland.
Episodes
84 episodes
Special announcement: Season wrap for longevity, please try out Lost Cells
Lost cells on Apple, Spotify and
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3:42
Rethinking Aging: Science, Society, And The Stories We Tell
Want a longer life that still feels like yours? We sit down with psychologist Christina Röcke of the University of Zurich’s Healthy Longevity Center to unpack what actually f...
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Season 6
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Episode 6
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20:25
How Michael Hall’s TOR Discovery Reframed Longevity Science
We trace how a soil-derived drug led to the discovery of mTOR, why growth control sits at the core of aging biology, and where evidence ends for humans. Michael Hall’s quiet breakthroughs explain fasting, autophagy, and rapamycin without the hy...
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Season 6
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Episode 5
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18:21
Big Pharma steps up race for AI-discovered drugs
What if the most valuable drug candidates aren’t found but designed on demand? We follow a chemist’s journey from a pencil-and-paper notebook to generative algorithms that propose novel, IP-free molecules tailored to specific targets, and we op...
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Season 6
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Episode 4
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16:16
Women’s Health Meets Drug Design and Medical Research
We trace how sex and gender shape drug development, from male-heavy mouse studies to the split results in Lecanemab’s Alzheimer’s trial. Experts explain why regulators should keep approvals moving while demanding smarter design, better reportin...
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Season 6
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Episode 3
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18:28
Cracking the Alzheimer’s Code
Alzheimer’s disease is more than age-related memory loss—it’s a serious brain disorder. In this episode of the Swiss Connection Science podcast, Swissinfo healthcare reporter Jessica Davis Pluess explores the science, hope, and controversy surr...
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Season 6
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Episode 2
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21:12
Swiss Longevity clinics: modern-day snake oil or the key to healthy ageing?
The search for the elixir of life has been going on since time immemorial – and Switzerland has played a key role. Although scientists have yet to come up with a winning formula, the Alpine nation has a booming market for treatments, pills and ...
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Season 6
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Episode 1
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21:48
Listen again: Herwig Schopper, Former CERN head has served science and peace for 100 years
We’ve received the sad news that former CERN director and experimental physicist Herwig Schopper has passed away at the age of 101. He was considered the grandfather of the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, helped promote peace throug...
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17:28
Lost Cells, Ep.6: The Canaries
This is the final episode of 'Lost Cells', a short investigative podcast series. The production is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast made in collaboration with Piz Gloria Productions, Fut...
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Season 5
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Episode 6
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42:55
Lost Cells, Ep.5: In Limbo
Over the next two episodes, we're proud to present 'Lost Cells', a short investigative podcast series. The production is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast made in collaboration with Piz G...
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Season 5
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Episode 5
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28:32
Lost Cells, Ep.4: The Hunt
Over the next three episodes, we're proud to present 'Lost Cells', a short investigative podcast series. The production is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast made in collaboration with Piz...
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Season 5
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Episode 4
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28:56
Lost Cells, Ep.3: The Program
Over the next four episodes, we're proud to present 'Lost Cells', a short investigative podcast series. The production is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast made in collaboration with Piz ...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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17:33
Lost Cells, Ep.2: Seeds of Hope
Over the next five episodes, we're proud to present 'Lost Cells', a short investigative podcast series. The production is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast made in collaboration with Piz ...
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Season 5
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Episode 2
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21:21
Lost Cells, Ep.1: The Promise
Over the next six episodes, we're proud to present 'Lost Cells', a short investigative podcast series. The production is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast made in collaboration with Piz G...
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Season 5
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Episode 1
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27:12
Lost Cells is out now!
Please sign up for the latest episodeSWI swissinfo.ch's new podcast tells the story of the families affected by a private stem cell banking scan...
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3:45
Unveiling Ancient Life: Microorganisms in Melting Glaciers in Swiss Alps
This episode takes listeners to the Rhone glacier in the Alps, which is rapidly melting and releasing ancient microorganisms. These microorganisms, which have been trapped in the ice for thousands of years, are now being studied by scientists f...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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16:55
Climate solution for the future: How to keep cities cool during heatwaves
Cities tend to get hotter than the countryside when a heatwave hits. What can be done about these urban heat traps? How can hot summers be made more tolerable for city dwellers? SWI swissinfo.ch asked an expert at the federal technology institu...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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17:41
Turning concrete into a carbon sink: an innovative Swiss approach to decarbonizing the construction industry
This episode explores a groundbreaking Swiss innovation that could revolutionise the construction industry. Join us as we delve into Neustark's pioneering method of turning concrete waste into a carbon sink, permanently removing CO2 from the at...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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14:08
Young Swiss scientists boost rocket research
Swiss students are propelling the future of space travel with innovative reusable rocket technology, putting Switzerland on the map in the global space race. SWI swissinfo.ch took a closer look at their projects in northern and western Switzerl...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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14:31
Why Swiss scientists want to find ice on comets
Using a new type of instrument, two astrophysicists from the University of Bern hope to get a little closer to unravelling the mystery of the solar system's origins. They believe the key to this lies in the ice that can occur in a dust layer on...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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13:38
Herwig Schopper, Former CERN head has served science and peace for 100 years
Swissinfo talks to Herwig Schopper, former CERN director, the grandfather of the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, who helped promote peace through a Middle Eastern science hub and has his qualms about the Nobel Prize. If Herwig Schop...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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17:39
Switzerland and Silicon Valley: EP6 Sherry Wong ‘Living in a society where capital is strong and the welfare state is weak‘
For artist and researcher Şerife (Sherry) Wong the popular image of visionary geniuses who change the world from their garages is an illusion. “We are idealising the myth of the inventor, the American dream of the man who, from nothing, becomes...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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23:47
Switzerland and Silicon Valley: EP5 Fred Turner ‘The dream of tech companies serving humanity has turned into a nightmare‘
In this episode, we talk to Stanford University professor Fred Turner, who’s been studying the impact of new media technologies on American culture for decades. Turner is also among those most vocal in denouncing the injustices faced by people ...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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19:08
Switzerland and Silicon Valley: EP4 Pamela Munster ‘From cancer doctor to cancer patient and back again’
Pamela Munster, a world-renowned oncologist, has been working in San Francisco for 15 years. In this episode, she recounts her battle against breast cancer. You can find more written and video content about this story on SWI ...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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19:50
What Switzerland can learn from Silicon Valley: EP3 Connected through Innovation
In this episode, SWI swissinfo.ch sat down with Claude Zellweger, Google's in-house design guru. We discussed the role of designers in tech innovation, AI, and the future of education. He also shared his thoughts on the challenges facing the te...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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13:43