Podcasts

There’s nothing quite like a Canadian winter. Majestic scenery, fun outdoor activities, and brutally cold days that cause your heating bill to skyrocket. Scientists and engineers at Natural Resources Canada believe a promising technology can help reduce your energy consumption, the heat pump. What are heat pumps? How do they work? Why is everyone talking about them? Are they right for you? Listen to find out.

In Cape Bathurst, where Canada's mainland meets the Arctic Ocean, an entire coastline is burning. Aptly named the Smoking Hills, it's home to a really unique geological feature: a deposit of sedimentary rock that's been burning and smouldering continuously for thousands of years. On this episode, we'll be speaking with a research scientist who visited the hellish landscape to study it first-hand.

There are, on average, over 4,000 earthquakes in Canada each year. Many of those earthquakes occur in Western Canada, but Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces also see their fair share of seismic events. On this episode, we’ll be speaking with a seismologist who has spent over 30 years studying earthquakes in Eastern Canada.

On this episode, we’re going to look at a real-life bug battle that rivals Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III! We have with us an entomologist — or bug expert — who’s going to break down this iconic matchup. Make sure to listen to find out which bug is brave enough to take on the spruce budworm.

We use methane every day to heat our homes, grow our food, create fertilizers and produce things like hydrogen that we use in clean fuel cells. But methane is a really potent greenhouse gas and a significant contributor to global warming. On this episode, we discuss what is methane, how we use it, and how we can reduce the amount we release in the atmosphere.

Southeast of mainland Nova Scotia sits "Sable Island", a small crescent shaped island home to magnificent wild horses and one-of-a-kind wildlife. But with the potential impacts of climate change on sensitive coastal areas, can a small island made entirely of sand survive the forces of nature in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? On this episode, we talk to scientists with new research examining the future of Sable Island.

Scientists make discoveries by building on previous discoveries made by scientists before them. But what happens when the next generation of scientists is not an accurate representation of the population? What happens when we fail to bring in fresh perspectives? On this episode, we talk about the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the world of science.

When it comes to nuclear energy, Canada has always been an innovator. This goes all the way back to 1952 with the development of the world-renowned CANDU reactor. Seventy years later, Canada is leading the charge once again. On this episode, we talk about the future of nuclear energy — small modular reactors. Photo Credit: Third Way