We revisit our conversations with authors of some of the year’s most fascinating science books in our annual holiday book show. Featuring: Questioning the purpose of whale song — for love or echolocation?Journeying through deep geological time to better tackle problems of the futureBiological sex is complicated, but that's what helps animals like humans thrive Plus, science journalist and BookLab podcast co-host Dan Falk reviews The Martians by David Baron, Dinner With King Tut by Sam Kean and The Mind Electric by Pria Anand.
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Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 82% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 185 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
- 236 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
Transcript
The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.
harder words (B2+)
If you're listening to this, I already know you have great taste in podcasts. But maybe, if you're like me, you still wonder if you're missing out on the best stuff. That's where the Sounds Good newsletter can help you out. Every other Thursday, the audiophiles at CBC Podcasts highlight one must-hear show
and lots of other new and noteworthy titles. They do conversation starters, they do hidden gems, and they also tell you about the stuff they love that they didn't make. Go to cbc.ca slash soundsgood to subscribe.
This is a CBC Podcast. Welcome to the best of Quirks and Quarks. This program was originally broadcast on December 20th, 2025. Hi, I'm Bob McDonald.
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