The Swiss Connection takes you inside scientific discoveries from Switzerland and shows how they are shaping global conversations. Each episode dives into the big questions impacting our future, from the realities of AI in labs and hospitals to the science behind climate solutions emerging in the Alps. Explore how researchers are tackling global challenges, whether it’s decarbonising cities, decoding the human body, or understanding the forces reshaping technology and society. With reporting that blends clarity, insight and global relevance, the podcast connects cutting‑edge research to everyday life. If you’re fascinated by innovation, climate science, or the ideas driving...
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Nov 13, 2026 · 23:54
The number of satellites in orbit is growing fast, as is the amount of space debris. But a perfect storm is brewing: there are no clear rules for handling potential collisions,…
Sep 1, 2026 · 26:21
AI is changing so much in the world of healthcare, including diagnosing illnesses. The technology means this can be done much faster and more accurately than ever before. Between…
Aug 18, 2026 · 21:14
What if we told you there was a way to cut emissions from your car and it didn’t involve any changes to the engine? A Swiss chemical engineer is developing a synthetic, “drop‑in”…
Jul 28, 2026 · 18:44
Who does AI really serve in the end? Is it the people? The companies that profit from this technology? Or is the truth more nuanced? On this episode of the Swiss Connection…
Jul 14, 2026 · 25:33
Switzerland wants greater digital sovereignty. But how easy is it to break free from Google, Apple and Microsoft? Two Swissinfo journalists attempted to replace Big Tech services…
Jul 7, 2026 · 20:08
In this episode host Jo Fahy talks to swissinfo.ch journalist Luigi Jorio about how ordinary people have been using the legal system to hold companies to account over their…
Mar 24, 2026 · 17:51
In this episode of The Swiss Connection science podcast, we're digging into the push to create a Swiss FabLab, a shared chip fabrication laboratory that brings public research…
Mar 17, 2026 · 24:18
Where do people go when the water takes their land? Guided by a three-year ETH Zurich study and first-hand voices, we trace a pattern that defies the headlines: most climate…
Mar 10, 2026 · 15:21
A bin bag can tell you a lot about a country. We follow the trail of rubbish from Swiss kitchen cupboards and discover why one of Europe’s wealthiest nations still throws away so…
Mar 3, 2026 · 24:11
What does a good life look like when you cap your energy use at 2,000 watts? We take you inside Zurich’s "Hunziker Areal", a car‑free, cooperative neighbourhood turning a bold…
Feb 24, 2026 · 26:44
We follow the 2,800-meter Antarctic ice core from Little Dome C to a -50°C lab in University of Bern, tracing how scientists extract ancient air to probe the Mid-Pleistocene…
Feb 17, 2026 · 13:42
A fingernail‑sized invader is transforming Swiss lakes and the cost of clean water. In this episode, we track the quagga mussel from its arrival in the Rhine to its rapid spread…
Feb 3, 2026 · 16:21
Join host, Jo Fahy, and pharmaceuticals and healthcare reporter, Jessica Davis Pluss, to weigh up the forces shaping pharma in 2026. From AI’s real gains in clinics and labs, to…
Jan 27, 2026 · 26:14
How did longevity go from a social media trend to a focus of serious science? In this special bonus episode our host, Jo Fahy, is joined in the studio by pharmaceuticals and…
Dec 16, 2025 · 3:45
Lost cells on Apple , Spotify and any where you listen to your podcasts. Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Dec 2, 2025 · 20:28
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 fuels…
Nov 25, 2025 · 18:24
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…
Nov 18, 2025 · 16:19
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…
Nov 11, 2025 · 18:31
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…
Nov 4, 2025 · 21:15
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…
Oct 28, 2025 · 21:51
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,…
Aug 21, 2025 · 17:30
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…
Apr 1, 2025 · 42:58
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…
Mar 25, 2025 · 28:34
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…
Mar 18, 2025 · 28:59
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…
Mar 11, 2025 · 17:36
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…
Mar 4, 2025 · 21:24
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…
Feb 25, 2025 · 27:15
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…
Feb 18, 2025 · 3:47
Please sign up for the latest episode SWI swissinfo.ch's new podcast tells the story of the families affected by a private stem cell banking scandal with Switzerland at its…
Dec 10, 2024 · 16:58
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…
Dec 3, 2024 · 17:43
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?…
Nov 26, 2024 · 14:11
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…
Nov 19, 2024 · 14:34
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…
Nov 12, 2024 · 13:41
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…
Nov 5, 2024 · 17:42
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…
Aug 20, 2024 · 23:49
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…
Aug 13, 2024 · 19:10
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…
Aug 6, 2024 · 19:53
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…
Jul 30, 2024 · 13:45
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…
Jul 23, 2024 · 15:06
More than 150 Swiss start-ups have received a boost from California entrepreneurship, and three of them are already worth $1 billion. This is a source of pride for Swissnex in…
Jul 16, 2024 · 19:28
In his 50 years in the USA, St. Gallen psychologist and consultant Herman Gyr has never lost faith in human ingenuity, the ability to learn and adapt to even the most adverse…
Apr 23, 2024 · 16:36
Pharmaceutical giant Novartis invested billions in Slovenia, helping turn the country into a global player in generic drug production. Now, as cheap Asian competitors…
Apr 16, 2024 · 16:22
Forensic science is critical in the search for justice and the fight against impunity. Africa suffers from a dearth of forensic pathologists and Switzerland is helping to boost…
Apr 9, 2024 · 16:05
Over the past two years, experts have unearthed thousands of Roman military artefacts littering a hillside in southeast Switzerland. The first Roman battle site ever discovered…
Apr 2, 2024 · 11:51
It’s 20 years since Concorde made its final commercial flight, ending the first era of supersonic travel. A Swiss start-up is part of a new generation of aviation pioneers trying…
Mar 25, 2024 · 18:09
Researchers in Zurich are using drones to collect environmental DNA (eDNA) in a technique combining robotics and genetics that could change our understanding of Earth’s…
Mar 12, 2024 · 16:29
Scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) near Geneva are taking the next steps towards creating a huge particle collider. With the Future Circular…
Dec 7, 2023 · 12:38
Artificial intelligence chatbots like ChatGPT generate remarkably human-like results. But how intelligent is it really? SWI swissinfo.ch visits Lab42, a new AI lab in Davos,…
Nov 21, 2023 · 11:29
When and where the next avalanche will happen is hard to predict. In a special cold laboratory in Davos, researchers simulate the effects of wind on fresh snow to better…
Nov 14, 2023 · 11:21
Solar irradiance provides heat and light for life. It waxes and wanes with the cycle of solar activity, which currently cannot be predicted accurately. Solar storms can have a…
Nov 7, 2023 · 13:26
The small city of Davos in southeastern Switzerland, located at an altitude of 1,560m above sea level in the Swiss Alps, attracted tuberculosis patients back in the 1800s and…
Oct 31, 2023 · 11:45
Before 1960, broken bones were treated simply by using plaster casts or traction. Then 13 Swiss surgeons began rethinking fracture treatment: they standardised instruments,…
Oct 25, 2023 · 8:41
The Swiss town of Davos is famous for mountain slopes, winter sports and the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. But did you know that it also attracts scientists and…
Dec 22, 2021 · 20:58
Construction workers got a surprise recently while laying a pipeline underneath Lake Lucerne in central Switzerland. On the lake floor they found the traces of a prehistoric…
Nov 29, 2021 · 26:07
In this second part of our two-part series on assisted suicide, SWI reporter Kaoru Uda tells host Susan Misicka what it was like to accompany two Japanese patients who came to…
Nov 9, 2021 · 10:33
Every year, over 1,000 seriously ill people end their lives in Switzerland with the help of suicide assistants. Assisted suicide is legal in several countries, including…
Oct 12, 2021 · 19:45
Now that Switzerland has approved marriage for all, host Susan Misicka talks with some couples who explain why it's important to them. We also hear from opponents of Swiss…
Sep 28, 2021 · 16:33
In this encore episode of The Swiss Connection, we visit Swiss century-old pen and pencil maker Caran d'Ache. Podcast host Susan Misicka takes a tour of the factory and feels a…
Sep 14, 2021 · 15:06
Swiss designers gave us the big-name Helvetica and Frutiger typefaces in the 20th century. Now a modern-day designer from Basel is collaborating on a new font that we might soon…
Aug 31, 2021 · 24:35
How soon will we start buying our groceries with Bitcoin? What kind of scams do we need to be aware of? And why is Switzerland so sweet on cryptocurrencies and blockchain? SWI…
Aug 12, 2021 · 10:47
A gorgeous location for a film festival: Locarno in southern Switzerland. The international event features about 200 films in 10 days. But what makes the Locarno Film Festival so…
Jul 20, 2021 · 20:14
Swiss architect Renata von Tscharner has devoted over two decades to improving the public spaces along the Charles River in Massachusetts. She even hopes to get people swimming…
Jul 6, 2021 · 31:00
In this episode host Susan Misicka introduces our sister podcast, Inside Geneva. Nuclear weapons were banned by international treaty at the start of 2021. But the treaty doesn’t…
Jun 22, 2021 · 22:48
The success of Swiss chocolate depends on cocoa beans harvested far away, often with the help of minors. In this episode we discuss whether it's OK for children to work, and how…
Jun 9, 2021 · 17:01
What does soil sound like, and what do those sounds mean? We find out from the world’s first scientist to use acoustics to research the soil and underground biodiversity. Also,…
May 26, 2021 · 23:09
Switzerland missed its target to reduce its carbon footprint in 2020. But there are still some promising developments when it comes to electric mobility in Switzerland – on the…
May 12, 2021 · 29:33
In this follow-up to "The Dirt on Digging for Gold" we hear about some measures to make the gold trade more sustainable. Swiss anti-corruption champion Mark Pieth provides…
Apr 27, 2021 · 17:51
The past year has been a strange time for all of us. It can be even harder if you’re an expat. One in ten Swiss people lives outside of Switzerland. In this episode, we hear from…
Apr 13, 2021 · 20:12
Switzerland is the home of some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies. But when it comes to coronavirus vaccines, the Swiss pharma giants are not part of the…
Mar 30, 2021 · 23:20
The case of a Swiss couple abusing Indian children – and getting away with it – shows the limits of the international police network. Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a…
Mar 16, 2021 · 24:21
Multiple spy agencies, secret documents, international intrigue, and a Swiss company's encryption machines are at the heart of this episode. But does anybody really know the…
Mar 2, 2021 · 30:29
Switzerland is celebrating a rather awkward anniversary this year. It was only 50 years ago that women got the right to vote at the federal level. What was the hold-up? And…
Feb 16, 2021 · 32:05
Sometimes changing names and continents is the best way to cope in a pandemic. For Swiss country music singer-songwriter Florian Fox, this meant moving to Nashville, Tennessee.…
Feb 2, 2021 · 19:32
Switzerland is the world’s leading gold refiner. But in spite of efforts to make the supply chain more transparent, there are still some big questions about the origins of all…
Jan 19, 2021 · 25:18
Part three of a three-part series about the connection between nostalgia and homesickness. If a friend abandoned you in a foreign country, how angry would you be? And how healthy…
Jan 5, 2021 · 28:22
Part two of a three-part series about the connection between nostalgia and homesickness. We "meet" a medical student who attended Basel University in the 17th century, and we try…
Dec 22, 2020 · 18:13
Part one of a three-part series about the connection between nostalgia and homesickness. For this we travel back in time to join two backpackers exploring Europe in the 1980s,…
Dec 16, 2020 · 23:10
In 2020, getting the kind of schooling you want for your kids sometimes meant moving halfway across the world, at the drop of a hat. Meet a Swiss woman in California who did just…
Apr 19, 2020 · 11:35
When you first see her with her sleek bob and glossy fingernails, it’s kind of surprising to learn that Gabriela Martina was raised on a farm. But it’s memories of her rural…
Mar 26, 2020 · 25:27
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Mar 22, 2020 · 31:40
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Mar 15, 2020 · 21:03
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Mar 7, 2020 · 31:09
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Feb 11, 2020 · 30:56
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Jan 22, 2020 · 32:22
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Jan 19, 2020 · 14:32
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Jan 12, 2020 · 27:22
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Jan 5, 2020 · 11:15
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Dec 17, 2019 · 26:22
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Dec 10, 2019 · 11:31
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Dec 8, 2019 · 12:52
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Nov 21, 2019 · 27:29
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Nov 3, 2019 · 10:41
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Oct 31, 2019 · 24:07
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Oct 6, 2019 · 26:48
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Sep 16, 2019 · 12:23
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Sep 7, 2019 · 22:44
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
Aug 25, 2019 · 10:52
Send us Fan Mail SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.
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