Concerns about adversaries hacking democracy abound, but it’s sheer incompetence we should really be worried about, writes Annalee Newitz

Why? Because that’s our reality here in the year 2020.

NASA’s InSight lander has been on the surface of Mars for over a year now – here are five of its strangest and most fascinating discoveries from the Red Planet

Astronomers have spotted an asteroid that has been captured by Earth's gravity, making it a temporary mini-moon. It will probably fly away again in April

Our measurements of the Hubble constant can't seem to come up with a consistent answer. What we learn next may alter our view of the cosmos, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

The leading hypothesis for how the moon formed involves a collision between a Mars-sized object and Earth that would have boiled away elements like carbon, making its discovery on the moon a mystery

Startup Cerebras has built a wafer-size chip for AI, but it isn’t the only one possible

Blue Frog Robotics CEO Rodolphe Hasselvander on the future of Buddy

“I didn’t ‘sell out’ by making my dreams come true.”

Alex, Kelley, Nathan, and Peter have all descended into the slums of Midgar, so the Final Fantasy VII Remake dominates our Now Playing, but Anna Marie still manages to answer a question left over from last week about Persona 5 Royal. Our listeners recount their memories of the original FF7 and we even manage to squeak in some news of the week too.

The ‘haunted doll’ look of Donald Trump’s son-in-law has attracted a lot of attention. When people comment on famous women and surgery there is often a backlash, but should the same apply here?

What has happened to Jared Kushner’s face?
Richard, by email

People get a little antsy about the subject of cosmetic surgery: they don’t like to be asked if they have had it, and public speculation over whether someone else has had it is generally considered to be de trop. I don’t really get this. Maybe it’s because I am 100% the world’s worst liar, but pretending to not see that someone’s face has completely changed is a form of magical thinking that is just beyond my capabilities.

A new national U.S. survey finds that nearly 80 percent of respondents would be concerned about themselves or an expectant mother in their life in the midst of the current COVID-19 outbreak, with almost half expressing fear of going to a scheduled prenatal appointment.

In Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, we finally steer away from seeing intimacy through the male gaze

The portrayal of lesbians in mainstream cinema tends to involve prosthetic vaginas and gratuitous sex scenes; so Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire comes as a breath of fresh air. It is the story of the burgeoning relationship between two young women – emancipated artist Marianne (Noémie Merlant), who is commissioned to paint a portrait of sexually repressed Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), leading to a heated romance.

On paper, it looks like the classic lesbian cinematic narrative – there is a buildup of tension, they finally kiss, and then their possibility of a future together seems doomed. However, what makes Portrait of a Lady on Fire different is its heightened self-awareness. The film is constructed with lesbian representation in mind through careful interrogation of the lesbian gaze. There is a lot of looking. Marianne looks at Héloïse because she has to secretly paint her, and Héloïse looks at Marianne out of curiosity. Eventually, there is a shift in the way they start looking at each other – out of desire.

Donald Trump takes a jab at the South Korean film Parasite, best picture at this year's Oscars, telling supporters in Colorado that the US has 'enough problems with South Korea', and: ‘Can we get Gone With the Wind back?’ He also dismisses Brad Pitt, who – during his Oscars speech said his 45-second slot was more than John Bolton received at the US president's Senate impeachment trial. Trump calls the actor a 'little wise guy'

• Parasite's best picture Oscar could kickstart a new era of internationalism
  

An affectionate and absorbing documentary from film-maker Rachel Mason about her devout parents, who ran a famous adult bookstore in early-80s LA

Here is a documentary with an absorbing and unexpectedly complicated story to tell, whose paradoxes and sadnesses are not entirely resolved by the end. Artist and film-maker Rachel Mason has created an affectionate portrait of her elderly parents, Karen and Barry, who in many ways are like one of the (fictional) old couples in When Harry Met Sally.

Karen is a former journalist, devoutly Jewish, and Barry is a former special visual effects engineer who worked on Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 and invented a modification for kidney dialysis machines. But they found themselves in a tough financial spot in the early 1980s and took over Circus of Books, a gay porn bookstore in Los Angeles that also sold movies called things like Confessions of a Two Dick Slut and Don’t Drop the Soap, and was one of Larry Flynt’s first distribution points. Under their shrewd management, the store boomed, opened another branch and became a well-known meeting place for LGBT people, while all the time, the Masons were a conventional family who kept their three children well away from the business. Karen movingly – and honestly – recounts how upset she was to discover that one of her sons was gay: the business and family life were that separate.

Bill Maher said Republicans "don't care" about Tara Reade's sexual assault allegations, saying such claims are simply used as a "unilateral weapon" against Democrats.

Video games can fill the productivity and social void in this unusual time

Epic Games is finally settling its feud — kind of — with Google and putting Fortnite onto the Google Play Store, but the studio sounds pretty pissed about it. When Fortnite launched on mobile in 2018, Epic Games very notably sidestepped the Google Play Store and pushed users to download the title directly from their […]

Even before the COVID-19 shutdown, venture funding rounds and total deal volume of VC funding for esports were down noticeably from the year prior. The space received a lot of attention in 2017 and 2018 as leagues formed, teams raised money and surging popularity fostered a whole ecosystem of new companies. Last year featured some […]

Many studies suggest coronavirus has low transmission rates among children, but there are still risks to reopening schools that were closed due to social distancing policies

Four coronaviruses cause around a quarter of all common colds, but each was probably deadly when it first made the leap to humans. We can learn a lot from what happened next

F1 remains hopeful that the season can start in early July with a double header at the Austrian Grand Prix, and that 15-18 of the 22 scheduled races can yet be completed. “It’s going to be very empty," Hamilton said Saturday, evoking the subdued atmosphere of pre-season testing in Spain. “For us it’s going to be like a test day, probably even worse than a test day in a sense," the Mercedes driver said.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday his administration is talking to Republican senators about work visa issues, amid the coronavirus outbreak that has wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy.

They say the hornet “hype" reminds them of the “killer bees” scare of the 1970s

Nicki wed Kenneth Petty last year.

Rep. Justin Amash announced he's seeking the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination — a move which history suggests will hurt the Democratic candidate, but could pull votes from both Biden and Trump.

Meat production this week is up about 3 percent compared with the previous week, according to market reports by SiriusXM’s Rural Radio. That’s still off by as much as a third from a year ago. The numbers are causing some retailers to ration fresh meat purchases or risk selling out their entire supplies. The beef,... Continue Reading

Relationships that suffer as a result of unreconcilable politics may force you to make a decision. To make that less distressing, choose consciously.

Deepen your understanding of the natural world with these free resources

With the COVID-19 coronavirus causing a global pandemic, a look back at the scientists who figured out viruses and their relationship to disease

An early childhood education expert provides tips about how to explain the ongoing pandemic to children

Though COVID-19 likely makes recovered patients immune, experts aren't sure how long protection lasts

False information about the pandemic is rampant; here’s how experts say you can identify what news to trust and what might be faulty

An American doctor operating out of Philadelphia made clinical observations that where patients lived, not how they lived, was at the root of the problem

On April 22, 1970, Americans pledged environmental action for the planet. Here’s what scientists and we, the global community, have done since

Evidence continues to mount that the Neanderthals, who lived in Europe and Asia until about 40,000 years ago, were more sophisticated people than once thought. A new study shows that Neanderthals chose to use bones from specific animals to make a tool for specific purpose: working hides into leather.

A recent study has described new states that can be found in super-cold atom experiments, which could have applications for quantum technology.

Coronavirus: the symptoms Read our LIVE updates on the coronavirus here

Follow our live coronavirus updates here Coronavirus: the symptoms

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The heir to the throne, 71, spent seven days self isolating at his Scottish home Birkhall, when he was told he had contracted the disease late last month.

Follow our live coronavirus updates here

England's Deputy Chief Medical Officer has defended the Government's response to the coronavirus outbreak and its distribution of vital protective equipment to frontline workers.

A Zoom blunder from Wales's health minister left fellow politicians with their heads in their hands as he was heard swearing about a colleague with his microphone still on.

A nurse from New Zealand who cared for Boris Johnson as he battled coronavirus says he "absolutely needed" intensive care treatment after his symptoms worsened.

Memorial services will be held in Australia and New Zealand this week to mark Anzac Day.

A couple who were living their dream of sailing across the Atlantic have shared their "shock" of returning to land and hearing the news about the global coronavirus pandemic.

Services around the world have been disrupted due to the coronavirus crisis

University students have told how they are more anxious than excited about starting their careers after graduation amid the coronavirus pandemic.