It’s not that simple

• GENETICS, with Alfonso Martínez Arias

  For decades, we believed DNA held all the answers. But biologist Alfonso Martínez Arias offers a different view: «Genetics is simple, the problem is thinking it’s the answer to who we are».In this live episode of «It's not that simple», recorded at the Salão Nobre of the University of Lisbon, the researcher from Pompeu Fabra University explains why the 21st century will be the century of the cell. Cells communicate, cooperate, and organize to form complex organisms and it’s in this interaction that the secret of life may lie.Martínez Arias invites us to take a step back and look beyond the genome. The 20th century was the century of the gene: we discovered DNA and completed the human genome. But when the biologist observes the human body through the lens of its cells, he finds a different story.According to him, «genes are mechanisms that cells use», and he compares them to IKEA tools: a hammer and screws are not enough to build a piece of furniture; you also need the plan, and that plan only the cells know.From stem cell studies to organoids - small lab-grown replicas of human organs - Martínez Arias shows how biology is reshaping the way we understand development, disease, and even aging.He believes this shift in focus, from genes to cells, will transform medicine. But could these new discoveries transform us too?More on the topic«The Master Builder: How The New Science Of The Cell Is Rewriting The Story Of Life», Alfonso Martínez Arias (John Murray Press)«Elissa Epel: Genetics, chronic stress and ageing» (Science and Education Month, FFMS) «Svante Pääbo: How genetics tells our human story» (Science and Education Month, FFMS) «The Incompleteness of Evolution», with Alfonso Martínez Arias

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• INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM, with Mariana van Zeller

  How far should a reporter go in search of the truth? Investigative journalism demands time, resources, and risk. In this episode of «It's not that simple», with journalist Mariana van Zeller, we discover that in her profession there are no shortcuts.A childhood curiosity took her to Columbia University in New York. From there, she set off on an adventure across more than 80 countries. But what drives someone to infiltrate clandestine networks, cross dangerous borders, and expose themselves to risk just to tell a story?The stories she uncovers are not easy, but they justify the Peabody, DuPont and Emmy awards she has received. From drug cartels to arms traffickers, from corruption to migration routes, each episode demands months of preparation, risky travel, and moments of real tension. «There is a line we should never cross, but we must always come back with chalk on our feet», says Mariana van Zeller, describing her balance between safety and risk.In an era dominated by the attention economy, and, as she says, also by the «economy of rage», where does truth stand? With information becoming disposable, shaped by social media and algorithms, her work gains new urgency: «Investigative journalism is the pursuit of truth, and truth is essential for a healthy democracy.»More on the topic«Trafficked», with Mariana van Zeller, National Geographic«Immigration Barometer: the view of the Portuguese», FFMS«Mariana van Zeller, the investigative journalist who goes deep into empathy», ECO Interview with Mariana van Zeller, RTP

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• GEOGRAPHY, with Tim Marshall

  British journalist and bestselling author Tim Marshall, known for the book «Prisoners of Geography», takes us on a journey through the real world: the one shaped by mountains, rivers, seas and natural borders that define how nations behave.«Geography doesn’t explain everything, but it explains almost everything», he says, and he says it with the clarity of someone who’s reported from twelve war zones, been jailed in Damascus, shot in Cairo and bombed in Belgrade.For Marshall, geography isn’t a detail, it’s the invisible structure that defines who can thrive, who gets blocked, and who ends up in conflict. «If you’ve got wide navigable rivers, deep ports and sea access, you can build ships, trade goods and project power. If you’re surrounded by mountains, shallow coasts or deserts, you’re limited from the start».That structural inequality helps explain the success of the United States, «the most blessed country by geography», and Russia’s defensive mindset: «trapped on an exposed plain where the only defense is controlling buffer zones».Portugal also comes under the lens: «You don’t have direct access to the Mediterranean or the major rivers of Central Europe. You face the sea, and, for a long time, the sea was your power».Throughout the conversation, Marshall discusses climate, migration, populism and emerging tensions. And he’s blunt: climate change is already reshaping global politics. «When a Latin American farmer can no longer grow coffee, he moves north. That kind of mass migration helped elect Trump».The geopolitics of the future, he says, won’t just play out between states, but between zones of despair and zones of opportunity. That means we have to look at the planet as a whole.More on the topic:«The What & The Why», Tim Marshall's podcastIntelligence Squared: «How does geography explain the world?», with Tim MarshallTim Marshall's X account

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• PHYSICS, with Helen Czerski

  In this interview, physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski demonstrates that physical patterns are all around us and explains how they shape our daily lives, connecting human life with the planet’s life.For the researcher at University College London, understanding the world means investigating these invisible patterns, especially those affecting the ocean: how the wind transfers energy to the waves, how sound travels through water to reveal hidden objects and how gases circulate between the ocean and the atmosphere via gas bubbles at the surface of the ocean.In the North Atlantic, for example, the ocean is inhaling carbon dioxide, taking it out of the atmosphere, while in the tropics, it is exhaling it, releasing it back into the atmosphere. «There is a natural balance between the two», insists Helen. «And what is really useful about this is that we remove that gas from the atmosphere, where otherwise it would have contributed to global warming», she explains.«These tiny processes, breaking waves and bubbles at the surface of the ocean, may not seem particularly significant», she adds, «but if we measure all the respiration constantly taking place across the planet, we see that the ocean is actually doing us a huge favour».Those very same gas bubbles revolutionised fishing. Sonar systems, which send sound into the ocean, use them to locate fish. If a fish has a gas bubble in its swim bladder – as most fish do –the sound travels differently through the animal. However, the specialist warns, «this has contributed to overfishing and impacted biodiversity in the oceans».«The key takeaway from all my work is how incredibly interconnected systems are. In the natural world, what happens in one place has impacts in other places», affirms Helen Czerski, citing how even a whale’s urine influences the balance of ecosystems.«Whales feed in the Arctic and migrate to the tropics to mate. While mating, they don’t eat, but still produce urine, which deposits nitrogen on tropical islands», explains the BBC presenter. In places like Hawaii, meanwhile, they take shelter on reefs to rear their calves and end up fertilising these environments, which are not naturally nutrient-rich.But this movement of nutrients has been under threat since industrial whaling began. «We removed one of the mechanisms that made the rest of the system work», and if humanity continues to remove other parts, through overfishing and introducing pollutants to the ocean, «it’s not just a chain that we’ll be breaking, but a whole web of interactions», she maintains.For the time being, Helen Czerski assures that the planet still has the capacity to resist, but recognises that the balance between human life and that of the planet is changing. «I think we have an enormous problem, but also that we have the means to solve it». What we cannot do, however, is carry on dragging our feet –we must act.More on the topic:Helen Czerski's website Helen Czerski's publications (University College of London)«The fascinating physics of everyday life», (TED Talk)«Climate change: A possible future» (Documentary, FFMS) «On the trail of whales, orcas and dolphins in Portuguese waters» (Latest, FFMS)

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• PERFECTIONISM, with Thomas Curran

  «If you look at the amount of spending that's going on right now, on self-optimisation, on self-help and self-improvement, we're at record levels. There’s never been more spending on these books, on these courses, on these coaching sessions… and at the same time, people have never been more miserable, more depressed and anxious».The warning is given by Thomas Curran, a British psychologist and expert in perfectionism, who is concerned about the rapid growth of this phenomenon and the health problems it triggers.In this episode of «It's not that simple», the professor from the London School of Economics explains that perfectionism is not defined by «extremely high» personal standards or by «high levels of striving to achieve them», but also by the insecurity that is the fire that goes underneath those high standards.Behind the extreme demands, there are always doubts as to whether we are sufficient, if we are capable of being up to it, he underlines. «This is huge and a cause for concern because perfectionist insecurities and concerns are very tightly correlated with mental health difficulties».An award-winning researcher, Curran shares details that show how perfectionist trends have been increasing since the end of the last century. «High levels of striving, something called ‘self-oriented perfectionism’ – perfectionism that comes from within, high self-set goals and standards – are increasing relatively modestly but, nevertheless, from a very high baseline», he reveals.At the same time, socially prescribed perfectionism – which has to do with the way other people expect me to be perfect - «is on an exponential trend upwards» mainly among the younger generations.This trend has shot up around 60% since the late 1980s. Nowadays, there is a lot of need for approval and validation from the «other», «now we rely on other people's engagement, likes and mentions for our own self-esteem», he adds.Nowadays, it’s not a question of just showing off material goods, but also one of showing off all your hard work and professional success. «How hard we can work, how much we can hustle or what we can build – all of this fuels the economy», but, on the other hand, it leads to burnout. «This is a very different type of showing off, but it is no less difficult psychologically, because you’re never going to be the perfect hustler, the perfect grinder».Maybe it's time to counteract this pressure. «Great thinkers taught us something very important: contemplation. Sitting down and reading, thinking, that is exceptionally non-productive behaviour in the short term, but could be incredibly productive in the long term», he concludes.

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