#46: Stardust hunting, the illusion of the self, space rocks return to Earth

One hundred tonnes of cosmic dirt rains down on us every day, so there’s a good chance you have a meteorite on your roof... well, a micrometeorite. The team explains how you can find one yourself, and explore the surprise link with Norwegian jazz musician Jon Larsen. They also question whether you really exist, or at least the version of you that you recognise to be yourself. There’s also more news of space rocks coming to Earth, but this time returning from the super speedy Chang’e 5 moon mission, and from the Hayabusa-2 spacecraft which has visited the asteroid Ryugu. The team also discusses a 12,500-year-old mega-collage of ancient rock art which has been found in the Amazon, and they ponder the news that water has become so scarce, it’s now being traded on Wall Street. On the pod this week are Rowan Hooper, Tiffany O’Callaghan, Joshua Howgego, Chelsea Whyte and Leah Crane. To read more about the stories, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices