Breakthrough of the Year, our favorite online news stories, and the year in books

As the year comes to a close, we review the best science, the best stories, and the best books from 2019. Our end-of-the-year episode kicks off with Host Sarah Crespi and Online News Editor David Grimm talking about the top online stories on things like human self-domestication, the “wood wide web,” and more.   News Editor Tim Appenzeller joins Sarah to discuss Science’s 2019 Breakthrough of the Year, some of the contenders for breakthrough, also known as runners-up, and the breakdowns—when science and politics just didn’t seem to mix this year.   Finally, Science books editor Valerie Thompson brings her favorites from the world of science-inflected media. She and Sarah talk about some of the best books reviewed in Science this year, a food extinction book we should have reviewed, a pair of science-centric films, and even an award-winning birding board game.   For more science books, films, and games, visit the books et al blog at blogs.sciencemag.org/books.   This week’s episode was edited by Podigy.   Ads on this week’s show: Bayer; Lightstream; KiwiCo   Listen to previous podcasts.   About the Science Podcast      ++   [Image: Roots, Craig Cloutier/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook]   Authors: Sarah Crespi; David Grimm; Tim Appenzeller; Valerie Thompson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices