Instant Genius Podcast: Earth’s inner core, with Dr Jessica Irving

Instant Genius is a bite-sized masterclass in podcast form. And in this episode, we're drilling into the topic of Earth's mysterious centre.

Why? Well, a recent study carried out at Peking University has found that Earth’s inner core, a giant ball of iron located in the middle of the planet, is slowing down its rotation. But what exactly does this mean?

We speak to Dr Jessica Irving, a seismologist based at the University of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences. She tells us how scientists study the goings on deep inside Earth, what we can learn about the life cycles of planets and whether the news should be cause for alarm.

Find Instant Genius on your preferred podcast platform here: instantgenius.podlink.to/Podcast

Listen to more episodes of Instant Genius:

• Snakes, with Prof Mark O’Shea
• Winter storms, with Alex Deakin
• The science of lying, with Professor Richard Wiseman
• Fungal infections, with Dr Rebecca Drummond
• How to get more time in your day, with Dr Ashley Whillans
• The world’s ticking demographic time bomb, with Prof Jane Falkingham