We can bring Neanderthals back, a la Jurassic Park, with technologies we have today. So... should we? Would it explain why they died just 40,000 years ago? Join us in a German valley, at site of "Neanderthal 1," to track the rise — and perplexing fall — of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis.

Spectrum | Deutsche Welle

Spectrum: What would you ask a Neanderthal?

Invisible, oderless, and it could be anywhere — the novel coronavirus has the perfect "ingredients" to maximize human fear. And when that happens, people act irrationally. Join us for a small dose of medicine.

Spectrum: An invisible enemy

Forget Wuhan. If a respected virologist is correct, most will Germans get the novel coronavirus at some point in their lives. Follow us into a diagnostics lab and a preventative "quarantine" as a dozen global teams develop a vaccine.

Spectrum: It's here

No, you’re not the only one in zombie mode. A sleep deprivation "epidemic" is getting measurably worse, and it's awful for your mental health. So lie down, set a soothing alarm, take a morning walk and listen in.

Spectrum: You need more sleep

Germans are having less sex. Wherefore? The memories of a dead cat can’t be transferred to a new, cloned cat, can they? And why, according to German zoologists, should the word ‘race‘ be banned?

Spectrum: Sex, cats and race

Feeling forgetful? Then join us for a memory master class from a German world champion. Also, how to keep your phone's most intimate… stuff locked away from those who want it, and sci-fi's contribution to that shiny thing in your pocket.

Spectrum: I wish I could remember your phone number

"Careful, he's Chinese." It was a throwaway comment whispered in a German pedestrian zone. But it joins a global chorus, and it raises an ugly thought: Has the coronavirus made us more racist? And if so, what's the vaccine?

Spectrum: Do I scare you?

Feeling cynical? Then come slip into the ‘u-shaped’ trough that represents human happiness over an average lifetime. The good news? You can clamber right back out — with the right tools.

Spectrum: Sliding into unhappiness

What do you get when you mix three DW test subjects, a Dutch researcher and a few thousand music clips? A noisy recreation of a newly published study.

Spectrum: Close your eyes, open your heart, and join our experiment on music and emotions

Cyborgs are real, they're here already, and we'd love to introduce you to them. Also, if you like forensic crime shows, you're going to love the lab we visit in this week's show.

Spectrum: Looking for evidence

Our boiling hot planetary neighbor, Venus, might have once been similar to Earth. So are we headed toward a similar catastrophe? Also, how to be happy – regardless of what’s happening in the world around you.

Spectrum: Happiness, fear and our atmosphere

Is this really the place to look back at gravitational waves, AI and gene editing advancements? No, it isn't. Instead, we choose the science that made us think and laugh. It involves sex, odd noises, cats — and mediocre singing.

Spectrum: Let's finish this decade off

Want to give the perfect gift, but also receive it? There's some surprisingly rich science on the subject that'll save you money and guilt. Also why we end up despising certain Christmas songs, and the future of shopping.

Spectrum: Don't open until Christmas

Ever wondered what Sci-Fi movies have to do with AI and robots in real life? Or how AI affects racial bias in health? Join us for another edition of our roving science game show and find out. This time we're at an AI boot camp in Berlin. The New Peers Review is a co-production by DW and the University of Strathclyde, Scotland.

Spectrum: New Peers Review takes on AI

Plug your nose, folks, because "poop streak science" goes well beyond the toilet bowl. Also, we plunge into the data (and psychology) of German "flings" and make an appeal for a bit – just a bit – of quiet.

Spectrum: Clean up after yourself

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