Nuclear fusion record broken – what will it take to start generating electricity?

Scientists at a nuclear fusion lab in the UK just broke the world record for the amount of energy produced in a single fusion reaction. In this episode, we ask two nuclear experts what this means, and how long it’ll take before we can switch on the world’s first nuclear fusion power plant.

Featuring Livia Casali, assistant professor in nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in the US and Angel Ibarra Sanchez, a research professor in fusion technology at the Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research in Madrid, Spain.

And in our second story, we explore why living in a country that scores highly on global happiness rankings might not be all that it's cracked up to be. Brock Bastian, a professor of psychological sciences at the University of Melbourne in Australia, talks to us about his new research on the social pressure some people feel to be happy.

And Eric Smalley, science and technology editor at The Conversation in Boston, recommends some recent analysis on the cybersecurity and technology dimensions of the unfolding Ukraine war.

The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode available here.

Further reading

• Nuclear fusion: how excited should we be?
• Nuclear fusion: building a star on Earth is hard, which is why we need better materials
• Research finds countries that focus the most on happiness can end up making people feel worse
• What are false flag attacks – and could Russia make one work in the information age? 
• Technology is revolutionizing how intelligence is gathered and analyzed – and opening a window onto Russian military activity around Ukraine