In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast Margaret Harris and Hamish Johnston celebrate 60 years of the laser by delving into the history of its invention and rise to ubiquity. We also chat about some fascinating applications of the laser including tracking African mosquitoes during a solar eclipse.

James Dacey joins us from Madrid to talk about his experiences at the recent Sharing Geoscience Online conference, which was organized by the European Geosciences Union. He explains how geoscientists are contributing to the battle against COVID-19 and also doing their bit to protect a much larger African animal.

We also hear from Matin Durrani, who explains how Physics World magazine made the decision to soon scrap its plastic wrapper in favour of another material. Finding a more environmentally friendly way of mailing the magazine to our readers was more complicated than you may imagine, as Durrani explains.

This podcast is sponsored by Teledyne Hastings Instruments.