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In the US mid-term elections, the Democrats gained a majority in the lower house, this means they take control of key committees – including the House Science Committee. Over recent years this once bipartisan committee has been used by Republicans to push a climate change denying agenda.

Now the democrats will regain control and the chair elect says she will be reinforcing that climate change is real and doing more to encourage participation in science at a grassroots level particularly with minorities who are currently under represented.

We ask what this and other changes to science administration mean for the future of science under Donald Trump’s presidency. Environmental policies and his generally anti science attitude are likely to come under greater scrutiny. We’ll also look at the California fires, which seem to be increasing in frequency, is this due to climate change or other human intervention or changes in natural processes?

Communicating quickly, accurately and, ideally, in a way that's well-received is no easy feat, wherever you live in the world. For this week's listener, who lives and works in several different countries as a member of the armed forces, good communication can be a matter of life or death. And this doesn’t just affect military life – anyone who flies on aeroplanes may be interested to hear how clear use of language is crucial for airline safety.

But what do we mean by an efficient language – it is the fastest and most accurate speech, or most widely understood in multiple countries? Crowd Science attempts to apply science and evidence to the art of speech, in a quest to discover what language is the most efficient on Earth.

(Picture: Donald Trump. Credit: Getty images)