Mapping Hidden Frontiers and Galaxy Shakeups

Welcome to Neural Newscast. I am Frederick Moore. Today, we begin by, well, looking beneath the surface of the frozen white continent. For decades, a great deal of what lies under Antarctica's three-mile-thick ice sheet has been, you know, a total mystery. Scientists have famously noted that we knew more about the surface of Mars than we did about our own continents' underbelly. But that has changed with the release of a new map that researchers are comparing to, um, switching from a grainy, pixelated film camera to a high-definition digital image. This isn't just a win for geography. It is a critical piece of the climate change puzzle. Right, and I'm Thomas Keene. From an infrastructure and mapping perspective, Frederick, the methodology here is actually quite fascinating. Traditional radar surveys from planes or ground teams usually leave massive gaps, sometimes tens of kilometers wide. To fill those in, the team at the University of Grenoble Alps used satellite data paired with the physics of ice movement. They essentially watched how the surface of the ice ripples and flows, which reveals the shapes of the mountains and valleys hidden beneath. It is a bit like, I mean, it's like reading the eddies in a river to understand the position of the rocks on the riverbed. They have discovered tens of thousands of previously unknown hills and ridges that dictate exactly how fast that ice moves toward the sea. Mm-hmm. The scale of these hidden features is really hard to overstate, Thomas. One of the most striking discoveries is a massive channel in the Maud subglacial basin. It is about 50 metres deep and stretches for nearly 250 miles. That is roughly the distance from London to Newcastle, completely hidden under the ice. When we talk about sea level rise, the big variable has always been the speed of the glaciers. Now that we can see the literal bumps in the road that slow that ice down or speed it up, the computer models for our future climate are going to be significantly more accurate. It provides a level of accountability for our global environmental projections that we simply didn't have before. Exactly. And while the researchers admit there are still uncertainties regarding the sediment and rock composition, this is a massive leap forward for glaciology. It provides a structural blueprint for a continent that essentially regulates our global sea levels. While we are on the subject of mapping out new territories and navigating complex structures, we should turn our attention to a different kind of empire. The leadership landscape of the entertainment world is undergoing a seismic shift this week. After 14 years at the helm, Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down as the president of Lucasfilm. It is the end of an era, Thomas. Kennedy joined Lucasfilm in 2012, working alongside George Lucas just before the $4 billion Disney acquisition. She has guided Star Wars through a decade of massive commercial success, but also a fair share of creative friction. Her departure marks the most significant leadership change for the brand since Lucas himself walked away. She is not leaving the galaxy immediately, though. She will still produce the upcoming Mandalorian and Grogu film and the Starfighter movie scheduled for 2027. But the day-to-day creative engine is passing to a new generation. Totally. And the way Disney is structuring this is very practical, Frederick. They are splitting the role. Dave Filoni, who many fans see as the direct protege of George Lucas, is being promoted to president and chief creative officer. He will handle the storytelling and the lore. Meanwhile, Linwin Brennan will serve as co-president to handle the business and general management side. This creative business split is a proven model for Disney. We see it at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation. It allows a creative lead, like Filoni, to focus on the narrative without being bogged down by the logistics of a multi-billion dollar business unit. It suggests a return to a more centralized creative vision, which is something the franchise has been searching for. Philony has a deep understanding of the mythology, and moving him into this role signals that Disney wants to stabilize the creative direction of their most valuable intellectual property. It is a transition that has been expected for some time, but it nonetheless represents a new chapter for one of Hollywood's most influential studios. From the bedrock of Antarctica to the creative pillars of Lucasfilm, the maps are indeed being redrawn. I am Frederick Moore. And I'm Thomas Keene. Thank you for joining us. Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed. View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com.