Brewin' up something good

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today. Scientists discover microplastics can become chemically “alive” in water; Sony releases a new Walkman; and how Greta Gerwig convinced Led Zeppelin to license Stairway to Heaven.

Let’s get into it!

According to a study published in Nature by researchers at Columbia University, microplastics have the ability to challenge the previously-understood chemical properties of plastic.

Plastic use is so globally ubiquitous because it tends to remain chemically inert when interacting with other materials under normal circumstances. It doesn’t combust, heat up, soak, or decompose unless interacting with materials that do those things.

However, the researchers found that microplastics (any plastic smaller than five millimeters) become chemically “alive” in water, potentially explaining some of the significant health risks they pose when they end up inside the human body.

The researchers found these materials can mimic human hormonal reactions, allowing them to release volatile and health-threatening molecules called free radicals.

“As plastic fragments into smaller and smaller particles, its surface area increases enormously,” said senior study author Wei Min, a Columbia professor of chemistry and biomedical engineering, in a statement from Columbia.

“Then microplastics change the water that surrounds them, generating high-energy, reactive radicals that very likely contribute to biological damage that we see in animals and potentially in humans as a result of microplastic exposure.”

Sony announced three new versions of its digital Walkman will start shipping in January, with prices varying between US$1,899 and $5,899.

How could an MP3 player in 2026 cost more than a smartphone that does the same thing plus dozens of other things?

For starters, the most expensive unit—called the NW-WM1ZM3—has a gold-plated chassis, though it’s really only the screws that have gold in them, while the chassis itself is made mostly of oxygen-free copper.

Still, even a very small bit of gold will run up the price of anything these days, along with some of the other valuable qualities in the hardware. Sony said the product was built with extremely high-quality source materials that will extend the life of the Walkman.

All of them come with extremely high-quality sound, run on Android 16, and have a battery life of 31 hours. The products are being marketed to obsessive music enthusiasts and audiophiles who want their devices solely for the music-playing aspect, according to Sony.

Greta Gerwig’s new Narnia film, entitled The Magician’s Nephew, is what the filmmaker calls a “world made out of music,” so much so that she convinced Jimmy Page and Robert Plant to let her use Stairway to Heaven in its extended trailer.

Led Zeppelin has famously refused all past attempts by anyone to license the song for use in anything; so how did Gerwig manage to convince them?

“It’s an epic song,” she said in a conversation with Stephen Colbert. “It’s an amazing song. It’s a narrative. It’s about a spiritual journey.

“It’s about the true path of enlightenment and spirituality, and then this path of false idols and the wrong roads you can go down.

“I showed them and I talked to them, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, and I was so moved that they allowed me to use the song,” she said. “They did it because they saw the heart of the story in the film.”

Page expressed his thoughts on the film after the trailer was released.

“I had the privilege of meeting Greta Gerwig, a powerhouse in the world of cinema. She is a switched-on creative, as seen by way of Little Women, Lady Bird and Barbie, and the soon-to-be-released Narnia movie. I am thrilled that she chose Stairway to Heaven in the trailer for her film.”

Throwin’ it back to ’77

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