Shows
Science Friday‘Common Side Effects’ And An All-Healing Mushroom | The Unique Smell Of SnowIn "Common Side Effects," the starring scientist finds a mushroom that can heal any ailment. But powerful people will do anything to stop him from cultivating it. And, a combination of environmental factors and the way our bodies function play a role in how we perceive the smell of snow.In ‘Common Side Effects,’ A Clash Over An All-Healing MushroomIn the new Adult Swim show “Common Side Effects,” an eccentric scientist has a secret: He’s discovered a strange mushroom that can cure any illness or injury, and he wants to get it to people in...2025-02-1318 min
Science Friday‘Common Side Effects’ And An All-Healing Mushroom | The Unique Smell Of SnowIn "Common Side Effects," the starring scientist finds a mushroom that can heal any ailment. But powerful people will do anything to stop him from cultivating it. And, a combination of environmental factors and the way our bodies function play a role in how we perceive the smell of snow.
In ‘Common Side Effects,’ A Clash Over An All-Healing Mushroom
In the new Adult Swim show “Common Side Effects,” an eccentric scientist has a secret: He’s discovered a strange mushroom that can cure any illness or injury, and he wants to get it to people in...2025-02-1318 min
Science FridayHow Blind Women In India Detect Early Breast Cancer | Web-Slinging Silk Becomes RealA program trains women as tactile medical examiners to identify tumors before they show up on imaging scans. And, in a materials science discovery, scientists made a liquid silk solution that hardens and picks up objects—not unlike Spider-Man’s web.
How Blind Women In India Are Detecting Early Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide, just behind lung cancer. And the earlier a breast tumor is found, the more likely it is that the person survives their diagnosis.
An international program called Discovering Hands trains blind women to dete...2024-12-1918 min
Universe of ArtPollution cookies and the hidden physics in Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'Would you be interested in a cookie infused with smog from your favorite city? Maybe a loaf of sourdough made from wheat tainted by wildfires?Those are just a few of the projects from the Center for Genomic Gastronomy, based in Amsterdam and Portugal, where artists use innovative ingredients to represent environmental crises and imagine what the future of food could look like.Ira talks with Zack Denfeld, co-founder of the Center for Genomic Gastronomy, about how art and food can help us envision a more sustainable food system.Read the full story...2024-10-0119 min
Science FridayInside The Race To Save Honeybees From Parasitic MitesLast year, almost half of the honeybee colonies in the U.S. died, making it the second deadliest year for honeybees on record. The main culprit wasn’t climate change, starvation, or even pesticides, but a parasite: Varroa destructor.
“The name for this parasite is a very Transformer-y sounding name, but … these Varroa destructor mites have earned this name. It’s not melodramatic by any means. [They are] incredibly destructive organisms,” says Dr. Sammy Ramsey, entomologist at the University of Colorado Boulder.
These tiny mites feed on the bees and make them susceptible to other threats li...2024-07-3019 min
Science VsHydration: Are You Drinking Enough Water?[REBROADCAST] Celebs and wellness blogs treat water like a magic elixir that will make us the most attractive and healthiest version of ourselves. But do these claims hold water? And how much do we really need to be drinking to stay healthy? We speak to Professor Hollie Raynor, Professor Stavros Kavouras and Dr. Tamara Hew-Butler to find out.Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/sciencevshydrationrerun We’re doing an “Ask Wendy Anything” episode! To ask Wendy a question, get in touch on Instagram: Science_Vs; Tiktok: @wendyzukerman. If you wan...2024-07-2542 minUniverse of ArtThe tornado science of 'Twisters' and a real-life 'Dune' stillsuit“Twisters,” the long awaited follow-up to the 1996 movie “Twister” is out now. It’s about a scientist (Daisy Edgar-Jones) who goes back to her home state of Oklahoma to try and stop a massive tornado outbreak from wreaking havoc on its citizens. On the way, she meets a quirky cast of storm chasers, and butts heads with a band of unorthodox “tornado wranglers” led by a YouTube personality (Glen Powell). “Twisters” delights in name-dropping tornado jargon, and its science advisory team said they hoped to make the movie as accurate as possible.The movie makes science thrilling, but it also shows...2024-07-2318 min
Science FridayHow Politics And Diplomacy Shape Panda ConservationEarlier this year, the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington announced that pandas would be returning to the capitol. This news was met with great fanfare because the zoo’s resident pandas had returned to China last fall, leaving the District panda-less for the first time in more than 50 years.
After the pandas left D.C. in the fall, SciFri producer Rasha Aridi and journalist Aja Drain dug into the juicy political history of panda conservation and how it shaped panda research. In this segment from December 2023, they look back at 80 years of panda conservation, and how “panda dipl...2024-07-0831 minUniverse of ArtMeet the emotions behind teenage angst in ‘Inside Out 2’In the 2015 film “Inside Out,” audiences met 11-year-old Riley and her team of emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger, each represented by a different character. They lived inside Riley’s mind to help guide her feelings and actions, and towards the end of the film, their emotional control center gets an upgrade with a puberty button.That’s where the new film “Inside Out 2” picks up. Riley is now 13 years old and dealing with the slew of emotions that come with puberty. In the new film, moviegoers meet a new crew of characters: Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui, w...2024-06-2517 minUniverse of ArtThe bird call that music producers love to use in pop songsFor decades now, one music star has managed to show up on tracks spanning multiple genres and appear alongside many famous artists—while also remaining bafflingly under-recognized. Any guesses?Of course, we’re talking about none other than the common loon—a waterbird with striking red eyes and black-and-white checkerboard plumage. This bird’s calls have been used in songs by artists like Michael Jackson, Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga, Doja Cat, and Lana Del Rey. They’ve also been used as a sound effect in Hollywood blockbusters like “Harry Potter” and the TV show “Game of Thrones.”So how did th...2024-06-1108 min
Science FridayUsing A Lab On Wheels To Study Weed From DispensariesCannabis is legal in some form or another in over half of US states. But federally, it’s illegal and has no accepted medical use. However, the Biden administration is moving to reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous drug under the Controlled Substances Act.
Studying strictly controlled drugs like cannabis is a major challenge for scientists, because they have to meet specific registration and sourcing requirements. And researchers can’t give commercially available cannabis from dispensaries to study participants, or bring it onto campus at all. But questions around the health impacts of these widely available products cont...2024-05-2819 minUniverse of ArtThis scientist’s memoir charts her journey from acting to astrobiologyOne of the biggest, most intriguing questions in the world is quite simple: Are we alone in this universe? Astronomer and astrobiologist Dr. Aomawa Shields looks for signs of life in outer space by analyzing the climate and habitability of small exoplanets far beyond our solar system.Shields’ path to science was a winding one. Through childhood and into her adult years, she toggled between two loves: acting and space. In her new memoir Life On Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe, she describes her search for signs of life in the co...2024-05-2817 minUniverse of ArtUsing motion capture tech to make TV shows for deaf childrenYou can read a transcript for this episode here.Think back to your favorite childhood TV show—was it “Blue’s Clues”? “Little Bear”? “Winnie the Pooh”? Animated TV shows are important for kids because they can teach them to read, draw, spell, and talk. Plus, the ways these shows tell stories and create colorful, fictitious worlds can broaden children’s knowledge and capacity to imagine.But children’s shows aren’t accessible to all deaf children, which means they could miss out on a common learning experience. Among other things, that can set kids back in learning both...2024-04-3017 min
Science FridayInside The Race To Save Honeybees From Parasitic MitesLast year, almost half of the honeybee colonies in the U.S. died, making it the second deadliest year for honeybees on record. The main culprit wasn’t climate change, starvation, or even pesticides, but a parasite: Varroa destructor.
“The name for this parasite is a very Transformer-y sounding name, but … these Varroa destructor mites have earned this name. It’s not melodramatic by any means. [They are] incredibly destructive organisms,” says Dr. Sammy Ramsey, entomologist at the University of Colorado Boulder.
These tiny mites feed on the bees and make them susceptible to other threats li...2024-04-1619 minUniverse of ArtCould life exist on a planet like Arrakis from 'Dune'?“Dune: Part II” is one of the year’s most highly anticipated films, and it picks up where the first film left off: with Paul Atreides escaping into the desert on the planet Arrakis. It’s a scorching-hot world that’s covered in dunes, and home to giant, deadly sandworms.Obviously “Dune” and its setting are fictional, but could there be a real planet that resembles Arrakis? And if so, could it sustain life?Science Friday host Ira Flatow talks with Dr. Mike Wong, astrobiologist and planetary scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science, about what Arrakis’...2024-03-1912 min
Science FridayProtecting The ‘Satan’ Tarantula | If Termites Wore Stripes, Would Spiders Still Eat Them?A team of scientists in Ecuador is on a mission to describe new-to-science tarantula species to help secure conservation protections. And, undergraduate researchers pasted striped capes onto termites’ backs to see if a well-known warning sign would fend off predators.
Protecting The ‘Satan’ Tarantula and Other Lovable Giant Spiders
A team of scientists in Ecuador is on a mission to find and describe species of an understudied, often unpopular group of critters: mygalomorphs, a group of large, stocky spiders that includes tarantulas. In late 2023, two of these researchers published a paper in the journal ZooKeys descri...2024-02-0618 min
Science FridayHow 'Panda Diplomacy' Led To Conservation SuccessIn 1972, pandas arrived at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, DC, to huge fanfare. Since then, pandas have been some of the city’s most beloved residents.
But for the first time in more than 50 years, DC is panda-free—indefinitely. Mama panda Mei Xiang, papa bear Tian Tian, and their youngest cub Xiao Qi Ji returned to China in November when their leases ended. This is possible because all but a few pandas residing outside of China are on loan through agreements with the country.
It’s not just the National Zoo waving its pandas g...2023-12-2630 minUniverse of ArtHow NASA translates space data into sparkly and haunting songsYou’ve probably heard that if you scream in space, no one will hear a thing. Space is a vacuum, so sound waves don’t have anything to bounce off of. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that space is silent. A team of researchers are taking data from a variety of telescopes and assigning them sounds, creating song-length sonifications of beloved space structures like black holes, nebulas, galaxies, and beyond. The album, called “Universal Harmonies” aims to bring galaxies to life and allow more people, such as those who are blind and low-vision, to engage with outer space...2023-08-0822 minUniverse of ArtWhy this sound artist recorded nature and human life for 40 yearsJim Metzner is one of the pioneers of science radio—he’s been making field recordings and sharing them with audiences for more than 40 years. He hosted shows such as “Sounds of Science” in the 1980s, which later grew into “Pulse of the Planet,” a radio show about “the sound of life on Earth.”Over the decades, Metzner has created an incredible time capsule of soundscapes, and now, his entire collection is going to the Library of Congress. John Dankosky talks with Metzner about what he’s learned about the natural world from endless hours of recordings and w...2023-06-2723 minUniverse of ArtThis violinist is making ultra-affordable 3D-printed violins for kidsStringed instruments can be a joy to the ears and the eyes. They’re handcrafted, made of beautiful wood, and the very best ones are centuries old, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, or sometimes even millions.But there’s a new violin in the works—one that’s 3D-printed. It costs just a few bucks to print, making it an affordable and accessible option for young learners and classrooms. Dr. Mary-Elizabeth Brown is a concert violinist and the founder and director of the AVIVA Young Artists Program in Montreal, Quebec, and she’s been tinkering w...2023-05-3022 minUniverse of ArtThis astrophysicist turns star data into 3D-printed spheresWhen you look into the sky, the space between stars looks empty and void—but it isn’t. That’s where stars are born. And since astronomers and astrophysicists can’t reach these stellar nurseries, they rely on data collected by telescopes to peer into space. But what if you could hold part of the galaxy in their hands? Or peer into an orb and see the birthplace of stars? By combining astrophysics and art, that’s exactly what Dr. Nia Imara does. She’s a visual artist and assistant professor of astronomy at UC Santa Cruz, based in Santa...2023-05-0215 min
Short WaveName That Tune! Why The Brain Remembers SongsWhy do some songs can stick with us for a long time, even when other memories start to fade? Science reporter (and former Short Wave intern) Rasha Aridi explains the neuroscience behind that surprising moment of, "Wow, how do I still remember that song?!" (Encore)Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy2022-09-1213 min
Short WaveName That Tune! Why The Brain Remembers SongsWhy do some songs can stick with us for a long time, even when other memories start to fade? Science reporter (and former Short Wave intern) Rasha Aridi explains the neuroscience behind that surprising moment of, "Wow, how do I still remember that song?!" (Encore)2022-09-1213 minScience VsHydration: Are You Drinking Enough Water?Celebs and wellness blogs treat water like a magic elixir that will make us the most attractive and healthiest version of ourselves. But do these claims hold water? And how much do we really need to be drinking to stay healthy? We speak to Professor Hollie Raynor, Professor Stavros Kavouras and Dr. Tamara Hew-Butler to find out.Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/3AEtH0WThis episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Nick DelRose, Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn, Courtney Gilbert, Rose Rimler and Disha Bhagat...2022-09-0845 min
The Morbid MuseumLondon Stinks Part I: The Broad Street PumpIn Part I of our series "London Stinks,", we will be exploring the immensely tragic, completely disgusting, but incredibly important story of the Broad Street Pump and how it changed science forever."The Lesson of John Snow and the Broad Street Pump" Mitali Banerjee Ruths, MD"Once Deemed ‘Biologically Dead,’ a New Report Shows London’s River Thames Recovering" Rasha Aridi November 12, 2021 -
Sunderland and the Public Health ActCholera - Vibrio cholerae infection | Cholera | CDCWHO: CholeraLaing, W. B. “Removing The Pump Handle.” The British Medical Journal, vol. 2, no. 5046, 1957, pp. 712–712. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25383945. Accessed 29 Jun. 2022.The Mode of Prop...2022-07-041h 02Science VsNightmare on Science StreetToday, we’re sharing a collection of spooky science stories. You’ll hear about a nightmare in the ocean, a nightmare on land, and even a nightmare … IN YOUR MIND. We talk to scientists including marine biologist, Dr. Olga Shpak and malacologist Jaynee Kim.Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/3O4Ag22 See the video Olga’s team shot of killer whales attacking a bowhead here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OskmkWV0Ypk This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn...2022-06-1045 minScience VsUltra-Processed Foods: A Load of Baloney?We hear over and over that ultra-processed food is bad for us. But is there actually something funky going on here — or is it just junk food? We dig into what these foods are doing to our bodies. You’ll hear from Dr. Kevin Hall, Prof. Carlos Monteiro, Dr. Cathrina Edwards, and Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana. Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/3xYhHHZ This episode was produced by Rose Rimler with help from Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, and Rasha Aridi. Our executive producer is Wendy Zukerman. We’re edite...2022-04-2941 minScience VsTrans Kids: The Misinformation BattleU.S. politicians are trying to keep trans kids from getting the medical care they need to transition — and states are banning them from playing on the sports teams that match their gender. So we’re looking at the science here, and asking: are the medical treatments for trans kids dangerous? And do trans folks have an advantage when it comes to sports? We talk to Florence Ashley, Dr. Jack Turban, and Joanna Harper to find out.UPDATE 5/24/24: We have removed identifying information about the trans children we interviewed.UPDATE 5/17/22: A previous version of this episo...2022-03-1851 minScience VsMisinformation: What Should Our Tech Overlords Do?After Joe Rogan was accused of spreading Covid-19 vaccine misinformation on his podcast, Spotify landed in the hot seat. People (including us!) wanted to know what the platform was doing to stop it. In this episode, we look into how tech platforms are fighting misinformation — and find out what actually works. To find out we speak to Professor David Rand, Professor Hany Farid, Laura Edelson and evelyn duoek. Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/3BOEsOo This episode was produced by Michelle Dang, Rose Rimler, and Wendy Zukerman with help...2022-02-2546 min
Short WaveWhy Music Sticks in Our BrainsWhy do some songs can stick with us for a long time, even when other memories start to fade? Science reporter (and former Short Wave intern) Rasha Aridi explains the neuroscience behind that surprising moment of, "Wow, how do I still remember that song?!" Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.2021-10-0713 min
Short WaveWhy Music Sticks in Our BrainsWhy do some songs can stick with us for a long time, even when other memories start to fade? Science reporter (and former Short Wave intern) Rasha Aridi explains the neuroscience behind that surprising moment of, "Wow, how do I still remember that song?!" Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy2021-10-0713 min
Pod Buffet2021 Intellectual Health Trailer for the YOGI MD PodcastThe YOGI M.D. Podcast empowers the Wise Woman to make her health a priority in order to thrive through all the stages of her life. Defining health cannot be constrained by the simplistic formula of diet and exercise alone. That’s why I interview experts, to expand her definition of health to include physical, mental, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual well being. That’s why I talk to inspiring women and men who share the lessons they’ve embraced on their journeys to holistic health. This is the trailer for Intellectual Health, airing in September and October of 2021, featur...2021-09-0703 min
The YOGI M.D. PodcastIntellectual Health - Make Mistakes with Rasha AridiA few years ago, Rasha Aridi was studying to become a wildlife conservationist when she realized that she enjoyed nerding out about science with her friends and family more than she actually enjoyed being a scientist. Now as a science journalist, Rasha strives to engage broad audiences in the world of science and discovery by turning complex topics into fun, accessible, and relevant content. One of her guiding principles is "science is for everyone," so she strives to make science more transparent and easier to understand for audiences of all backgrounds. Plus, Rasha hopes that her work can spark a bi...2021-09-0143 min
Short WaveFACT SMACK: Bats! They're Cooler Than BirdsWith the help of ecologist Rodrigo Medellín, the "Bat Man of Mexico," Rasha Aridi (former Short Waver) presents the case for why bats are the best and coolest flying creatures out there! Are you a scientist who thinks Rodrigo is wrong and that the animal you study is superior? Let us know! You can email us at shortwave@npr.org. We'd love to hear the case for your critter.2021-07-0512 min
Short WaveFACT SMACK: Bats! They're Cooler Than BirdsWith the help of ecologist Rodrigo Medellín, the "Bat Man of Mexico," Rasha Aridi (former Short Waver) presents the case for why bats are the best and coolest flying creatures out there! Are you a scientist who thinks Rodrigo is wrong and that the animal you study is superior? Let us know! You can email us at shortwave@npr.org. We'd love to hear the case for your critter.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy2021-07-0512 min