Wildfire Smoke, Jurassic Park Reflection, Mosquito DNA Editing. June 9, 2023, Part 1
Canadian Wildfire Smoke Drifts Across The United States This week, smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted south, enveloping the Northeastern United States, casting an ominous orange glow. The smoke continued spreading outwards to the Southeast and to the Midwest. While climate change is extending and worsening the Canadian wildfire season (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/canadian-wildfir...
48m Jun 09, 2023
48m
Dwarf Tomatoes, Saguaro Cactus, Sonoran Desert. June 2, 2023, Part 2
Tomato Breeding Project Fueled By Over 1,000 Backyard Gardeners In 2005, gardeners Craig LeHouiller and Patrina Nuske-Small created the Dwarf Tomato Project (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/dwarf-tomato-project-volunteer/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) . They wanted to preserve the flavor and beauty of heirloom tomatoes, without taking up too much space. They sta...
49m Jun 02, 2023
49m
Rewilding, Allergy Season, Sharing Science Rejections. June 2, 2023, Part 1
Could Restoring Animal Populations Store More Carbon? Did you know that land and ocean ecosystems absorb about half of the carbon dioxide we emit each year? But what if the earth had the capacity to absorb even more? With the help of some furry, scaly, and leathery critters, maybe it can. A recent study in the journal Nature Climate Change claims that by restoring the populations of just a han...
48m Jun 02, 2023
48m
Zoonomia Genetics Project, Telomeres, Mutter Museum. May 26, 2023, Part 1
Orcas Are Attacking Boats Near Spain. Scientists Don’t Know Why This Thursday, the Supreme Court restricted the scope of the Clean Water Act pertaining to wetlands, in a 5-4 vote. This could affect the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to protect certain kinds of wetlands, which help reduce the impacts of flooding by absorbing water, and also act as natural filters that make drinking wate...
48m May 26, 2023
48m
Experiencing Pain, Grief and the Cosmos, Ivory-Billed Controversy. May 26, 2023, Part 2
The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Debate Keeps Pecking Away Every so often, there’s a claim that the ivory-billed woodpecker is back from the dead. Pixelated videos go viral, blurry photos make the front page (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ivory-billed-woodpecker-extinction-debate/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) , and birders flock to the woods to get a glimpse of th...
48m May 26, 2023
48m
Weight and Health Myths, A Corvid Invasion. May 19, 2023, Part 1
Can Science Find An Antidote to Americium? (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/finding-americium-antidote/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) With some poisons, there’s an antidote — something you can take to block the effects of the poison, or to help remove it from your body. But when the harmful chemical is a radioactive element, options are limited. Iodine pills can...
49m May 19, 2023
49m
The B Broadcast: Bees, Beans, Bears, and Butterflies. May 19, 2023, Part 2
Science Says Eat More Beans (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/science-eat-beans-recipe/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) Beans are delicious, high in protein, inexpensive, efficient to grow, and an absolute staple in so many cuisines. So why don’t Americans eat more of them? The average American eats 7.5 pounds of beans annually, which is only a few cans of beans ev...
49m May 19, 2023
49m
Star Trek Science, Listening to Pando. May 12, 2023, Part 2
Star Trek’s Science Advisor Reveals The Real Astrophysics On Screen Few pop culture properties have lasted quite as long as Star Trek. A dozen Star Trek television shows have aired over the last sixty years—not to mention countless movies, novels, and comic books. Science concepts have always been integral to the Star Trek franchise: from warp speed travel to dilithium (https://www.sciencefrid...
48m May 12, 2023
48m
US COVID Health Emergency Ends. May 12, 2023, Part 1
FDA Advisory Board Approves First Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/otc-birth-control-pill/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) This week an FDA advisory board paved the way for the first over the counter birth control pill (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/otc-birth-control-pill/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign...
48m May 12, 2023
48m
Antibiotic Resistance, Space Launches and the Environment, Phage Therapy. May 5, 2023, Part 2
SpaceX Explosion Damages Environment Around Launch Site Last Thursday, SpaceX’s South Texas facility was awash in noise and fire, as crowds gathered in South Padre Island and Port Isabel to watch Starship’s first orbital launch. It was the largest and most powerful rocket ever made, standing at around 400 feet tall. Four minutes into the launch, SpaceX detonated the rocket after the SuperHeavy...
48m May 05, 2023
48m
Why Rats Love Cities, Science Of Saliva And Taste. May 5, 2023, Part 1
A Dying Planet Offers A Peek Into The Future This week, astronomers reported in the journal Nature that they had spotted a planet approximately the size of Jupiter being swallowed by a star over the course of ten days (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/dying-planet-engulfed-star/) . The star, called ZTF SLRN-2020, is about 15,000 light-years away from our solar system, but still in our own...
48m May 05, 2023
48m
Personifying AI, The Reading Brain, Environmental Sampling Via Bees. April 28, 2023, Part 2
Why Do Humans Anthropomorphize AI? Artificial intelligence has become more sophisticated in a short period of time. Even though we may understand that when ChatGPT spits out a response, there’s no human behind the screen, we can’t help but anthropomorphize—imagining that the AI has a personality, thoughts, or feelings. How exactly should we understand the bond between humans and artificial int...
48m Apr 28, 2023
48m
History And Science Of Chickens, Climate Activism, Pipeline Movie. April 28, 2023, Part 1
Dirty Diapers Reveal How Germy Babies’ Microbiomes Are In a new study, researchers picked through the dirty diapers of more than 600 infants. Those stinky diapers were a gold mine of info—they contained more than 10,000 virus species. And though it may sound terrifying, those viruses play a key role in babies’ microbiomes (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/baby-diaper-microbiome/?utm_sourc...
49m Apr 28, 2023
49m
Introducing Our New Podcast: Universe Of Art
How do we use art to process the world around us in ways that science can’t? How are illustrators using their skills to help us understand nature’s most unusual creatures? On Universe of Art, a new podcast from Science Friday, hosted by SciFri producer and art nerd D Peterschmidt, we bring you some of our favorite arts stories from the show, some new ones too, and conversations with the produc...
24m Apr 22, 2023
24m
Anesthesia 101, Carbon-Sequestering Poplars, Period Book. April 21, 2023, Part 1
An Explosive End For A Massive Rocket This week, SpaceX attempted the first uncrewed orbital test flight of its massive Super Heavy rocket topped with an experimental crew capsule known as Starship. After one aborted launch earlier in the week, the huge rocket successfully lifted off Thursday morning—but minutes later, the Starship component failed to separate from the Super Heavy booster, and ...
49m Apr 21, 2023
49m
The Myth of the Alpha Wolf, Cherokee Nation Seed Banks, History of Gender Affirming Care. April 21, 2023, Part 2
How We Arrived At Current Standards Of Care For Trans Medicine (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/transgender-health-medicine-standards/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) So far this year, 16 states have moved to restrict or completely ban transgender kids access to gender affirming care. And 17 other states are considering similar laws, a handful even trying to restr...
48m Apr 21, 2023
48m
‘Possibility Of Life’ Book, PFAS Sewage, ‘Smart’ Play. April 14, 2023, Part 2
Is Anybody Out There? The Quest For Life In Space It’s one of humanity’s biggest fundamental questions: “Is there life elsewhere in the universe?” But despite years of searching, it’s a query that still has no answer.  That conundrum also opens up a whole string of other inquiries, from how to best search for signs of life, to whether we’ll be able to make sense of what we’re seeing. The searc...
49m Apr 14, 2023
49m
EV Proposal, Lactose Intolerance. April 14, 2023, Part 1
EPA Proposal To Require 60% Of New Cars To Be EVs by 2030 The EPA released a set of proposals this week (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/epa-ev-cars-proposal/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) that would cap C02 emissions for new cars. In order to meet the new stricter targets automakers would need to ramp up electric vehicle manufacturing substantially. By 2030, 60...
49m Apr 14, 2023
49m
Artemis II Astronauts, AI Research Pause, Terra Nil Video Game. April 7, 2023, Part 2
An Open Letter Asks AI Researchers To Reconsider Responsibilities In recent months, it’s been hard to escape hearing about artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT, the AI-enabled version of Bing, and Google’s Bard—large language models skilled at manipulating words and constructing text. The programs can conduct a believable conversation and answer questions fluently, but have a tenuo...
49m Apr 07, 2023
49m
Plants Make Sounds, Frog Science, COVID Vaccine Update. April 7, 2023, Part 1
Your Plants Are Trying to Tell You They’re Thirsty Spring is in the air, with flowers blooming and gardens starting. Most people with a green thumb will know a droopy plant is a signal that it needs water. But new research has found another way that plants will signal that they’re thirsty: emitting staccato popping sounds, too high pitched for the human ears (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segme...
49m Apr 07, 2023
49m
Mapping An Insect Brain, Climate Education, Audubon Name, Wastewater Methane. March 31, 2023, Part 2
Sewage Is A Biological Necessity, And A Methane Minefield In most cities, once you flush a toilet, the water and waste flows through the sewage system to a water treatment plant. Once it’s there, it goes through a series of chemical and biological processes which clean it up and make the water safe to drink again. But a recent paper in the journal Environmental Science & Technology finds that s...
48m Mar 31, 2023
48m
Early Spring, Mumps On The Rise, Gulf Of Maine, Supermassive Black Hole. March 31, 2023, Part 1
A Supermassive Black Hole The Mass Of 30 Billion Suns This week, astronomers reported that they may have found signs of one of the largest black holes ever detected (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/black-hole-30-billions-suns/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) –a space behemoth the mass of some 30 billion suns. The supermassive black hole, located in part of the Abe...
48m Mar 31, 2023
48m
New NASA Science Head, Climate and Fungus, Whiskey Fungus, Animal Testing Alternatives. March 24, 2023, Part 2
Can Medicine Move To Animal-Free Testing? Before a new drug can begin clinical trials in humans, it gets tested on animals. But things are changing. Late last year, Congress passed the FDA Modernization Act 2.0, which cleared the way for new drugs to skip animal testing. Can we expect to phase out animal testing altogether? Is it safe? And what technologies might make that possible? (https://ww...
48m Mar 24, 2023
48m
March Mammal Madness, Underwater Volcano, Listening to Space. March 24th, 2023, Part 1
The Latest IPCC Report Is Full Of Warnings—And Hope It’s that time of year: another IPCC report has hit the presses. These reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are like a check up—to let us know how we’re doing on the climate front and what Earth’s future is projected to look like. And to no one’s surprise, this year’s report is full of warnings. But also, it has a lot of ...
49m Mar 24, 2023
49m
Smart Toilet, Soft Robotics, Naked Mole Rats. March 17, 2023, Part 2
Stop Flushing Your Health Data Down The Toilet You could be flushing important information about your health right down the toilet—quite literally. Pee and poop can tell you a lot about your health, so what if your waste…didn’t go to waste? What if, instead, it could tell you more about your health? Like number one, it can catch a condition like diabetes early. Or number two, check out what’s g...
49m Mar 17, 2023
49m
Drugs Designed By AI, The Phosphorus Paradox, Regulating PFAS Chemicals. March 17, 2023, Part 1
At Long Last, More Regulations For Forever Chemicals This week, the EPA proposed the first national standards for drinking water that would set limits on the amount of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) chemicals that would be allowed in water systems. There are thousands of different PFAS chemicals, which are often used industrially for properties such as heat, water and stain resistan...
49m Mar 17, 2023
49m
Tips And Tricks To Grow Your Garden In A Changing Climate. March 10, 2023, Part 2
Tips And Tricks To Grow Your Garden In A Changing Climate For many of us, spring is right around the corner—or already here—which means it’s time to start thinking about what is going into your garden this year. But largely thanks to climate change, our seasons are getting wonkier every year. Gardens are feeling the heat as climate change affects the timing of the seasons, temperature extremes...
50m Mar 10, 2023
50m
A New Controversial Black Hole Theory, Saving The Great Salt Lake. March 10, 2023, Part 1
Despite Superconductor Breakthrough, Some Scientists Remain Skeptical This week, researchers unveiled a new superconductor which they say works at room temperature (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/superconductor-breakthrough-skepticism/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) . Scientists have been working on identifying new superconductors for decades—materials that can ...
50m Mar 10, 2023
50m
Science At The Oscars, Finding Shackleton’s “Endurance” Ship. March 3, 2023, Part 1
Insulin Maker Eli Lilly Finally Caps The Drug’s Cost In 1923, drug manufacturer Eli Lilly became the first company to commercialize insulin. Since then, its cost has skyrocketed. But this week, the company announced that it is capping the cost of insulin at $35. This comes as a huge relief to many Americans, since insulin has become the face of pharmaceutical price gouging. Over the last 20 yea...
49m Mar 03, 2023
49m
Social Media’s ‘Chaos Machine,’ Whale Vocal Fry, Distant Galaxies. March 3, 2023, Part 2
Inside The ‘Chaos Machine’ Of Social Media Despite social media’s early promises to build a more just and democratic society, over the past several years, we’ve seen its propensity to easily spread hate speech, misinformation and disinformation. Online platforms have even played a role in organizing violent acts in the real world, like genocide against the Rohinga people in Myanmar, and the vio...
50m Mar 03, 2023
50m
AI And Hip Hop, Self-Planting Seeds, Abortion Pill Facing Restrictions. Feb 24, 2023, Part 1
A Medication Abortion Drug Faces Potential Nationwide Restriction A federal court case underway in Texas this week could have big implications for medication based abortion care across the U.S. The case involves the FDA’s approval of the drug mifepristone, which is used as part of a two-drug combination in most medication abortions. The plaintiffs in the case are arguing that the FDA went again...
50m Feb 24, 2023
50m
“All That Breathes’ Film, Repatriating Native American Remains, Benjamin Banneker. Feb 24, 2023, Part 2
‘All That Breathes:’ A Story Of Two Brothers Saving New Delhi’s Raptors The Oscars are right around the corner, and one of the nominees in the documentary category is called “All That Breathes.” It tells the story of two brothers—Nadeem and Saud—who dedicate their lives to rescuing black kites, a type of raptor that dominates the skies of New Delhi. Since they were children, the brothers have ...
50m Feb 24, 2023
50m
Spy Balloons, Cost of Cancer Care, Seaweed, Chocolate Mouthfeel. Feb 17, 2023, Part 2
Eyes In The Sky: The Science Behind Modern Balloons This month, the news cycle has been dominated by updates about suspicious objects being detected in the stratosphere. This bonanza started with a balloon from China, and escalated as four more objects—not all confirmed as balloons—have been shot down from the sky. (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/modern-balloons-weather-spy/?utm_source=...
48m Feb 17, 2023
48m
Ohio Train Spill, Mushroom And Memory, Water Infrastructure. Feb 17, 2023, Part 1
UFOs? Balloons? Spy Cams? Here’s What’s Going On This week, the saga over UFOs, balloons, and spyware continues. The drama all started with a Chinese surveillance balloon, and then—one by one—governments kept finding others in the U.S. and Canada. Earlier this week, President Biden announced, “We don’t know yet exactly what these three objects were. But nothing right now suggests they are relat...
49m Feb 17, 2023
49m
Rethinking Dementia Care. February 10, 2023, Part 2
Rethinking The Future Of Dementia Care Scientists estimate that the number of people living with dementia will triple within the next 30 years (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/us-future-dementia-alzheimers/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) , but healthcare systems, policies, and public health measures in the US aren’t prepared to accommodate this growing population...
47m Feb 10, 2023
47m
ChatGPT And The Future Of AI, Turkey Earthquakes. February 10, 2023, Part 1
How Scientists Predict Where Earthquakes Will Strike Next The pair of earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria this week left the region grappling with death and destruction. Despite the region being seismically active, this particular area hadn’t seen an earthquake of this size for decades. There are ways of knowing where the next big earthquakes will happen (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segment...
48m Feb 10, 2023
48m
Climate Change Music, Industrial Animal Husbandry, Grief Book. Feb 3, 2023, Part 2
How Grief Rewires The Brain Being a human can be a wonderful thing. We’re social creatures, craving strong bonds with family and friends. Those relationships can be the most rewarding parts of life. But having strong relationships also means the possibility of experiencing loss. Grief is one of the hardest things people go through in life. Those who have lost a loved one know the feeling of ov...
48m Feb 03, 2023
48m
Science Of ‘The Last Of Us’ Fungi, New U.S. Nuclear Power. Feb 3, 2023, Part 1
Wind And Solar Were Europe’s Top Energy Sources In 2022 The European Union reached a major renewable energy milestone in 2022. For the first time, wind and solar generated more energy in the European Union than any other power source (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/wind-solar-europe-2022/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) . Ira talks with science writer Roxanne Kha...
48m Feb 03, 2023
48m
Accessible Birding, Human Water Consumption, Road Salt Impacts, Terraformers Book. Jan 27, 2023, Part 2
Meet The Blind Birder Reimagining Accessibility In The Outdoors For many blind and low vision people, accessing outdoor spaces like parks can be challenging. Trails are often unsafe or difficult to navigate, signs don’t usually have Braille, guides generally aren’t trained to help disabled visitors, and so on. But nature recordist Juan Pablo Culasso, based in Bogata, Colombia, is changing that...
48m Jan 27, 2023
48m
Art Crime Science, Long Covid Update, Earth's Slowing Core. Jan 27, 2023, Part 1
What’s Behind The Strange Slowing Of The Earth’s Core? Even though some days feel more chaotic than others, the rotation of the surface of the planet proceeds at a pretty constant rate—about one full rotation every 24 hours. But the rotational speed of the inner core is less stable, and has been known to shift over time. Now, researchers are reporting in the journal Nature Geoscience that accor...
48m Jan 27, 2023
48m
Gas Stoves, Next Gen Vaccines, Printed Violins. January 20, 2023, Part 2
Why Are Gas Stoves Under Fire? If you were online at all last week, you probably encountered conversations about gas stoves. The sudden stove discourse was sparked by a comment made by a commissioner on the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) to a Bloomberg reporter, in which the commissioner discussed plans to regulate gas stoves. Those comments morphed via repetition into inaccurate ru...
48m Jan 20, 2023
48m
Children’s Antibiotics Shortage, Bat Vocalizations, Life’s Biggest Questions. January 20, 2023, Part 1
Why Are Children’s Antibiotics So Hard To Find Right Now? Mary Warlo has been extremely worried lately. Her baby Calieb, who is six months old, has sickle cell disease. In early December he went for a few days without liquid penicillin, a medication that he—and thousands of other children in the U.S.—rely on to prevent potentially life threatening infections. Warlo couldn’t easily find a pharm...
48m Jan 20, 2023
48m
Tech To Watch, Pests. January 13, 2023, Part 2
Technology Trends to Watch in 2023 The start of a new year is often a time to contemplate the future and what might lie ahead on the horizon. This week, the magazine MIT Technology Review unveiled its annual list of 10 technologies to watch—innovations that it thinks are on the verge of rapid adoption or causing significant cultural changes, or already in the process of creating such a shift. T...
48m Jan 13, 2023
48m
Lab-Grown Meat Progress, Early Human Migration Updates. January 13, 2023, Part 1
Early Migration To North America Likely Wasn’t A One-Way Road The story of how early humans migrated to North America might not be as simple as we once thought. The prevailing theory was that ancient peoples traveled from Siberia to modern-day Alaska using the Bering strait as a land bridge. But new genomic research, published in Current Biology, reveals movement in the opposite direction, back...
48m Jan 13, 2023
48m
Science Comedy, Shifting Rules For Abortion Pills. Jan 6, 2023, Part 1
FDA Expands Pharmacy Options for Abortion Pills This week, the FDA finalized rules that would allow more retail pharmacies to stock and fill prescriptions for the abortion drug mifepristone (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/fda-pharmacies-abortion-pills/) . Previously, the medication had been available only via certain specialty pharmacies or via mail order. Now, major retail pharmacies s...
49m Jan 06, 2023
49m
Redlining and Baltimore Trees, The Root Of A Gopher Mystery, Cold and the Nose, Glass Frogs. Jan 6, 2023, Part 2
How Redlining Shaped Baltimore’s Tree Canopy Redlining was pervasive in American cities from the 1930s through the late 1960s. Maps were drawn specifically to ensure that Black people were denied mortgages. These discriminatory practices created a lasting legacy of economic and racial inequality which persists today. Less obvious is how redlining has shaped nature and the urban ecosystem. A re...
48m Jan 06, 2023
48m
Astronaut Food, Nope Creature, Nature Soundscapes. Dec 30, 2022, Part 2
This Soundscape Artist Has Been Listening To The Planet For Decades Jim 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.” (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segm...
49m Dec 30, 2022
49m
Champagne Fizzics, Last Days of the Dinosaurs, Vole Girl. Dec 30, 2022, Part 1
Keeping The Bubbly In Your Holidays, With Fizzical Science As the year winds to a close, you may be attending gatherings where a festive flute of champagne is offered. Champagne production starts out with a first fermentation process that turns ordinary grape juice into alcoholic wine. A second fermentation in the wine bottle produces the dissolved carbon dioxide responsible for the thousands o...
49m Dec 30, 2022
49m
Glitter, Chestnuts, DNA Data Art, Mistletoe. Dec 23, 2022, Part 2
Glitter Gets An Eco-Friendly Glimmer Glitter—it’s everywhere this time of year. You open up a holiday card, and out comes a sprinkle of it. And that glitter will seemingly be with you forever, hugging your sweater, covering the floor. But glitter doesn’t stop there. It washes down the drain, and travels into the sewage system and waterways. Since it’s made from microplastics, it’s never going a...
48m Dec 23, 2022
48m
Top Science Stories Of 2022, Beavers, Christmas Tree Care. Dec 23, 2022, Part 1
A Look Back At The Top Science Stories of 2022 2022 was chock full of big science news. Scientists announced an important milestone toward the feasibility of nuclear fusion. Doctors transplanted a pig heart into a human for the very first time. And NASA returned to the moon with the successful launch of the Artemis I mission. Ira recaps the year in science news with Tim Revell (https://www.sci...
48m Dec 23, 2022
48m