Episodes
-
This week on Break It Down: We’ve just seen our third-ever interstellar object whizzing though the Solar System, eating cheese really might give you nightmares (but so might dessert), cavers are rewarded with a treasure trove of blind, mummified invertebrates including the only known cave-adapted wasp, the Neanderthal fat factory is just a delicious as it sounds, orcas caught kissing out in the wild, and if the Moon gets slapped by an asteroid as NASA predicts there’s a 4.1 percent chance it might, it would be a 1-in-5,000-years spectacle for Earth to enjoy (from a safe distance).
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Interstellar object
Cheesy nightmares
Cave of mummified insects
Neanderthal fat factory
Collagen
Smooching orcas
Orcas Giving Humans Food
Asteroid about to slap the Moon
Project Hail Memory
We Have Questions
CURIOUS magazine
The Big Questions
-
This week on Break It Down: feast your eyes on the stunning first images from the world’s largest digital camera, capturing millions of galaxies and thousands of new asteroids. Why killer whales are rubbing each other luxuriously with seaweed, the world’s oldest rocks aren’t that much younger than the planet, mice born from two dads prove they’re fertile, a French woman becomes the only known person in the world with a new kind of blood type, and we celebrate 50 years of the European Space Agency with a special interview with astronaut Luca Parmitano.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
World’s largest digital camera
Vera C Rubin images of space
Be the first to spot a galaxy
Orcas allokelping
World’s oldest rocks
Mice with two dads
Brand new blood type
Can we make blood?
50 years of ESA
Brain uploads
Bonus episode of We Have Questions
Dolphins help a lost whale
-
Missing episodes?
-
This week on Break It Down: Two spacecraft just created the first ever artificial solar eclipse, thanks to some impressive drone photos we know now dancing dinosaurs might have been leaping around to impress females in Colorado, a child from the world's oldest burial site appears to be a Neanderthal-Homo sapiens hybrid, for the first time we know what a Denisovan face looks like, a medical breakthrough means we could have a vaccine against HIV (if only anyone could buy it), and 50 years after JAWS was released, we take a look at the lasting impact on shark conservation the blockbuster movie made.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Artificial solar eclipse
Dancing dinos
Hybrid child
Denisovan skull
HIV vaccine
JAWS 50 Years On
Papahānaumokuākea marine conservation
Ghost Elephant
The Big Questions is back!
-
This week on Break It Down: Seeing the Sun’s south pole for the first time ever, Ice Age puppies frozen in permafrost turn out to be wolves, a world-first fossil discovery reveals a sauropod’s final meal, “razor blade throat” and a traveling nimbus reveal what to expect from the new COVID variant, the deepest map of the universe now reaches 13.5 billion years into the past, and is giving nature a personhood a good way to get it better legal protections? Maybe.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Sun’s butt
Permafrost puppies
Sauropod stomach contents
Her name is ANNE
Tyrannosaur stomach contents
COVID variant
Deepest map of the Universe
Should nature have personhood?
UNDERDOGS
Ed the Zebra
The Big Questions returns
-
This week on Break It Down: A great big explosion in space is the most energetic since the Big Bang, AI reveals the Dead Sea Scrolls could share the same authors as the Bible, it looks like the Milky Way and Andromeda will not collide in 5 billion years after all, pregnant female mice with low iron levels can lead to the development of male embryos with ovaries, two smiling porpoises are released back into the wild for the first time in a win for conservation, and we take a deep dive into why it's so hard to sex a dinosaur.
Second biggest explosionDead sea scrollsMilky Way and AndromedaYangtze finless porpoisesMice embryos Hard to sex a dinoSpinosaurus DaddyUndersea Explosions Nine-Limbed Octopus
-
This week on Break It Down: The oldest fingerprint in the world might be left by a Neanderthal hoping to complete a face, scientists propose seeding life on Enceladus to see what would happen, we’re starting to understand more about the Incas’ mysterious string writing system, bioacoustics research could pave the way for us to chat to wolves in Yellowstone, prions prove they are just as scary as we always thought when they take over a woman's brain after 50 years, and we explore just how much memory humans really have in these big old noggins of ours.
Links:
Neanderthal fingerprintsInjecting lifeInca string writing systemLanguage of wolvesPrionsMemory capacity of the brainPapahānaumokuākeaTrawling impactKilaueaCURIOUS Magazine
-
This week on Break It Down: the Solar System just got a new member, capuchins have started stealing howler monkey babies on a remote island, the US ran a solar storm emergency drill and it didn’t go so well, stunning new fossil evidence reveals never-before-seen feathers that indicate Archaeopteryx could fly, a deep dive into Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA turns up six alleged relatives, and what Walking With Dinosaurs has to say about Spinosaurus’s parenting skills and T. rex’s nocturnal hunting.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
CURIOUS Live: Subscription 30% off with code VE30*
New member of the solar system
Capuchin kidnappers
US solar emergency drill
The Big Questions
Archaeopteryx could fly
Leo’s long lost “relatives”
Walking With Dinosaurs
Spinosaurus: great dad?
Where is life most likely to be in the Solar System?
Antarctic ozone hole
We Have Questions
CURIOUS Live – The uncanny valley – First human-to-human transplant
*Terms and Conditions: 30% OFF PROMO CODE: VE30 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription: Annual, 2-Year, or Monthly paid subscriptions only on iflscience.com. Valid from May 1, 2025, until May 24, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.
-
This week on Break It Down: a new kind of leather is borrowing its foundations from fossil T. rex collagen, we’ve just discovered an enormous glow-in-the-dark gas cloud surprisingly close to Earth, a musical sea lion has shown it can keep beat better than some humans, a new-to-science embalming technique has been discovered in Austria, man who let himself be envenomated by all the snakes inspires an antivenom not thought possible, and do scientists have a responsibility to fight misinformation about their subjects? We asked them.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
T. rex leather
Glow-in-the-dark gas cloud
Get 30% off with code VE30*
Ronan the rhythmic sea lion
New embalming tekkers
What happens to eyes during the mummification process?
Novel route to snake antivenom
Scientists VS misinformation
5 kinds of headaches
Ballymacombs More Woman
*Terms and Conditions: 30% OFF PROMO CODE: VE30 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription: Annual, 2-Year, or Monthly paid subscriptions only on iflscience.com. Valid from May 1, 2025, until May 24, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.
-
This week, on Break It Down: a planet with a very rare tail is being boiled apart, the first physical evidence of a gladiator fighting a lion discovered in Britain, scientists are tattooing tardigrades (for science), what’s happening in your brain during a mind blank, the grim fashion of “bone collector” caterpillars, and five health risks associated with tobacco use that don’t include lung cancer.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Boiled-apart planetGladiator VS lionTattooed tardigradesMind blanksBone collector caterpillarsTobacco effectsCURIOUS magazineSubscribe for CURIOUS LiveWhale earwaxShould you crack your knuckles?
-
This week on Break It Down: old skin samples have revealed the first-ever evidence for an intersex Southern right whale, a dangerous asteroid that might hit the Moon has an unusual origin, what dire wolf “de-extinction” really means and how it’s helping red wolves, a mushroom that contains one of the most bitter compounds known to humans, a promising new candidate to topple debilitating long COVID, and is time an illusion?
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Intersex whale
Dangerous asteroid
Dire wolves and red wolves
Should we de-extinct species?
Animal cloning as a conservation tool
Get 35% off with code POD35 *
A very bitter mushroom
Long COVID treatment candidate
Is time an illusion?
Octopus in a bottle
Grapefruit and medication
The Big Questions
We Have Questions
*Terms and Conditions: 35% OFF PROMO CODE: POD35 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription: Annual, 2-Year, or Monthly paid subscriptions only on iflscience.com. Valid from April 4, 2025, until April 30, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.
-
This week on Break It Down: study uncovers the biological basis of near-death experiences, what a camera trap captured after 55 years in Loch Ness, why it’s taken humans so long to orbit over Earth’s poles, what a sediment core from the “Great Blue Hole” can tell us about the Caribbean’s climatic past and future, why you shouldn’t offer cola to isolated communities, and why are there no frozen dinosaurs? With damn good reason.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Near-death experiences
Loch Ness camera trap
Loch Ness holograms
Loch Ness DNA
Subscription offer
Orbiting Earth's poles
Chundering in space
Drilling the great blue hole
Don’t offer cola to isolated tribes
Why no frozen dinosaurs?
How fast to fossil
Fossil octopus
CURIOUS magazine
Keep an eye out for NHM videos
Deep sea beasties
*Terms and Conditions: 35% OFF PROMO CODE: POD35 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription: Annual, 2-Year, or Monthly paid subscriptions only on iflscience.com. Offer ends April 30, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.
-
This week on Break It Down: a new study has become the first to document what sound a shark makes, Neptune has been confirmed to have an aurora thanks to the best telescope ever, a pipeline construction site turned up the terrifying claw of a new species of therizinosaur, why people are trying to prevent measles with Vitamin A (and why it won’t work), 400-million-year-old fossils may belong to a new branch on the tree of life, and the growing role of psilocybin in new medications inspired by magic mushrooms.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Shark sounds
Hear a coral reef
Sharks existed before Saturn’s rings
Neptune’s aurora
New therizinosaur
Measles and Vitamin A
Supplements and liver injury
New branch of life?
Magic mushroom medicine
We Have Questions – How do you rediscover a “lost species”?
Videos galore
Melanistic penguin
CURIOUS magazine
-
This week on Break It Down: An unknown lifeform has been making micro-burrows in the Namibian desert, the secret to living until 117 has been revealed, sauropods were not doing handstands in Texas 100 million years ago (boooo), should we be attempting to de-extinct animals, an Australian man achieves a double world-first with a titanium heart transplant, and would you rather go to space or the deepest part of the ocean? We speak to one of the only people on Earth to do both!
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Unknown lifeform
Living to 117
Sauropod footprints
Sauropod handstands
De-extinction
Titanium heart
Spacewalks and deep ocean
Cougar photo
We Have Questions
Blood Rain
-
This week on Break It Down: Colossal Biosciences creates the “woolly mouse” in their mission to de-extinct the mammoth, scientists 3D-print functional penises (and have the babies to prove their efficacy), that gaping hole in the ozone layer really is repairing, IFLScience asks why so few international organizations have responded to Trump and Musk’s attack on US science, humans have been making bone tools 1 million years longer than we realized, and what’s the most painful bug sting? One brave scientist penned poetic descriptions of their experiences.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Woolly mouse
Elephant pluripotent stem cells
Vaccine for baby elephants
3D-printed penis
Ozone hole recovering
Attack on science response
Bone tool use
4 worst insect stings
Blob-headed fish
CURIOUS magazine
-
This week on Break It Down: the curious tale of a lump of glass that turned out to be a human brain, the US sees its first measles death in 10 years, rats make great sommeliers, the evolutionary origins of feathers in dinosaurs, AI bots start speaking a secret language to each other, and could we get internet on Mars? Quite possible.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Brain glass
Brain in a bucket
Measles death
Rat sommeliers
Hamsters quaffing wine
Dinosaur feathers
AI language
Twin telepathy
Mars internet
CURIOUS
Polar bear dens
More podcasts!
Bobbly giraffe
-
This week on Break It Down: the first ancient Egyptian royal tomb has been discovered since Tutankhamun over 100 years ago, a brand new ‘dangerous animal’ scale reveals the realistic threat of different creatures, architects are operating on land and at the deepest parts of the ocean (they just don’t look how you imagine), a Paralympian becomes the first astronaut with a disability to be cleared for a space mission, the Moon is getting 4G for the first time ever, and how do you break a habit? We find out.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Ancient Egyptian tomb
Crespo scale
Animal architects
Termite mounds
Paralympian astronaut
Moon internet
Breaking habits
Intelligent snake
We Have Questions
Murderous turtles
Chia egg
-
This week on Break It Down: Amazon river dolphins are saying it with urine proudly sprayed directly into the air, an inside look at the planetary defense response to asteroid 2024 YR4 (and no, it isn’t too late), find out what mummies smell like thanks to a team of “sniffers”, whale song follows Zipf’s Law, red light therapy – does it actually work? And say hello to kama muta, the emotion we've all felt but probably don’t know the name for.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Dolphin pee
Asteroid 2024 YR4
Ancient mummy smell
Whale song
Blue whale whispers
Red light therapy
Kama muta
We Have Questions
Vengeful Valentine’s
-
This week on Break It Down: the world's oldest runestone might have been carved by a woman in a language that predates the Vikings, asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 2.3 percent chance of hitting Earth in 2032 (but we’re not panicking yet), an ancient jawbone might reveal a new branch of the hominid family tree, science in the US is under attack after a slew of executive orders from the Trump administration, a fossil from Antarctica suggests ducks have been swimming around for a lot longer than we thought and we explore whether we actually own our bodies.
So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links:
Oldest runestoneAsteroidNew human relativeWhy are we the only surviving human species?Science under attackDino-era ducksDo we own our bodies?Wound ManCURIOUS MagazineWorst diving accidentRescued frogs
-
This week on Break It Down: A CIA report says the origins of COVID being a lab leak is “likely” but what does that really mean? The Doomsday Clock ticks closer to humanity's destruction, asteroid Bennu’s sample contains the building blocks of life (but not aliens), the oldest poison arrow dates back 7,000 years, a mouse with two male parents survives to adulthood in a world first, “boomerasking” might be the social snub of 2025, and we enter The Vault to explore why people believe in the Simulation Hypothesis.
So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…Links:
COVID lab leakDoomsday ClockBennu samplesBennu lid is stuckOldest poisoned arrowMouse with two dadsBoomeraskingPhubbingSimulation HypothesisCURIOUS MagazineScience HoaxesSalamander Toes
-
This week on Break It Down: a new timeline shows exactly when and how the eruption of Vesuvius spread, chimps have been observed going to the bathroom together all at the same time, trust in science remains high worldwide despite recent global events, sex differences between male and female brains are present as early as newborn babies, and did COVID lockdowns actually affect the temperature on the Moon? Finally, what’s the best dino movie of all time? We asked the experts to find out.
So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…
Links
PompeiiTrust in scienceCovid and the MoonSex differences in brainsChimps pee togetherJust in case peeYawning is contagious Best dino movieFire melanismRare black king penguinCorals on the moveCurious magazineSubscribe to IFLS
- Show more
