Episodios
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Lightning: It happens all the time, and yet the exact details of how it's made has long eluded scientists. That is, until now. New research out this week in the journal Nature holds new insights into the precursor to lightning. To figure it out, researchers flew a NASA ER-2 – essentially the research version of a spy plane – over several tropical thunderstorms. What they found: The same high energy radiation is found in places like neutron stars and around black holes.
Want to hear more stories about the science behind natural phenomena? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!
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Years ago, astronomy professors started noticing something that troubled them: Many of their students didn't understand climate change and the science supporting it. So a small group of professors decided to do something about it — teach climate change in their introductory astronomy courses.
Want to hear more stories about climate change? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!
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Over six million fungal species are believed to inhabit planet Earth. Outsmarting them is the work of Arturo Casadevall's lifetime. What If Fungi Win? is the question at the heart of Arturo's new book, co-authored with journalist Stephanie Desmon. In this episode, Emily and Regina take a trip to Arturo's lab at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and meet a group of scientists thinking about the fungal consequences of climate change, urban heat islands, and scooping up microbes with candy.
Curious about fungi? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!
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Most viruses that become epidemics in humans begin in other animals. It's how scientists suspect COVID-19 emerged. And now, less than five years after the start of the pandemic, some scientists are concerned about another disease that could do something similar: bird flu, or H5N1. Over the past year, the virus has spilled into cows and other animals — even infecting some people working closely with the animals. Some scientists hope to build a more resilient public health system by finding ways to detect and to track viruses as they spread in animals.
One team in New York City is doing this by tapping high school students from underrepresented backgrounds. Together, they create a more equitable field of biologists while they also sniff out what could be the next pandemic.
Want to know more about pandemic surveillance or virology? Email us at [email protected] — we might cover it on a future episode!
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Governors across the southeastern United States have declared statewide states of emergency as Hurricane Helene continues its ascent. After forming in the northwestern Caribbean Sea Tuesday, Helene escalated from a tropical storm, then to a cyclone, and finally to a Category 4 hurricane by the time it made landfall late Thursday night. We talk to hurricane climatologist Jill Trepanier about how a storm tropical storm system rapidly intensifies into a major hurricane, the impact of a changing climate on future storms — and why the devastation doesn't stop at the shore.
Follow local updates on Hurricane Helene.
Want to know more about the scientific underpinning of serious weather events? Email us at [email protected] — we might cover it on a future episode!
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Around 2% of the global population struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. That's roughly 163 million people who go through cycles of obsessions – unwanted intrusive thoughts, images or urges – and compulsions, or behaviors to decrease the distress caused by these thoughts. In movies and TV, characters with OCD are often depicted washing their hands or obsessing about symmetry. Dr. Carolyn Rodriguez says these are often symptoms of OCD, but they're not the only ways it manifests – and there's still a lot of basics we have yet to understand. That's why Carolyn looks to include more populations in research and find new ways to treat OCD.
Questions about the brain? Email us at [email protected] – we'd love to hear your ideas!
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At the beginning of the universe, annihilation reigned supreme. Equal amounts of matter and antimatter collided. There should have been nothing left. And, yet, here we all are. Matter won out. The question is: why? Scientists are probing the mysteries of a ghostly subatomic particle for answers. To do it, they'll need to shoot a beam of them 800 miles underground.
Interested in more mysteries of the universe? Email us at [email protected].
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Electric vehicle batteries will all, eventually, reach the end of their lives. When that happens, they should be recycled. But what breakthroughs could make that happen cleanly, efficiently — and close to home? Today, business correspondent Camila Domonoske takes us on a tour of one company trying to crack the EV battery recycling puzzle — to learn what this case study can tell us about the larger battery picture. Plus, why recycling is kind of like wresting with Lego bricks.
Read more of Camila's reporting on EV battery recycling.
Have a specific science story you want us to dig into? Email us at [email protected] and we might cover your idea on a future episode!
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Hey, Short Wavers! Today we're sharing an excerpt of the new NPR podcast How To Do Everything.
How To Do Everything is half advice show, half survival guide, and half absurdity-fest — and it's not made by anyone who understands math. In fact, it comes from the same team that brings you NPR's news quiz Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me!
We think you'll like their vibe, and we especially think you'll like this excerpt from their recent episode. It features astronaut Frank Rubio, who holds the record for the longest time spent in space. How To Do Everything hosts Mike Danforth and Ian Chillag ask what advice he has for two NASA astronauts whose mission to the International Space Station was recently extended by ... a lot of time. Listen to find out how astronauts do laundry in space, get a haircut and blow out birthday candles.
For more episodes of How To Do Everything, follow the show on Apple or Spotify.
How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me+, who also get bonus episodes of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me featuring exclusive games, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Sign up and support NPR at plus.npr.org.
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What's scaly, striped and breathes underwater like a scuba diver? Water anoles! These lizards can form a bubble over their head to support breathing underwater. They're found in the tropical forests of southern Costa Rica.
Want more critter stories? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear your thoughts!
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Evolution keeps making crabs. In fact, it's happened so often that there's a special scientific term for an organism turning crab-like: carcinization. But how many times has it happened, and why? When did the very first crab originate? What about all the times crabs have been unmade? And does all this mean that we, too, will eventually become crabs? In this episode, host Emily Kwong chats with Javier Luque about crabs, carcinization and change.
Want more paleontological science stories? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear your thoughts!
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Patrick Anderson is widely recognized as the greatest wheelchair basketball player of all time. He's represented Canada at the Paralympics six times and led his team to win three gold — and one silver — medals. But since he first started playing in the 1990s, the sport has changed dramatically. He says that's due in part to the technological innovations in wheelchair athletics. In this episode, guest host Andrew Mambo chats with Patrick about the reasons for these changes. They also cover the origin of the sport, how the innovations that have changed gameplay and the rising popularity of wheelchair basketball around the world. Plus, the commonality between sport wheelchairs and stance cars.
Interested in hearing more about the science behind sports? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear your feedback!
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Hurricane season is heating up: Hurricane Francine hit Louisiana last week and dumped rain across the South, and forecasters expect more stormy activity in the Atlantic in the next few weeks.
A big factor in this stormy weather is our extremely warm oceans. Scientists know climate change is the main culprit, but NPR climate correspondent Rebecca Hersher has been following the quest to figure out the other reasons. Hint: They may involve volcanoes and the sun.
Read more of Rebecca's reporting on this topic.
Questions about hurricanes or other weather disasters? Email us at [email protected] – we'd love to hear your ideas!
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We close out Climate Solutions Week with a look at the final step in the food system: waste. Roughly 30-40% of all food produced globally gets thrown out — a huge problem when it comes to climate change. Shuggie's Trash Pie and Natural Wine has answers for what to do with all that waste – be it bruised fruit and wilted greens salad or meatballs made out of beef hearts. The San Francisco restaurant describes itself as a "climate-solutions restaurant" — and they're hoping you find these dishes appealing. Or at least, that you're willing to give them a try. Shuggie's is one of a growing number of eateries trying to address this problem.
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Climate change is contributing to erratic weather where cocoa beans are grown and threatening the global chocolate supply. Record rainfall last year led to fungal infections among cacao trees and dwindled supply of cocoa beans. Heat is also making it more difficult for cocoa beans to thrive. So, for day three of Climate Solutions Week, we look at one innovation in the food industry: chocolate substitutes.
As big chocolate manufacturers rush to stockpile cocoa beans, some companies like Planet A Foods are looking for a more sustainable solution: an alternative that looks like chocolate, tastes like chocolate and feels like chocolate... without chocolate.
You can read more of international correspondent Rob Schmitz's reporting here.
Interested in hearing more climate solutions? Email us at [email protected] – we'd love to hear your ideas!
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Since the height of the pandemic, there has been a boom in the use of food delivery services. Day 2 of NPR's Climate Solutions Week is all about the environmental impacts of how we shop for our food. So in this episode, NPR correspondent Scott Neuman reports on a question we've all wanted to know the answer to: What is the impact of getting food delivered on our carbon footprint?
Interested in hearing more climate solutions? Email us at [email protected] – we'd love to hear your ideas!
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In California's Napa Valley, the nation's unofficial wine capital, one varietal reigns supreme: cabernet sauvignon. But climate change is threatening the small blue-black grapes for which cabernet sauvignon is named. Increasingly severe heat waves are taking a toll on the grape variety, especially in late summer during ripening.
To kick off NPR's Climate Solutions Week, climate correspondent Lauren Sommer joins host Regina G. Barber for a deep dive into the innovations wineries are actualizing — and the ways that cabernet farmers and fans alike could learn to adapt.
Climate change is affecting our food, and our food is affecting the climate. NPR is dedicating a week to stories and conversations about the search for solutions.
Read more of Lauren's reporting on how climate change is affecting wine.
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Hey, Short Wavers! Today, we have a special present for all of you: An episode from our good friends at NPR's Body Electric podcast all a bout artificial intimacy! Thanks to advances in AI, chatbots can act as personalized therapists, companions and romantic partners. The apps offering these services have been downloaded millions of times. If these relationships relieve stress and make us feel better, does it matter that they're not "real"? On this episode of Body Electric, host Manoush Zomorodi talks to MIT sociologist and psychologist Sherry Turkle about her new research into what she calls "artificial intimacy" and its impact on our mental and physical health.
Binge the whole Body Electric series here. Plus, sign up for the Body Electric Challenge and our newsletter here.
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Last year, a dog named Bunny went viral on TikTok for pressing buttons with words on them to "communicate" with her owner. But can dogs even understand those words on a soundboard in the first place? A new study in the journal PLOS One seeks answers. Host Regina G. Barber and producer Rachel Carlson break down that story and more of the week's news with the help of All Things Considered's Ari Shapiro.
Have other viral headlines that you want us to put to the test for its scientific truth? Email us at [email protected] — we might cover it on a future episode!
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Short Wave producer Hannah Chinn has adult-onset eczema. They're not the only one. Up to ten percent of people in the United States have it, according to the National Eczema Association — and its prevalence is increasing. Despite its ubiquity, a lot about this skin condition remains a mystery.
So today, Hannah's getting answers. They sat down with Raj Fadadu, a dermatologist at UC San Diego, to ask: What is eczema? What triggers it in the first place? And might climate change make it worse sometimes?
If you liked this episode, check out our episode on the science of itchiness. Also, follow us! That way you never miss another Short Wave episode.
Interested in hearing more about climate change and human health? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear your feedback!
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