Emily Kwong

Tyler Jones checked the facts.

Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer.

Beth Donovan is our senior vice president of podcasting strategy.

I'm Emily Kwong.

Thank you for listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.

Hey shortwavers, Emily Kwong here.

So the last Tuesday of every month is Nature Quest.

That's the segment where we take one of your questions about the environment, how it's changing, and investigate it.

We've talked about why flowers are blooming early, how to live with extreme heat, why all the mosquitoes, what is managed retreat, and we are looking for more questions for future episodes in 2026.

So if you're wondering what's going on with planet Earth and the bugs and the birds and the bees around you, email us at shortwave at NPR dot org.

Give your name, your location, your question.

Bonus points if you record your question as a voice memo.

Thanks so much.

You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Hey, shortwavers.

Emily Kwong here.

And today I am joined by NPR science correspondent, Katie Riddle.

Hey, Katie.

Hi, Emily.

Hi.