Radiolab

Small Potatoes

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An ode to the small, the banal, the overlooked things that make up the fabric of our lives.Most of our stories are about the big stuff: Important or d...

The Distance of the Moon

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In an episode we last featured on our Radiolab for Kids Feed back in 2020, and in honor of its blocking out the Sun for a bit of us for a bit last wee...

The Moon Itself

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a total solar eclipse coming. On Monday, April 8, for a large swath of North America, the sun will disappear, in the middle of the day. Ever...

Short Cuts: Drawn Onward

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As a treat for the first palindrome date of the calendar year 2024, 4/2/24, (for those who use U.S. formatting of dates anyway), we are releasing a sp...

Finding Emilie

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is a segment we first aired back in 2011. In it, we hear a story of a very different kind of lost and found. Alan Lundgard, a college art student...

Throughline: Dare to Dissent

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s show, we’re excited to share an episode from our friends at the podcast Throughline. Sometimes, the most dangerous and powerful thing ...

Staph Retreat

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when you combine an axe-wielding microbiologist and a disease-obsessed historian? A strange brew that's hard to resist, even for a modern...

Hold On

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two years ago, the United States did something amazing. In response to the mental health crisis the federal government launched 988 - a nationwide, ea...

G: The World's Smartest Animal

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode begins with a rant. This rant, in particular, comes from Dan Engber - a science writer who loves animals but despises animal intelligence...

Cheating Death

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Maria Paz Gutiérrez does battle against the one absolute truth of human existence and all life… death. After getting a team of sci...

G: Relative Genius

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Albert Einstein asked that when he died, his body be cremated and his ashes be scattered in a secret location. He didn’t want his grave, or his body...

Zoozve

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As co-host Latif Nasser was putting his kid to bed one night, he noticed something weird on a solar system poster up on the wall: Venus had a moon cal...

The Living Room

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're thrilled to present a piece from one of our favorite podcasts, Love + Radio (Nick van der Kolk and Brendan Baker).  Producer Briana Breen bring...

Our Little Stupid Bodies

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes a seemingly silly question gets stuck in your craw and you can’t shake the feeling that something big lies behind it. We are constantly co...

Stochasticity

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

First aired way back in 2009, this episode is all about a wonderfully slippery and smarty-pants word for randomness, Stochasticity, and how it may be ...

Zeroworld

29 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Karim Ani dedicated his life to math. He studied it in school, got a degree in math education, even founded Citizen Math to teach it to kids in a whol...

Numbers

22 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

First aired back in 2009, this episode is all about one thing, or rather a collection of things. Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, chances are you rel...

Death Interrupted

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As a lifeguard, a paramedic, and then an ER doctor, Blair Bigham found his calling: saving lives. But when he started to work in the ICU, he slowly re...

A 4-Track Mind

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this short episode that first aired in 2011, a neurologist issues a dare to a ragtime piano player and a famous conductor. When the two men face of...

Boy Man

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Could puberty get any more awkward? Turns out, yes. Writer Patrick Burleigh started going through puberty as a toddler. He had pubic hair before he wa...

Shrink

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The definition of life is in flux, complexity is overrated, and humans are shrinking. Viruses are supposed to be sleek, pared-down, dead-eyed machines...

The Interstitium

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we introduce you to a part of our bodies that was invisible to Western scientists until about five years ago; it’s called "the inter...

Funky Hand Jive

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Back when Robert was kid, he had a chance encounter with then President John F. Kennedy. The interaction began with a hello and ended with a handshake...

Toy Soldiers

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Back in February of 2022, anyone who knew anything thought the War in Ukraine would be over in a few weeks. Russia simply had more bodies to fight wit...

Border Trilogy Part 3: What Remains

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While scouring the Sonoran Desert for objects left behind by migrants crossing into the United States, anthropologist Jason De León happened upon som...

Border Trilogy Part 2: Hold the Line

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While scouring the Sonoran Desert for objects left behind by migrants crossing into the United States, anthropologist Jason De León happened upon som...

Border Trilogy Part 1: Hole in the Fence

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While scouring the Sonoran Desert for objects left behind by migrants crossing into the United States, anthropologist Jason De León happened upon som...

The Secret to a Long Life

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Producer Sindhu Gnanasambandan wants to know how she can live the longest feeling life possible. The answer leads her on a journey to make one week fe...

Poison Control

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Originally aired in 2018, this episode features reporter Brena Farrell as a new mom. Her son gave her and her husband a scare -- prompting them to cal...

Smog Cloud Silver Lining

22 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Summer 2023 was a pretty scary one for the planet. Global temperatures in June and July reached record highs. And over in the North Atlantic Sea, the ...

Driverless Dilemma

15 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Most of us would sacrifice one person to save five. It’s a pretty straightforward bit of moral math. But if we have to actually kill that person our...

Born This Way?

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today, the story of an idea. An idea that some people need, others reject, and one that will, ultimately, be hard to let go of. Special Thanks to Car...

Touch at a Distance

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode from 2007, we take you on a tour of language, music, and the properties of sound. We look at what sound does to our bodies, our brains...

Rumble Strip: Finn and the Bell

25 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A couple years ago, our producer Annie McEwen listened to an audio documentary that, she said, “tore my heart wide open.” That episode , “Finn a...

The Wubi Effect

18 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When we think of China today, we think of a technological superpower. From Huawei and 5G to TikTok and viral social media, China is stride for stride ...

The Internet Dilemma

11 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Herrick was sitting on his stoop in Harlem when something weird happened. Then, it happened again. And again. It happened so many times that i...

Right to be Forgotten

04 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In online news, stories live forever. The tipsy photograph of you at the college football game? It’s there. That news article about the political ra...

Little Black Holes Everywhere

28 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 1908, on a sunny, clear, quiet morning in Siberia, witnesses recall seeing a blinding light streak across the sky, and then… the earth shook, a f...

The Right Stuff

21 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Since the beginning of the space program, we’ve expected astronauts to be fully-abled athletic overachievers—one-part science geeks, two-part tria...

The Fellowship of the Tree Rings

14 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

At a tree ring conference in the relatively treeless city of Tucson, Arizona, three scientists walk into a bar. The trio gets to talking, trying to ex...

Man Against Horse

07 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is a story about your butt. It’s a story about how you got your butt, why you have your butt, and how your butt might be one of the most import...

The Cataclysm Sentence

30 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sad news for all of us: producer Rachael Cusick— who brought us soul-stirring stories rethinking grief (https://zpr.io/GZ6xEvpzsbHU) and solitude (h...

Americanish

23 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Given reporter Julia Longoria’s long love affair with the Supreme Court, it’s no surprise she’s become the new host of More Perfect (https://zpr...

Beware the Sand Striker

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Shipworms. Hairy Chested Yeti Crabs. Parasitic Barnacles in the cloaca of Greenland Sharks. These are the types of creatures Sabrina Imbler, a columni...

Eye in the Sky

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ross McNutt has a superpower: he can zoom in on everyday life, then rewind and fast-forward to solve crimes in a shutter-flash. But should he? In 2004...

The Seagulls

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1970s, as LGBTQ+ people in the United States faced conservatives whose top argument was that homosexuality is “unnatural,” a pair of young ...

On the Edge

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

At the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, one athlete pulled a move that, as far as we know, no one else had ever attempted. In this episode, first aired...

Family People

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2021, editor Alex Neason's grandfather passed away. On his funeral program, she learned the name of his father for the first time: Wilson Howard. N...

The War on Our Shore

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Foreign enemies have seldom brought war to U.S. soil… right? In this episode from 2017, we tell you strange stories of foreign enemies landing on ou...

Ologies: Dark Matters

05 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Testudinology. Enigmatology. Hagfishology. Raccoonology. Meteorology. Chronobiology. Chickenology. Delphinology. Bryology. Vampirology. Zymology. Echi...

The Golden Rule

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

At first glance, Golden Balls was just like all the other game shows — quick-witted host, flashy set, suspenseful music. But underneath all that, ea...

Corpse Demon

21 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Heaven and hell, Judgement Day, monotheism — these ideas all came from one ancient Persian religion: Zoroastrianism. Also: Sky Burials. Zoroastrians...

Abortion Pills, Take Two

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Abortion pills — a combo of two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol — are on notice: on April 7, 2023, a federal judge said the FDA’s approval o...

The Library of Alexandra

07 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How much does knowledge cost? While that sounds like an abstract question, the answer is surprisingly specific: $3,096,988,440.00. That’s how much t...

The Good Samaritan

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tuesday afternoon, summer of 2017: Scotty Hatton and Scottie Wightman made a decision to help someone in need and both paid a price for their actions ...

Alone Enough

24 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cat Jaffee didn’t necessarily think of herself as someone who loved being alone. But then, the pandemic hit. And she got diagnosed with cancer. Actu...

Apologetical

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How do you fix a word that’s broken? A word we need when we bump into someone on the street, or break someone’s heart. In our increasingly disconn...

Buttons Not Buttons

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tiny buttons have such a hold on us. They can be portals to power, freedom, and destruction. Today, with the help of buttons, we tell you about taking...

Crabs All the Way Down

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week we examine one of nature's most humble creations: crabs. Turns out when you look closely at these little scuttlers, things get surprisingly ...

The Trust Engineers

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

First aired in 2015, this is an episode about social media, and how, when we talk online, things can quickly go south. But do they have to? In the ear...

Golden Goose

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After years of being publicly shamed for “fleecing” the taxpayers with their frivolous and obscure studies, scientists decided to hit back with…...

Bliss

10 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this deep cut from 2012, we are searching for platonic ideals longing for completion, engaged in epic quests for holy grails in science, linguistic...

Ukraine: The Handoff

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We continue the story of a covert smuggling operation to bring abortion pills into Ukraine, shortly after the Russian invasion. In this episode, repor...

Birthstory

27 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You know the drill — all it takes is one sperm, one egg, and blammo — you’ve got yourself a baby. Right? Well, in this 2015 episode, conception ...

Ukraine: Under the Counter

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the weeks following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a young doctor in Germany sees that abortion pills are urgently needed in Ukraine. And she ...

Games

13 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, first aired in 2011, we talk about the meaning of a good game — whether it's a pro football playoff, or a family showdown on the ki...

Universe In Verse

06 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For a special New Year’s treat, we take a tour through the history of the universe with the help of… poets. Our guide is Maria Popova, who writes ...

New Normal

30 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode —first released in 2009 and then again in 2015, with an update — asks, what is “normal”? Maybe it exists, maybe not. We examine p...

The Flight Before Christmas

23 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

At any given moment, nearly 500,000 people are crammed together in a metal tube, hurtling through the air. In this episode, we look at the strange hum...

Null and Void

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode, first aired in 2017, has Reporter Tracie Hunte and Editor Soren Wheeler exploring a hidden power in the U.S. Court System that is either...

The Middle of Everything Ever

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After graduating from high school, without a clear plan for what to do next, Laura Andrews started asking herself a lot of questions. A spiral of big ...

The Ashes on the Lawn

02 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A global pandemic. Thousands dying. A passive government. An afflicted group fueled by grief and anger. In this episode, first aired in 2020, Reporter...

More Perfect: The Political Thicket

25 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren was asked at the end of his career, “What was the most important case of your tenure?”, there we...

What's Up Doc?

18 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mel Blanc was known as “the man of 1,000 voices,” but, to hear his son tell it, the actual number was closer to 1,500. Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daff...

Butt Stuff

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why do we have a butt? Well, it’s not just for the convenience of a portable seat cushion. This week, we have a conversation with our Contributing E...

Guts

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This hour, we dive into the messy mystery in the middle of us. What's going on down there? And what can the rumblings deep in our bellies tell us abou...

The Weather Report

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Meteorologists are as common as the clouds these days. Rolling onto the airwaves at morning, noon and night they tell us what to wear and where to pla...

Black Box

21 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, first aired in 2014, we examine three very different kinds of black boxes — spaces where we know what’s going in, we know what’...

No-Touch Abortion

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When the Dobbs decision went down, ER doctor Avir Mitra started to prepare for the worst — botched, at-home abortions that would land pregnant peopl...

The Theater of David Byrne's Mind

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It all started when the rockstar David Byrne did a Freaky-Friday-like body-swap with a Barbie Doll. That’s what inspired him — along with his coll...

Playing God

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When people are dying and you can only save some, how do you choose? Maybe you save the youngest. Or the sickest. Maybe you even just put all the name...

Terrestrials: The Mastermind

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lulu Miller, intrepid host and fearless mother of two, went off on her own and put together a little something for kids. All kids: hers, yours, and th...

Quicksaaaand!

16 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For many of us, quicksand was once a real fear — it held a vise grip on our imaginations, from childish sandbox games to grown-up anxieties about ve...

40,000 Recipes for Murder

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Two scientists realize that the very same AI technology they have developed to discover medicines for rare diseases can also discover the most potent ...

Rodney v. Death

02 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the fall of 2004, Jeanna Giese checked into the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin with a set of puzzling symptoms... and her condition was deteriora...

Gigaverse

26 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A pizzeria owner in Kansas realizes that DoorDash is hijacking his pizzas. A Lyft driver conquers the streets of San Francisco until he unwittingly pu...

9-Volt Nirvana

19 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Learn a new language faster than ever! Leave doubt in the dust! Be a better sniper! Could you do all that and more with just a zap to the noggin? Mayb...

Infinities

12 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In August 2018, Boen Wang was at a work retreat for a new job. Surrounded by mosquitoes and swampland in a tiny campsite in West Virginia, Boen’s mi...

Escape

05 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode originally aired in 2012. An all-star lineup of producers — Pat Walters, Lynn Levy, and Sean Cole — bring you stories about traps, ge...

The Humpback and the Killer

29 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Killer whales — orcas — eat all sorts of animals, including humpback calves. But one day, biologists saw a group of humpback whales trying to stop...

You v. You

22 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode, originally aired more than a decade ago, attempts to answer one question: how do you win against your worst impulses? Zelda Gamson tried...

The Gatekeeper

15 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Reporter Peter Smith and Senior Producer Matt Kielty tell the story of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that set the standard for scientific...

Baby Blue Blood Drive

08 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is an episode that first aired in 2018 and then again in the thick of the pandemic in 2020. Why? Because though Horseshoe crabs are not much to l...

My Thymus, Myself

01 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we go to a spot that may be one of the most philosophical places in the universe: the thymus, an organ that knows what is you, and what is not ...

Galápagos

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As our co-Hosts Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser are out this week, we are re-sharing the perfect episode to start the summer season! This one, which firs...

No Special Duty

17 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Since the massacre that took the lives of 19 schoolchildren in Uvalde, Texas, people across the world began to ask versions of one question: why did p...

Neanderthal's Revenge

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A few months ago, co-Host Latif Nasser, who was otherwise healthy, saw blood in his poop. It was the start of a medical journey that made him not onl...

Origin Stories

03 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We’re all in a tizzy here at Radiolab on account of our 20-year anniversary. And, as one does upon passing a milestone, we’ve been looking back i...

Radiolab After Dark

27 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Back in 2002, Jad Abumrad started Radiolab as a live radio show. He DJ’d out into the ether and 20 years later we do the same. To commemorate the 20...

La Mancha Screwjob

20 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

All the world’s a stage. Or, sometimes it feels that way, especially these days. In this episode, originally aired in 2015, we push through the four...