Science Friday

Why do sports announcers talk like that?

19 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

If you watch sports, whether the recent NBA finals or the ongoing World Cup matches, you may have noticed that the athletes aren’t the only ones put...

Swords, cannibalism, poison: inside the world of killer microbes

18 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

There is a murderous crime spree happening right under—and perhaps inside—our noses. Killer microbes armed with weapons are eviscerating, assassin...

When music transports you to a different place

17 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Do you ever hear a song that transports you to a specific place and time? This auditory wormhole has a name: musical daydreams. Music cognition expert...

A vast whale graveyard + Zombie sea cucumbers

16 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers just published details of a massive undersea graveyard of whales deep in the Indian Ocean. Spanning about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles), it...

Should we bring mountain lions back to the Northeast?

15 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Big cats used to roam the entire United States. You might know them as mountain lions, pumas, cougars, or catamounts. Though they go by many names, th...

Blue Origin explosion hits NASA timeline + Artemis III crew

12 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When Blue Origin’s New Glenn spacecraft exploded in an enormous fireball during a ground test a couple weeks ago, it sent shockwaves not only throug...

Why can I handle tequila but not rum?

11 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

‘Tis the season for porch beers and happy hours, and we’re taking on listener questions about how alcohol affects us. Like, is a glass of wine at ...

AI + turfgrass science in the most high-tech World Cup yet

10 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The 2026 World Cup will be the largest one yet, and FIFA is trying to make it the most high-tech, too. The federation has partnered with tech giant Le...

How extreme athletes like Alex Honnold keep their cool

09 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Elite athletes spend a lot of time training their bodies for strength, endurance, coordination, and precision. But what about their brains? Can psycho...

Parenting tips from the animal kingdom

08 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve ever been a child, had a child, or seen a child face down in a supermarket aisle screaming, you know that parenting can be tough. But huma...

Wait, is my washing machine playing Schubert?

06 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A few weeks ago, we talked to two sonic branding experts who compose music for household appliances. And we played for them a song “sung” by a was...

A virus hunter in Nigeria has thoughts on the Ebola outbreak

05 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring Uganda is caused by the Bundibugyo virus. There’s no specific tre...

How did Neanderthals deal with illness and injuries?

04 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

If you look up where medicine originated, or the earliest medical interventions, you’ll probably find yourself reading about ancient Greece or Egypt...

Looking for life in the clouds of Venus

03 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A group of researchers and private investors are planning a series of privately funded missions to Venus, hoping to find signs of life. That may seem ...

Meet the drug developer taking on wildlife diseases

02 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Many of the forces driving species to extinction—habitat destruction, pollution, climate change—also fuel the spread of disease. Plants and animal...

Can the shingles vaccine stave off dementia?

01 Jun 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The benefits of getting a shingles vaccine seem relatively straightforward: It will prevent you from getting shingles, a painful rash caused by the sa...

Inside the Nebraska quarantine facility responding to hantavirus

29 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Two disease outbreaks are dominating the news: Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and hantavirus, which started spreading on a cruise ship...

Surveying wildlife along Lewis and Clark's route, 220 years later

28 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When Lewis and Clark crossed the United States in the early 1800s, they recorded their wildlife observations along the way. Now, more than 200 years l...

Pope Leo's encyclical on AI, and the Vatican science advisors

27 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On Monday, Pope Leo XIV presented his encyclical, an open letter from the church, on AI. The 42,000-word document covers a lot of terrain—from scree...

Bizarre exoplanet clouds + Counting insects with weather radar

26 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have observed clouds on a hot gas giant exoplanet called WASP-94A b, some 700 light-years away. But t...

A trailblazing geneticist reflects on her life and work

25 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It’s common knowledge that many diseases and conditions have some kind of genetic link. But that wasn't always the case. In 1990, long before the Hu...

Is that spooky old house full of ghosts, or just infrasound?

22 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Old creepy houses are a horror cliche, but why? Why do they freak us out? According to new research, it might have something to do with infrasound: a ...

How do clinical trials work, and who can participate?

21 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We recently got a call from a SciFri listener in Florida who has autoimmune arthritis. He told us that over the years he’d taken 10 drugs, and each ...

Use of herbicide linked to Parkinson's is on the rise in the US

20 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The herbicide paraquat is so toxic it’s banned in over 70 countries. But its use in the U.S. is growing, despite known links to Parkinson’s diseas...

Why does fashion repeat in 20-year cycles? Math has the answer

19 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Bucket hats. Low-rise jeans. Track suits. As you might’ve noticed, Y2K fashion is in right now. People say that fashion moves in 20-year cycles, and...

Earth's Ancient Hydrogen, And Fossilized Vomit

18 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A recent study simulated the extreme temperatures and pressure of the Earth’s interior by squeezing a sample between diamonds and heating it with a ...

How yawning might help clear dirty fluid from the brain

15 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Just about every animal with a backbone yawns (maybe even dinosaurs), but why we do it is still something of a mystery. A SciFri listener from Texas r...

The new frontier of cancer research is in space

14 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

An upcoming resupply mission will carry tumor samples to the International Space Station for research. Experiments in microgravity have yielded shocki...

Who are the musicians composing for my washing machine?

13 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Have you noticed that your newer appliances are serenading you? Many new washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, and vacuums have sonic signatures. But...

How El Niño shapes the world’s weather trends

12 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists studying climate models say there’s a high chance this will be an El Niño year—and that we could be in for a “super” El Niño. The...

Planning your photo ops for a trip around the moon

11 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In April, the crew of Artemis II got an unprecedented tour of the far side of the moon, and they brought back a proverbial shoebox full of pictures. L...

Understanding the gynecological health crisis facing Black women

08 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When Kemi Doll was in medical school, she learned that Black women are twice as likely to die from uterine cancer as white women, and also suffer disp...

Data about your body is up for sale. Who's buying it?

07 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Cameras and sensors are just about everywhere, recording your face, how you walk, where you go, your heart rate. And AI is making it easy to amass and...

Sci-fi thriller combines aliens, robots, and Cherokee culture

06 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Breaking news out of eastern Oklahoma! A hole in the sky has opened. Through it, an unidentified turtle-shaped craft has descended. Alerts say that th...

Beavers could be humans' biggest ally, if we let them

05 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Beavers are having a moment, thanks to the new Pixar movie “Hoppers.” Amid some body-swapping shenanigans, the film is about humans coexisting wit...

Searching for dark matter, deep in the Earth

04 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Deep in an active nickel mine near Sudbury, Ontario, researchers are installing and calibrating a set of sensitive detectors. They hope that the locat...

The decades-long movement to kill FEMA

02 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Hurricane season officially begins in June. And in the event of a big storm, local and state governments often rely on help from the Federal Emergency...

What cats and dogs hear + A 'smell map' of the nose

01 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Animal neuroaudiologist Pete Scheifele joins us to answer some burning questions from SciFri listener Paul: Why can dogs and cats hear a wider range o...

How do you study microplastics in a plastic-filled lab?

30 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The news we hear about plastic is often alarming: We have a spoon’s worth of plastics in our brains, and there are microplastics in our hearts, lymp...

What is ibogaine, and why is it in the news?

29 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In mid-April, President Trump issued an executive order to set aside funding and loosen the bureaucratic process at the FDA to fast-track psychedelic ...

The long history of birds, from velociraptors to pigeons

28 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Comparing a backyard sparrow to a fearsome velociraptor seems odd, but modern birds are indeed living dinosaurs. Scientists are finding more and more ...

Your DNA is constantly mutating, and that’s a good thing

27 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Our bodily systems are rife with mutations. In fact, your DNA is mutating right now. These errors, and attempts to repair them, are a key to understan...

Maine nearly became the first state to ban data centers

25 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Data centers make controversial neighbors: They’re loud, they use a lot of water, and can drive electricity prices up. Following public concern and ...

What urban design tells us about democracy

24 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The way ancient societies like the Greeks, Maya, and Khmer Empire built their cities can tell us a lot about how a place was governed. Did rulers live...

Listening for the cosmic ‘dark ages,’ from the lunar far side

23 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What did the universe look like before any stars turned on? Astronomers call that time the “dark ages,” and while they think it may be possible to...

How do you describe nature? Two poets help us

22 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

To mark Earth Day, we asked you to tell us about your favorite places on the planet. You took us to the woods near Traverse City, Michigan, to a lake ...

The lucky breaks that make our Earth home

21 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What makes Earth special, and why are we here at all? In his book “Why Do We Exist? The Nine Realms of the Universe That Make You Possible,” astro...

How New Jersey tamped down PFAS in drinking water

20 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly all Americans have some type of PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals,” in their blood. The chemicals, which are linked to numerous he...

How a particle accelerator illuminated 56 human organs

17 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A new imaging technique using a particle accelerator is giving researchers an unprecedented level of detail of our organs, producing scans 100 billion...

Simone Giertz’s journey from robot comedy to high-end design

16 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the 2010s, inventor Simone Giertz (pronounced “Yetch”) began making videos that straddled the line between practical and absurd. What if you ha...

When a dolphin whistles, what does it mean?

15 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What are dolphins actually saying with their iconic, high-pitched whistles? Dolphin communication researcher Laela Sayigh is trying to find out. She’...

Inside the lives of astronauts’ families

14 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

“This was not easy, being 200,000+ miles away from home. Like before you launch, it feels like it's the greatest dream on earth. And when you're out...

Green stuff, brown stuff: Secrets to a great compost pile

13 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re a gardener, thinking about getting your soil in shape probably means thinking about compost. But composting can be a mysterious process. W...

Why so many studies can’t be replicated

11 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

How do we know what we know? That's where science comes in—it gives us a method for testing our ideas and getting trustworthy results. But some rese...

How a sound designer gave an alien its voice (and 250 words)

10 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Movies may be a largely visual medium, but sound plays a huge role in setting tone, creating new worlds, and fleshing out characters. Sound designer E...

Can GLP-1 drugs treat addiction?

09 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound are prescribed for weight loss, diabetes, and blood-sugar management. But as more people use them, pati...

What a sperm whale’s birth tells us about whale culture

08 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists recently published the first footage of a sperm whale birth, and it was a crowded ordeal. More than 10 other sperm whales were there for th...

Is the US backing out of the electric vehicle market?

07 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Last year, Chinese carmaker BYD sold millions of electric vehicles, overtaking Tesla to become the world’s biggest seller of EV cars. And BYD cars w...

Can algae help pull microplastics out of our water supply?

06 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Microplastics and nanoplastics have been found just about everywhere: in our soil, our bodies, and our water. Recent research involving bioengineered ...

Artemis II test flight heads toward the moon

03 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On Wednesday, NASA’s Artemis II mission launched, kicking off on a roughly 10-day trip that will carry four astronauts around the moon and back to E...

Should Pluto be a planet again?

02 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 2006, a vote by the International Astronomical Union determined that Pluto was no longer a planet. The decision sparked a heated public debate, and...

How to poop better, according to a gastroenterologist

01 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

For many of us, what happens in the bathroom stays in the bathroom: According to a recent survey, 1 in 3 Americans are too embarrassed to talk about t...

Harnessing the superpowers of silk

31 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A listener recently called in asking how they might get a pair of functioning web shooters so they could operate as a local Spider-Man. While web shoo...

CERN finds a new particle + News alerts for the cosmos

30 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland have announced that they discovered a new subatomic particle. Roughly four times more massive ...

Move over, vibe-coding. Vibe-proving is here for math

27 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When ChatGPT first came onto the scene, it wowed users with its writing abilities, but drew laughs for generating images of seven-fingered hands and s...

Is Punch the monkey really just like us?

26 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When Punch the monkey was abandoned by his mother, zookeepers gave him a surrogate and unexpected source of comfort: a stuffed animal. Videos of Punch...

Could bird flu still spark a pandemic?

25 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Bird flu has flown off the national news radar, with only scattered, local reports of dead birds in parks and poultry farms. Is it simply no longer a ...

The secret powers of flowers

24 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Flowers peeking up through the soil are a welcome sight after a long cold winter—and are one of the first markers of spring. Biologist David George ...

Apple: trying to think different for 50 years

23 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Apple Computer Company was founded on April 1, 1976, and in the 50 years since, the company has evolved from a handful of Silicon Valley misfits t...

‘Project Hail Mary’ brings a new kind of alien to the big screen

20 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Science fiction nerds, rejoice: the long-awaited adaptation of “Project Hail Mary” is in theaters now. Host Flora Lichtman chats with book author ...

Building a digital ant gallery, from the ground up

19 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A project called Antscan has generated high resolution images of thousands of ants, representing over 700 species. To make it happen, researchers brou...

The heaviness and (not) hope of climate change

18 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, renowned environmental writer Elizabeth Kolbert has taken readers to remote corners of the planet to understand how all life is connected...

Could a ‘digital twin’ help you get better health care?

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

There’s an idea bubbling up in medicine called the “digital twin.” The concept is to take personal health data like genetics, blood test results...

Who uses Farmers’ Almanacs? + Zebra finch home design

16 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Farmers’ Almanacs have been around for hundreds of years, offering detailed advice about things like the best time to plant certain crops, and when ...

Slow Breaking News: A Giant Tortoise Revival

13 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In February, conservationists released 158 young tortoises onto Floreana Island in the Galapagos. The Floreana tortoise subspecies had long been thoug...

How Is AI Being Used In The Iran War?

12 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The military use of AI is capturing headlines this month. After a dustup with the Pentagon, the AI company Anthropic is out, and OpenAI is in. Meanwhi...

Is There Science Behind The ‘Nervous System Reset’?

11 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On social media, the vagus nerve often gets billed as the gateway to nervous system nirvana: It’s your ticket to better rest, relaxation, and health...

AI Music Is On The Charts. Where Does It Go From Here?

10 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In recent months, AI music has moved from novelty act into the realm of listenable music. For the first time, AI-generated songs from AI-generated art...

The Surprising Science Of Why Sneakers Squeak

09 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

March Madness is almost upon us, which means basketball arenas across the country will be filled with the thunderous roar of fans and the surprisingly...

Can ‘Suggestion-Box Science’ Make Public Health More Useful?

07 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Skepticism around public health policy, experts and institutions has left some researchers asking basic questions about their role and relationship wi...

Fixing Society's Toughest Problems? ‘It’s On You’

06 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Ever heard an alcohol ad that tells you to “please drink responsibly”? Or a gambling ad that warns, "when the fun stops, stop”? Or been urged to...

3D Images Of Galaxies Will Rock You (Ft. Queen)

05 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see. There’s so...

Slow Release Of Federal Science Funds Holds Up Research

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, Congress pushed back on the Trump administration’s attempts to slash funding for many science research programs, and restored tha...

The Evolution Of An Enzyme Engineer Who Changed Chemistry

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In nature, enzymes are the catalysts that make much of biology work. They jumpstart chemical reactions that either wouldn’t happen, or would happen ...

The Art And Science Of Staving Off Cognitive Decline

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The new semi-autobiographical play “The Reservoir” spins a comedic narrative around cognitive reserve, the idea that doing brain-stimulating activ...

Into the Woods, From Chestnut Genetics To Tiny Forests

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

American chestnut trees once towered over the landscape, dominating forests in parts of the eastern United States. But in the late 1800s, a fungal bli...

EPA Repeals The Legal Basis For Regulating Greenhouse Gases

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On February 12, the Environmental Protection Agency dealt a major blow to the government’s power to fight climate change by rescinding a key piece o...

How One Gene Affects Alzheimer’s Risk

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

An estimated 500,000 people are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States each year, but the causes and mechanisms of the condition re...

Are My THC Gummies Going Away?

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Does the availability of “hemp-derived” THC products have you dazed and confused? A legal loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill lets these items be sold ...

Why Aren’t There Biomarkers For Mental Illness?

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Despite major advances in our understanding of the biology of mental health disorders,  there’s no blood test or brain scan that will confirm if yo...

Autism Rates Appear To Be Even Across Sexes. Diagnosis Is Not

21 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a long-held idea that autism is more prevalent in boys than girls—the CDC says it’s three times as common. But a growing body of researc...

AMA Joins Effort To Launch Independent Vaccine Review Panel

20 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The gap between vaccine science and vaccine policy has been widening under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Now, the American Medical Associatio...

What A Snow Drought In The West Means For The Rest Of 2026

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

While parts of the eastern and southern US have had unusually high snowfall this year, the West is in a snow drought. The abysmal winter sports season...

Jump, Spin, Glide: The Science Of Figure Skating

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Figure skating is a fan favorite at the Winter Olympics—for every event, the stands are packed to watch competitors glide, jump, and spin. But what ...

How Are State-Run Psilocybin Therapy Programs Going?

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In Oregon and Colorado, you can book an appointment for psilocybin therapy, where a licensed therapist takes you on a guided trip using the drug that ...

A Little Grime Can Boost Kids’ Health. But What Kind?

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

You may have heard that a little dirt is good for kids. It helps them build up their immune systems, and sets them on a path to future health. But wha...

Mating, Marriage, And Monogamy In The Age Of Apps

14 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

With so many dating apps—and so many people using them—why are a record number of American adults single? Is marriage as important as it was a gen...

What A Tea Party With A Bonobo Taught Us About Imagination

13 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Our ability to imagine is part of what makes us who we are—not just as individuals, but also as humans. It turns out, though, that we may not be the...

How Is Screen Time Affecting My Kid?

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Screens are ubiquitous in today’s world, and concerns about how they affect kids are mounting. Last month, Australia banned social media use for kid...

Who Wants To Smell An Ancient Embalmed Mummy?

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Wandering through a museum, you can get a glimpse of what life in ancient societies looked like. But what did it smell like? And is it even possible t...