Short Wave

GLP-1 Pills Are On The Way. Here's What To Know

19 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You may have heard of Ozempic, and other GLP-1 drugs. They’re everywhere. And they typically involve weekly injections — which can have a sticker ...

The Indicator: Take A Penny, Leave A Penny, Get Rid Of The Penny

18 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In November, the U.S. stopped production of the humble penny after 232 years in circulation. On today’s show, Darian Woods and Wailin Wong from NPR'...

"A Very, Very Big Deal." Countries Take On Fossil Fuels

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Many countries are frustrated with U.N. climate conferences. While some countries urgently want to transition away from fossil fuels — the main driv...

Could Architecture In Space Make A Greener Earth?

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Humankind has the technology to go to space. Space architect Ariel Ekblaw says the bottleneck now is real estate: getting larger volumes of space stat...

Is The Quantum Future Here?

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This year, quantum science and computing came up a lot. There have been broad claims that quantum science and engineering could one day help cure dis...

Could This Exoplanet Harbor Life?

12 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Want to be a top notch candidate for hosting alien life? Then there's a few key requirements you should be aware of: Ideally, you're a large object li...

How Replaceable Are You?

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1970’s TV show called Six Million Dollar Man, a test pilot is in a horrible accident. The show’s famous line goes, “We can rebuild him. W...

The Closest Thing To A Cure For Allergies

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

More than 100 million people in the U.S. have some allergy each year. That’s about every 1 in 3 adults. For many, the fix is a bandaid: over-the-cou...

Controversy In Yellowstone

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Thirty years ago, park rangers reintroduced grey wolves into Yellowstone National Park. They wanted to restore the ecosystem and get the elk populatio...

Americans Are Not Going To The Dentist Enough

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An estimated 5-10% of the U.S. population experiences a disorder with their TMJ, the joint that connects their jaw to their skull. The good news? Reli...

What Are AI Data Centers Doing To Your Electric Bill?

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Electricity bills are on track to rise an average of 8 percent nationwide by 2030 according to a June analysis from Carnegie Mellon University and Nor...

Why Experts Are Racing To Learn About This Interstellar Comet

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The comet 3I/ATLAS is taking a long holiday journey this year. It’s visiting from another solar system altogether. Those interstellar origins have t...

Who Should Track Their Blood Sugar?

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Prediabetes is common in the U.S. — around 1 in 3 people have it. And many people may not know they have it. But last year, the FDA approved the fir...

What’s In A Kiss? 21 Million Years Of Evolution

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How far back in evolutionary history does kissing go? Through phylogenetic analysis, an international team of scientists found that kissing was likely...

How To Disagree Better

26 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Many people are gearing up for holiday conversation with loved ones who may disagree with them -- on everything from politics to religion and lifestyl...

Nature Quest: The Earthquake Prediction Problem

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Their whole life, producer Hannah Chinn has known about the Big One: a massive earthquake forecasted to hit the West Coast. Scientists say it’ll des...

SNAP Delays: The Science Of Hunger And Food Insecurity

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

One in every eight households in the U.S. isn’t always sure where the next meal will come from. Limited food access can spell hunger – and that ca...

What's Up With Nightmares?

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dreams of flying? Nightmares of teeth falling out? Falling off a cliff? As a sleep scientist at the University of Montreal, Michelle Carr has pretty m...

The Mystery Of Inner Monologues

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Emily Kwong is pretty sure she lacks an inner monologue, while the inner monologue of producer Rachel Carlson won’t stop chatting. But how well can ...

An Apple Is An Ovary: The Science of Apple Breeding

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What's your favorite apple? Maybe it's the crowd-pleasing Honeycrisp, the tart Granny Smith or the infamous Red Delicious. Either way, before that app...

Mental ‘Workouts’ Could Keep Your Brain Young

17 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists have found the first compelling evidence that cognitive training can boost levels of a brain chemical that typically declines as people age...

Are we cooked? How social media shapes your language w/ Adam Aleksic (from TED Tech)

15 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we’re sharing a special episode from TED Tech exploring Gen Z slang words like "unalive," "skibidi" and "rizz." Where do these words come...

Data Centers, Icy Moons And Chameleons

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s another news roundup! This time, we cover how, using data analytics – and ironically, some AI – a team at Cornell University has mapped the...

The Future Of Immune Health Might Be Here

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

David Ewing Duncan has spent the last 25 years being poked and prodded in the name of science. He’s signed up for hundreds of tests because, as a jo...

What Space Dust Reveals About Earth's Ice Age

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cosmic dust can tell scientists about how ice covered Earth during the last ice age. This dust is leftover debris from asteroids and comets colliding ...

Do Birth Control Side Effects Make It Worth Skipping?

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recently, health influencers on Instagram and TikTok have been vocal about the side effects of hormonal birth control. Check out the most popular vide...

Fall foliage is still a mystery: Why do some leaves turn red?

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists know why leaves turn yellow in the fall: Chlorophyll breaks down, revealing the yellow pigment that was there all along. But red? Red is a ...

Why Some Species Survive Mass Extinctions

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Around 250 million years ago, one of Earth’s largest known volcanic events set off The Great Dying: the planet’s worst mass extinction event. The ...

The Secrets Everyday Rocks Keep

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why does the New York City skyline look the way it does? In part, because of what happened there 500 million years ago, says geologist Anjana Khatwa, ...

Elections: A Big Math Problem

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of Election Day tomorrow, millions of ballots are being cast in statewide, local and special elections. So, today, we're revisiting an episode a...

This Week In Science: Spiders, TV Pixels And Storytelling

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Happy Halloween, Short Wavers! In today’s news round-up, we’ve got only treats. Hosts Regina Barber and Emily Kwong fill in NPR’s Ailsa Chang on...

Like Being Scared? Here’s Why

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Like haunted houses? Scientists do! That’s because they’re an excellent place to study how humans respond to – and even actively seek out – fe...

Nature Quest: Rebuild Or Relocate Post-Disaster?

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the face of floods, wildfires and other natural disasters, when should a community relocate to avoid potential harm? Listener Molly Magid asks that...

What Works – And Doesn’t – For Hair Loss?

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

People may think of hair loss as a guy thing. But by some estimates, half of all women experience hair loss in their lifetime. And when your social me...

Parasites Have Haunted Us For Millions Of Years

24 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Parasites have roamed the Earth for a long time. They were here before the dinosaurs: The oldest fossils are more than 500 million years old. Today on...

Migrating Birds Have a Big, Clear Problem

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Around this time of year, every night, a quiet exodus is occurring. Hundreds of millions of birds are migrating thousands of miles south for the winte...

We Have the Cure. Why is Tuberculosis Still Around?

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tuberculosis – the world’s deadliest infectious disease – could be dormant in your system for years before you realize you have it. In the U.S.,...

Should Scientists Genetically Engineer Wild Species?

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some scientists looking to preserve vulnerable species have turned to a controversial technique: synthetic biology. This catchall term often means gen...

Science Says Quitting Smoking At Any Age Is Good For The Brain

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The rate of smoking cigarettes has steadily declined since the 1960s – when Congress required warnings on cigarette boxes. Research shows that peopl...

What Happens When You're Under Anesthesia?

15 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's World Anesthesia Day tomorrow! So, we invite you to take a deep breathe. Picture a relaxing scene. Maybe a beach in Tahiti, your toes in the s...

Why Legal Weed Isn’t Always Safe

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Marijuana is decriminalized or legal in some form in multiple states. But, because it’s illegal on the federal level, states have had to build their...

Synthetic Cells: The Next Bioengineering Frontier

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There are more human cells in your body than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy! Cells are the fundamental building blocks of life but that doesn...

Why The Tropics Have A Weather Forecasting Problem

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Weather in the tropics is decidedly different than it is in the middle latitudes. It turns out, so are the weather systems – the factors that create...

Doing Science at the Edge of the Earth

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some scientific discoveries take place in a lab. Others are made deep in the rainforest, along the ocean floor or on the dark side of the moon. And st...

Solved: The Potato Origin Mystery

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Usually, when two different species mate, it’s a disaster. At least, that’s what scientists had generally thought about hybrids, the offspring of ...

The Science Of Fear And Horror Movies

06 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Creepy crawly season is upon us, Short Wavers! We're welcoming fall with a contemplation of fear and anxiety. In human history, fear kept us safe. It ...

What Are Flies Doing In The Middle Of The Ocean?

03 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the North Sea — between the United Kingdom, Norway and Denmark — thousands of flies swarmed an oil rig. Engineer Craig Hannah noticed they’d ...

Why Animal Scavengers Protect Your Health

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Worldwide, populations of scavenging animals that feed on rotting carcasses are declining. Scientists are finding that this can seriously hurt human h...

Nature Quest: How High Will Sea Levels Rise?

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How high will the ocean rise under climate change? By 2050, scientists have a pretty good idea. But why does it matter where you live? And what can hu...

Why Do Some Hurricane Survivors Thrive After Disaster?

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You’ve probably heard of PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. But what about its counterpart, post-traumatic growth?The term was coined in the 90s ...

A Surprising Cause Of Endometriosis Could Lead To Cure

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since the age of nine or ten, Katie Burns has had debilitating pain from endometriosis, a condition where tissue resembling the uterine lining grows o...

Tylenol and Autism: What’s True and What Isn’t

24 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Monday, the Trump administration linked the use of Tylenol with rising autism rates, but science doesn’t support that claim. Guest host Sydney Lu...

A Surprising Culprit of Food Allergies

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Food allergies have risen in the United States over the last few decades. Research suggests that 40 years ago the prevalence of food allergies was le...

Should You Try Red-Light Therapy?

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The anti-aging product market was worth roughly 53 BILLION dollars in 2024. One of the latest big trends: red light therapy. Social media is rampant w...

Untangling The Science of Octopus Arms

19 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Octopuses and their arms are a bit of a mystery.  Not because scientists don’t know how they work; they’re boneless hydrostats, made up of groups...

What Does a Black Hole Collision Sound Like?

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For centuries, the primary way that astronomers studied outer space was through sight. But just ten years ago, scientists successfully established a w...

What Do Stem Cells Mean For The Future Of Parkinson's?

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Parkinson’s Disease affects around a million people in the United States. And that number is on the rise, in part because our population is getting ...

The Surprisingly Long History Of Nose Jobs

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rhinoplasty is one of the most common facial plastic surgeries performed today. And it turns out, the ability to reconstruct a nose with living tissue...

The Most Convincing Evidence Yet Of Life On Mars

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Was there ever life on Mars? Planetary scientists think there could have been but there hasn’t been any direct evidence. After years of roaming Mars...

Brain Implants Are Here — And Getting Better

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are surgically implanted devices that link the brain to a computer. They can be helpful for people who’ve lost the ...

'Interstellar': Time Dilation And Wormholes Explained

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar was a phenomenon in 2014. Set in the future, Earth has been struck by a global crop blight. Former NASA pilot Coo...

Sip or Skip? The Truth About Electrolytes

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

U.S. consumers spend more than $10 billion a year on sports drinks, according to Beverage Industry, a trade publication. And we can’t lie that somet...

What Marsquakes Reveal About The Planet's Habitability

05 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mars is known for its barren desert landscape and dry climate. But two recent studies in the journals Nature and Science go beneath the surface, explo...

Have a Stutter? It Could Be Inherited

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For a long time, scientists have suspected that stuttering — a common speech condition that affects an estimated 1 in every 100 people — could b...

Stopping SSRIs Can Be Hard. Researchers Are Unsure Why

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

More than 1 in 10 people in the United States take an antidepressant. And the most commonly prescribed type of antidepressant are SSRIs — or selec...

A (Monday Night) Football Mystery

01 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Monday night football is back! What better way to celebrate than a close look at some of the physics powering the sport? Specifically, the spiral pass...

Why U.S. Sunscreens Don't Measure Up

29 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The United Nations estimates that there were over 1.5 million new cases of skin cancer in 2022. That number might have you reaching for the nearest tu...

A Lock of Hair Could Rewrite Knowledge Of The Inca Empire

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Inca Empire in South America was one of the most powerful pre-Columbian societies. It was known for the architecture of Machu Picchu, an extensive...

Nature Quest: What Does Climate Change Sound Like?

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Feel like summers are hotter than they used to be? It’s not just your imagination. Climate researchers say that average annual temperatures around t...

Sea Camp: To Mine Or Not To Mine

25 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Deep sea mining for rare earth elements could start as early as 2026, even as 38 countries have called for a moratorium on it. The metals that compani...

Could labs replace your natural chocolate?

22 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Chocolate may fill grocery store shelves around the world, but the raw product that powers chocolate is far more selective. The majority of chocolate ...

The Yellowstone Wolf Controversy

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Thirty years ago, park rangers reintroduced grey wolves into Yellowstone National Park. They wanted to restore the ecosystem and get the elk populatio...

Toxic? These Animals Don't Care

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine, you’re a toxic toad hanging around South America. No other animals are gonna mess with you, right? After all, you’re ~toxic~! So if anyon...

Sea Camp: Why Scientists Want To Map The Entire Seafloor

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists have mapped less than 30% of the world's seafloor. Experts say that getting that number up to 100% would improve everything from tsunami wa...

Alive Or Not Alive... Is A Tricky Question

15 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this Back To School episode we consider the "List of Life": the criteria that define what it is to be a living thing. Some are easy calls: A kitten...

The Trait That Makes Robots More 'Human'

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Neurotic, anxious robots like C-3P0 from Star Wars' C-3P0 and Marvin from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are a staple of science fiction — but...

Why Gene-Edited Babies May Be Closer Than Ever

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, made a shocking announcement to the world in 2018: He had secretly engineered the birth of the first gene-edited babi...

Sea Camp: Did Life Start In Hydrothermal Vents?

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How did life start on Earth? The answer is a big scientific mystery scientists are actively investigating. After talking with many scientists, host Re...

Why Do Some 80 Year-Olds Have Extraordinary Memories?

08 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The human brain tends to slow down as we age — even healthy brains shrink. That can make learning and memory harder as people age. But some people’...

Climate Change Could Alter Spidey Love

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every September, the small town of La Junta, Colorado puts on a whole festival to celebrate a beloved local animal: the tarantula! Around this time of...

'Zombie' Cells Could Explain Aging — And Help Scientists Slow It

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s no secret that stress isn’t good for you. But just how bad is it? Well, in the last few decades, scientists have linked psychological stress ...

The Giants Lurking In The Deep Sea

04 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The bathypelagic zone of the ocean is 1,000 to 4,000 meters below the surface. Sometimes it's called the midnight zone because it's too deep for sunli...

Climate Change Is Here For Your Chocolate

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last year, we reported how extreme weather events may be dwindling the future of chocolate. Just last week, we saw an inkling of that: The Hershey Com...

Why Illusions Are A Brain Feature, Not A Bug

30 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A grayscale ballerina who appears to be moving. A human who can fit in a doll box. A black-and-white prism that appears to change shape when viewed fr...

Nature Quest: Are Summers Getting Hotter?

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Much of the country is deep in the middle of a heat wave right now. And every summer, Duane Stilwell's town in Arizona seems to get hotter. It has him...

Sea Camp: The Largest Daily Migration On Earth

28 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The twilight zone of the ocean is a mysterious place. At 200-1000 meters below the surface, it's a tough place to study. That's why, during World War ...

Did Spiders' Ancestors Come From The Ocean?

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whether you love spiders or can't be within 10 feet of them, you probably think of them crawling around on land. Historically, most researchers would ...

Eating Disorder Recovery In A Diet Culture World

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Eating disorders are complicated illnesses that skyrocketed among teenagers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatrician Eva Trujillo says they "literal...

Will Federal Budget Cuts Affect Space Science?

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, the White House proposed a nearly 24% cut to NASA's 2026 fiscal year budget — the largest in the agency's history. The trims are ...

Sea Camp: Is Better Human Health Hidden In The Sea?

21 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this week's Sea Camp, we're diving below the ocean's surface to explore the sunlight zone, the portion of ocean that's 0-200 meters deep. Here, we...

Congress has voted to eliminate government funding for public media

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this essential American service survive and thrive. Visit d...

These Scientists Are Using AI To Listen To Frogs

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you were a miner in California during the Gold Rush, you might have dined on a California red-legged frog. The largest native frog in the western U...

Who Is Using The 988 Crisis Line?

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline — 988 — launched on this day exactly three years ago. People who call the line seeking support are connec...

How Realistic Are Movie Dinosaurs?

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jurassic Park: Rebirth is the latest installment in the Jurassic World series. And while dinosaur paleontologist Matt Lamanna has loved dinos — and ...

Sea Camp: These Critters Call The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Home

14 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this second installment of the Sea Camp series, we explore the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It's the largest of five gigantic garbage patches in t...

Meet The Third Ever (!!) Interstellar Comet

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A rare visitor from another star system has been spotted: the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS! It was detected July 1 by the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestr...

Evolution Went On Trial 100 Years Ago. Where Are We Now?

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week marks the 100th anniversary of the Scopes "Monkey Trial" — where a teacher was charged with the crime of teaching Darwin's theory of evolu...

Itchy? Air Pollution May Be Making It Worse

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Sea Camp: Why Are Ocean Currents Shifting?

07 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A warming climate doesn't just affect dry land — it affects the ocean, too. For years, Earth's ocean has acted as a heat sink for climate change: A ...

Why Dew Point Is This Summer's 'It Girl'

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Happy Independence Day, Short Wavers! Do you have plans outdoors this weekend and want to figure out just how swampy it's gonna feel? For that kind of...