Short Wave

Cockroaches are cool!

12 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Cockroaches - do they get a bad rap? Producer Thomas Lu teams up with self-proclaimed lesbian cockroach defender Perry Beasley-Hall to convince produ...

Bonobos and the Evolution of Nice

08 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How did humans evolve some key cooperative behaviors like sharing? NPR Science Correspondent Jon Hamilton reports back from a bonobo sanctuary in the ...

Why Music Sticks in Our Brains

07 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why do some songs can stick with us for a long time, even when other memories start to fade? Science reporter (and former Short Wave intern) Rasha Ari...

Here's a better way to talk about hair

06 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Humans have scalp hair. But why is human scalp hair so varied? Biological anthropologist Tina Lasisi wanted to find out. And while completing her PhD ...

How foraging reconnected Alexis Nikole Nelson with food and her culture

05 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our colleagues at the TED Radio Hour introduce us to forager and TikTok influencer Alexis Nikole Nelson. She shares how the great outdoors has offered...

The Toll Of Burnout On Medical Workers — And Their Patients

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Burnout has long been a problem among health care workers. The pandemic has only made it worse. Some were hopeful COVID vaccines would provide some re...

SURPRISE! It's A...Babbling Baby Bat?

01 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A paper published recently in the journal Science finds similarities between the babbling of human infants and the babbling of the greater sac-winged ...

Goodbye, Climate Jargon. Hello, Simplicity!

30 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

People are likely to be confused by common climate change terms like "mitigation" and "carbon neutral," according to a recent study. So how can everyo...

How To Help Someone At Risk Of Suicide

29 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020, according to the most current data. But research shows that suicide is preventable. H...

Scientists Are Racing To Save Sequoias

28 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Based on early estimates, as many as 10,600 large sequoias were killed in last year's Castle Fire — up to 14% of the entire population. The world's ...

A Science Reporter And A 'Mild' Case Of Breakthrough COVID

27 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Will Stone is a science reporter for NPR. He's been reporting about the pandemic for a while now, so he knows the risks of a breakthrough infection, i...

After Years Of Delays, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope To Launch In December

24 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In December, NASA is scheduled to launch the huge $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope, which is sometimes billed as the successor to the aging Hubb...

The Surf's Always Up — In Waco, Texas

23 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Some of the world's best artificial waves are happening hundreds of miles from the ocean—in Waco, Texas. They're so good, they're attracting top pro...

Mapping The Birds Of Bougainville Island

22 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 1900s, the Whitney South Sea expedition gathered 40,000 bird specimens for the American Museum of Natural History. The collection is an i...

How Long Does COVID Immunity Last Anyway?

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With booster shots on the horizon for some people, one of the biggest questions is: Am I still protected against COVID-19 if I've only had two doses ...

Afraid of Needles? You're Not Alone

20 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Many people are afraid of needles in some capacity — about 1 in 10 experience a "high level" of needle fear, says clinical psychologist Meghan McMur...

A Great Outdoors For Everyone

17 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fatima's Great Outdoors, a new children's book, centers on a girl named Fatima, who's struggling to adjust to her new life in the U.S. But on her very...

A Lotl Love For The Axolotl

16 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It is found in only one lake in the world, never grows up, and occasionally takes bites of its friends: who could we be talking about? The axolotl of ...

Climate Change Means More Subway Floods; How Cities Are Adapting

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Millions of people rely on subways for transportation. But as the world warms, climate-driven flooding in subways is becoming more and more common. NP...

Breakthrough Infections, Long COVID And You

14 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In rare cases, the delta variant of the coronavirus is causing vaccinated people to get sick — so-called "breakthrough infections." Now researchers ...

The Pervasiveness Of Transgender Health Care Discrimination

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A new report from the Center for American Progress finds that nearly half of transgender people have experienced mistreatment at the hands of a medica...

9/11 First Responders Have Higher Cancer Risks But Better Survival Rates

10 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty years later, first responders during the 9/11 attacks have an increased risk of getting some kinds of cancer. But, research shows that they're ...

For Successful Wildfire Prevention, Look To The Southeast

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Another destructive fire season has Western states searching for ways to prevent it. As climate correspondent Lauren Sommer reports, some answers migh...

Fewer COVID Vaccine Doses Materialized Last Fall Than The U.S. Government Hoped

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Manufacturers can expect to face unforeseen hurdles when they begin to mass-produce a brand new pharmaceutical product, and in a pandemic, there are b...

The Peculiar Case Of Dark Matter

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The universe is so much bigger than what people can see, and astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan is trying to figure out that which we can not see. Pr...

So Long, Sofia

03 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we bid farewell to our founding host, Maddie Sofia! In this special episode, the Short Wave team and some of our listeners remind Maddie of the...

Nudibranchs Do It Better

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Maddie and Emily get super nerdy one last time as they dive into the incredible world of nudibranchs. Not only are these sea slugs eye-catching for th...

Pandemic Dispatches From The ER

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We're marking Maddie's last week on Short Wave! Today, Maddie wanted to highlight a COVID-related episode from earlier this year. The pandemic has bee...

You Mite Want To Shower After This

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's Day 2 of our trip down Maddie Sofia memory lane! Today's encore episode is all about how you're never really alone. We look at the tiny mites tha...

Why A Good Scare Is Sometimes The Right Call

30 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week is our last with Maddie as a host, so we're spending it with a trip down memory lane. The first episode Maddie invites us to relive and enjo...

Is It Muggy Out? Check The Dew Point!

27 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Going on a run and curious about how muggy it's going to be out? Maddie Sofia chats with producer Thomas Lu about relative humidity and why some meteo...

The Fight To Save Sunflower Sea Stars

26 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Sunflower sea stars play a key role in ocean ecosystems on the West Coast - and they are disappearing in record numbers. Science correspondent Nell Gr...

How To Start Hormone Replacement Therapy

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Medical transition-related treatments like hormone replacement therapy are associated with overwhelmingly positive outcomes in terms of both physical ...

Ultracold Soup - The 'Superfluid' States Of Matter

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

(Encore episode) Class is back in session. We're going "back to school" to dig a little deeper on a concept you were taught in school: states of matte...

To Build, Or Not To Build? That Is The Question Facing Local Governments

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

NPR climate correspondent Lauren Sommer talks with Emily about a dilemma facing many local governments now. Should they develop in areas vulnerable to...

Micro Wave: Build Your Own Sandcastle Dreamhouse

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's summer, which for some means spare time at the beach, splashing in the waves and...building sandcastles. On today's episode, Emily Kwong asks: Sc...

When Sea Levels Rise, Who Should Pay?

19 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook's campus on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay is at risk from rising sea levels. So is a nearby low-income community. That's raising questio...

Spinosaurus: The Aquatic Dinosaur

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

(Encore episode) We chat with National Geographic Explorer and paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim about his team's discovery of the Spinosaurus, the first k...

COVID-19 News: A Hospital System Overwhelmed, Booster Shots Update

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the last two weeks or so, the number of new daily COVID-19 cases in the United States has increased by about 40 percent. Compared to a year ago —...

Three (Hopeful!) Takeaways From The UN's Climate Change Report

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, the U.N. published a landmark report — detailing the current state of global climate change. One thing's for sure, humans are causing a l...

Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall: Can Animals Recognize Their Reflection At All?

13 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

(Encore episode) The mirror self-recognition test has been around for decades. Only a few species have what it takes to recognize themselves, while ot...

Does Your Cat Like You — Or Just Tolerate You?

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

(Encore episode) It's another installment of our series, "Animal Slander," where we take a common phrase about animals and see what truth there is to ...

Bringing Service Animals Into The Lab

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

(Encore episode) Joey Ramp's service dog, Sampson, is with her at all times, even when she has to work in a laboratory. It wasn't always easy to have ...

Does Your Dog Love You? Science Has Some Answers

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

(Encore episode) Clive Wynne, founding director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University, draws on studies from his lab and oth...

Siriusly, It's The Dog Days Of Summer!

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ever wonder why we call it the Dog Days of Summer? Today on the show — Emily gives Maddie an astronomical reason why we associate the sweltering hea...

Gravitational Waves: Unlocking The Secrets Of The Universe

06 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce gives us the latest in gravitational waves and shares what scientists have learned (and heard) from these t...

How To Correct Misinformation

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

(Encore episode) The World Health Organization has called the spread of misinformation around the coronavirus an "infodemic." So what do you do when i...

COVID And Aduhelm On The Agenda At Denver Alzheimer's Meeting

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Alzheimer's Association International Conference took place in Denver this year. Today on the show, NPR science correspondent Jon Hamilton talks t...

Whales' Vital Role In Our Oceans

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Whales are more than just beautiful creatures — they play a vital role in the ocean's ecosystem. Today, Asha de Vos, marine biologist and pioneer of...

Caregiving During The Pandemic Takes A Toll On Mental Health

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Caregivers in the "Sandwich Generation" have reported a steep decline in mental health, as did others who had to juggle changes in the amount of careg...

Lightning Bugs, Fireflies - Call Them What You Will, They're Awesome

30 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are thousands of species of lightning bug and they live all over the world except in Antarctica. Maddie and Emily discuss lots of other amazing ...

Breaking Down The New CDC Mask Guidance

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidance on wearing masks. Short Wave co-host Maddie Sofia and NPR health corre...

Managing Wildfire Through Cultural Burns

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fire has always been part of California's landscape. But long before the vast blazes of recent years, Native American tribes held controlled burns tha...

Sweat: A Human Superpower

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Sweating is critical to helping humans avoid overheating, and it's different than how most animals cool down. Sarah Everts wanted to understand more a...

Can We Predict Earthquakes? (Hint: No)

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's a listener questions episode! Chuck, Short Wave fan, asks, "What is the current state of earthquake prediction systems?" For some answers, Emily ...

The Great California Groundwater Grab

23 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

California is in the middle of a terrible drought. The rivers are running low, and most of its farmers are getting very little water this year from th...

Who Runs The World? Squirrels!

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Squirrels are everywhere — living in our suburban neighborhoods to our city centers to our surrounding wilderness. Rhitu Chatterjee talks with resea...

How Tall Is Mount Everest? Hint: It Changes

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to NPR's India correspondent Lauren Frayer about the ridiculously complicated science involved in measuring Mount Everest, the world's highest...

The Delta Variant And The Latest Coronavirus Surge

20 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the last month due to the Delta variant. NPR correspondent Allison Aubrey talks with Emily Kwong about where the vir...

Building A Shark Science Community For Women Of Color

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a kid, Jasmin Graham was endlessly curious about the ocean. Her constant questioning eventually led her to a career in marine science studying shar...

The Joy Of Ice Cream's Texture

16 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

July is National Ice Cream Month — and Sunday, July 18 is National Ice Cream Day (in the US)! Flavors range from the classics — vanilla and chocol...

Three Guidelines To Understanding The Delta Variant

15 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Delta is quickly becoming the dominant coronavirus variant in multiple countries. The variant has spread so fast because it is more contagious than th...

What Science Fiction Gets Wrong About Space Travel

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Contrary to sci-fi depictions in shows like Iron Man and Star Wars, getting from point A to point B in space is a tough engineering problem. NPR Scien...

The Ripple Effects Of A Huge Drop In Cancer Screenings

13 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

At the height of the pandemic, routine cancer screenings declined by 90 percent. Screenings are resuming and doctors are diagnosing later-stage cancer...

The Mysterious Ice Worm

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On the mountaintop glaciers of the Pacific Northwest lives a mysterious, and often, overlooked creature. They're small, thread-like worms that wiggle ...

Micro Wave: What Is 'Brain Freeze'?

09 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Summer's here. Time for a cool treat. So, you grab a popsicle from the freezer. Ahh ... that's better. Until, out of nowhere, a sharp sudden pain rush...

FEMA Has An Equity Problem, Part Two: Race

08 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

FEMA acknowledges that the way it distributes aid often benefits some people more than others--and those who receive less aid are those people with th...

Teens Ask, We Answer: What's Up With COVID Vaccines?

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

People between the ages of 12 and 17 are now eligible to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and health officials expect this age group will soon be able ...

FACT SMACK: Bats! They're Cooler Than Birds

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With the help of ecologist Rodrigo Medellín, the "Bat Man of Mexico," Rasha Aridi (former Short Waver) presents the case for why bats are the best an...

'Arrival': How To Talk To Aliens

02 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

(Encore episode) The 2016 movie Arrival, an adaptation of Ted Chiang's novella Story of Your Life, captured the imaginations of science fiction fans w...

FEMA Has An Equity Problem

01 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When a disaster like a hurricane or wildfire destroys a house, the clock starts ticking. It gets harder for sick people to take their medications, med...

The Climate Crisis Is A Public Health Crisis

30 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A recent study published in Nature found that 37 percent of heat-related deaths are due to climate change. Dr. Renee Salas is seeing this in the emerg...

Organic Chemistry Helped Me Embrace My Identities

29 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a kid, Ariana Remmel had a hard time figuring out where they fit in. So they found comfort in the certainty and understanding of what the world was...

Lessons Learned From Hindered Contact Tracing Efforts In The U.S.

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Early in the pandemic, contact tracing was viewed as one of the best options to quell the spread of coronavirus infections. The idea was to have publi...

FDA Approves Aducanumab — A Controversial Drug For Alzheimer's

25 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The FDA has approved a new drug for Alzheimer's. But a lot of experts are skeptical about whether the drug works. Rhitu Chatterjee talks with science ...

Climate Change Is Threatening The U.S. West's Water Supply

24 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The past year has been the driest or second driest in most Southwestern U.S. states since record-keeping began in 1895. Climate Correspondent Lauren S...

Loving Sally Ride

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tam O'Shaughnessy and Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, shared a passion for getting girls involved in STEM. It led them to co-fou...

COVID-19 Vaccines, Boosters And The Renaissance In Vaccine Technology

22 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Health Correspondent Allison Aubrey updates us on the Biden Administration's goal to have 70 percent of U.S. adults vaccinated by the July 4. Plus, as...

Behold! The Anus: An Evolutionary Marvel

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The anus is an evolutionary marvel. But how and when did this organ evolve into what it is today? Today on Short Wave, Maddie gets to the bottom of th...

'Where We Come From': Emily Kwong's Story

20 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly 1 billion people speak Mandarin Chinese. But Short Wave host Emily Kwong is not among them. As a third generation Chinese American, Emily's her...

We're Off For Juneteenth

18 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hey, Nerd! NPR takes Juneteenth off. We'll be back Sunday with a special episode from NPR's Where We Come From series. It focuses on Emily Kwong's rel...

#BlackBirdersWeek 2021: Celebrating The Joy Of Birds

17 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

#BlackBirdersWeek emerged last year from a groundswell of support for Christian Cooper, a Black man and avid birder, who was harassed by a white woman...

'I'm Willing To Fight For It': Learning A Second Language As An Adult

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Becoming fluent in a second language is difficult. But for adults, is it impossible? Short Wave hosts Maddie Sofia and Emily Kwong dissect the "critic...

The Disordered Cosmos

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Maddie talks with physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein about her new book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Defe...

Migrating Monarchs

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It is one of the Earth's great migrations: each year, millions of monarch butterflies fly some 3,000 miles, from their summer breeding grounds as far ...

Yep, We Made Up Vegetables

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After hearing a vicious rumor on the internet that vegetables aren't real, Maddie goes looking for answers. Turns out, vegetables are a mere culinary ...

The Science Behind That Fresh Rain Scent

10 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

(Encore episode.) Scientists have known for decades that one of the main causes of the smell of fresh rain is geosmin: a chemical compound produced by...

Cleveland - What Climate Equity Could Look Like

09 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Biden Administration is working to fight climate change in a way that also address the country's economic and racial disparities. Emily talks with...

COVID News Round-Up: Vaccination Progress, Booster Shots, Travel

08 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Nationwide, almost 65% of adults have had at least one vaccine shot, but vaccination rates vary significantly depending on the state. NPR health corre...

Taking A New Look At Some Old Bones

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Paleontologist Yara Haridy looks at fossilized bones for a living. When she randomly walked by a scientific poster one day, she discovered an entirely...

Bringing The Sensation Of Touch To A Robotic Limb

04 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There's big change that's happening in the field of artificial limbs: artificial limbs that both move — and feel. NPR correspondent Jon Hamilton exp...

Scientific Sankofa And The Complexities Of Genetic Ancestry

03 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong speaks with Janina Jeff, the host and executive producer of In Those Genes, a "science and culture podcast that uses g...

It's Okay To Let Go Of Herd Immunity

02 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers say the concept of achieving herd immunity threshold isn't the right finish line to end the pandemic. It's an elusive number to define in ...

Rainbows! How They Form And Why We See Them

01 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Happy Pride, Short Wave Listeners! Here's a fun episode from our archives to celebrate the month!It's another "Back To School" episode where we take a...

Disabled Scientists Are Often Excluded From The Lab

28 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists and students with disabilities are often excluded from laboratories — in part because of how they're designed. Emily Kwong speaks to disa...

Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul E-cigarettes

27 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Juul Labs seemingly started out with the aim to reduce smoking, but the company's e-cigarettes came to symbolize something very different: a teen vapi...

The Curious Stardust At The Ocean Floor

26 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers report in the journal Science that they appear to have some clues about the origin of Earth's plutonium - which has been long debated. Cor...

The State Of Vaccinations In The U.S.

25 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Eight states have passed an important milestone: getting 70% of all adults vaccinated with at least one shot. That's a number President Biden wants th...

'Off The Charts' Rise In Alcoholic Liver Disease Among Young Women

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

**Heads up. This episode discusses addiction and alcoholism.**Some doctors are seeing a disturbing spike in lethal alcoholic liver disease, especially...

Who Should Control Earth's Thermostat?

21 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Solar geoengineering--the human attempt to cool the planet by reflecting sunlight away from Earth--is fraught with technological and ethical challenge...