Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
The Queen's Squeak
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Dialects" is one of those words tossed around a lot when talking about human language. They indicat...
Vaccinations Are Up, But So Are COVID-19 Cases
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More than 61 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. We're also now averag...
How To Reach Out When Someone You Know May Be At Risk Of Suicide
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Currently, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US. But research shows that suicide is ...
Micro Wave: Are Seasonal Allergies Getting Worse?
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We ask allergy expert Dr. Juanita Mora if seasonal allergies are getting worse. Plus, some quick tip...
Meet The Dermatologists Advancing Better Care For Skin Of Color
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Many skin conditions, from rashes to Lyme disease to various cancers, present differently on dark sk...
Fulgurite: What A Lightning-Formed Rock May Have Contributed To Life On Earth
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When lightning strikes the ground, it can leave behind a root-like rock called a fulgurite. Host Mad...
What We Can Learn From Microscopic Life In Antarctica
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our colleagues at the TED Radio Hour introduce us to wildlife filmmaker Ariel Waldman. She says the ...
Is The Future Quantum?
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel takes us to IonQ, one of the companies betting on a quantum...
The Purple Urchins Don't Die
26 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
NPR climate correspondent Lauren Sommer explains how scientists are getting creative to deal with th...
Brood X: The Rise Of The 17-Year Cicadas
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The cicadas are coming! After 17 years, Brood X is emerging this spring to mate. If you're in the ea...
Meet The 'Glacier Mice'
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
(Encore episode.) In 2006, while hiking around the Root Glacier in Alaska, glaciologist Tim Bartholo...
A Look Inside The World's Biggest Vaccine Maker
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
NPR's international correspondent Lauren Frayer takes us on a tour of the factory of the world's lar...
How A New Deal Legacy Is Building Clean Energy In Rural North Carolina
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In North Carolina, a rural electric cooperative is reliving its New Deal history, bringing technolog...
The U.S. Has A History Of Linking Disease With Race And Ethnicity
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
(Encore episode.) The coronavirus is all over the headlines these days. Accompanying those headlines...
Reflections On Coronavirus A Year In
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's been about a year since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic. The ...
A Quick Dive Into How Submarines Work
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Submarines can descend thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean, but to do so, they have to ...
What Earth Looked Like 3.2 Billion Years Ago
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Encore episode. The surface of the Earth is constantly recycled through the motion of plate tectonic...
Our Pandemic Future
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's been about a year since the coronavirus pandemic started to take hold in the United States. Rec...
A Year Into The Pandemic, The Incarcerated Among The Most Vulnerable
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the year since the pandemic began, the coronavirus has severely impacted inmates and staff in U.S...
The Importance Of Diversifying Alzheimer's Research
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alzheimer's disease affects more than 6 million Americans and a disproportionate number are Black. N...
CDC's Do's and Don'ts For Fully Vaccinated People
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The CDC released new guidance Monday, allowing people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to resume so...
One Key To Healthy Oceans? Sharks
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Shark scientist Melissa Christina Marquez explains just how important sharks are to keeping the ocea...
Millions Of U.S. Homes Face An Expensive Flooding Threat
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More than 4 million U.S. homes face substantial risk of expensive flood damage, according to new res...
Is The Sperm Race A Fairy Tale?
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of us were taught that conception happens with a survivor-style sperm race — the fastest and...
The Fight Over The Future Of Natural Gas
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A growing number of cities are looking at restricting the use of gas in new buildings to reduce clim...
Pandemic Dispatches From The ER, One Year Later
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The coronavirus has disrupted all of our lives, and that's especially true for healthcare workers. W...
Vaccine Distribution: An Equity Challenge
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Biden Administration has prioritized speed in its COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Also, a priority...d...
Code Switch: A Shot In The Dark
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we present a special episode from our colleagues at Code Switch, NPR's podcast about race and...
Micro Wave: Let's Talk About Urine
26 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are lots of misconceptions around urine. Can urine cure athlete's foot? Or really treat a jell...
The Legacy of Trauma: Can Experiences Leave A Biological Imprint?
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Descendants of trauma victims seem to have worse health outcomes. Could epigenetics help explain why...
Magnets: The Hidden Objects Powering Your Life
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's likely there's a magnet wherever you're looking right now. In fact, the device you're using to ...
James West On Invention And Inclusion In Science
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
James West has been a curious tinkerer since he was a child, always wondering how things worked. Thr...
Coronavirus Vaccine Q&A: Variants, Side Effects, And More
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Can people who are vaccinated still carry and transmit the coronavirus to other people? How effectiv...
BONUS: Throughline — Octavia Butler: Visionary Fiction
20 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
To round out our celebration of Black History Month, we're bringing you a special episode featuring ...
Micro Wave: I'll Peanut Jam Your Brain
19 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today, what happens in your brain when you notice a semantic or grammatical mistake, according to ne...
Why Tech Companies Are Limiting Police Use of Facial Recognition
18 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In June 2020, Amazon, Microsoft and IBM announced that they were limiting some uses of their facial ...
Anti-Racist Science Education
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the most prestigious scientists in history advanced racist and eugenicist views, but that is...
The Creation Of The Magnificent Makers
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author and neuroscientist Theanne Griffith talks with Maddie about her children's book series, The M...
A Week Of Black Excellence
15 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In honor of Black History Month, Short Wave is focusing on Black scientists and educators — people...
Bring Me Chocolate Or Bring Me Dead Stuff
12 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Valentine's Day from Short Wave! We've got something special for the holiday, Maddie and Emily...
Saving Sea Level Records: What Historical Records Tell Us About The Rising Ocean
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Archival records may help researchers figure out how fast the sea level is rising in certain places....
When Defending The Land Puts Your Own Life At Risk
10 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Global Witness documented that 212 environmental and land activists were murdered in 2019. Over half...
Why 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths May Not Feel Any Different
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why is it so hard to feel the difference between 400,000 and 500,000 COVID-19 deaths—and how might...
What's In A Tattoo? Scientists Are Looking For Answers
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Three in 10 people in America have a tattoo, and those in the 18 - 34 age bracket, it's almost 40 pe...
When Life Gives You Lemons...Make A Battery
05 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We're going "Back To School" today, revisiting a classic at-home experiment that turns lemons into b...
Biden Promises To Grapple With Environmental Racism
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
People of color experience more air and water pollution than white people and suffer the health impa...
Opioids, COVID-19 And Racism: A Deadly Trifecta
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Drug overdose deaths are on the rise all around the country, including in Chicago, Illinois. ProPubl...
The Lost Joys Of Talking To Strangers
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With a lot of us stuck at home, trying to physically distance from each other, one part of daily lif...
The Complex Decisions Around Rebuilding After A Wildfire
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The year 2020 saw a record-breaking wildfire season. With those wildfires came many destroyed homes....
FACT SMACK: Spider Edition
29 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the help of spider scientist Sebastian Echeverri, Maddie presents the case for why spiders are ...
How Bonobos Help Explain The Evolution Of Nice
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How did humans evolve some key cooperative behaviors like sharing? NPR Science Correspondent Jon Ham...
What The Spread Of Coronavirus Variants Means For The U.S.
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Different versions of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus are emerging. Some are spreading quickly around the...
The Surprising History of Handwashing
26 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Washing your hands. It's one of the easiest and most effective things you can do to protect yourself...
A Pesky Rumble: Pink Bollworms Vs. Cotton Farmers
25 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The pink bollworm — an invasive species that plagues cotton farmers around the world — has been ...
Our More-Than-Five Senses
22 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You're familiar with touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. But your body moves through the world ...
Baltimore Is Suing Big Oil Over Climate Change
21 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court heard arguments this week in a case brought by the city of Baltimore against more ...
The Social Side of Stuttering
20 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President-elect Joe Biden has spoken publicly about his childhood stutter. An estimated 1% of the wo...
Let's Go Back To Venus!
19 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1962, the first spacecraft humans ever sent to another planet — Mariner 2 — went to Venus. Th...
Micro Wave: How 'Bout Dem Apple...Seeds
15 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Many folks eat an apple and then throw out the core. It turns out, the core is perfectly ok to eat -...
How COVID-19 Affects The Brain
14 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Many patients who are hospitalized for COVID-19 continue to have symptoms of brain injury after they...
Should Black People Get Race Adjustments In Kidney Medicine?
13 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the U.S. continues to grapple with systemic racism, some in the medical community are questioning...
CubeSat: Little Satellite, Big Deal
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Meet the CubeSat: a miniaturized satellite that's been growing in sophistication. In the last 20 yea...
This Teen Scientist Is TIME's First-Ever 'Kid Of The Year'
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fifteen-year-old Gitanjali Rao is a scientist, inventor, and TIME Magazine's first-ever 'Kid Of The ...
Micro Wave: What Makes Curly Hair Curl?
08 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hair scientist Crystal Porter explains the science behind curly hair (hint: It involves mushy cells ...
The Hunt For The World's Oldest Ice
07 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists think the world's oldest ice is hiding somewhere in Antarctica. NPR science correspondent...
One Page At A Time, Jess Wade Is Changing Wikipedia
06 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
By day, Jess Wade is an experimental physicist at Imperial College London. But at night, she's a con...
How COVID-19 Has Changed Science
05 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
2020 was a year like no other, especially for science. The pandemic has caused massive shifts in sci...
Meet The Ko'Ko', The Comeback Bird
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For nearly forty years, the Guam Rail bird (locally known as the Ko'Ko') has been extinct in the wil...
Happy New Year from Short Wave!
01 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
To kick off the new year right, Maddie fills out a Short Wave mad lib crafted by Emily. It's a littl...
How Will Climate And Health Policy Look Under Biden?
31 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today, something special...an episode of The NPR Politics Podcast we think you might appreciate. Our...
It's Okay To Sleep Late (Do It For Your Immune System)
29 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Syed Moin Hassan was riled up. "I don't know who needs to hear this," he posted on Twitter, "BUT...
2020: At Least It Was Good For Space Exploration?
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Between the pandemic, protests, the recession — the list goes on — there was big space news in ...
Happy Holidays from Short Wave!
25 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Maddie and Emily play a quick game of "Fact or Fiction?" with help from Ariela Zebede, our resident ...
Seeing Monsters? It Could Be Sleep Paralysis
24 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's a listener questions episode! Josh Smith wrote in to tell us that as a teenager, he was plagued...
Oof! 2020: A Hot Year For The Record Books
22 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly tied with 2016 for the hottest year on record, 2020 was hot, hot, hot! NPR climate reporters ...
Antimatter: Matter's "Evil Twin"
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Physicists have done the math and there should be as much antimatter as matter in the universe — b...
Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall: Can You Reveal An Animal's Inner World At All?
18 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The mirror self-recognition test has been around for decades. Only a few species have what it takes ...
The Science Behind The Historic mRNA Vaccine
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, just days ago granted emergency use authorization ...
How A 100-Year-Old Treatment Could Help Save Us From Superbugs
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2015, Steffanie Strathdee's husband nearly died from a superbug, an antibiotic resistant bacteria...
To Unlock Sublime Flavor, Cook Like A Scientist
14 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What is flavor? Is it merely what your nose and tongue tell you? For cookbook author and recipe deve...
Chang'e-5: To The Moon And Back
11 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's been more than 40 years since rocks from the moon have come back to Earth. But in late November...
Climate Change And 2020's Record-Breaking Hurricane Season
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season broke records and caused enormous damage. NPR climate reporter Re...
Science From Curiosity And A Little Paper
08 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Manu Prakash is the co-inventor of the Foldscope, a low-cost microscope aimed at making scientific t...
How Effective Are Antibody Treatments For COVID-19?
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The FDA has issued emergency use authorizations for two monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19 ...
Why We See Rainbows
04 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's another "Back To School" episode where we take a concept you were maybe taught in school as a k...
Nebraska Doctor: 'Don't Call Us Heroes.' Dig Deep And Do Your Part
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Like many states in the Midwest, Nebraska was somewhat spared during the early days of the pandemic....
Too Much Of A Good Thing: The Cautionary Tale of Biotech Crops
01 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the most popular agricultural biotech products are running into problems. These plants have ...
The Long Legacy Of The Arecibo Telescope
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The National Science Foundation recently announced it plans to decommission the Arecibo Telescope in...
How Tall Is Mount Everest REALLY?
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about the ridiculously complicated science involved in measuring Mount Everest with NPR inte...
The Special Connection Between Smell and Memory
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Why can a smell trigger such a powerful memory? Biological anthropologist Kara Hoover explains what'...
When Critters Bleed ... On Purpose!
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Some insects and reptiles have a strange self-preservation characteristic — they suddenly start bl...
Ultracold Soup: Meet The 'Superfluid' States Of Matter
23 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sharpen your pencils. Get out your notebook. Today, we are unveiling a new series called "Back To Sc...
Measuring Sea Level Rise From Space
20 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A new satellite, scheduled to launch this weekend, is the latest in a parade of missions to measure ...
Happy (Harm Reduction) Thanksgiving!
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The safest way to have Thanksgiving this year is to stay at home. But realistically, we know many pe...
Trump Administration Lifts Protections For Largest National Forest In US
17 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump administration has officially eliminated federal protections for Alaska's Tongass National...
Who Gets The Vaccine First? And How Will They Get It?
16 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Developing a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine will be crucial to getting the pandemic under co...
The COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Results: What They Mean, What Comes Next
13 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Interim results are in from a large trial of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine. Drug maker Pfizer, wo...
A Call For Equity In Genomics Research
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the future, genomic research could lead to new treatments for human disease. It turns the data in...
Undisclosed: Fire And Flood Risk In The United States
10 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There have been many climate-related disasters this year, and along with those events come a heavy e...
What's It Like To Be A COVID-19 'Long Hauler'
09 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
That's what they call themselves: long-haulers. They've been sick for months. Many have never had a ...