Short Wave
Episodes
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...
Biden Proposes A 'Civilian Corps' To Address Climate Change
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
During the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps to improve the country's public lands, forest...
Pandemic Could Roll Back Advancements For Women in STEMM
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In general, there are more men in STEMM fields than women. Representation in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine is even lower for wo...
Too soon? The CDC Relaxes Mask Guidance For Fully Vaccinated
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Many Americans are baring their faces in public again, following new CDC recommendations that fully vaccinated people don't need them in most settings...
Racism, Opioids And COVID-19: A Deadly Trifecta
17 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
(Encore.) Drug overdose deaths are on the rise all around the country, including in Chicago, Illinois. ProPublica Illinois reporter Duaa Eldeib explai...
Animal Slander! The Origins Of "Badgering" Will Bum You Out
14 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's the latest installment of our series, "Animal Slander," where we take a common saying about animals and see what truth there is to it. The case b...
In The Pandemic, Children Face A Mental Health Crisis
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the proportion of emergency department visits by children in mental health crises w...
SCOOP: There's A Dirt Shortage
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mud and dirt have often been treated as waste products from excavation or dredging sites. But these days, coastal communities need massive amounts of ...
Pediatricians Work To Persuade Parents And Teens To Get COVID-19 Vaccine
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Some colleges and universities have announced that COVID vaccination will be mandatory (with some exemptions) and the FDA has authorized the Pfizer CO...
The Past, Present and Future of mRNA Vaccines
10 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are the first authorized vaccines in history to use mRNA technology. The pandemic might've set the s...
'Everyone I Know Has Lost Someone': An Update From India
07 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The numbers are staggering. India has been reporting more than 300,000 COVID-19 cases each day for the past two weeks, and recently topped more than 4...
A Fragile X Treatment May Be On The Horizon
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Katie Clapp and Michael Tranfaglia's son was born with a genetic disorder that affects brain development. It makes it hard to learn language and basic...
Why Some Countries Have Low Vaccination Rates
05 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We've been talking a lot about COVID in the US. Now, we want to look at how things are going in some other countries. NPR's correspondents — Jason B...
A Vaccination Update And The CDC's Latest Guidance On Masks
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The rate of vaccination in the U.S. continues to slow. Maddie Sofia talks with NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey about that and what can be done...
Burnout: The Crisis Plaguing Health Care Workers
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today, NPR's mental health correspondent Rhitu Chatterjee guests hosts Short Wave. She talks to Dr. Arghavan Salles about burnout among health care wo...
The Viral TikTok Explaining mRNA Vaccines With ... Forks!
30 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We at Short Wave are sometimes a little too aware of how difficult it can be to explain science to a general audience. So when we came across Vick Kri...
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster: 10 Years Later
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2011, villages and towns around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear plant in Japan were evacuated because of a series of meltdowns caused by a tsunami. T...
5 Ways To Cut Carbon Emissions At Home
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Feeling green? If you'd like to do something to slow down climate change, even if it's just a small thing, you can get started in your own apartment o...
The U.S. Vaccination Rate Continues To Slow
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Short Wave's Emily Kwong talks with NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey about some of the latest coronavirus news, including the return of the Joh...
A 142-Year-Old Science Seed Caper
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On April 15, at four o'clock in the morning, a small group of scientists found their way to a secret location. A light wintry mix of rain and snow was...
U.S. Renews Its Commitment To Addressing Climate Change
23 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden is hosting dozens of world leaders for a virtual climate summit on Thursday and Friday. The administration is trying to regain ground...
Medicine And The Horseshoe Crab
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Horseshoe crabs have been around for 450 million years — nearly unchanged. And their blood has helped the medical world make some fascinating discov...
Micro Wave: Why Hair Turns Gray
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why does hair turn gray? Stress? Age? Genetics? We turn to dermatologist Dr. Jenna Lester for answers.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcas...
Half Of U.S. Adults Have Gotten A Vaccine — But Hurdles Remain For Herd Immunity
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today, NPR Health Correspondent Allison Aubrey offers perspective on how to think about the latest coronavirus news. On one hand, half of U.S. adults ...
A Classroom Where Math And Community Intersect
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When you think of mathematicians, do you think of lone geniuses scribbling away at complex equations? This myth is one mathematician Ranthony Edmonds ...
Why Scientists Are Racing To Save Historical Sea Level Records
16 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
(Encore episode.) Archival records may help researchers figure out how fast the sea level is rising in certain places. Millions of people in coastal c...
Why Baltimore Is Suing Big Oil Over Climate Change
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
(Encore episode.) Earlier this year, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case brought by the city of Baltimore against more than a dozen major oil ...
A Rising Tide of Violence Against Environmental Activists
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
(Encore episode.) Global Witness documented that 212 environmental and land activists were murdered in 2019. Over half of those documented murders too...
What Happens When The Tides Get Higher
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
(Encore episode.) As sea levels rise from climate change, coastal communities face a greater risk of chronic flooding. Climate scientist Astrid Caldas...
Debating When The 'Age Of Humans' Began
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Humans have changed the Earth in such profound ways that scientists say we have entered a new geological period: the Anthropocene Epoch.Learn more abo...
The Resurgence Of Psychedelic Psychiatry
09 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Psychedelics like ketamine and psilocybin are getting a second look as a way to treat psychiatric problems like depression, anxiety, substance use dis...
Smell Therapy
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A curious symptom of COVID-19 that can stick with patients for a long time is loss of smell. Researchers don't know exactly how prevalent the loss of ...
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 indicate where a speaker is from. But dialects aren't exc...
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 averaging over 3 million shots per day. But at the same ...
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 preventable. Host Emily Kwong talks with NPR healt...
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 tips for managing those pesky allergy symptoms.Email ...
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 skin. Yet medical literature and textbooks don't oft...
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 Maddie Sofia talks with NPR science correspondent Nel...
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 coldest continent is brimming with invisible life ...
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 computing future. Along the way, Geoff explains w...
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 the hordes of urchins overtaking kelp forests in the...
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 eastern part of the United States, get ready to be s...
Meet The 'Glacier Mice'
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
(Encore episode.) In 2006, while hiking around the Root Glacier in Alaska, glaciologist Tim Bartholomaus encountered something strange and unexpected ...
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 largest vaccine maker: Serum Institute of India. The ...
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 technologies like fast Internet and clean, low-carbon heati...
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? Suspicion and harassment of Asians and Asian Ame...
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 world has learned a lot in that time — about how...
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 deal with an enormous amount of pressure. In this ...
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 tectonics. So how do researchers study what it used to loo...
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. Recently, NPR science correspondent Rob Stein has bee...
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. jails and prisons. According to The Marshall Pr...
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. NPR science correspondent Jon Hamilton explains why...
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 some pre-pandemic activities, including gathering in...
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 oceans healthy, including their role in mitigating cli...
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 research. On top of that, NPR climate reporter Rebecc...
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 strongest sperm fight to make it to the egg first...
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 climate emissions. But some states are considering law...
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. We hear reflections from Dr. Jamila Goldsmith and M...
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...distributing those doses to the populations most im...
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 identity. As the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines unf...
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 jellyfish sting? Today on the show — we'll talk abou...
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? Bianca Jones Marlin and Brian Dias walk us throu...