Short Wave
Episodes
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. Throughout his long career in STEM, he's also been an...
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 effective are the vaccines against coronavirus variants? A...
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 acclaimed science fiction writer Octavia Butler fr...
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 neuroscience. Sarah Phillips, a neurolinguist, tells...
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 recognition technology. In this encore episode, Ma...
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 rarely mentioned in textbooks. Maddie and Emily s...
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 Magnificent Makers, which follows two intrepid thir...
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 doing incredible work and pushing for a world whe...
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 exchange the gift of science facts - from the pro...
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. Millions of people in coastal cities are vulnerab...
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 of those documented murders took place in Colombi...
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 that impact our decision making during the pandem...
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 percent. But what's in those inks, exactly? NPR scie...
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 batteries — powerful enough to turn on a clock or...
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 impacts. The federal government helped create the prob...
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. ProPublica Illinois reporter Duaa Eldeib explains how the...
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 life has largely disappeared: bumping into strangers....
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. Rebuilding with fire-resistant materials reduces ...
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 the best and coolest animal. Spoiler alert: some t...
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 Hamilton reports back from a bonobo sanctuary in the ...
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 world, others more slowly — but several have th...
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 from the coronavirus, the flu, and other respirat...
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 successfully eradicated from much of the U.S. and ...
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 with more than five senses. NPR Short Wave reporte...
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 than a dozen major oil and gas companies including...
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 world's adults stutter, yet the condition — which ...
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. The first planet on which humans ever landed a probe...
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 - despite apple seeds' association with the poison ...
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 are discharged. For many, brain function improves...
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 whether the diagnostic tools they use may be cont...
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 years, over 1,000 CubeSats have been launched into sp...
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 Year.' She shares why she didn't initially think s...
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 in teeny-tiny tunnels). Plus, a bit of listener ma...
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 Nell Greenfieldboyce tells us how researchers pla...
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 contributor to Wikipedia — where she writes entries...
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 scientific research – how it's being done, what's b...
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 wild — decimated by the invasive brown tree snake. ...
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 little tribute to you, our awesome listeners. We're ba...
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 colleagues take a look at Joe Biden's approach to...
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 YOU ARE NOT LAZY IF YOU ARE WAKING UP AT NOON." H...
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 2020. And there was a lot of it! To round it up, M...
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 fact-checker. Plus, a little reminder that you can...
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 by sleep paralysis. Now he's afraid his kid might...
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 Rebecca Hersher and Lauren Sommer explain why more...
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 — but that hasn't been the case so far. NPR correspon...
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 to recognize themselves, while others learn to use...
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 by the FDA, are being distributed across the count...
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 he contracted in Egypt. Desperate to save him, sh...
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 developer Nik Sharma, flavor is a full-body experience...
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, a Chinese craft landed on the moon's surface--it...
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 Rebecca Hersher talks us through the 2020 season--wh...
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 tools more accessible. We chat with him about why h...
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 – one produced by Eli Lilly and another by Regen...
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 kid, but didn't really learn or just forgot. Short ...
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. But now, the state has more cases per capita than...
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 been genetically modified to fend off insects, and...
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 Puerto Rico. The world-renowned telescope has suf...
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 international correspondent Lauren Frayer. And we'll h...
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's going on in the brain when we smell, how smell i...
When Critters Bleed ... On Purpose!
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Some insects and reptiles have a strange self-preservation characteristic — they suddenly start bleeding from places like their eyes or knees. NPR s...
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 School." In these episodes, we take a concept you we...
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 sea level rise. As climate reporter Rebecca Hershe...
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 people will still be traveling to gather with loved ...
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 Forest, the largest intact temperate rainforest i...
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 control. Also important, distributing it throughout ...
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, working with German company BioNTech, says its vacci...
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 our DNA into a global commodity. But historically...
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 emotional and financial toll for residents. But wha...
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 positive test. Doctors cannot explain their illnes...
The US And The Paris Climate Agreement: 5 Things To Know
06 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the landmark Paris climate agreement in 2017 and formally notified the United Nations last ye...
Pandemic Reality Check - Where We Are. Where We're Headed.
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout the U.S., the pandemic is still raging. And with cooler weather and the height of flu season ahead, an already dire situation could get muc...
Touch And Go: NASA Samples An Asteroid
03 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A NASA spacecraft sent out to collect a sample of rock and dust from an asteroid has nabbed so much that it's created an unexpected problem. NPR scien...
Welcome To The World Of Whale Falls
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What happens after a whale dies? Their carcasses, known as "whale falls," provide a sudden, concentrated food source for organisms in the deep sea. Bi...
Micro Wave: "Once In A Blue Moon" Is Happening Again This Halloween
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This year, there will be a "blue moon" for Halloween. So for today's show, we're asking: What IS a blue moon? Is the moon ever blue? And are they as r...
One More Step Toward Solving The Sleep & Alzheimer's Puzzle
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We know that people with Alzheimer's often have sleep problems. But does it work the other way? Do problems with sleep set the stage for this degenera...
The Mystery Of The Mummified Twinkie
27 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Hallo-Week! Today we have the story of Twinkies that were left alone for eight years. One grew a moldy spot and another shriveled up in its pack...
Crows: Are They Scary Or Just Super Smart?
26 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Crows have gotten a bad rap throughout history — a group of them is called a "murder," after all. To get some insight into crows and perhaps set the...
Micro Wave: Why Do Leaves Change Color During Fall?
23 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Botanist and founder of #BlackBotanistsWeek Tanisha Williams explains why some leaves change color during fall and what shorter days and colder temper...
Why These Tiny Particles Are A Big Deal
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For much of the pandemic, some scientists had been pushing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recognize that the coronavirus is spread ...
Randall Munroe's Absurd Scientific Advice For Real-World Problems
20 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Randall Munroe, the cartoonist behind the popular Internet comic xkcd, finds complicated solutions to simple, real-world problems. In the process, he ...
Quantum Mechanics For Beginners
19 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Monika Schleier-Smith, associate professor of physics at Stanford University, studies quantum mechanics, the theory that explains the nature of the it...
The Tricky Business Of Coronavirus Testing On College Campuses
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We hit the road with NPR Education Reporter Elissa Nadworny. She's been on a weekslong road trip to get an up-close view of how colleges across the U....
Micro Wave: You Mite Want To Shower After This
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today's episode is about how you're never alone. That's because there are tiny mites that live on your skin — including your face. They come out at ...
Gender Discrimination And Harassment At Sea
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Back in December, we brought you two episodes on the MOSAiC expedition. With hundreds of scientists from 20 countries, the German-led polar research m...
Butterflies Have Hearts In Their Wings. You Won't Believe Where They Have Eyes
12 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Adriana Briscoe, a professor of biology and ecology at UC Irvine, studies vision in butterflies. As part of her research, she's trained them to detect...
Micro Wave: Does Talking To Plants Help Them Grow?
09 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Environmental scientist Heidi Appel explains how plants detect sound — and whether talking to yours could help them grow big and strong. Plus, a bit...
What Coronavirus Test Results Do — And Don't — Mean
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Even though we've been living with the pandemic for months, there's still lots of confusion about coronavirus tests and what the results do — and do...
The Fattest Bear Wins!
06 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In honor of Fat Bear Week coming to a close, Short Wave is revisiting our episode on black bear hibernation. (Fat Bear Week is the annual tournament c...
The Nobels Overwhelmingly Go to Men — This Year's Prize For Medicine Was No Exception
05 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
From who historically wins the awards, to how they portray the process of science and collaboration, host Maddie Sofia and NPR science correspondent N...
Micro Wave: Why Some Fruits Ripen Faster In A Paper Bag
02 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pomologist Juan Carlos Melgar explains two key factors to why some fruits ripen faster in a paper bag — and others don't. Plus, a bit of listener ma...
Want To Dismantle Racism In Science? Start In The Classroom
01 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the most prestigious scientists in history advanced racist and eugenicist views. But why is that rarely mentioned in textbooks? Today on the s...
Fueled By Climate Change, Hurricanes Are Causing Industrial Accidents. Who's Liable?
29 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Fueled by climate change, hurricanes are becoming stronger and more frequent. Those storms have repeatedly led to spills and fires at chemical manufac...
The CDC Doesn't Know Enough About Coronavirus In Tribal Nations
28 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A recent CDC report estimates Native Americans and Alaskan Natives are 3.5 times more likely to get COVID-19 than white people, and those under 18 are...
Micro Wave: Mighty Mice, Drugs And Hopes For Space Voyagers
25 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
NPR Science Correspondent Jon Hamilton gives us an update on those mighty mice that went into space this past winter. The results could have big impli...
A Short Wave Guide To Joe Biden's Coronavirus Plan
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With election season underway, we present a Short Wave guide (with some help from our friends at NPR Politics) to Joe Biden's plan to combat the coron...
ICYMI: 200+ Short Wave Episodes Are Waiting For You
23 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In case you missed our announcement last week, Short Wave is temporarily shifting production schedules. We're publishing episodes in your feed four ti...
Preparing For Perimenopause: You Don't Have To Do It Alone
22 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Perimenopause, the period of transition to menopause, is still a largely misunderstood chapter of reproductive life. It brings about both physical and...
How Hackers Could Fool Artificial Intelligence
21 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Artificial intelligence might not be as smart as we think. University and military researchers are studying how attackers could hack into AI systems b...
A Key To Black Infant Survival? Black Doctors
18 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the United States, Black infants die at over twice the rate of White infants. New research explores one key factor that may contribute to the disp...
How The U.S. Is Caught In A "Pandemic Spiral"
17 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ed Yong, a science writer for The Atlantic, writes that the U.S. is caught in a "pandemic spiral." He argues some of our intuitions have been misleadi...