Short Wave
Episodes
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...
Miss an episode? Now's your chance to catch up...
16 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In case you missed our announcement Monday, Short Wave is temporarily shifting production schedules. We're dropping episodes into your feed four times...
Saving Water A Flush At A Time
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Flushing toilets can consume a lot of water. So Tak-Sing Wong, a biomedical engineer at Penn State University, is trying to minimize how much is neede...
A Mathematician's Manifesto For Rethinking Gender
14 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In her new book, x+y, mathematician Eugenia Cheng uses her specialty, category theory, to challenge how we think about gender and the traits associate...
Micro Wave: Why Mosquitoes Bite You More Than Your Friends
11 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Asked and answered: why some of you might be more prone to being bitten by mosquitoes* than others. Turns out, some interesting factors could make you...
This Is Not A Typo: One In Four Animals Known To Science Is A Beetle
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce had to know more when she recently heard this mind-bending fact for the first time: a quarter of all kn...
Managing Wildfire Through Cultural Burning
09 Sep 2020
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...
The International Scientists Getting Pushed Out
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
About 30% of people in science and engineering jobs in the U.S. were born outside the country. So when the Trump Administration suspended certain work...
SPACE WEEK: An Astrophysicist On The End Of Everything
04 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
*Astrophysically speaking. That's the subject of Katie Mack's new book: the possible ends to our entire universe. Specifically, she breaks down some f...
SPACE WEEK: Is Space Junk Cluttering Up The Final Frontier?
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Since the dawn of Sputnik in 1957, space-faring nations have been filling Earth's orbit with satellites. Think GPS, weather forecasting, telecommunica...
SPACE WEEK: What Would It Be Like To Fall Into A Black Hole?
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Black holes are one of the most beguiling objects in our universe. What are they exactly? How do they affect the universe? And what would it be like t...
SPACE WEEK: Every Moon, Ranked
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Science writer Jennifer Leman did it. She ranked all 158 moons in our solar system. The criteria? Interviews with NASA scientists, astronomers, and he...
SPACE WEEK: The Mystery Of Dark Energy
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's Space Week on Short Wave! Today, an encore of our episode on dark energy. This mysterious energy makes up almost 70% of our universe and is belie...
The Arecibo Telescope Is Damaged — And That's A Big Deal
28 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In early August a cable snapped at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, causing substantial damage to one of the largest single dish radio telescop...
The Science Of Wildfire Smoke
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Smoke from wildfires can travel huge distances. We've already seen smoke from the fires in California reach all the way to Minnesota. And with all tha...
What Does A Healthy Rainforest Sound Like?
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On a rapidly changing planet, there are many ways to measure the health of an ecosystem. Can sound be one of them? We dive into a new methodology that...
Scorpion Vs Mouse: A Mind-Blowing Desert Showdown
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Encore episode. This one doesn't end the way you'd expect. Inspired by the Netflix documentary series "Night On Earth," we learn everything we can abo...
Safely Socializing In The Time Of 'Rona
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Socializing is critical for mental and emotional health. You need it. We need it. But what's the safest way to socialize during a pandemic? We propose...
Science Movie Club: 'Arrival'
21 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The 2016 movie 'Arrival,' an adaptation of Ted Chiang's novella 'Story of Your Life,' captured the imaginations of science fiction fans worldwide. Fie...
How The Lack of Fans Is Changing the Psychology of Sports
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Professional sports are back - but it's anything but normal. The most obvious difference is the glaring absence of fans in the stands. This has led to...
The Science Behind Storytelling
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Encore episode. Storytelling can be a powerful tool to convey information, even in the world of science. It can also shift stereotypes about who scien...
Farming Releases Carbon From The Earth's Soil Into The Air. Can We Put It Back?
18 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Traditional farming depletes the soil and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But decades ago, a scientist named Rattan Lal helped start a mo...
The Science Is Simple, So Why Is Opening Schools So Complicated?
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
School districts, parents and teachers are all facing big decisions about how to return to the classroom this fall. NPR health correspondent Allison A...
Save The Parasites
14 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Saving endangered species usually brings to mind tigers or whales. But scientists say many parasites are also at risk of extinction. Short Wave's Emil...
How To Know If A Hurricane Is Coming For You
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Federal forecasters are predicting a busy hurricane season this year — three to six of them could be major hurricanes. So how do you know if one is ...
1st U.S. Dog With COVID-19 Has Died, And There's A Lot We Still Don't Know
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Buddy, an adult German shepherd from Staten Island, was the first dog in the U.S. to test positive for the coronavirus. His death reveals just how lit...
Gene-Altered Squid Could Be The Next Lab Rats
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The first genetically altered squid is here. NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce explains how this breakthrough was made and why it's a game changer for scient...
Why Herd Immunity Won't Save Us
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Herd immunity. It's the idea that enough people become immune to an infectious disease that it's no longer likely to spread. It makes sense theoretica...
Micro Wave: Spreading Warm Bread With Socks
07 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's another Micro Wave! Today, what happens in your brain when you notice a semantic or grammatical mistake ... according to neuroscience. Sarah Phil...
Wearing A Mask Could Be Even More Important Than We Thought
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A new paper and growing observational evidence suggest that a mask could protect you from developing a serious case of COVID-19 — by cutting down on...
How Gene Therapy Helped Conner Run
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Gene therapy has helped a 9-year-old boy regain enough muscle strength to run. If successful in others, it could change the lives of thousands of chil...
The Search For Ancient Civilizations On Earth ... From Space
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Encore episode. Sarah Parcak explains how she uses satellite imagery and data to solve one of the biggest challenges in archaeology: where to start di...
Pregnancy And COVID-19: What We Know And How To Protect Yourself
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How dangerous is COVID-19 for pregnant women and their babies? The research has been scant and the data spotty. Dr. Laura Riley, the chair of obstetr...
Coronavirus Q&A: Running Outside, Petting Dogs, And More
31 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What's the deal with wiping down groceries? How often should you sanitize your phone? Can you greet other people's dogs? In this episode, an excerpt o...
Butterflies Have Hearts In Their Wings. You'll Never Guess Where They Have Eyes
30 Jul 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...
Mars Is The Place To Go This Summer
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The United Arab Emirates launched a mission to Mars earlier this month, followed by China days later. And tomorrow, NASA is scheduled to launch its ow...
The Controversy Around COVID-19 Hospital Data
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Data are so more than just a bunch of numbers, especially when it's the data hospitals are reporting about COVID-19. Earlier this month, the Trump Adm...
Eavesdropping On Whales In A Quiet Ocean
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The pandemic has led to a drop in ship traffic around the world, which means the oceans are quieter. It could be momentary relief for marine mammals ...
Why Shame Is A Bad Public Health Tool — Especially In A Pandemic
24 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
So much of dealing with the pandemic is about how each of us behaves in public. And it's easy to get mad when we see people not following public healt...
CDC Employees Call Out A 'Toxic Culture Of Racial Aggressions'
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Over 1,400 current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees are demanding that the organization "clean its own house" of what they'r...