Short Wave

America's 'Never-Ending Battle Against Flesh-Eating Screw Worms'

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sarah Zhang wrote about it for the Atlantic: a decades-long scientific operation in Central America that keeps flesh-eating screw worms effectively er...

Fat Phobia And Its Racist Past And Present

21 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Where does our preference for thinness really come from? As Sabrina Strings explains in her book, Fearing the Black Body, the answer is much more comp...

The Troubling Link Between Deforestation and Disease

20 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There's evidence deforestation has gotten worse under the pandemic. It's especially troubling news. Scientists are discovering a strong correlation be...

Micro Wave: The Science Of Microwave Ovens + Listener Mail

17 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Introducing Micro Waves: low-calorie episodes featuring bite-sized science, mail from our listeners, and...maybe other stuff in the future? We'll figu...

Why The Pandemic Is Getting Worse... And How To Think About The Future

16 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rising cases, not enough testing, and not enough people taking the virus seriously. NPR science correspondent Richard Harris explains why the virus is...

Understanding Unconscious Bias

15 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The human brain can process 11 million bits of information every second. But our conscious minds can handle only 40 to 50 bits of information a second...

Why Do Flying Snakes Wiggle In The Air?

14 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Some snakes can fly, and we don't mean on a plane. Certain snakes that live in South and Southeast Asia can leap off branches, undulating through the ...

How Record Heat In Siberia Is Messing With...Everything

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Climate change and this year's weather patterns are behind the record-breaking heat in Siberia. NPR Climate Reporter Rebecca Hersher tells us how it's...

Lightbulbs Strike Back

10 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Encore episode. Humans have a long history of inventions that shape the world around us: electricity, telephones, computers, music — the list goes o...

The Congolese Doctor Who Discovered Ebola

09 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Encore episode. Jean-Jacques Muyembe is a Congolese doctor who headed up the response to the recent Ebola outbreak in Congo. Back in 1976, he was the ...

This NASA Engineer Is Bringing Math And Science To Hip-Hop

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Encore episode. NASA engineer Dajae Williams is using hip hop to make math and science more accessible to young people of color. We talk with Dajae ab...

Honeybees Need Your Help

07 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Encore episode. A deadly triangle of factors is killing off U.S. honeybees. Last year, forty percent of honeybee colonies died in the U.S., continuing...

The Importance Of Black Doctors

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Though Black Americans make up 13% of the U.S. population, they represent only 5% of physicians. How does that lack of diversity in the physician work...

Typhoid Mary: Lessons From An Infamous Quarantine

03 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A special episode from our colleagues at NPR's history podcast Throughline. When a cook who carried typhoid fever showed no symptoms and refused to st...

Backyard Birding 101

02 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you pay attention to what's going on in your own backyard, ornithologist Viviana Ruiz Gutierrez says the birds among us have been putting on a grea...

One Way To Slow Coronavirus Outbreaks At Meatpacking Plants? A Lot Of Testing

01 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Meatpacking plants have been some of the biggest COVID-19 hot spots in the country. Thousands of workers have been infected, dozens have died. As plan...

Octocopter Set to Explore Titan, Saturn's Very Cool Moon

30 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

NASA is on a mission to explore Titan — the largest moon of Saturn. To do that, scientists are building a nuclear-powered, self-driving drone (techn...

Meet The Climate Scientist Trying to Fly Less for Work

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A few years ago, climate scientist Kim Cobb had a brutal realization about how much she was flying for conferences and meetings. Those flights were ad...

A COVID-19 Vaccine: What You Need To Know

26 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Approximately 200 COVID-19 vaccines are being actively developed, a process that health officials are expediting to help end the pandemic. Today on th...

Minneapolis' Bold Plan To Tackle Racial Inequity And Climate Change

25 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Racial discrimination shaped the map of Minneapolis. Then city zoning locked many of those patterns into place. Maddie talks with NPR climate reporter...

The Science Behind That Fresh Rain Smell

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists have known for decades that one of the main causes of the smell of fresh rain is geosmin: a chemical compound produced by soil-dwelling bac...

Tech Companies Are Limiting Police Use of Facial Recognition. Here's Why

23 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this month, IBM said it was getting out of the facial recognition business. Then Amazon and Microsoft announced prohibitions on law enforcemen...

There Is No 'Second Wave'

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

America is still stuck in the first one. Maddie and Emily examine how the idea of a 'second wave' of coronavirus might have taken hold. NPR science co...

A Kazoo And The Evolution Of Speech

19 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Encore episode. Researchers discovered that this simple instrument could offer insights into the evolution of human speech. Short Wave reporter Emily ...

The Inseparable Link Between Climate Change And Racial Justice

18 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson wrote a Washington Post op-ed about the ways the fight around climate change and racial justice go hand in ha...

How Many People Transmit The Coronavirus Without Ever Feeling Sick?

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's called asymptomatic spread. Recently a scientist with the World Health Organization created confusion when she seemed to suggest it was "very rar...

We Don't Know Enough About Coronavirus Immunity

16 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Does getting the coronavirus once make you immune to it or could you get it again? Many are looking to antibody tests for answers. The logic is: if I ...

The Fight Over A Weedkiller, In The Fields And In The Courts

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A federal court recently ordered farmers to stop spraying one of the country's most widely used herbicides, dicamba. NPR's food and agriculture corres...

Coronavirus 'Long-Haulers' Have Been Sick For Months. Why?

12 Jun 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...

Spinosaurus Makes Waves

11 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We chat with National Geographic Explorer and paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim about his team's discovery of the Spinosaurus, the first known swimming din...

How Tear Gas Affects The Body

10 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In protests around the country, law enforcement agencies have used tear gas to disperse crowds. But is it safe? ProPublica environment reporter Lisa S...

People Are Volunteering To Be Exposed To The Coronavirus...For Science

09 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Maddie Sofia talks with Invisibilia's Alix Spiegel about the bioethics of conducting human challenge trials with the aim of producing...

Science Is For Everyone — Until It's Not

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Encore episode. Brandon Taylor's story has a happy ending. Today he's a successful writer whose debut novel 'Real Life' received glowing reviews earli...

Code Switch: A Decade Of Watching Black People Die

06 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The last few weeks have been filled with devastating news — stories about the police killing black people. So today, we're turning the mic over to o...

Coronavirus And Racism Are Dual Public Health Emergencies

05 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Across the country, demonstrators are protesting the death of George Floyd and the ongoing systemic racism that is woven into the fabric of the United...

#BlackBirdersWeek Seeks To Make The Great Outdoors Open To All

04 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Happy #BlackBirdersWeek! This week, black birders around the world are rallying around Christian Cooper, a black man and avid birder, who was harassed...

Meet The 'Glacier Mice.' Scientists Can't Figure Out Why They Move.

03 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 2006, while hiking around the Root Glacier in Alaska, glaciologist Tim Bartholomaus encountered something strange and unexpected on the ice — do...

The Key To Coronavirus Testing Is Community

02 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In San Francisco, the coronavirus has disproportionately affected Hispanic and Latinx communities. This is especially true in the Mission District —...

The World Is Constantly Running Out Of Helium

01 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Encore episode. Helium is the second-most common element in the cosmos, but it's far rarer on planet Earth. As part of our celebration of the periodic...

What We Will ⁠— And Won't ⁠— Remember About The Pandemic

29 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There's no doubt we're living through a Big Historic Event, but that doesn't necessarily mean we'll remember it all that well. Shayla Love, a senior s...

The Pandemic Cut Down Car Traffic. Why Not Air Pollution?

28 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

An NPR analysis of a key air pollutant showed levels have not changed dramatically since the pandemic curbed car traffic in the U.S. NPR science repor...

What Would It Be Like To Fall Into A Black Hole?

27 May 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 Launch! (It's Tomorrow And It's Historic.)

26 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tomorrow, two NASA astronauts are set to head up into space on a brand new spacecraft, built by the company SpaceX. The last time NASA sent a crew up ...

A Short Wave Mad Lib

25 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're off for Memorial Day, so Maddie and Emily have a special Short Wave mad lib for you. Back with a new episode tomorrow. Email the show at shortwa...

How to Correct Misinformation, According to Science.

22 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The World Health Organization has called the spread of misinformation around the coronavirus an "infodemic." So what do you do when it's somebody you ...

Science Movie Club: 'Contact'

21 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Yes, there actually are astronomers looking for intelligent life in space. The 1997 film adaptation of Carl Sagan's 'Contact' got a lot of things righ...

What You Flush Is Helping Track The Coronavirus

20 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

More than 100 cities are monitoring sewage for the presence of the coronavirus, and public health officials think wastewater could provide an early wa...

The Squishy, Slimey Science Of ASMR

19 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Encore episode. The science is nascent and a little squishy, but researchers like Giulia Poerio are trying to better understand ASMR — a feeling tri...

The Pandemic Time Warp

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The pandemic has upended every aspect of our lives, including the disorienting way many of us have been perceiving time. It might feel like a day drag...

What Did Earth Look Like 3.2 Billion Years Ago?

15 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The surface of the Earth is constantly recycled through the motion of plate tectonics. So how do researchers study what it used to look like? Planetar...

The Coronavirus Is Mutating. Here's What That Means.

14 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ed Yong of The Atlantic explains how a viral article led to headlines about a possible coronavirus mutation. All viruses mutate — it doesn't necessa...

Kids' Books Where Science Is The Adventure

13 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Maddie talks with author and neuroscientist Theanne Griffith about her new children's book series, The Magnificent Makers, which follows two intrepid ...

Making Music Out Of The Coronavirus

12 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When Markus Buehler heard about the coronavirus, he wanted to know what it sounded like. Today on the show, Maddie speaks with Short Wave reporter Emi...

We Need More Coronavirus Testing. Are Antigen Tests The Answer?

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There's a difference between diagnostic, antibody, and antigen tests. All provide different levels of reliability and speed.NPR health correspondent R...

Here's The Deal With 'Murder Hornets'

08 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Reports of so-called 'murder hornets' have been all over the news this week. (Even though they were first spotted in the United States late last year....

What We're Missing, By Missing Strangers Now

07 May 2020

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....

Scientists Think The Coronavirus Transmitted Naturally, Not In A Lab. Here's Why.

06 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration has advanced the theory the coronavirus began as a lab accident, but scientists who research bat-borne coronaviruses disagree...

What Is Dark Energy? Physicists Aren't Even Sure

05 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dark energy makes up almost 70% of our universe and is believed to be the reason the universe is expanding. Yet very, very little is known about it. T...

Letters From The 1918 Pandemic

04 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The 1918 flu outbreak was one of the most devastating pandemics in world history, infecting one third of the world's population and killing an estimat...

How An Early Plan To Spot The Virus Fell Weeks Behind

01 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In several major cities, public health officials work every year to monitor the flu. It's called sentinel surveillance. And as early as mid-February,...

How Bears Come Out Of Hibernation Jacked

30 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Spring is in the air — and so are black bears coming out of hibernation. Rae Wynn-Grant, a large carnivore biologist, explains there's a lot more go...

Can Optimism Be Learned? (Like Right Now?)

29 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Optimism is often thought as a disposition, something you're born with or without. So can it be learned? On today's show, Maddie talks with Alix Spieg...

The Lightbulb Strikes Back

28 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Humans have a long history of inventions: electricity, telephones, computers, music — the list goes on. It's clear we're shaping the world around us...

The Hard Truth About Ventilators

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

During the pandemic, ventilators have been considered a vital medical tool to treat critically-ill COVID-19 patients. But more and more evidence is su...

Contact Tracing Is Key To Reopening. We're Not There Yet

24 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. may need 100,000 people trained in the public health practice of contact tracing — tracking and isolating people who've been in contact wit...

How Infectious Disease Shaped American Bathroom Design

23 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're all spending more time these days at home — including our bathrooms. But why do they look the way they do? From toilets to toothbrush holders,...

Animal Slander! Debunking 'Birdbrained' And 'Eat Like A Bird'

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to "Animal Slander," the series where we take common expressions about animals and debunk them with science. Today on the show, we tackle...

On Earth Day, What You Can Do For The Environment

21 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Happy (early) Earth Day, Short Wave listeners. We've received many questions from you about climate change, specifically what can individuals and hous...

Coronavirus Models Aren't "Wrong." That's Not How They Work.

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Scientific models of disease don't predict the future. They're just one tool to help us all prepare for it. NPR global health correspondent Nurith Aiz...

When The Military Fights A Pandemic At Home

17 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Last Tuesday, the military helped evacuate dozens of critically ill COVID-19 patients from overwhelmed hospitals in Queens. NPR's Rebecca Hersher says...

Every Moon, Ranked

16 Apr 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...

Where Did The Coronavirus Start? Virus Hunters Find Clues In Bats

15 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Bats are critically important for ecosystems around the world. But they also harbor some of the toughest known zoonotic diseases, and are the likely o...

The Science of Making Bread

14 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Social distancing has some of us taking up bread baking for the first time, including host Maddie Sofia. Chemist and baker Patricia Christie explains ...

How To Talk About The Coronavirus With Friends And Family

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Liz Neeley, science communication expert and executive director of The Story Collider, shares some advice for how to talk to your friends and family a...

The "7 Day COVID-19 Crash"

10 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Some patients with COVID-19 are experiencing a crash after about a week of showing symptoms of the disease. The cause?Well, as NPR's Geoff Brumfiel ex...

Science Is For Everyone. Until It's Not.

09 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brandon Taylor's story has a happy ending. Today he's a successful writer whose debut novel 'Real Life' received glowing reviews earlier this year. Bu...

Science Movie Club: 'Twister'

08 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

No, tornadoes do not sound like a roaring lion. The 1996 drama 'Twister' got a lot of things wrong...and a few things right. Meteorologist Ali Burgos,...

Puerto Ricans Are At Risk From The Coronavirus And A Lack Of Information

07 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico has the most older Americans per capita, making their population especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. A vital t...

The Peculiar Physics Of Wiffle Balls

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Wiffle Balls are a lightweight alternative to baseballs, better suited for backyards then sports stadiums. The design of the Wiffle Ball guarantees yo...

How The Coronavirus Could Hurt Our Ability To Fight Wildfires

03 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Now is when we'd normally be getting ready for fire season. And this upcoming one could be tough for states like California, which had an especially d...

Honeybees Need Your Help, Honey

02 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A deadly triangle of factors is killing off U.S. honeybees. Last year, forty percent of honeybee colonies died in the U.S., continuing an alarming tre...

Is This Real? Loss of Smell And The Coronavirus

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors around the world are sharing stories of patients losing their sense of taste or smell — and testing positive for the coronavirus. Is it a re...

Seen Any Nazi Uranium? Researchers Want To Know

31 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Encore episode. NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel shares the story of Nazi Germany's attempt to build a nuclear reactor — and how evidence of...

Lessons In Being Alone, From A Woodland Snail

30 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Bedridden with illness, Maine writer Elisabeth Tova Bailey found an unlikely companion — a solitary snail a friend brought her from the woods. Elisa...

No, The Coronavirus Isn't Another Flu

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump has compared the coronavirus to the seasonal flu. NPR reporter Pien Huang speaks to host Maddie Sofia about why the coronavirus appear...

Stay Home And Skype A Scientist

26 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The spread of the coronavirus has led many to stay home in recent weeks. During that time, the non-profit Skype A Scientist has seen a surge in demand...

Exploring The Canopy With 'TreeTop Barbie'

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Encore episode: Pioneering ecologist Nalini Nadkarni takes us up into the canopy — the area above the forest floor — where she helped research and...

Why Is The Coronavirus So Good At Spreading?

24 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ed Yong rounds up some theories in a recent article for The Atlantic. He tells host Maddie Sofia one reason the virus spreads so well might have to do...

It's Okay To Sleep Late (But Do It For Your Immune System)

23 Mar 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...

Keep Your Distance

20 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's a phrase we're hearing a lot now, social distancing. Practicing it is essential to slowing the spread of the coronavirus. But what does it really...

Yep. They Injected CRISPR Into An Eyeball

19 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's no exaggeration to say the gene-editing technique CRISPR could revolutionize medicine. We look at a new milestone — a CRISPR treatment that edi...

Coronavirus Can Live On Surfaces For Days. What That Really Means

18 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It actually behaves much like other viruses in that regard. NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey has more on what we know, what we don't, and tips ...

Coronavirus Is Closing Schools: Here's How Families Can Cope.

17 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As schools across the U.S. shutter for weeks at a time, Short Wave looks at the science behind the decision. Plus, tips from a psychologist on how to ...

Is Failure To Prepare For Climate Change A Crime?

16 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

That's the central question of an unprecedented lawsuit against a company whose chemical plant flooded during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. Contain...

Coronavirus Latest: Testing Challenges And Protecting At-Risk Elderly

13 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There's a lot going on with the coronavirus. To keep you up to speed, we'll be doing more regular updates on the latest about the pandemic. Today, NPR...

Humble Pi: When Math Goes Awry

12 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Pi Day (3/14) approaches. To help honor the coming holiday and the importance of math, stand-up mathematician Matt Parker unspools a common math mista...

As Coronavirus Spreads, Racism And Xenophobia Are Too

11 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Coronavirus is all over the headlines. Accompanying the growing anxiety around its spread, has been suspicion and harassment of Asians and Asian Ameri...

Freshwater Mussels Are Dying And No One Knows Why

10 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 2016, biologists and fishermen across the country started to notice something disturbing. Freshwater mussels were dying in large numbers. NPR Natio...

Creating Antimatter: Matter's "Evil Twin"

09 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Physicists have done the math and there should be as much antimatter as matter — but that hasn't been the case so far. NPR Correspondent Geoff Brumf...

The U.S. Doesn't Use The Metric System. Or Does It?

06 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

From currency and commerce, food labels to laboratories, the metric system is the foundation of many science and math fields. To mark our 100th episod...