Short Wave
Episodes
Is The Milky Way On A Collision Course?
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Andromeda galaxy lies just beyond (...OK, about 2.5 million light-years beyond) our galaxy, the Milky Way. For the past hundred years or so, scien...
On July 4th, Are You A Thrill- Or Chill-Seeker?
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Independence Day is approaching! Imagine in a few days, someone has procured illegal fireworks from a couple of states over. Are you:A) first in line ...
RFK Jr.'s New Vaccine Advisors Signal Big Changes
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Policy, an influential CDC committee that shapes U.S. vaccine policy, has become a flashpoint in recent weeks. ...
Aha! The Power Of A Short Rest
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since 2004, scientific research has shown that a full night of sleep may lend itself to a burst of insight in the morning. But what about the earlier ...
When Eavesdropping Pays Off
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why did the ornithologist strap a taxidermy badger to a remote controlled car and drive it around the prairie? To interrogate the secret world of anim...
Does It Feel Like Mosquitoes Are Getting Worse?
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on the planet, and some of them may be on the rise. At least in listener Abigail Krich-Starr's area, that's due to...
The Power Grid Problem
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S.'s power grid — a nearly 100-year-old network of electrical circuits — is facing increased demand and weather-related stress. What will i...
What Makes South Korea's 'Super Divers' Special?
20 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For generations, the all-female Haenyeo divers have routinely dove into frigid waters off the coast of South Korea, holding their breath for minutes a...
Why Emotions Run High For Sports Fans
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are in the thick of multiple sports seasons: the NBA finals are happening, and baseball and soccer are in full swing. For devoted fans, emotions ca...
Trump Wants A Missile Defense System Like Israel's
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since last week, Israel has been attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, along with many other targets around the country. Iran has fired hundreds of mis...
Why Weed's Signature Scent Has Changed Over Time
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The skunky smell of cannabis may be going out of style. NPR's science correspondent Pien Huang visited the grow facility for District Cannabis, which ...
Your Breathing Pattern Is Like A Fingerprint
13 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Take a big inhale through your nose. Now, exhale. Breathing may seem simple, but it's controlled by a complex brain network. Each inhale gives the hum...
Wanna Save Money? Climate-Proof Your Home
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Homeowners' insurance isn't just getting more expensive ... it's also getting harder to secure in the first place. Across the country, an increase in ...
Living With OCD
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Roughly 163 million people experience obsessive-compulsive disorder and its associated cycles of obsessions and compulsions. They have unwanted intrus...
Helping Dogs and Their Pawrents Live Healthier, Longer
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Dog Aging Project is a long-term nationwide survey on the health and lifestyles of U.S. dogs that launched in 2019. Today, the project has more th...
Unveiling Olo — A Color Out of Oz!
06 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"Olo" does not exist in nature, nor can it be found among paint cans. But for a very select few, olo can be seen — through the intervention of caref...
Anglerfish Ancestors Once Roamed The Seafloor
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are over 200 species of deep-sea anglerfish; some are long and thin, some are squat and round, some have fins that they use to "walk" along the ...
Can AI Crack The Biology Code?
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As artificial intelligence seeps into some realms of society, it rushes into others. One area it's making a big difference is protein science — as i...
Solving A Centuries Old Maritime Mystery
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For hundreds of years sailors have told stories about miles of glowing ocean during moonless nights. This phenomenon is known as "milky seas," but the...
Why Daylight Boosts Immunity
30 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Depending on what time it is, your body responds differently to an injury or infection. During the day, you're likely to heal faster and fight infecti...
Unpacking Bipolar Disorder
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Around 40 million people around the world have bipolar disorder, which involves cyclical swings between moods: from depression to mania. Kay Redfield ...
Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Gen Z and younger millennials are the most climate literate generations the world has ever seen. They learned about climate change in school; now, it'...
The Great Space Race ... With Clocks
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's Memorial Day, Short Wavers. This holiday, we bring you a meditation on time ... and clocks. There are hundreds of atomic clocks in orbit right no...
Flamingos: The Water-Bending Physics Masters
23 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Riddle us this: Which animal is pink, curved beaked and a master of the physics required to create water tornadoes? If you guessed flamingos, you're r...
New Antivenom, Thanks To 200 Intentional Snake Bites
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What's it like to get bit by a venomous snake? "It's like a bee sting times a thousand," Tim Friede says. Tim would know. Over the past few decades, h...
Will Trump Unleash Energy Dominance Or Damage?
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump administration is rewriting policies and reducing funding for multiple agencies that handle climate change, including NOAA, EPA and FEMA. We...
Could Wormholes Exist?
19 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In science fiction, wormholes are hyperspace subway tubes linking one part of a galaxy directly to another, distant point. But could they actually exi...
Orange Cat Lovers, Rise Up!
16 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Approximately 80% of orange cats are males, including the four orange cats owned by the Short Wave team. Scientists have long suspected that orange co...
How Baby Bats Learn To Eavesdrop On Dinner
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most bats use echolocation to navigate and hunt, but some use their ears for another trick: eavesdropping. "And then these frog-eating bats, for examp...
Learning A Second Language As An Adult
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Becoming fluent in a second language is difficult. But for adults, is it impossible? Science says no. In this encore episode, Short Wave host Emily Kw...
The Indicator: American Science Brain Drain
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we're airing an episode of NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money. It's about a group of people we know well: scientist...
Could AI Go Green?
09 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Google, Microsoft and Meta have all pledged to reach at least net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Amazon set their net-zero deadline for 2040. To under...
What's The Environmental Cost Of AI?
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
By 2028, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory forecasts that U.S. data centers could use as much as 12% of the nation's electricity. The reason: gene...
Science Can Make You More Creative!
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you consider yourself a creative person? If not, you may be holding yourself back. Psychologist Zorana Ivcevic Pringle says creativity isn't a trai...
Did Scientists Find Alien Life Or Just Controversy?
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Recently, a group of scientists claimed they found possible signs of life on a planet called K2-18b. The news made headlines. Researchers said they'd ...
What Can Minecraft Teach Us About Learning?
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Minecraft is a movie and a very popular video game with iconic block graphics that characters can "mine" for building material and gems. It's also wha...
Are DOGE Cuts Making America Healthy?
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In its first 100 days, the Trump administration — specifically, the Department of Government Efficiency — shuttered agencies and slashed budgets p...
Should Kids Be Taking Melatonin?
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A good night's sleep makes a big difference to our mental and physical health. Without quality sleep, we're less productive. Grumpy. It can even affec...
Harnessing Spineless Sea Creatures' Superpowers
28 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From starfish and sea slugs to jellyfish and sponges, the ocean's invertebrates are some of the most ancient and diverse critters on Earth. And so are...
This Telescope Could Find "Planet 9"
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some scientists are convinced that beyond Neptune, there's a planet they've yet to see. This so-called "Planet 9" is so far away, it would be a faint ...
Why These Salmon Are On Anxiety Meds
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A fish walks into a pharmacy ... well, not exactly. Fish aren't being prescribed anti-anxiety drugs. But they are experiencing the effects. Researcher...
Nature Quest: Are Flowers Blooming Early?
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome!! This is the first episode of Nature Quest, a monthly Short Wave segment that answers listener questions about your local environment. This m...
Should Humans Live On Mars?
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As global warming continues and space technology improves, there is more and more talk about the growing possibility of a sci-fi future in which human...
Good Vibrations: How Fiddler Crabs Mate
18 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The male European fiddler crab attracts his mate by performing a courtship dance. New research published in the Journal of Experimental Biology says t...
How Nature Makes A Complex Brain
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A recent series of studies suggests that the brains of birds, reptiles and mammals all evolved independently — even though they share a common ances...
Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Plants are blooming right now – and so are people's allergies. And if it feels like those pesky symptoms are getting worse ... you're probably right...
All Hail The Butt Flicker
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know there's an insect that can fling its pee 40 times faster than a cheetah accelerates? We did — thanks to a comic from the Bhamla Lab at ...
How Do Astronomers Find Exoplanets? Wiggles!
11 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dune. Star Wars. Alien. Science fiction movies love alien worlds, and so do we. But how do scientists find planets outside our solar system in real li...
Could Psychedelics Become Tripless?
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we've heard from researchers trying to untangle the effects of the "trip" that often comes with psychedelics and ketamine from the ways the...
What If You Took The "Trip" Out Of Ketamine?
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if you could get all the potential benefits of ketamine without the "trip"? For part two of our series on psychedelics, we look at how some resea...
Why The Trip Complicates Psychedelic Research
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers are studying psychedelics as a possible treatment for conditions like depression, PTSD and substance use disorders. But they don't know ex...
Could Running Change Your Brain?
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Running an entire marathon takes a lot of energy. Neuroscientist Carlos Matute knows this: he's run 18 of them. He wondered how runners' bodies get th...
Tornado Alley: Home Of Extreme Winds
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Each year, the United States has about 1,200 tornadoes. Many of them happen in tornado alley, a very broad swath of the U.S. that shifts seasonally. T...
The Iguanas That Rafted To Fiji
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most iguanas are indigenous to the Americas. So how did the Fijian species end up on the island, nearly 5000 miles away in the South Pacific? Accordin...
Is AI Ready For Robots?
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It seems like artificial intelligence is everywhere in our virtual lives. It's in our search results and our phones. But what happens when AI moves ou...
Rare Narwhal Footage Shows New Tusk Activities
28 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What are the narwhals up to? Generally, we don't really know! They are mysterious creatures. NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce talks abou...
The Algae That Thrive in Arctic Darkness
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Microalgae are tiny organisms that convert energy from sunlight into fuel. The arctic ecosystem depends on them. In springtime, the algae bloom brilli...
Climate Change + Baseball = More Home Runs
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Baseball season is nigh! From Yankee stadium in New York to Dodger stadium in Los Angeles, teams around the country will face off Thursday to mark the...
What Scientists Got Wrong About COVID-19
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Early in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists predicted the SARS-CoV-2 virus would mutate slowly. They were wrong. Hundreds of thousands...
What Experts Say About ADHD-Tok
21 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever diagnosed yourself with a mental health disorder based on a TikTok video? If so, you're not alone. "I personally don't think that there's anythin...
What's In Your Personal Care Products?
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever scan the ingredient list of your favorite personal care products like shampoos or lotions and think, what are these complicated chemicals? And ar...
What to Know About The Measles Outbreak
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases known to science – more contagious than Ebola, smallpox or COVID-19. Declining vaccination...
Could 'Severance' Become Our Reality?
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if we had the ultimate work-life balance? This fundamental question underlies the hit Apple TV+ show Severance – now in its second season. Ahea...
Love Fruit? Thank (Dinosaur) Mass Extinction
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Move over, TikTokers. It's time to shine a spotlight on some of the earliest influencers around: dinosaurs. When these ecosystem engineers were in the...
Let's Talk About (Biological) Sex, Baby
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Biological sex is all over the news lately. Whether it's via President Trump's executive order affecting passport policy, moving trans inmates between...
Is The Trump Administration Breaking Science?
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In its first 50 days, the Trump administration made sweeping changes to scientific arms of the government like the Department of Health and Human Serv...
The Great Antarctic Food Web Puzzle
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tourists to Antarctica are fueling research on some of the tiniest, most influential organisms on Earth: phytoplankton. These itty bitty critters make...
Stone Age To Bone Age?
07 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Archeologists know early humans used stone to make tools long before the time of Homo sapiens. But a new discovery out this week in Nature suggests ea...
Will Bark For Science
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On their second job ever, Collette Yee and her partner were assigned a difficult job: locate transient whale poop in the ocean before it sinks. Luckil...
Reviving The Woolly Mammoth ... With Mice
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You've heard of the woolly mammoth. But have you heard of woolly mice? These critters were genetically modified by the Dallas-based biotech company Co...
What It's Like Taking Alzheimer's Drugs
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are now two fully approved drugs on the market that can, sometimes, slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Both have been shown to sl...
When Batteries Get A Face Lift, So Do Renewables
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Batteries are everywhere. They're in our phones, our remote controls, smart-watches, electric cars and so much more. They could also be the solution t...
This Radio Wave Mystery Changed Astronomy
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 1967 Jocelyn Bell Burnell made a discovery that revolutionized the field of astronomy. She detected the radio signals emitted by certain dying star...
Extracting Brains ... For Science
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A year and a half ago, neuroscientist Kamilla Souza got the call she'd been waiting for: A baby humpback whale had died just offshore. She wanted its ...
What Happens While You're Under Anesthesia?
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Picture a relaxing scene. Maybe a beach in Tahiti, your toes in the sand, a cold drink in hand. Now imagine your favorite music playing in the backgro...
This Is Your Brain On Dessert
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever eat a full meal ... and find you still have room for dessert? If so, you're not alone. Sugar is a quick form of energy that many people crave —...
Party In Peru: New Critters Just Dropped
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a team of scientists and local Awajún guides go on a 38-day trip into the Alto Mayo region of Peru? Over 2000 species are identifie...
When AI Cannibalizes Its Data
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Asked ChatGPT anything lately? Talked with a customer service chatbot? Read the results of Google's "AI Overviews" summary feature? If you've used the...
Could This Particle 'Clean Up' A Cosmic Mystery?
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Physics has a bit of a messy problem: There's matter missing in our universe. Something is there that we can't see but can detect! What could this mys...
Lessons in Love From Voles
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For years, scientists have known that oxytocin is important in facilitating the feeling of love in humans. How do they know? Prairie voles. For years,...
Stopping A Deadly Disease On Apache Lands
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is one of the deadliest tickborne diseases in the United States, often killing people within about a week if left untreat...
What Happens Inside A Top-Secret U.S. Nuclear Facility?
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. tested nuclear weapons until the early 1990s. Since then, scientists have been using supercomputers and experiments to simulate nuclear test ...
The Dangers Of Mirror Cell Research
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For people with two hands, one is usually dominant. On a molecular level, life takes this to the extreme. All of the DNA in earthly living things twis...
How Physics Could Make Big Crowds Safer
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do large crowds of people and water have in common? They both act like fluids. When crowds cheer, sway and clump together, the movements look lik...
Microbes: It's Complicated
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For a long time, microbes like the ones in Yellowstone's hot springs were studied in isolation. Molecular ecologist Devaki Bhaya says we should be stu...
Why Black Holes Are More Than They Seem
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Black holes are notorious for gobbling up, well, everything. They're icons of destruction, ruthless voids, ambivalent abysses from which nothing can r...
Not All Nature Comebacks Are Equal
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ecologist Gergana Daskalova moved back to the small Bulgarian town of her childhood. It's a place many people have abandoned — and that's the very ...
10 Technologies To Watch
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a world brimming with innovation and limited time, it can be hard to tell what technology has the potential to really shift life. Yet, every year, ...
Farts To The Rescue
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Farts are funny and sometimes smelly. But are they a legitimate topic of research? More than 40% of people worldwide are estimated to suffer from some...
The Latest On Bird Flu
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Bird flu, or avian influenza, is spreading among livestock and other mammals in the United States, raising concerns that another pandemic may be loomi...
Moths, Owls And Fungi With Over 20,000 Sexes...Oh My!
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Put on your headphones. In today's episode, host Emily Kwong leads us on a night hike in Patuxent River State Park in Maryland. Alongside a group of n...
Peeing Is Contagious!
24 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At least, it's contagious among a group of captive chimpanzees at the Kumamoto Sanctuary. How do researchers know? A very dedicated grad student at Ky...
Where Are We In The Quest To Find Alien Life?
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Around the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens — with screensavers. It was a big moment in a ce...
How Will Future Forests Survive Climate Change?
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Forests are the lungs of our planet. Not only do they absorb carbon dioxide and create oxygen, they also regulate temperature, absorb rainwater to hel...
The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced it is banning the dye called Red No. 3, a food dye additive in many processed foods, like sod...
All Of Life Has A Common Ancestor. What Was LUCA?
17 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine the tree of life. The tip of every branch represents one species, and if you follow any two branches back through time, you'll hit an intersec...
Some Dinos Had Feathers. Did They Fly?
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When you picture a dinosaur, what does it look like? For Jingmai O'Connor, paleobiologist and associate curator of reptiles at the Field Museum of Chi...
Bone Marrow Cells: Key To Vaccine Longevity?
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine generates enough of an antibody response to protect against severe disease for six months. But other vaccines offer years-lo...
The Science Behind Wildfire Smoke
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Air quality in the Los Angeles region has plummeted due to smoke from the ongoing wildfires. With all that smoke comes possible risks to human health....
What Are California's Santa Ana Winds?
10 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Over 29,000 acres in the greater Los Angeles area are on fire right now. The fires emerged after the Santa Ana winds swept into the Los Angeles area T...