Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Thanks, Neanderthals: How our ancient relatives could help find new antibiotics
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Antibiotics have changed the world. They've made it possible to treat diseases that used to mean any...
Scientist Just Made The Largest Brain Map Ever
27 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The human brain has more than 170 billion cells. A newly published atlas offers the most detailed m...
How Climate Change Is Testing The Endangered Species Act
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Some people keep dogs in their backyards. In the Florida Keys, some residents have deer the size of ...
Why Gray Hair Is Coming For You
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As a kid, host Aaron Scott would dress up for Halloween as an older version of himself — complete ...
Light Show! The Science Behind The Orionid Meteor Shower
20 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're about to hit peak Orionid meteor shower! According to NASA, it's one of the most beautiful sho...
Why Scientists Are Reanimating Spider Corpses For Research
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
That spider you squished? It could have been used for science! Today, we're bringing you Halloween a...
How AI Is Speeding Up Scientific Discoveries
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Artificial intelligence can code computer programs, draw pictures and even take notes for doctors. N...
The Microbiologist Studying The Giant Floating Petri Dish In Space
13 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Microbiologist Monsi Roman joined NASA in 1989 to help design the International Space Station. As th...
Florida Corals Are Dying. Can A 'Coral Gym' Help Them Survive?
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Coral reefs in Florida have lost an estimated 90% of their corals in the last 40 years. And this sum...
Choose Your Own Adventure — But Make It Math
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ever read those Choose Your Own Adventure books of the '80s and '90s? As a kid, mathematician Pamela...
Body Electric: The Body Through The Ages
07 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Being inside, hunching in front of a computer screen for hours at a time – these things take a tol...
It's Fat Bear Week!
06 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Y'all, it's the most wonderful time of the year: Fat Bear Week! Brown bears in Katmai National Park...
Why Chilean Mummies Are Decomposing After 7,000 Years
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here on Short Wave, we're getting into the Halloween spirit a little early with a look at the world'...
Seaweed is piling up on beaches. This robot might be its match
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A new robot is designed to sink sargassum before the stinky seaweed comes ashore. Blooms of sargassu...
The Tiny Worm At The Heart Of Regeneration Science
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A tiny worm that regenerates entire organs. A South American snail that can regrow its eyes. A killi...
Osiris-REx and the quest to understand the solar system's origin
27 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2016, NASA launched a spacecraft to do something rarely attempted before: Collect space rocks fro...
Itchy? Here's why
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ever had an itch you can't scratch? It can be maddening. And even though itch has a purpose — it's...
Can't Match The Beat? Then You Can't Woo A Cockatoo
22 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today on the show, All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly joins Regina G. Barber and Maria ...
Why Sustainable Seafood Is A Data Problem
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The last several decades have taken a toll on the oceans: Some fish populations are collapsing, plas...
The James Webb Space Telescope Is Fueling Galactic Controversy
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're entering a new era of astrophysics. The James Webb Space Telescope is helping scientists test ...
The Latest COVID Booster Is Here. Should You Get It?
15 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the Food and Drug Administration approved new COVID vaccines this week. It comes at a tim...
Animal Crossing: The Destructive Nature of Roads
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
40 million miles of road unite us. They also cause mass destruction for many species. Today, environ...
Why A Proposed Marine Sanctuary Could Make History
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
More than 5,000 square miles of central California coast could soon become the newest national marin...
Air Pollution May Be Increasing Superbugs
08 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today on the show, All Things Considered co-host Ari Shapiro joins Aaron Scott and Regina G. Barber ...
Recurring UTIs: The Infection We Keep Secretly Getting
06 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Have frequent, burning pee? Cramping or the urge to pee even though you just went? If you haven't ye...
The Deadly Toll Heat Can Take On Humans
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This year, the hottest July ever was recorded — and parts of the country were hit with heat waves ...
Food Allergies Are On The Rise. Are You Affected?
01 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Food allergies have risen in the United States over the last few decades. Research suggests that 40 ...
'Speedboat Epidemiology': Eradicating Disease One Person At A Time
30 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Smallpox is a deadly virus. At one point, it killed almost 1 in 3 people who had it. Almost 300 mill...
What Do We Do With Radioactive Wastewater?
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Workers in Japan started releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear powe...
A Tale Of Two Lunar Landing Attempts
25 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A journey through some of the latest science stories catching our eyes. This time, we consider the R...
What Made Hilary Such A Weird Storm
23 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One name has been on millions of minds — and all over the news — in the past week: Hilary.It's b...
Fixing Our Failing Electric Grid... On A Budget
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's no secret that our electric grid is a flaming hot mess — and in order to reduce emissions, th...
The Key To Uncovering An Ancient Maya City? Lasers
18 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today we enter into the plot of a summer blockbuster adventure movie. Regina talks to NPR reporter E...
Is Math Real?
16 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kids ask, "Why?" all the time. Why does 1+1=2? Why do we memorize multiplication tables? Many of us ...
Sperm Can't Really Swim And Other Surprising Pregnancy Facts
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There's the birds and the bees. And then there's what happens after. The process that leads to the b...
The Fish That Conceal Themselves To Hunt
11 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
All Things Considered host Juana Summers joins Regina G. Barber and Berly McCoy to nerd-out on some ...
The Science Of Happiness Sounds Great. But Is The Research Solid?
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How do we really get happier? In a new review in the journal Nature Human Behavior, researchers Eliz...
Black Metallurgists, Iron And The Industrial Revolution
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The ability to create wrought iron cheaply has been called one of the most significant innovations i...
This Sausage-Shaped Part Of Your Brain Causes Out-Of-Body Experiences
04 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ever felt like you were watching yourself and the rest of the world from outside of your body? Or fl...
The Secrecy Of The Horseshoe Crab Blood Harvest
02 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, humans have harvested the blood of horseshoe crabs, which is used to test whether many ...
Christmas in July! Celebrate With Hilarious Research
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Would you survive as a doctor in The Sims 4? What's the appropriate amount of free food to take from...
The Jackson Water Crisis Through A Student Journalist's Eyes
29 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this special episode, we hear from the high school grand prize winner of NPR's Student Podcast Ch...
Peanuts, Pets And Poopy Shores
28 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For most infants, introducing peanuts early can help prevent allergies later on — but a new study ...
Why Babies Babble And What It Can Teach Adults About Language
26 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In which we metaphorically enter the UCLA Language Acquisistion Lab's recording castle, guided by li...
The Scorpion Renaissance Has Arrived
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Scorpions: They're found pretty much everywhere, and new species are being identified all the time. ...
'Oppenheimer' And The Science Of Atomic Bombs
21 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Christopher Nolan's new film 'Oppenheimer' chronicles the life and legacy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, ...
This Cellular Atlas Could Lead To Breakthroughs For Endometriosis Patients
19 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For people with endometriosis—a mysterious disease where endometrial tissue grows outside of the u...
Meet The Residents Of The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Trash from humans is constantly spilling into the ocean — so much so that there are five gigantic ...
Sea squirts and 'skeeters in our science news roundup
14 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Science in the headlines: An amazingly preserved sea squirt fossil that could tell us something abou...
This Is Canada's Worst Fire Season In Modern History. It's Not New
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Canada is having its worst fire season in modern history. The fires have burnt more than 20 million ...
The Only Nuclear-Powered Passenger Ship EVER
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the Port of Baltimore, a ship is docked that hasn't transported passengers for more than 50 years...
What Geologists Love — And Lament — About Cult Classic 'The Core'
07 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
20 years ago, the cult classic movie 'The Core' was released in theaters. From the start, it's clear...
Tick Check! Meet Your Backyard Bloodsuckers
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We hope you had a restful holiday! Maybe even got outside for some relaxing fresh air. If so, you mi...
The Chemistry Behind A Perfect Barbeque
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chefs will tell you, cooking is not just an art — it's a science. And the spirit of summer barbecu...
Why This Gravitational Waves News Is A Big Deal
30 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
New gravitational waves, why orcas might be attacking boats and a new robot prototype inspired by an...
An unexpected forest in the ocean
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Salomé Buglass discovered an unexpected kelp forest while studying underwater mountains in the Gala...
A Smarter Way To Use Sunscreen
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sunscreen: we should all be using it, but we might not all be using it the right way. In fact, the t...
Rethinking The Lab Rat
23 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For generations, scientists have leaned on seven key species, including rats and mice, for research....
This Satellite Could Help Clean Up The Air
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In pockets across the U.S., communities are struggling with polluted air — often in neighborhoods ...
New Star Trek Season, Same Ol' Sci-Fi
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season 2 of the critically acclaimed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiered June 15 (streaming on P...
A Newly-Discovered Asteroid And What's Beneath The Ice On Enceladus
16 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro returns to nerd-our with Short Wave hosts Emily Kwong and Reg...
Give Rivers Space: The Simple Flood Risk Fix
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With much of California's massive snowpack yet to melt, downstream communities remain on high alert ...
Life Lessons From Supernovae
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For many scientists, science isn't something they check in and out of — it permeates their whole l...
How To Stay Safe Amid Wildfire Smoke
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Smoke from Canadian wildfires is causing poor air quality in parts of the U.S. This smoke can have d...
Behold! The Dulcet Tones Of Cosmic Rays
07 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Teppei Katori loves two things: particle physics and music. Naturally, he combined the two. Today on...
The Rise Of The Dinosaurs
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dinosaurs ruled the earth for many millions of years, but only after a mass extinction took out most...
Helping A Man Walk Again With Science
02 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week's science news roundup reunites All Things Considered host Ailsa Chang with Short Wave hos...
Why Melting Ice In Antarctica Is Making Hurricanes Worse In Texas
31 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ice in Antarctica is melting really quickly because of climate change. That's driving sea level rise...
What Happens When An Infant Loses Half Their Brain?
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mora Leeb was 9 months old when surgeons removed half her brain. Now 15, she plays soccer and tells ...
Galaxies Are Older Than We Thought — That's A Big Deal
26 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you ask a physicist or cosmologist about the beginnings of the universe, they'll probably point y...
When Your Body Rejects The Kidney It Needs
24 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In February 2021, pandemic restrictions were just starting to ease in Hawaii, and Leila Mirhaydari w...
Two Squirrely Responses To Climate Change
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kwasi Wrensford studies two related species: the Alpine chipmunk and the Lodgepole chipmunk. The two...
The Physics Behind The Perfect Gummy Candy
19 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week for our science news roundup, superstar host of All Things Considered Ari Shapiro joins Sh...
Why You Can't Tell Your Race From A DNA Test
17 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Race is a social construct — so why are DNA test kits like the ones from 23andMe coded like they r...
Long COVID Scientists Try To Unravel Blood Clot Mystery
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The COVID-19 public health emergency has ended, but millions across the globe continue to deal with ...
Move over, humans—lemurs have rhythm, too
12 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There's a lot for scientists to learn about the origins of humans' musical abilities. In the last fe...
We Need To Talk About Teens, Social Media And Mental Health
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the American Psychological Association issued its first-of-kind guidelines for parents to...
What Could We Do With A Third Thumb?
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today on the show, we meet a prosthetic designer and a neuroscientist fascinated with understanding ...
Some people get sick from VR. Why?
05 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Another week comes by, and luckily so does our roundup of science news. This time, we've got some qu...
Will Artificial Intelligence Help — Or Hurt — Medicine?
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A doctor's job is to help patients. With that help, often comes lots and lots of paperwork. That's w...
Shoring Up The Future With Greener Batteries
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today on the show, next-generation energy innovators Bill David and Serena Cussen challenged us to t...
SUPERBLOOM: An Upside To The California Downpours
28 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
California's wet winter has devastated many local communities. It has also benefited some of the sta...
Worm Blobs In The Bowels Of The Earth
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the toxic waters of Sulphur Cave in Steamboat Springs, Colo. live blood-red worm blobs that have ...
The News Roundup Goes Intergalactic
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's our latest roundup of science news! This time, with Ailsa Chang of NPR's All Things Considered,...
Fire And Ice: Linking Intense Wildfire And The Melting Arctic
21 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the Arctic Ocean, sea ice is shrinking as the climate heats up. In the Western U.S., wildfires ar...
The Race To Protect Millions Of People From Melting Glaciers
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Melting glaciers are leaving behind large, unstable lakes that can cause dangerous flash floods. Mil...
Where are the whales? Scientists find clues thousands of miles away
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Endangered North Atlantic right whales are disappearing from their native waters, a serious danger f...
Are Rats Running This Podcast?
14 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, New York City crowned Kathleen Corradi its first rat czar. The new position is part of a ...
Peep The Delightful Science Of Chickens
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Tove Danovich decided to dabble in backyard chicken keeping, she embraced a tried and true jour...
Launching Into Space — Sustainably!
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1957, the Space Age began with the launch of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite. Since then,...
News Round Up: Mammoth Meatballs, Stressed Plants And Apologetic Robots
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this Friday round up of science news we can't let go, not everything is as it seems. Meatballs ar...
Allergies Are Weird. So Are Cats
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Katie Wu is a bona fide cat person. She has two of them: twin boys named Calvin and Hobbes. Every ni...
Why We Should Care About Viruses Jumping From Animals To People
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The phenomenon of zoonotic spillover — of viruses jumping from animals to people — is incredibl...
Eunice Foote: The Hidden Grandmother Of Climate Science
31 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today, most climate science is done with satellites, sensors and complicated computer models. But it...
Why Scientists Just Mapped Every Synapse In A Fly Brain
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To really understand the human brain, scientists say you'd have to map its wiring. The only problem:...
Perennial Rice: Plant Once, Harvest Again And Again
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rice is arguably the world's most important staple crop. About half of the global population depends...
News Round Up: Algal Threats, An Asteroid With Life's Building Blocks And Bee Maps
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After reading the science headlines this week, we have A LOT of questions. Why did the Virgin Island...
Why Pandemic Researchers Are Talking About Raccoon Dogs
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A few weeks ago, raw data gathered in Janaury 2020 from Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, Ch...
If ChatGPT Designed A Rocket — Would It Get To Space?
22 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From text churned out by ChatGPT to the artistic renderings of Midjourney, people have been taking n...
What we lose if the Great Salt Lake dries up
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dotted across the Great Basin of the American West are salty, smelly lakes. The largest of these, by...