Short Wave

Shots Are Scary. But They Don't Have To Be.

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

According to the CDC, about one in four adults has a fear of needles. Many of those people say the phobia started when they were kids. For some people...

What's It Like To Live In Space? One Astronaut Says It Changes Her Dreams

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Few humans have had the opportunity to see Earth from space, much less live in space. We got to talk to one of these lucky people — NASA astronaut L...

The Evolutionary Mystery Of Menopause ... In Whales

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Across the animal kingdom, menopause is something of an evolutionary blip. We humans are one of the few animals to experience it. But Sam Ellis, a res...

Syphilis Cases Are Rising In Babies. Illinois Has A Potential Solution

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The number of newborns born with syphilis – a serious sexually transmitted infection – has skyrocketed 755% from 2012 to 2021. These babies have c...

A Tale Of Two Bengali Physicists

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Shohini Ghose was studying physics as a kid, she heard certain names repeated over and over. "Einstein, Newton, Schrodinger ... they're all men."...

Are We On The Brink Of A Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough?

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nuclear fusion could one day change the world by producing energy at lower costs than we generate it now — without greenhouse gas emissions or long-...

What We Know About Long COVID, From Brain Fog to Fatigue

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"Long COVID has affected every part of my life," said Virginia resident Rachel Beale said at a recent Senate hearing. "I wake up every day feeling tir...

The Science Of Atomic Bombs At The Heart Of 'Oppenheimer'

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Coming down from the buzz of the Oscars, we're taking a look at Christopher Nolan's award-winning film 'Oppenheimer.' It chronicles the life and legac...

The "Shocking" Tactic Electric Fish Use to Collectively Sense the World

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Neuroscientist Nathan Sawtell has spent a lot of time studying the electric elephantnose fish. These fish send and decipher weak electric signals, whi...

The Recent Glitch Threatening Voyager 1

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Voyager 1 space probe is the farthest human-made object in space. It launched in 1977 with a golden record on board that carried assorted sounds o...

The Evolution Of Cancer Treatment

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a first-of-its-kind cancer therapy to treat aggresive forms of skin cancer. It has us thinking ...

Could Dune Really Exist? What Scientists Think of Our Favorite Sci-Fi Worlds

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The sci-fi film Dune: Part Two is out in theaters now. The movie takes place on the harsh desert planet, Arrakis, where water is scarce and giant, kil...

Is It Possible To Feed The World Sustainably?

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

According to the United Nations, about ten percent of the world is undernourished. It's a daunting statistic — unless your name is Hannah Ritchie. S...

In Light of The Alabama Court Ruling, A Look At The Science Of IVF

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos can be considered "extrauterine children" under state law has major implications for how in vitro ...

Didn't Get A Valentine's Love Song? These Skywalker Gibbons Sing Love Duets

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the green tree canopies of forested areas in Myanmar, you might wake up to the sounds of gibbons singing love songs. Gibbons start their day with p...

When The Sun Erupts

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We are at the height of the Sun's activity in its eleven year cycle, known to astronomers as the solar maximum. This means that over the next several ...

The Life And Death Of A Woolly Mammoth

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Lately, paleoecologist Audrey Rowe has been a bit preoccupied with a girl named Elma. That's because Elma is ... a woolly mammoth. And 14,000 years ag...

The U.N.'s First-Ever Analysis Of World's Migratory Species Just Dropped

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every year, billions of animals across the globe embark on journeys. They fly, crawl, walk or slither – often across thousands of miles of land or w...

Celebrate Valentine's Day With These Queer Animals

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a Valentine's Day exclusive report, NPR has learned there is currently a gay anteater couple at Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology...

The Shared History Of The Chinese And Gregorian Calendars

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Happy Lunar New Year! According to the Chinese lunisolar calendar, the new year began Saturday. For many, like our host Regina G. Barber, this calenda...

Clownfish Might Be Counting Their Potential Enemies' Stripes

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At least, that's what a group of researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University thinks. The team recently publishe...

After 20 Years, This Scientist Uncovered The Physics Behind The Spiral Pass

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you've ever watched part of a professional football game, you've probably seen a tight spiral pass. Those perfect throws where the football leaves ...

Wolves Are Thriving In The Radioactive Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, releasing radioactive material into northern Ukraine and Belarus. It was the most serious nuclear ...

This Scientist Figured Out Why Your Appendix Isn't Useless

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Back in the day, many of us heard that the appendix is a vestigial organ — at best, a body part that lost its purpose all those many years ago. At w...

Murder, Mayhem At The Zoo: A Naked Mole Rat Succession War

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An all-out "naked mole rat war" has broken out at Smithsonian's National Zoo, after the queen of the colony was mortally wounded by one of her own chi...

Choose Your Lightning Protection: Lasers, Rockets or Rods?

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every year, lightning is estimated to cause up to 24,000 deaths globally. It starts forest fires, burns buildings and crops, and causes disruptive pow...

Lessons on the limits of ecosystem restoration from the Everglades

27 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When the U.S. government and state of Florida unveiled a new plan to save the Everglades in 2000, the sprawling blueprint to restore the wetlands beca...

When Tiny, Invasive Ants Go Marching In...And Alter An Ecosystem

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a wildlife preserve in central Kenya, lions and cheetahs mingle with zebras and elephants across many miles of savannah ...

Experiencing Racism May Physically Change Your Brain

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists know that Black people are at a greater risk for health problems like heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease than white people. A ...

This Wild Bird Will Lead You To Honey On Command

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Honeyguides are wild birds that team up with humans and then lead them to honey. Researchers recently found that the calls these birds respond to are ...

After Domestic Abuse Ends, the Effects of Brain Injuries Can Persist

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At least one in four women — and a much smaller proportion of men — experiences intimate partner violence in their lifetime. For people in violent...

What You Need To Know About The Current Tripledemic

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Winter is upon us – and with the holiday travel and time spent indoors comes a triple threat of respiratory diseases: RSV, flu and COVID-19. Most of...

Our Lives Are Ruled By The Illusion Of Time

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Time is a concept so central to our daily lives. Yet, the closer scientists look at it, the more it seems to fall apart. Time ticks by differently at ...

Body Electric: The Body Across The Ages

13 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you work at home or in an office, you might spend a lot of your day sitting down and staring at a computer screen. That can have lots of negative e...

Odd Radio Circles Are glowing Around Some Galaxies. Now We Know Why

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since they were discovered in 2019, strange, glowing circles of light in space have mystified researchers. Now called odd radio circles, or ORCs, thes...

Preserving Our Humanity In The Age Of Robots

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Human beings are hardwired for social connection – so much so that we think of even the most basic objects as having feelings or experiences. (Yup, ...

The Record For World's Largest Snowflake Might Not Count

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A winter storm brought heavy rain and snow to parts of the East Coast this weekend, which got us thinking about snowflakes. Those intricate, whimsical...

Snow Flies Pay An Arm And A Leg For Love

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The winter is usually when insects die or go into a state of paused development, but for tiny specks on the white snow called snow flies, it's time to...

Why Big Numbers Break Our Brains

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In celebration of our 1000th episode, we're wrapping our heads around big numbers. Educational neuroscientist Elizabeth Toomarian talks about why huma...

Asian Glow Might Have A Major Upside

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ever gotten a scarlet, hot face after drinking? Or know someone who has? Many people felt it as they ring in the New Year with champagne toasts. That'...

This Year's Top Science Stories, Wrapped

29 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

2023 was filled with scientific innovation, exploration and new discoveries. A few of the biggest threads we saw unraveling this year came from the Ja...

A year in music science: wonder, volume and animals that groove

28 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As 2023 comes to a close, Short Wave teamed up with our friends at All Things Considered to round up some of our favorite stories of the year — this...

Life Could Be Different ... And Maybe Better?

27 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Are people ever satisfied? Two social psychologists, Ethan Ludwin-Peery and Adam Mastroianni, fell down a research rabbit hole accidentally answering ...

This Holiday, Dig Into Some Of The Hilarious Science Of Christmas BMJs Past

25 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Would you survive as a doctor in The Sims 4? What's an appropriate amount of free food to take from a public sample station before it's greedy? And ho...

LED Lights Make You Sick? We Found Out What Causes It

22 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

LED light bulbs are the future. They're better for the environment and the pocket book. But for some people, certain LEDs lights — particularly holi...

Once A Satirical Conspiracy, Bird Drones Could Soon Be A Reality

21 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Millions of people in the U.S. are bird watchers. But a couple of years ago a satirical conspiracy theory gained popularity because of an absurd claim...

Climate Talks Call For A Transition Away From Fossil Fuels. Is That Enough?

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time in its history, the United Nations climate conference concluded with a call to transition away from fossil fuels. But not all of th...

Want To Be Greener This Holiday Season? Try Composting!

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Does thinking about the trajectory of the climate make you have a panic spiral? If so, we have the perfect podcast for you: The Anti-Dread Climate Pod...

More Plant And Fungi Emojis, Please!

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A team of conservation biologists from Italy recently found that current emoji options are sorely lacking when it comes to life outside of vertebrates...

When AI Goes Wrong

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used throughout the world to predict the future. Banks use it to predict whether customers will pay back...

Why it's so hard to resist holiday sales (and how to try)

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Malls are designed to overwhelm our brains. Add the stress of holiday shopping, and a quick trip to pick up presents could turn into an hours-long sho...

How Glaciers Move — And Affect Sea Level Rise

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Glaciers like the ones in Greenland are melting due to climate change, causing global sea levels to rise. That we know. But these glaciers are also mo...

Feeling Lonely? Your Brain May Process The World Differently

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. is in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. And for a lot of people, the feeling is even more pronounced during the holidays. In addition to it...

A Star Is Born ... And Then What? Journey Through The Life Cycle of a star

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Soon after the sun sets on winter nights, if you live in the northern hemisphere you can look into the sky and find the Orion constellation near the e...

Don't Call It Dirt: The Surprising Science Of Soil

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's easy to overlook the soil beneath our feet, or to think of it as just dirt to be cleaned up. But soil wraps the world in an envelope of life: It ...

These Penguins Take 10,000 Little Naps A Day — Seconds At A Time

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sleep. It's an essential biological function that has long intrigued scientists. Researchers have studied everything from mice to fruit flies in the l...

The International Race To Create Human Eggs And Sperm In The Lab

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In which we meet the pioneers of one of the most exciting — and controversial — fields of biomedical research: in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG. The...

Monday Night Football And Pursuing Two Careers With John Urschel

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As kids, some of us dream of multiple careers: being an astronaut AND the next president. Or digging up dinosaurs AND selling out concert stadiums. As...

What Fossilized Poop Can Teach Us About Dinosaurs

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Walking into Karen Chin's office at the University of Colorado, Boulder, one of the first things you might notice is that petrified poops are everywhe...

The Thanksgiving Quest For The (Scientifically) Best Turkey

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Turkey is the usual centerpiece of the Thanksgiving dinner, but it's all too easy to end up with a dry, tough, flavorless bird. For NPR science corres...

3 Major Ways Climate Change Affects Life In The U.S.

20 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Every five years, the United States government releases the National Climate Assessment, a comprehensive analysis of how climate change is affecting t...

Cutting A Teaspoon Of Salt Is Comparable To Taking Blood Pressure Medication

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How much salt is too much salt? Most likely, the amount you're consuming. A new study published this week in the journal JAMA found that cutting one t...

Thousands of earthquakes in Iceland may spell a volcanic eruption

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Saturday, the entire coastal town of Grindavik, Iceland was evacuated. That's because over the weekend, the country experienced nearly 2,000 earthquak...

How Venus got caught up in an 18th century space race

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the 18th century the world was focused on Venus. Expeditions were launched in pursuit of exact measurements of Venus as it passed between Earth and...

Trailblazing Computer Scientist Fei-Fei Li on Human-Centered AI

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

AI is popping up everywhere nowadays. From medicine to science to the Hollywood strikes. Today, with computer scientist and AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, we ...

To Figure Out The Future Climate, Scientists Are Researching How Trees Form Clouds

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you've ever looked up at the clouds and wondered where they came from, you're not alone. Atmospheric researcher Lubna Dada is fascinated by the mys...

Mapping The Seafloor Is Daunting But Key To Improving Human Life

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists have mapped less than 25% of the world's seafloor. Experts say that getting that number up to 100% would improve everything from tsunami wa...

Pulling An All-Nighter Is A Temporary Antidepressant

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What your parents didn't tell you about pulling an all-nighter? It just might ease depression for several days. At least, that's what researchers foun...

Sky Vaccines: Ridding Raccoons Of Rabies En Masse

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Every year, the USDA drops millions of oral rabies vaccines across fourteen states, mostly along the eastern seaboard. In urban and suburban areas, th...

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 anything from discomfort to death. But no new classes...

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 maps yet of the location, structure and, in some ca...

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 a golden retriever in their yards. As sea levels r...

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 with a cane, a set of polyester britches and paint...

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 showers of the year. The Orionids are known for their...

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 little early – Short Wave style! Host Regina G....

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. Now, researchers are excited about the possibility ...

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 the chief microbiologist for life support systems on...

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 summer, a record hot marine heat wave hit Florida's c...

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 Harris was hooked on them. Years later she realiz...

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 toll on our minds and our bodies. Today on the show,...

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 and Preserve are putting on the pounds before the...

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's oldest mummies. They're found in modern-day nort...

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 sargassum, a leafy brown seaweed, have increased in size a...

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 killifish that suspends animation in dry weather and re...

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 from a potentially dangerous asteroid. The mission, n...

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 one of our bodies' alert systems — it can also ...

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 Godoy for our bi-weekly science roundup. They talk...

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, plastic is an increasing problem and climate change is...

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 existing ideas and models of how the universe was ...

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 time when COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths ar...

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, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb and host Aaron Scot...

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 marine sanctuary in the United States. It could also ma...

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 for our science roundup. They talk about how antib...

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 yet, you probably will eventually—along with an es...

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 that lasted for weeks. Heat is becoming increasing...

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 years ago the actual prevalence of food allergies ...

'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 million of those deaths were in the 20th century alone...

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 power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. Reacto...

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 Russian and Indian lunar landing attempts, how scie...

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 been decades since a storm like this has hit Southe...