Short Wave
Episodes
You Know That Gut Feeling You Have?...
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
TFW when you're so excited you get those butterflies in your stomach - or maybe when you see something icky, you feel ill. On today's show, producer B...
The Myth of Plastic Recycling
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For many, recycling feels like a tangible way to personally combat climate change and to positively affect the environment. But after a years long inv...
DART: The Impacts Of Slamming A Spacecraft Into An Asteroid
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If an asteroid were hurling through space, making a beeline straight to Earth, how would humans prevent it from doing what it did to the dinosaurs? Wo...
The Biologist Who Talks With Cells
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The human body is made up of more than 30 trillion cells, but how do they all work together? It's all about communication! "They talk through molecule...
What Makes Hawaii's Erupting Volcanoes Special
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Just after Thanksgiving, for the first time in almost 40 years, Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano erupted. It's one of several ongoing eruptions – includin...
'One Mississippi...' How Lightning Shapes The Climate
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When lightning strikes a giant tree in the tropical rainforest, there's usually no fire, no blackened crater — you might not even notice any damage....
Don't Call It Dirt: The Science Of Soil
05 Dec 2022
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 ...
Arts Week: Physics Meets The Circus
02 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Julia Ruth's job takes a lot of strength, a lot of balance, and a surprising amount of physics. She's a circus artist — and has performed her acroba...
Arts Week: The Life Cycle Of A Neuron
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An exhibit that blended science and technology for an immersive art experience went on display in Washington, DC and New York City in 2021 and 2022. I...
Arts Week: The Literary Magazine Dissecting Health And Healing
30 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
New York's Bellevue Hospital is the oldest public hospital in the country, serving patients from all walks of life. It's also the home of a literary m...
Arts Week: How Art Can Heal The Brain
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Arts therapies appear to ease a host of brain disorders from Parkinson's to PTSD. But these treatments that rely on music, poetry or visual arts haven...
Arts Week: Harnessing Bacteria For Art
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pull out your art supplies because it's time to get crafty—with agar! We're beginning Arts Week at the intersection of biology and art. Therein lies...
Happy Thanksgiving, All!
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Emily and Aaron wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, and explain how you can help the show. Hint: It's giving us feedback about what you love and think we c...
Three Takeaways From The COP27 Climate Conference
23 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The climate meeting known as COP27 has wrapped. Representatives from almost 200 countries attended to talk about how to tackle climate change and how ...
A Taste Of Lab-Grown Meat
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The idea came to Uma Valeti while he was working on regrowing human tissue to help heart attack patients: If we can grow tissue from cells in a lab, w...
A Deeply Personal Race Against A Fatal Brain Disease
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the mornings, Sonia Vallabh and Eric Minikel's first job is to get their two garrulous kids awake, fed and out the door to daycare and kindergarten...
Science Couldn't Save Her, So She Became A Scientist
18 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The first time Sonia Vallabh understood something was very wrong with her mother Kamni was on the phone on her mom's 52nd birthday. She wasn't herself...
Killer Proteins: The Science Of Prions
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Prions are biological anomalies – self-replicating, not-alive little particles that can misfold into an unstoppable juggernaut of fatal disease. Pri...
Where Do Climate Negotiations Stand At COP27?
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Climate negotiations continue at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Tens of thousands of attendees from around the world have gathered in the seaside re...
Searching For A New Life
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we pass the mic to our colleagues at All Things Considered to share the first piece in their series on the impact of climate change, global mig...
Corey Gray Is Picking Up Cosmic Vibrations
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A pivotal week in Corey Gray's life began with a powwow in Alberta and culminated with a piece of history: the first-ever detection of gravitational w...
Climate Tipping Points And The Damage That Could Follow
11 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If Earth heats up beyond 1.5 degrees, the impacts don't get just slightly worse--scientists warn that abrupt changes could be set off, with devastatin...
Depression And Alzheimer's Treatments At A Crossroads
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers are launching a make-or-break study to test the conventional wisdom about what causes Alzheimer's disease. And in a recent small study, th...
Why Do We Cry?
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last month, Short Wave explored the evolutionary purpose of laughter. Now, we're talking tears. From glistening eyeballs to waterworks, what are tears...
Traditional Plant Knowledge Is Not A Quick Fix
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Regina G. Barber talks with Dr. Rosalyn LaPier about ethnobotany--what it is and how traditional plant knowledge is frequently misunderstood in the er...
COP-out: Who's Liable For Climate Change Destruction?
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
World leaders have gathered in Egypt this week to begin climate talks at the 27th Conference of the Parties. However, there are still outstanding ques...
Control: Eugenics And The Corruption Of Science
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, a book about the evolution of non-human animals by natural selection. In its wake, a poli...
Should Daylight Saving Time Be Permanent?
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Correspondent Allison Aubrey talks to host Emily Kwong about the pros and cons of adopting permanent Daylight Saving Time or year-round Standard Time....
Allergic To Cats? There's Hope Yet!
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Katie Wu is a cat person. She has two of them: twin boys named Calvin and Hobbes. But up until grad school, she couldn't be anywhere close to a cat wi...
Saving The Pacific Lamprey
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pacific lamprey have lived on Earth for about 450 million years. When humans came along, a deep relationship formed between Pacific lamprey and Native...
Donate Your Body To Science?
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Halloween calls to mind graveyards and the walking dead, so, naturally, Short Wave wanted to know what happens when you donate your body to real scien...
100 Years Of Box Turtles
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The common box turtle is found just about anywhere in the continental United States east of Colorado. For all their ubiquity, it's unclear how many th...
He Had His Father's Voice: Tracking A Rare Bird Hybrid
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Steve Gosser heard the song of a scarlet tanager in the woods, he knew to look for a bright-red bird with black wings. But when he laid eyes on t...
The Tigray Medical System Collapse
26 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The civil war in Ethiopia is destroying the medical system in the northern Tigray region, which serves nearly 7 million people. Doctors are operating ...
When Autumn Leaves Start To Fall
25 Oct 2022
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...
New Discoveries In Underwater Plant Sex
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Plants living underwater can't count on pollinating insects to get it on. The prevailing theory has been that pollen moves underwater simply by floati...
Brain Cells In A Dish Play Pong And Other Brain Adventures
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The world of brain research had two incredible developments last week. Researchers have taught a dish of brain cells to play the video game Pong to he...
These Animals Will Mess You Up
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The natural world is filled with treats ... and tricks. Today, Internet zoologist and TikTok star Mamadou Ndiaye takes over to talk about some of thos...
Beyond Condoms!
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Contraceptive research has historically prioritized women because they bear the burden of pregnancy and most contraceptive options available today are...
Choose Your Own (Math) Adventure
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ever read those Choose Your Own Adventure books of the 80s and 90s? As a kid, Dr. Pamela Harris was hooked on them. Years later she realized how much ...
You're 50, And Your Body Is Changing: Time For The Talk
17 Oct 2022
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...
Pop Quiz! Short Wave Birthday Edition
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Short Wave hosts Aaron Scott and Emily Kwong quiz All Things Considered hosts Mary Louise Kelly and Sacha Pfeiffer on some science questions Short Wav...
Why Do We Laugh?
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Laughter: We do it spontaneously, we do it forcefully, we do it with each other and by ourselves. But why did we evolve to giggle in the first place? ...
We Baked A Cake For Our 3rd Birthday!
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Of course we have to have cake for Short Wave's third birthday! Sugar-ologist and biochemist Adriana Patterson talks to producer Berly McCoy to give u...
The Quest To Save The California Condor
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The California condor used to soar across the western skies of North America, but by the 1980s, the bird was on the edge of extinction — just 22 rem...
IVF Has Come A Long Way, But Many Don't Have Access
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since the first successful in vitro fertilization pregnancy and live birth in 1978, nearly half a million babies have been born using IVF in the Unite...
The Scorpion Renaissance Is Upon Us
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Scorpions: They're found pretty much everywhere, and new species are being identified all the time. Arachnologist Lauren Esposito says there's a lot t...
A New Drug For A Relentless Brain Disease
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
ALS is a disease that destroys the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord we need for voluntary movement. There is no cure, but now there is a newly...
Why Disaster Relief Underserves Those Who Need It Most
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When a disaster like Hurricane Ian destroys a house, the clock starts ticking. It gets harder for sick people to take their medications, medical devic...
Predicting Landslides: After Disaster, Alaska Town Turns To Science
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On August 18, 2015, in Sitka, Alaska, a slope above a subdivision of homes under construction gave way. This landslide demolished a building and kille...
Sustainable Seafood? It's A Question Of Data
30 Sep 2022
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...
Why The Bladder Is Number One!
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When's the last time you thought about your bladder? We're going there today! In this Short Wave episode, Emily talks to bladder expert Dr. Indira Mys...
Grasslands: The Unsung Carbon Hero
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What's in a grassland? There are all sorts of wildflowers, many insects, animals like prairie dogs, bison and antelope — and beneath the surface, th...
One Park. 24 Hours.
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's easy to take city parks for granted, or to think of them as separate from nature and from the Earth's changing climate. But the place where many ...
Asteroid Deflection Mission, Activate!
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In movies, asteroids careening towards Earth are confronted by determined humans with nuclear weapons to save the world! But a real NASA mission wants...
Rise Of The Dinosaurs
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dinosaurs ruled the earth for many millions of years, but only after a mass extinction took out most of their rivals. Just how that happened remains a...
Working With Tribes To Co-Steward National Parks
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the final episode of Short Wave's Summer Road Trip series exploring the science happening in national parks and public lands, Aaron talks to Nation...
Water Water Everywhere, But How Much Do You Really Need?
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The water advice is everywhere - how much to drink (8 cups a day - really?), what to drink, when to drink, and all its benefits. On this episode we pr...
Three Sisters And The Fight Against Alzheimer's Disease
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly a decade ago, Karen Douthitt and her sisters June Ward and Susie Gilliam set out to learn why Alzheimer's disease was affecting so many of thei...
How Muggy Is It? Check The Dew Point!
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, Lauren Sommer talked with Short Wave about the dangerous combination of heat and humidity in the era of climate change and how the heat ind...
How Freaked Out Should We Be About Ukraine's Nuclear Plant?
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The world has been warily watching the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine. The nuclear complex is being held by Russian forces, while the plant its...
Heat Can Take A Deadly Toll On Humans
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Heat—it's common in summer in much of the world, but it's getting increasingly more lethal as climate change causes more extreme heat. NPR climate c...
What The Universe Is Doing RIGHT NOW
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A century ago, astronomers were locked in a debate about the scope of our universe. Were we it? The answer is no. There are other galaxies beyond the ...
When Should I Get My Omicron Booster Shot?
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Updated COVID boosters are now available that target the Omicron subvariant and many Americans 12 and older are eligible for the shot. Host Emily Kwon...
Name That Tune! Why The Brain Remembers Songs
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why do some songs can stick with us for a long time, even when other memories start to fade? Science reporter (and former Short Wave intern) Rasha Ari...
The Race To Rescue The Guadalupe Fescue
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Big Bend National Park in Texas is home to the only remaining Guadalupe fescue in the United States. The grass is tucked away in the Chisos Mountains,...
Short Wave Goes To The Circus
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Julia Ruth has a pretty cool job: it takes a lot of strength, a lot of balance, and a surprising amount of physics. As a circus artist, Julia has per...
'Scallop Discos': How Some Glitzy Lights Could Lead To A Low-Impact Fishery
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists in the UK have discovered that if they take a pot meant for catching crabs and just add some bright lights, scallops flock through the door...
Surf's Always Up — In Waco, Texas
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the world's best artificial waves are happening hundreds of miles from the ocean—in Waco, Texas. They're so good, they're attracting top pro...
Happy Labor Day!
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're taking the day off for the Labor Day holiday! We hope you're also able to get some rest. We'll be back with another episode tomorrow.You can now...
Worm Blobs From The Bowels Of The Earth
02 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the toxic waters of Sulphur Cave in Steamboat Springs, Colo. lives blood-red worm blobs that have attracted scientific interest from around the wor...
The Stars That Settled The Great Debate
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It may seem obvious now that other galaxies lie beyond the Milky Way, but less than 100 years ago, some astronomers held a view of our universe that w...
Quiz Bowl! How Animals Sense The World
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Do worms feel pain? How do otters experience the world? What are those pink appendages on the face of the star-nosed mole? We answer all these questio...
The Man Who Shot The Moon
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
NASA's Artemis Moon mission was supposed to launch Monday. But it was delayed due to a problem one of the rocket engines. When it launches, it will be...
988: An Alternative To 911 For Mental Health
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
People experiencing a mental health crisis have a new way to reach out for help in the U.S. — calling or texting the numbers 9-8-8. Today, health co...
Experience The Quietest Place On Earth
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In a crater at the top of a dormant volcano lies a place so quiet, the ambient sound is right near the threshold of human hearing. Visitors to the cra...
Artemis: NASA's New Chapter In Space
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Humans haven't set foot on the moon in 50 years, but NASA hopes to take one step closer with the launch of a new rocket and space capsule on Monday. T...
Searching The Ocean's Depths For Future Medicines
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Plunge into the ocean off the west coast of Ireland...and then keep plunging, down to where there's no light and the temperature is just above freezin...
Sweating Buckets... of SCIENCE!
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sweating can be unpleasant, but consider the alternatives: You could roll around in mud. You could spend all day panting. You could have someone whip ...
Micro Wave: How to Build a Sandcastle Dreamhouse!
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Grab your towels and flip flops, because we're heading to the beach. Whether you love playing in the sand, or dread getting it off your feet, building...
Eavesdropping On A Volcano
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Volcanoes are "talking" to us all the time. Scientists say the sooner we learn to interpret their normal chatter, the quicker we'll know when somethin...
A Rising Demand for Coal Amidst War in Ukraine
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Demand for coal in Europe is rising as Russia's invasion of Ukraine threatens the country's vast natural resource and fossil fuel reserves - and subse...
Ode To The Manta Ray
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On a trip to Hawaii, Short Wave host Emily Kwong encountered manta rays for the first time. The experience was eerie and enchanting. And it left Emily...
How To Brew Amazing Coffee With Science
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The perfect cup of joe might be a matter of taste, but knowing the science behind the coffee-making process could help you elevate your at-home brewin...
The Radio Wave Mystery That Changed Astronomy
15 Aug 2022
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...
Tick Check! The Tiny Bloodsuckers In Our Backyards
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Short Wave is going outside every Friday this summer! In this second episode of our series on the National Park system, we head to Big Thicket Nationa...
The Brazilian Scientists Inventing An mRNA Vaccine — And Sharing The Recipe
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Moderna and Pfizer first came out with their mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, supply was limited to rich countries and they did not share the details ...
Twinkle, Twinkle, Shooting Star
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ahead of the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, we're re-airing our first episode with Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber. In it, Regina and plan...
How Monkeypox Became A Public Health Emergency
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The White House officially declared monkeypox a public health emergency in the United States last week. More than 7,500 cases of the virus have been c...
Carry The Two: Making Audio Magic With Math
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Math is a complex, beautiful language that can help us understand the world. And sometimes ... math is also hard! Science communicator Sadie Witkowski...
A Tale Of Two Parks And The Bats Within Them
05 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Buckle up! Short Wave is going on a road trip every Friday this summer. In this first episode of our series on the research happening in the National ...
Abortion Laws in Texas are Disrupting Maternal Care
04 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
New abortion bans have made some doctors hesitant to provide care for pregnancy complications. That's led to life-threatening delays, and trapped fami...
The Secret History of DNA
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's been over 150 years since the first article was published about the molecular key to life as we know it — DNA. With help from expert Pravrutha ...
Wild Horses Could Keep Wildfire At Bay
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Under a 1971 Congressional Act, the Bureau of Land Management has the right to round up wild horses on public lands. Oftentimes, those horses are ship...
TASTE BUDDIES: The Controversial World Of Taste Science
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Not much is known about why people experience tastes differently and why some people can detect certain tastes and not others. There also might be oth...
Spice, Spice, Baby! Why Some Of Us Enjoy The Pain Of Spicy Foods
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we talk about spicy food and its intersection with pleasure and pain as part of our "Taste Buddies" series — Short Wave's ode to "taste." In ...
TASTE BUDDIES: No Sugarcoating How Sweet Affects The Brain
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our ancestors evolved the ability to taste the sweet goodness of foods like pastries and creamy chocolates. They were enticed to consume quick calorie...
TASTE BUDDIES: Feeling Salty?
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we're getting salty as we continue our series "Taste Buddies" — Short Wave's ode to taste buds. In this encore episode, Scientist in Residenc...
TASTE BUDDIES: Umami And The Redemption Of MSG
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're continuing our celebration of taste with another episode in our "Taste Buddies" series. Today: Umami.In the early 1900s a Japanese chemist ident...
TASTE BUDDIES: Pucker Up! It's The Science Of Sour
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week Short Wave is celebrating our sense of taste with an entire week of themed episodes, covering everything from sugar and spice to what's beyo...