Podcast Episodes

The Sound Barrier #1: The myth of hearing

Just like optical illusions trick our eyes, audio illusions can trick our ears. It makes scientists wonder: What exactly are we hearing, when we're hearing?

This is the first episode of our new four-…

Published on 12 hours ago

Solve me a river

This week on Unexplainable or Not, Sally Helm, the newest member of our team, tries to figure out what's killing mussels, why rivers suddenly change course, and what the longest river in the world is…

Published on 5 days, 13 hours ago

This episode is haunted and spooky

Now why would you click on something like this? What's wrong with you?! Why are you — and so many other people — into scary stuff? Two scientists are trying to find out. (Originally aired in 2024)

G…

Published on 1 week ago

Consider the shrimp

Killing two people is worse than killing one. What about 440 billion crustaceans? Adapted from Dylan Matthews's essay on Vox.com.

This story is part of a series supported by Animal Charity Evaluators…

Published on 1 week, 5 days ago

When talent vanishes overnight

Think about the thing you’ve practiced more than anything else in the world. Maybe it’s painting. Or writing. Or playing baseball.

Now, imagine you wake up one day, and you just can’t do it. You’re …

Published on 2 weeks ago

Composing chaos

Terry Riley's "In C" is one of the most influential pieces of music of the last century...but you'll never hear it the same way twice.

Guest: Evan Ziporyn, composer, clarinetist, and producer of "In …

Published on 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Does Tylenol cause autism?

Donald Trump and RFK Jr. seem convinced that it does. But our friends at Science Vs say the data is far more complicated.

Guest: Meryl Horn, senior producer at Science Vs

For show transcripts, go to…

Published on 4 weeks ago

Real-life zombies

Zombies might seem like the stuff of horror movies, but there are lots of examples of parasites taking over bugs’ bodies and bending them to their will.

Guest: Mindy Weisberger, author of Rise of th…

Published on 1 month ago

How to change your personality

Who are you, really? Our friends at The Gray Area ask whether it's really possible to change.

Guest: ⁠Olga Khazan⁠, author of Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change

For show t…

Published on 1 month ago

What’s A

The centuries-old international battle over the real sound of a musical note.

Guest: Fanny Gribenski, historical musicologist and author of Tuning the World: The Rise of 440 Hertz in Music, Science, …

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago