Podcast Episodes

The secret behind clownfish stripes and more fishy fascinations

We reeled in science reporter Ari Daniel for this episode who grants us three wishes in the form of three fishes. He takes us on a trip around the wo…

8 hours ago

Coffee is complex. Can science standardize it for the better?

Episode 1474

Ask any coffee aficionado, and they’ll tell you: A good cup is about more than the beans. The flavor is affected by lots of things – the roast and fe…

3 days, 8 hours ago

NASA is practicing moonwalks. When are we going back?

After the success of Artemis II, we at Short Wave definitely have moon fever. So, we brought NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce onto the …

5 days, 8 hours ago

Set up solar, or save a tree? It’s complicated

Episode 1472

To solar or not to solar? That is the question for this latest episode of our monthly series Nature Quest. For listener Darcey Hughes, installing sol…

6 days, 8 hours ago

The mystery that led this family to get their stomachs removed

When Karyn Paringatai learned about a pattern among her family members, it changed the course of her life: A lot of people died young. As Karyn dug i…

1 week ago

Why a chimp 'civil war' shows how societies collapse

In the mid-1970s, primatologist Jane Goodall witnessed something that changed her opinion of chimpanzees forever: A four-year conflict amongst the ch…

1 week, 3 days ago

Where did our moon come from?

Episode 1469

Earth didn’t always have a moon. In the beginning of the solar system, when the planets were still forming, something happened that would change Eart…

1 week, 5 days ago

Eating disorder recovery in a diet culture world

Eating disorders are complicated illnesses that skyrocketed among teenagers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatrician Eva Trujillo says they "litera…

1 week, 6 days ago

These voicemails save lives

Episode 1467

For residents of Prek Touch, Cambodia — right on the banks of the Mekong River — flooding is a regular part of life. But as those floods worsen due t…

2 weeks ago

The psychology behind why you dread small talk

Do you avoid small talk in the office, or with your neighbor in the elevator? If so, you might want to give it a chance. According to a study just pu…

2 weeks, 3 days ago