Podcast Episodes

Did we find signs of life on Mars?

NASA found a Martian rock that might have traces of ancient life. It's perhaps the most tantalizing revelation in the century-long search for Martian life. (Updated from 2022)

Guests: Katie Stack Mor…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

The metabolism myth

Recent research — and one surprising season of The Biggest Loser — has scientists wondering whether some of the most basic things they know about metabolism are wrong.

Guest: Julia Belluz, author of…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

The Vagina Voyages

Join our friends at The Longest Shortest Time for a deep dive into the misunderstood world of vaginas. We’ll learn about orgasm-chasing royalty, clitoral wingspans, vagina lollipops, wandering wombs,…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

A rabbi and the Lorax walk into a bar...

How the bedtime stories we grew up with inspire the stories we tell now.

For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠v…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Is a little alcohol bad for you?

We spoke to two researchers who disagree about the answer to this question. But they do agree about why it's so hard to answer to begin with.

Guests: Dylan Scott, senior correspondent at Vox; Kennet…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Ice Sheet Time Machine

The US military carved a tiny city into the Greenland ice sheet. What they found, and lost, and found again, and what it tells us about climate change.

Guests: Paul Bierman, geoscientist at the Unive…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago

Animals in the year 20202025

What do scientists think animals might be like millions of years from now? (First published in 2021)

Guests: Benji Jones, senior correspondent at Vox; David Willard, ornithologist at Chicago's Field …

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago

Nightmare at the end of the universe

Dark energy is the strange stuff that makes up the vast majority of the universe and will ultimately lead to the end of everything. Unless it doesn't exist at all.

Guests: Adam Riess, astrophysicist …

Published on 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Life in plastic — not fantastic?

Much of our modern world is made of plastic, but as more signs point to its dangers to human health, what can we even do about it?

Guest: Annie Lowrey, Atlantic writer and author of I fought plastic…

Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago

When waves go rogue

Towering walls of water sometimes appear in the ocean without warning or apparent cause. What drives their terrifying power? (First published in 2023)

Guest: Ton van der Bremer, associate professor …

Published on 2 months, 4 weeks ago