Podcast Episodes

Do Birth Control Side Effects Make It Worth Skipping?

Episode 1375

Recently, health influencers on Instagram and TikTok have been vocal about the side effects of hormonal birth control. Check out the most popular videos on the subject, and you’ll hear horror stories…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

Fall foliage is still a mystery: Why do some leaves turn red?

Scientists know why leaves turn yellow in the fall: Chlorophyll breaks down, revealing the yellow pigment that was there all along. But red? Red is a different story altogether. Leaves have to make a…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Why Some Species Survive Mass Extinctions

Episode 1373

Around 250 million years ago, one of Earth’s largest known volcanic events set off The Great Dying: the planet’s worst mass extinction event. The eruptions spewed large amounts of greenhouse gases in…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

The Secrets Everyday Rocks Keep

Why does the New York City skyline look the way it does? In part, because of what happened there 500 million years ago, says geologist Anjana Khatwa, author of the new book Whispers of Rocks. In it, …

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Elections: A Big Math Problem

Ahead of Election Day tomorrow, millions of ballots are being cast in statewide, local and special elections. So, today, we're revisiting an episode asking: What would happen if the rules of our elec…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

This Week In Science: Spiders, TV Pixels And Storytelling

Episode 1370

Happy Halloween, Short Wavers! In today’s news round-up, we’ve got only treats. Hosts Regina Barber and Emily Kwong fill in NPR’s Ailsa Chang on a debate in spider web architecture, how the details s…

Published on 1 month, 4 weeks ago

Like Being Scared? Here’s Why

Like haunted houses? Scientists do! That’s because they’re an excellent place to study how humans respond to – and even actively seek out – fear. In an immersive threat setting, as opposed to a caref…

Published on 2 months ago

Nature Quest: Rebuild Or Relocate Post-Disaster?

Episode 1368

In the face of floods, wildfires and other natural disasters, when should a community relocate to avoid potential harm? Listener Molly Magid asks that very question. Molly wanted to know how other co…

Published on 2 months ago

What Works – And Doesn’t – For Hair Loss?

Episode 1367

People may think of hair loss as a guy thing. But by some estimates, half of all women experience hair loss in their lifetime. And when your social media algorithm gets a whiff? Good. Luck. There are…

Published on 2 months ago

Parasites Have Haunted Us For Millions Of Years

Episode 1366

Parasites have roamed the Earth for a long time. They were here before the dinosaurs: The oldest fossils are more than 500 million years old. Today on the show, Regina G. Barber speaks with paleontol…

Published on 2 months ago