Podcast Episodes
Back to Search
Venus And Earth: A Tale Of Two 'Twins'
Episode 872
Planetary scientists announced some big news this week about our next-door neighbor, Venus. For the first time, they had found direct evidence that Venus has active, ongoing volcanic activity.
"It's …
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
Tweeting Directly From Your Brain (And What's Next)
Episode 871
Our friends at NPR's TED Radio Hour podcast have been pondering some BIG things — specifically, the connection between our physical, mental, and spiritual health. In this special excerpt, what if you…
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
Flying Into Snowstorms ... For Science!
Episode 870
For the past few winters, researchers have been intentionally flying into snowstorms. And high in those icy clouds, the team collected all the information they could to understand—how exactly do wint…
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
Could de-extincting the dodo help struggling species?
Episode 869
As a leading expert on paleogenomics, Beth Shapiro has been hearing the same question ever since she started working on ancient DNA: "The only question that we consistently were asked was, how close …
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
It's Boom Times In Ancient DNA
Episode 868
Research into very, very old DNA has made huge leaps forward over the last two decades. That has allowed scientists like Beth Shapiro to push the frontier further and further.
"For a long time, we th…
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
How To Bake Pi, Mathematically (And Deliciously)
Episode 867
This March 14, Short Wave is celebrating pi ... and pie! We do that with the help of mathematician Eugenia Cheng, Scientist In Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and author of th…
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
How Well Does A New Alzheimer's Drug Work For Those Most At Risk?
Episode 866
A new drug for Alzheimer's disease, called lecanemab, got a lot of attention earlier this year for getting fast-tracked approval based on a clinical trial that included nearly 1,800 people. It was th…
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
Ocean World Tour: Whale Vocal Fry, Fossilizing Plankton and A Treaty
Episode 865
Reading the science headlines this week, we have A LOT of questions. Why are more animals than just humans saddled — er, blessed — with vocal fry? Why should we care if 8 million year old plankton fo…
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
'Are You A Model?': Crickets Are So Hot Right Now
Episode 864
Have you ever wondered how biologists choose what animal to use in their research? Since scientists can't do a lot of basic research on people, they study animals to shed light on everything from hum…
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
The Race To Save A Tree Species
Episode 863
The whitebark pine is a hardy tree that grows in an area stretching from British Columbia, Canada south to parts of California and east to Montana. It's a keystone species in its subalpine and timber…
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago