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Why did designing the World Cup pitches take eight years?
Yamal and Messi aren’t the only stars of the World Cup finals. If you’ve been watching any of the games, you’ve probably stared directly at a huge, u…
2 months, 3 weeks ago
Our favorite brains, including Einstein's stolen one
At Short Wave, we love a good brain. Which is why we’ve had a lot of conversations over the years with NPR’s neuroscience reporter, Jon Hamilton. Jon…
2 months, 3 weeks ago
What's this super-aging butterfly’s longevity secret?
What if there were a great ape species that could live over 1,000 years? That’s basically Heliconius in the butterfly world. The insects live around …
2 months, 3 weeks ago
How should we decide who, or what, is conscious?
In the age of AI, what differentiates humans from robots? What makes humans … human? To find answers, many people are studying consciousness: our cap…
2 months, 4 weeks ago
Plot twist: We're probably way undercounting insects on Earth
Maybe you’ve wondered about it late at night as a mosquito buzzes in your ear. Or when you kick over a rock and watch dozens of little critters crawl…
3 months ago
NASA's race against time to rescue a falling satellite
A valuable NASA satellite observatory is falling to Earth faster than scientists expected. It’s called the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, or “Swift”…
3 months ago
Could this anti-aging dog pill lead to one for you too?
Every dog lover’s greatest fear is inevitably losing their pet to time. We want our furry pals to stick around as long as they can. That wish may soo…
3 months ago
Sky Uber? Air taxis could be here soon.
Taking an air taxi to the airport may become as simple as ordering a ride share today. In our first episode in our summer series Tech Camp, we explor…
3 months ago
This July 4th, are you a thrill- or chill-seeker?
Independence Day is approaching!
Imagine if someone has procured illegal fireworks from a couple of states over. Are you:
1. first in line to light the…
3 months, 1 week ago
Is setting your trash on fire a good idea?
The U.S. generates 292 million tons of trash each year – and that trash has to go somewhere. Sometimes, that’s to an incinerator, where it’s burned …
3 months, 1 week ago