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How Glaciers Move
Episode 823
There's always a moment of intense isolation when Jessica Mejía gets dropped off on the Greenland ice sheet for a multi-week research stint. "You know you're very much alone," said Jessica, a postdoc…
Published on 2 years, 11 months ago
Zircon: The Keeper Of Earth's Time
Episode 822
The mineral zircon is the oldest known piece of Earth existing on the surface today. The oldest bits date back as far as 4.37 billion years — not too far from the age of Earth itself at about 4.5 bil…
Published on 2 years, 11 months ago
Redlining's Ripple Effects Go Beyond Humans
Episode 821
When Dr. Chloé Schmidt was a PhD student in Winnepeg, Canada, she was studying wildlife in urban areas. She and her advisor Dr. Colin Garroway came across a 2020 paper that posed a hypothesis: If the…
Published on 2 years, 11 months ago
An Atmospheric River Runs Through It
Episode 820
From space, it looks almost elegant: a narrow plume cascading off the Pacific Ocean, spilling gently over the California coast. But from the ground, it looks like trouble: flash flooding, landslides …
Published on 3 years ago
The Period Talk (For Adults)
Episode 819
Every month, 1.8 billion people menstruate globally. For those people, managing periods is essential for strong reproductive and emotional health, social wellbeing and bodily autonomy. But a lot of p…
Published on 3 years ago
Houston, We Have Short Wave On The Line
Episode 818
Speaking to Short Wave from about 250 miles above the Earth, Josh Cassada outlined his typical day at work: "Today, I actually started out by taking my own blood," he said. The astronauts aboard the …
Published on 3 years ago
Time Cells Don't Really Care About Time
Episode 817
Time is woven into our personal memories. If you recall a childhood fall from a bike, your brain replays the entire episode in excruciating detail: The glimpse of wet leaves on the road ahead, that m…
Published on 3 years ago
A New Year's Mad Lib!
Episode 816
To ring in the new year, producer Berly McCoy brings host Emily Kwong this homemade science mad lib!
Published on 3 years ago
I'm Crying Cuz... I'm Human
Episode 815
From misty eyeballs to full-on waterworks, what are tears? Why do we shed them? And what makes humans' ability to cry emotional tears unique? Hosts Emily Kwong and Aaron Scott get into their feelings…
Published on 3 years ago
The Woman Behind A Mystery That Changed Astronomy
Episode 814
In 1967, Jocelyn Bell Burnell made a discovery that revolutionized astronomy. She detected the radio signals emitted by certain dying stars called pulsars. Today, Jocelyn's story. Scientist-in-reside…
Published on 3 years ago