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The Myth of Plastic Recycling
Episode 801
For many, recycling feels like a tangible way to personally combat climate change and to positively affect the environment. But after a years long investigation, NPR correspondent Laura Sullivan find…
Published on 3 years ago
DART: The Impacts Of Slamming A Spacecraft Into An Asteroid
Episode 800
If an asteroid were hurling through space, making a beeline straight to Earth, how would humans prevent it from doing what it did to the dinosaurs? Would we bomb it? Would we shoot lasers at it like …
Published on 3 years ago
The Biologist Who Talks With Cells
Episode 799
The human body is made up of more than 30 trillion cells, but how do they all work together? It's all about communication! "They talk through molecules going from one cell to the adjacent cell," says…
Published on 3 years ago
What Makes Hawaii's Erupting Volcanoes Special
Episode 798
Just after Thanksgiving, for the first time in almost 40 years, Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano erupted. It's one of several ongoing eruptions – including Kilauea, also on Hawaii, and Indonesia's Mount Se…
Published on 3 years ago
'One Mississippi...' How Lightning Shapes The Climate
Episode 797
When lightning strikes a giant tree in the tropical rainforest, there's usually no fire, no blackened crater — you might not even notice any damage. But come back months later, as Evan Gora does, and…
Published on 3 years ago
Don't Call It Dirt: The Science Of Soil
Episode 796
It's easy to overlook the soil beneath our feet, or to think of it as just dirt to be cleaned up. But soil wraps the world in an envelope of life: It grows our food, regulates our climate, and makes …
Published on 3 years ago
Arts Week: Physics Meets The Circus
Episode 795
Julia Ruth's job takes a lot of strength, a lot of balance, and a surprising amount of physics. She's a circus artist — and has performed her acrobatic Cyr wheel routine around the world. But before …
Published on 3 years, 1 month ago
Arts Week: The Life Cycle Of A Neuron
Episode 794
An exhibit that blended science and technology for an immersive art experience went on display in Washington, DC and New York City in 2021 and 2022. It invited visitors to explore the cells in their …
Published on 3 years, 1 month ago
Arts Week: The Literary Magazine Dissecting Health And Healing
Episode 793
New York's Bellevue Hospital is the oldest public hospital in the country, serving patients from all walks of life. It's also the home of a literary magazine, the Bellevue Literary Review, which is n…
Published on 3 years, 1 month ago
Arts Week: How Art Can Heal The Brain
Episode 792
Arts therapies appear to ease a host of brain disorders from Parkinson's to PTSD. But these treatments that rely on music, poetry or visual arts haven't been backed by rigorous scientific testing. No…
Published on 3 years, 1 month ago