Podcast Episodes
Back to Search
When Autumn Leaves Start To Fall
Episode 768
Botanist and founder of #BlackBotanistsWeek Tanisha Williams explains why some leaves change color during fall and what shorter days and colder tempe…
3 years, 8 months ago
New Discoveries In Underwater Plant Sex
Episode 767
Plants living underwater can't count on pollinating insects to get it on. The prevailing theory has been that pollen moves underwater simply by float…
3 years, 8 months ago
Brain Cells In A Dish Play Pong And Other Brain Adventures
Episode 766
The world of brain research had two incredible developments last week. Researchers have taught a dish of brain cells to play the video game Pong to h…
3 years, 8 months ago
These Animals Will Mess You Up
Episode 765
The natural world is filled with treats ... and tricks. Today, Internet zoologist and TikTok star Mamadou Ndiaye takes over to talk about some of tho…
3 years, 8 months ago
Beyond Condoms!
Episode 764
Contraceptive research has historically prioritized women because they bear the burden of pregnancy and most contraceptive options available today ar…
3 years, 8 months ago
Choose Your Own (Math) Adventure
Episode 763
Ever read those Choose Your Own Adventure books of the 80s and 90s? As a kid, Dr. Pamela Harris was hooked on them. Years later she realized how much…
3 years, 8 months ago
You're 50, And Your Body Is Changing: Time For The Talk
Episode 762
Perimenopause, the period of transition to menopause, is still a largely misunderstood chapter of reproductive life. It brings about both physical an…
3 years, 8 months ago
Pop Quiz! Short Wave Birthday Edition
Episode 761
Short Wave hosts Aaron Scott and Emily Kwong quiz All Things Considered hosts Mary Louise Kelly and Sacha Pfeiffer on some science questions Short Wa…
3 years, 8 months ago
Why Do We Laugh?
Episode 760
Laughter: We do it spontaneously, we do it forcefully, we do it with each other and by ourselves. But why did we evolve to giggle in the first place?…
3 years, 8 months ago
We Baked A Cake For Our 3rd Birthday!
Episode 759
Of course we have to have cake for Short Wave's third birthday! Sugar-ologist and biochemist Adriana Patterson talks to producer Berly McCoy to give …
3 years, 8 months ago