Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchWhy Do Songs Get Stuck in Your Head?
Have you ever had a song continue to loop in your brain no matter how hard you tried to shake it? These “earworms” are more than just an annoyance—th…
10 months, 2 weeks ago
Saying Farewell to the Spacecraft That Mapped the Milky Way
The Gaia spacecraft stopped collecting data this January after about 11 years and more than three trillion observations. Senior space and physics edi…
10 months, 2 weeks ago
Measles Outbreaks, Asteroid Risks and Fish Friends
The black hole at the center of our galaxy is emitting near-constant, random light. The European Space Agency has approved astronaut candidate John M…
10 months, 2 weeks ago
Where Did Curly Hair Come From? Biological Anthropology May Provide Insights
It’s fairly strange that humans, unlike many other mammals, don’t have hair all over. Our lack of body hair and wide geographic distribution led to t…
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Exploring the Hidden Life in the Air around Us with Carl Zimmer
Scientists now agree that COVID spreads via airborne transmission. But during the early days of the disease, public health officials suggested that i…
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Valentine’s Day Isn’t Just for Romance—The Science of Deep Friendships
Love isn’t just about romance. This Valentine’s Day, we’re exploring the power of deep nonromantic bonds. Host Rachel Feltman sits down with Rhaina C…
10 months, 4 weeks ago
An Asteroid May Hit Earth in 2032. What Can We Do about It?
The European Space Agency recently announced that the near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 2 percent chance of hitting our planet in 2032. The probabil…
10 months, 4 weeks ago
Microplastics on the Mind, Superstrong Shrimp and Bird Flu Transmission
A subtype of H5N1 bird flu that has been found in cattle for the first time suggests that the virus jumped from birds to the animals twice. A headlin…
11 months ago
Trump’s Executive Orders Create Confusion for Researchers
The first few weeks of the Trump administration have been marked by chaos and confusion for the nation’s health and science agencies. A funding freez…
11 months ago
Avoiding Outrage Fatigue in Overwhelming Times
It’s almost impossible not to feel outraged these days. But overexposure to information that makes us angry can wear us down. Senior health and medic…
11 months ago