Podcast Episodes
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How do you describe nature? Two poets help us
Episode 1284
To mark Earth Day, we asked you to tell us about your favorite places on the planet. You took us to the woods near Traverse City, Michigan, to a lake…
3 months, 4 weeks ago
The lucky breaks that make our Earth home
Episode 1283
What makes Earth special, and why are we here at all? In his book “Why Do We Exist? The Nine Realms of the Universe That Make You Possible,” astrophy…
3 months, 4 weeks ago
How New Jersey tamped down PFAS in drinking water
Episode 1282
Nearly all Americans have some type of PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals,” in their blood. The chemicals, which are linked to numerous healt…
4 months ago
How a particle accelerator illuminated 56 human organs
A new imaging technique using a particle accelerator is giving researchers an unprecedented level of detail of our organs, producing scans 100 billio…
4 months ago
Simone Giertz’s journey from robot comedy to high-end design
Episode 1281
In the 2010s, inventor Simone Giertz (pronounced “Yetch”) began making videos that straddled the line between practical and absurd. What if you had a…
4 months ago
When a dolphin whistles, what does it mean?
Episode 1280
What are dolphins actually saying with their iconic, high-pitched whistles? Dolphin communication researcher Laela Sayigh is trying to find out. She’…
4 months ago
Inside the lives of astronauts’ families
Episode 1279
“This was not easy, being 200,000+ miles away from home. Like before you launch, it feels like it's the greatest dream on earth. And when you're out …
4 months ago
Green stuff, brown stuff: Secrets to a great compost pile
Episode 1278
If you’re a gardener, thinking about getting your soil in shape probably means thinking about compost. But composting can be a mysterious process. Wh…
4 months, 1 week ago
Why so many studies can’t be replicated
Episode 1275
How do we know what we know? That's where science comes in—it gives us a method for testing our ideas and getting trustworthy results. But some resea…
4 months, 1 week ago
How a sound designer gave an alien its voice (and 250 words)
Episode 1274
Movies may be a largely visual medium, but sound plays a huge role in setting tone, creating new worlds, and fleshing out characters. Sound designer …
4 months, 1 week ago