Short Wave
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Short Wave
New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — in just under 15 minutes. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength.If you're hooked, try Short Wave Plus. Your su...
Recent Episodes
1521 episodes
How should we decide who, or what, is conscious?
In the age of AI, what differentiates humans from robots? What makes humans … human? To find answers, many people are studying consciousness: our capa...
Plot twist: We're probably way undercounting insects on Earth
Maybe you’ve wondered about it late at night as a mosquito buzzes in your ear. Or when you kick over a rock and watch dozens of little critters crawl...
NASA's race against time to rescue a falling satellite
A valuable NASA satellite observatory is falling to Earth faster than scientists expected. It’s called the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, or “Swift”...
Could this anti-aging dog pill lead to one for you too?
Every dog lover’s greatest fear is inevitably losing their pet to time. We want our furry pals to stick around as long as they can. That wish may soon...
Sky Uber? Air taxis could be here soon.
Taking an air taxi to the airport may become as simple as ordering a ride share today. In our first episode in our summer series Tech Camp, we explore...
This July 4th, are you a thrill- or chill-seeker?
Independence Day is approaching!
Imagine if someone has procured illegal fireworks from a couple of states over. Are you:
Is setting your trash on fire a good idea?
The U.S. generates 292 million tons of trash each year – and that trash has to go somewhere. Sometimes, that’s to an incinerator, where it’s burned a...
Ticks are a growing problem, no matter where you live
In the grand scheme of things, Lyme disease is a fairly new scientific discovery. It was first traced back to ticks in the late 70s and early 80s. The...
Is working from home actually good for you?
For many, being able to work from home is a boon: saving time on your commute, working in your sweatpants, throwing in a load of laundry before a meet...
Salty Clouds aren’t the only strange thing about this object in space
There’s an object in space 25 times the size of Jupiter that’s stumped scientists for years. They haven’t been able to figure out if it’s a planet or...
Did Trump's foreign aid cuts fuel the Ebola outbreak?
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is growing – and is likely larger than official numbers show. The deadly disease spreads throug...
What can a tornado teach us about kindness?
One evening in May of 2011, tornado sirens went off in a small Missouri city called Joplin. Thousands of homes were destroyed in the tornado, about a...
Inside the mysterious minds of horses
Janet Jones has been fascinated by horses since childhood. She’s now a horse trainer and a neuroscientist, which allows her to explore the minds of th...
Why scientists launched two little robots to the moon
Two tiny transforming robots landed on the moon! These baseball-sized bots accompanied Japan's first successful lunar lander. They rolled out of SLIM...
Is sewage the future of green aviation?
The war in Iran has disrupted the global fuel supply. That has sent airline prices soaring and cancelled scores of flights. This got Short Wave host E...
Could air pollution make your memory worse?
Summer is here, your windows are open and the smell of…car exhaust and the latest wildfire are wafting in. This air pollution is harmful to almost eve...
Inside the lab taste-testing the world's chocolate
Could standardizing chocolate help small-scale farmers? Chocolate scientist Julien Simonis thinks it could help persuade consumers to pay for higher q...
Why your sunscreen is finally getting a major upgrade
Until this week, the United States hadn’t approved a new sunscreen ingredient in over 20 years. That changed Tuesday, when the FDA approved a new chem...
How a single flu shot could protect you for decades
Every year, tens of millions of people in the U.S. get the flu vaccine. That’s because the virus changes year-to-year and protection only lasts around...
Your DNA is changing all the time. Here’s why
We tend to think of the DNA strands that contain our genetic code as consistent, stable units. But in reality, the cells that make up our bodies are c...
Inner monologues are still a mystery
Emily Kwong is pretty sure she lacks an inner monologue, while the inner monologue of producer Rachel Carlson won’t stop chatting. But how well can a...
Prepare to be baffled by what we don't know about eels
More than a century ago, all that people knew about European eels was that they lived in the rivers and streams for decades — until they swam out to t...
This common garden plant summons wasps as bodyguards
In our latest science news roundup: how nature adapts, for better or worse.
When faced with pests, plants may not be able to run away –...
Why are scientists planting tiny forests in big cities?
Healthy forests help combat climate change, provide humans with drinking water and even improve mental and physical health. But it’s hard to imagine a...
Why you can't stop scrolling: the science of 'dark flow'
You pick up your phone to do one quick task, and suddenly 20 minutes have flown by without you even noticing. How do apps do that to you? Science jour...
This distant planet has wild weather and gemstone clouds
For many astronomers and astrophysicists there are two distinct, important periods: before the James Webb Space Telescope – and after. It has powered...
Should we reengineer the world's deadliest animal?
The most ferocious predator for us humans is actually quite small: the mosquito. They are hungry for blood, spreading diseases like malaria, yellow fe...
Is it getting windier?
Is it getting windier? Long-time listener Barry Zalph thinks it is, at least in Louisville. And he’s not the only one. Redditors and local reporters h...
The magic — and science — of synchronous fireflies
Every year for two weeks between mid-May and mid-June, Congaree National Park in South Carolina is home to a fairy-tale-like display of flashing light...
The supertree shielding coastlines and storing carbon
Coastal fishing communities around the world are struggling with declining fish stocks. That’s because of climate change, environmental degradation an...
Why renaming this common hormonal disorder is a huge deal
You probably know someone who has a condition that, until last week, was known as PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome. It affects one in eight reproduc...
A solution for California's water woes
For years, farmers in California have been pumping huge amounts of water from their wells to irrigate their crops. The state’s Central Valley is the n...
What's up with your nightmares?
Dreams of flying? Nightmares of teeth falling out? Falling off a cliff? As a sleep scientist at the University of Montreal, Michelle Carr has pretty m...
A chemical found in fish could help reinvent your sunscreen
It’s been over 25 years since the FDA approved a new ingredient for sunscreen in the United States. But a molecule called gadusol found in fish and co...
Should you be fibermaxxing? Here's what the science says
The average person eats 10-15 grams of fiber per day, according to the USDA. The problem? That’s WAY under the recommended daily amount.
...
Why Swedish scientists gave salmon cocaine
A recent study caught our eye: salmon on cocaine. Or really, researchers giving salmon cocaine…for science. See, scientists know human drugs pollute a...
Without this pill, lots of people would be dead
25 years ago, the FDA approved a pill that would change the way scientists treat cancer … for good. The pill was called Gleevec; it was designed speci...
Hantavirus: the risks, the science and what you need to know
On May 2, the World Health Organization got an alarming report: People aboard a ship in the Atlantic Ocean were falling ill. The culprit is now confir...
How science is taking tripping mainstream
President Trump recently signed an order to speed up the evaluation of psychedelics to treat the brain. That’s coming after decades of strict prohibit...
This medical condition stumped doctors for years
One morning, Kyla Madonna Kenney woke up and her world was turned upside down: The room was spinning, she had a splitting migraine and one side of her...