Short Wave

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas •

Much of the country is deep in the middle of a heat wave right now. And every summer, Duane Stilwell...

28 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas •

The twilight zone of the ocean is a mysterious place. At 200-1000 meters below the surface, it's a t...

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas •

Whether you love spiders or can't be within 10 feet of them, you probably think of them crawling aro...

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas •

Eating disorders are complicated illnesses that skyrocketed among teenagers during the COVID-19 pand...

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas •

Earlier this year, the White House proposed a nearly 24% cut to NASA's 2026 fiscal year budget — t...

21 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas •

For this week's Sea Camp, we're diving below the ocean's surface to explore the sunlight zone, the p...

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas •

Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this esse...

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas •

If you were a miner in California during the Gold Rush, you might have dined on a California red-leg...

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas •

The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline — 988 — launched on this day exactly three years ago. P...

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas •

Jurassic Park: Rebirth is the latest installment in the Jurassic World series. And while dinosaur pa...

14 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas •

For this second installment of the Sea Camp series, we explore the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It's...

Fri, 11 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A rare visitor from another star system has been spotted: the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS! It was de...

Wed, 09 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This week marks the 100th anniversary of the Scopes "Monkey Trial" — where a teacher was charged w...

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Short Wave producer Hannah Chinn has adult-onset eczema. They're not the only one. Up to ten percent...

Mon, 07 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A warming climate doesn't just affect dry land — it affects the ocean, too. For years, Earth's oce...

Fri, 04 Jul

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Happy Independence Day, Short Wavers! Do you have plans outdoors this weekend and want to figure out...

Wed, 02 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Andromeda galaxy lies just beyond (...OK, about 2.5 million light-years beyond) our galaxy, the ...

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 07:00:06 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Independence Day is approaching! Imagine in a few days, someone has procured illegal fireworks from ...

Mon, 30 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Policy, an influential CDC committee that shapes U.S. vaccine...

Fri, 27 Jun

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Since 2004, scientific research has shown that a full night of sleep may lend itself to a burst of i...

Wed, 25 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Why did the ornithologist strap a taxidermy badger to a remote controlled car and drive it around th...

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on the planet, and some of them may be on the rise. At least in ...

Mon, 23 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The U.S.'s power grid — a nearly 100-year-old network of electrical circuits — is facing increa...

Fri, 20 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For generations, the all-female Haenyeo divers have routinely dove into frigid waters off the coast ...

Wed, 18 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

We are in the thick of multiple sports seasons: the NBA finals are happening, and baseball and socce...

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Since last week, Israel has been attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, along with many other targets ...

Mon, 16 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The skunky smell of cannabis may be going out of style. NPR's science correspondent Pien Huang visit...

Fri, 13 Jun

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Take a big inhale through your nose. Now, exhale. Breathing may seem simple, but it's controlled by ...

Wed, 11 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Homeowners' insurance isn't just getting more expensive ... it's also getting harder to secure in th...

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Roughly 163 million people experience obsessive-compulsive disorder and its associated cycles of obs...

Mon, 09 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Dog Aging Project is a long-term nationwide survey on the health and lifestyles of U.S. dogs tha...

Fri, 06 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

"Olo" does not exist in nature, nor can it be found among paint cans. But for a very select few, olo...

Wed, 04 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

There are over 200 species of deep-sea anglerfish; some are long and thin, some are squat and round,...

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As artificial intelligence seeps into some realms of society, it rushes into others. One area it's m...

Mon, 02 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For hundreds of years sailors have told stories about miles of glowing ocean during moonless nights....

Fri, 30 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Depending on what time it is, your body responds differently to an injury or infection. During the d...

Wed, 28 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Around 40 million people around the world have bipolar disorder, which involves cyclical swings betw...

Tue, 27 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Gen Z and younger millennials are the most climate literate generations the world has ever seen. The...

Mon, 26 May

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It's Memorial Day, Short Wavers. This holiday, we bring you a meditation on time ... and clocks. The...

Fri, 23 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Riddle us this: Which animal is pink, curved beaked and a master of the physics required to create w...

Wed, 21 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

What's it like to get bit by a venomous snake? "It's like a bee sting times a thousand," Tim Friede ...

Tue, 20 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Trump administration is rewriting policies and reducing funding for multiple agencies that handl...

Mon, 19 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In science fiction, wormholes are hyperspace subway tubes linking one part of a galaxy directly to a...

Fri, 16 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Approximately 80% of orange cats are males, including the four orange cats owned by the Short Wave t...

Wed, 14 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Most bats use echolocation to navigate and hunt, but some use their ears for another trick: eavesdro...

Tue, 13 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Becoming fluent in a second language is difficult. But for adults, is it impossible? Science says no...

Mon, 12 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today, we're airing an episode of NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money. It...

Fri, 09 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Google, Microsoft and Meta have all pledged to reach at least net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Ama...

Wed, 07 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

By 2028, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory forecasts that U.S. data centers could use as much as...

Tue, 06 May 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Do you consider yourself a creative person? If not, you may be holding yourself back. Psychologist Z...

Mon, 05 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Recently, a group of scientists claimed they found possible signs of life on a planet called K2-18b....

Fri, 02 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Minecraft is a movie and a very popular video game with iconic block graphics that characters can "m...

Wed, 30 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In its first 100 days, the Trump administration — specifically, the Department of Government Effic...

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A good night's sleep makes a big difference to our mental and physical health. Without quality sleep...

Mon, 28 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

From starfish and sea slugs to jellyfish and sponges, the ocean's invertebrates are some of the most...

Fri, 25 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Some scientists are convinced that beyond Neptune, there's a planet they've yet to see. This so-call...

Wed, 23 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A fish walks into a pharmacy ... well, not exactly. Fish aren't being prescribed anti-anxiety drugs....

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Welcome!! This is the first episode of Nature Quest, a monthly Short Wave segment that answers liste...

Mon, 21 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As global warming continues and space technology improves, there is more and more talk about the gro...

Fri, 18 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The male European fiddler crab attracts his mate by performing a courtship dance. New research publi...

Wed, 16 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A recent series of studies suggests that the brains of birds, reptiles and mammals all evolved indep...

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Plants are blooming right now – and so are people's allergies. And if it feels like those pesky sy...

Mon, 14 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Did you know there's an insect that can fling its pee 40 times faster than a cheetah accelerates? We...

Fri, 11 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Dune. Star Wars. Alien. Science fiction movies love alien worlds, and so do we. But how do scientist...

Wed, 09 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This week, we've heard from researchers trying to untangle the effects of the "trip" that often come...

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

What if you could get all the potential benefits of ketamine without the "trip"? For part two of our...

Mon, 07 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Researchers are studying psychedelics as a possible treatment for conditions like depression, PTSD a...

Fri, 04 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Running an entire marathon takes a lot of energy. Neuroscientist Carlos Matute knows this: he's run ...

Wed, 02 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Each year, the United States has about 1,200 tornadoes. Many of them happen in tornado alley, a very...

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Most iguanas are indigenous to the Americas. So how did the Fijian species end up on the island, nea...

Mon, 31 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It seems like artificial intelligence is everywhere in our virtual lives. It's in our search results...

Fri, 28 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

What are the narwhals up to? Generally, we don't really know! They are mysterious creatures. NPR sci...

Wed, 26 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Microalgae are tiny organisms that convert energy from sunlight into fuel. The arctic ecosystem depe...

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Baseball season is nigh! From Yankee stadium in New York to Dodger stadium in Los Angeles, teams aro...

Mon, 24 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Early in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists predicted the SARS-CoV-2 virus would mut...

Fri, 21 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Ever diagnosed yourself with a mental health disorder based on a TikTok video? If so, you're not alo...

Wed, 19 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Ever scan the ingredient list of your favorite personal care products like shampoos or lotions and t...

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases known to science – more contagious than ...

Mon, 17 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

What if we had the ultimate work-life balance? This fundamental question underlies the hit Apple TV+...

Fri, 14 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Move over, TikTokers. It's time to shine a spotlight on some of the earliest influencers around: din...

Wed, 12 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Biological sex is all over the news lately. Whether it's via President Trump's executive order affec...

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In its first 50 days, the Trump administration made sweeping changes to scientific arms of the gover...

Mon, 10 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Tourists to Antarctica are fueling research on some of the tiniest, most influential organisms on Ea...

Fri, 07 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Archeologists know early humans used stone to make tools long before the time of Homo sapiens. But a...

Wed, 05 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

On their second job ever, Collette Yee and her partner were assigned a difficult job: locate transie...

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 13:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

You've heard of the woolly mammoth. But have you heard of woolly mice? These critters were genetical...

Mon, 03 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

There are now two fully approved drugs on the market that can, sometimes, slow down the progression ...

Fri, 28 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Batteries are everywhere. They're in our phones, our remote controls, smart-watches, electric cars a...

Wed, 26 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In 1967 Jocelyn Bell Burnell made a discovery that revolutionized the field of astronomy. She detect...

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 08:00:14 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A year and a half ago, neuroscientist Kamilla Souza got the call she'd been waiting for: A baby hump...

Mon, 24 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Picture a relaxing scene. Maybe a beach in Tahiti, your toes in the sand, a cold drink in hand. Now ...

Fri, 21 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Ever eat a full meal ... and find you still have room for dessert? If so, you're not alone. Sugar is...

Wed, 19 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

What happens when a team of scientists and local Awajún guides go on a 38-day trip into the Alto Ma...

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Asked ChatGPT anything lately? Talked with a customer service chatbot? Read the results of Google's ...

Mon, 17 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Physics has a bit of a messy problem: There's matter missing in our universe. Something is there tha...

Fri, 14 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For years, scientists have known that oxytocin is important in facilitating the feeling of love in h...

Wed, 12 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is one of the deadliest tickborne diseases in the United States, often ...

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The U.S. tested nuclear weapons until the early 1990s. Since then, scientists have been using superc...

Mon, 10 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For people with two hands, one is usually dominant. On a molecular level, life takes this to the ext...

Fri, 07 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

What do large crowds of people and water have in common? They both act like fluids. When crowds chee...

Wed, 05 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For a long time, microbes like the ones in Yellowstone's hot springs were studied in isolation. Mole...

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Black holes are notorious for gobbling up, well, everything. They're icons of destruction, ruthless ...

Mon, 03 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Ecologist Gergana Daskalova moved back to the small Bulgarian town of her childhood. It's a place m...

Fri, 31 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In a world brimming with innovation and limited time, it can be hard to tell what technology has the...

Wed, 29 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Farts are funny and sometimes smelly. But are they a legitimate topic of research? More than 40% of ...

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Bird flu, or avian influenza, is spreading among livestock and other mammals in the United States, r...

Mon, 27 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Put on your headphones. In today's episode, host Emily Kwong leads us on a night hike in Patuxent Ri...

Fri, 24 Jan

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At least, it's contagious among a group of captive chimpanzees at the Kumamoto Sanctuary. How do res...

Wed, 22 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Around the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens ...

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Forests are the lungs of our planet. Not only do they absorb carbon dioxide and create oxygen, they ...

Mon, 20 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced it is banning the dye called Red No. 3, a f...

Fri, 17 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Imagine the tree of life. The tip of every branch represents one species, and if you follow any two ...

Wed, 15 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When you picture a dinosaur, what does it look like? For Jingmai O'Connor, paleobiologist and associ...

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 08:00:25 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine generates enough of an antibody response to protect against severe disease...

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 08:00:16 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Air quality in the Los Angeles region has plummeted due to smoke from the ongoing wildfires. With al...

Fri, 10 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Over 29,000 acres in the greater Los Angeles area are on fire right now. The fires emerged after the...

Wed, 08 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Fluoridating the public water supply has been common practice for nearly 80 years in the U.S. It's a...

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Some weapons used by the U.S. military are so powerful they can pose a threat to the people who fire...

Mon, 06 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

There are hundreds of atomic clocks in orbit right now, perched on satellites all over Earth. We dep...

Sat, 04 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Funeral services begin today for former President Jimmy Carter. He died Sunday, at 100-years-old. ...

Fri, 03 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

(encore) Snowflakes. These intricate, whimsical crystals are a staple of magical wintry scenes, but ...

Wed, 01 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Happy New Year, Short Wavers! What better time to contemplate the conundrum that is zero than this, ...

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

2024 was full of science news. There was a total solar eclipse, the Paris Olympics, elections in the...

Mon, 30 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The thick-billed parrot is the only surviving parrot species native to the United States. These brig...

Fri, 27 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In pop culture, squirrels are often seen as jerky, excited critters on the hunt for nuts to stuff th...

Wed, 25 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the early 20th century, a blight fungus wiped out most of the 4 billion American chestnut trees o...

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

On Christmas Eve, scientists at field stations across Antarctica sing carols to one another...via sh...

Mon, 23 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

There are many statistics out there that prove that flying on a commercial airplane is safe, that pl...

Fri, 20 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Towana Looney became the first living person in the world to get a kidney from a new kind of genetic...

Wed, 18 Dec

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Old mines leave behind a a pressing problem: Huge holes that make the landscape look like a chunk of...

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

AI uses a lot of power. Some of the next generation data centers may use as much power as one millio...

Mon, 16 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Racism is often covered as a political, cultural, or news story. But how is it affecting people's he...

Sat, 14 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The federal government has been tracking the weather for more than 150 years. Yet over the last few ...

Fri, 13 Dec

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In the 1950s, scientists exposed a tin of meat to a dose of radiation that they expected would kill ...

Wed, 11 Dec

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Thor. Loki. Heimdall. They're not just Norse gods or Marvel characters. They're also the names of va...

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

If you crossed WALL-E with a floor lamp, it might look a little like the PhytoPatholoBot. These robo...

Mon, 09 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The next four years may be challenging for foreign-born scientists who want to work in the United St...

Fri, 06 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Centuries ago, Southwest tribal nations tended vast orchards of peach trees. But in 1863, thousands ...

Wed, 04 Dec

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The Vertebrate Genomes Project: It's an ambitious effort by an international group of scientists to ...

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In neuroscientist Kelly Lambert's lab at the University of Richmond, rats hop into cars, rev their e...

Mon, 02 Dec

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This Cyber Monday, a meditation on holiday sales. A quick trip to pick up presents can turn into an ...

Fri, 29 Nov

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Beaked hazelnuts are a wild food native to North America. Indigenous peoples in British Columbia ha...

Wed, 27 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This year's United Nations climate talks, COP29, wrapped Saturday. Throughout the talks, it was all ...

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 08:00:55 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

By the end of the century, more than 40% of the world's estimated 7,000 languages are in danger of d...

Mon, 25 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Monarch butterfly populations have plummeted due to habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change. ...

Fri, 22 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

SpaceX's Starship rocket took off again Tuesday for its sixth test flight. Crowds, including Preside...

Wed, 20 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For decades, Coho salmon were turning up dead in urban streams the Pacific Northwest. The salmon wou...

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 08:00:02 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Many people are gearing up for holiday conversations with loved ones who may disagree with them — ...

Mon, 18 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Getting enough sleep regularly can be tough — and even harder when you're traveling for the holida...

Fri, 15 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This critter lurks in the ocean's midnight zone, has a voluminous hood, is completely see through an...

Wed, 13 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As global warming continues and space technology improves, there is more and more talk about the gro...

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 08:00:29 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

One in four U.S. households experiences a power outage each year. Scientists at Oak Ridge National L...

Mon, 11 Nov

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In this episode, you're invited to the fermentation party! Join us as we learn about the funk-filled...

Fri, 08 Nov

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A pivotal week in Corey Gray's life began with a powwow in Alberta and culminated with a piece of hi...

Wed, 06 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In North-Central New Jersey, there is a backyard teeming with around 200 turtles. Many of these she...

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It's Election Day in the United States. Across the nation, millions of ballots are being cast. But w...

Mon, 04 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

How did life start on Earth? The answer is a big scientific mystery scientists are actively investig...

Fri, 01 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For years, we've been asking, "Which came first: the chicken or the egg?" Maybe what we should have ...

Wed, 30 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

NOTE: This episode contains multiple high-pitched noises (human and other animals) that some listene...

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 07:00:20 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Humans have seen a significant increase in life expectancy over the past 200 years — but not in ov...

Mon, 28 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

What's your favorite apple? Maybe it's the crowd-pleasing Honeycrisp, the tart Granny Smith or the i...

Fri, 25 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

More than a million species are at risk of extinction, many within decades, because of human actions...

Wed, 23 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For the past 70 years, schizophrenia treatments all targeted the same chemical: dopamine. While that...

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 07:00:32 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Every American red wolf alive right now is descended from only 14 canids. In the 1970s, humans drove...

Mon, 21 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Calling all foragers! The new board game Undergrove, co-designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and Mark Woot...

Fri, 18 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the humid rainforests of northern and eastern Madagascar reside seven newly described frog specie...

Wed, 16 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

NASA's Europa Clipper mission launched Monday, beginning its years-long journey to the distant icy m...

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 07:00:59 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In honor of our show turning 5 (!!) today... 5 Short Wave staffersanswer 5(x2) questionsfrom some of...

Mon, 14 Oct

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Host Regina G. Barber talks with Rosalyn LaPier about ethnobotany--what it is and how traditional pl...

Fri, 11 Oct

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Even though there are more than 10,000 rock glaciers in the western United States, most people would...

Wed, 09 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In human history, fear kept us safe when running from predators and anxiety kept us from going back ...

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For over a century, we've been inventing technology to catch liars in the act. To this end, the poly...

Mon, 07 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Fruit fly brains are smaller than a poppy seed, but that doesn't mean they aren't complex. For the f...

Fri, 04 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Lightning: It happens all the time, and yet the exact details of how it's made has long eluded scien...

Wed, 02 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Years ago, astronomy professors started noticing something that troubled them: Many of their student...

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 07:00:48 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Over six million fungal species are believed to inhabit planet Earth. Outsmarting them is the work o...

Mon, 30 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Most viruses that become epidemics in humans begin in other animals. It's how scientists suspect COV...

Fri, 27 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Governors across the southeastern United States have declared statewide states of emergency as Hurri...

Wed, 25 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Around 2% of the global population struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. That's roug...

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

At the beginning of the universe, annihilation reigned supreme. Equal amounts of matter and antimatt...

Mon, 23 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Electric vehicle batteries will all, eventually, reach the end of their lives. When that happens, th...

Sat, 21 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Hey, Short Wavers! Today we're sharing an excerpt of the new NPR podcast How To Do Everything. How T...

Fri, 20 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

What's scaly, striped and breathes underwater like a scuba diver? Water anoles! These lizards can fo...

Wed, 18 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Evolution keeps making crabs. In fact, it's happened so often that there's a special scientific term...

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Patrick Anderson is widely recognized as the greatest wheelchair basketball player of all time. He's...

Mon, 16 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Hurricane season is heating up: Hurricane Francine hit Louisiana last week and dumped rain across th...

Fri, 13 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

We close out Climate Solutions Week with a look at the final step in the food system: waste. Roughly...

Wed, 11 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Climate change is contributing to erratic weather where cocoa beans are grown and threatening the gl...

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Since the height of the pandemic, there has been a boom in the use of food delivery services. Day 2 ...

Mon, 09 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In California's Napa Valley, the nation's unofficial wine capital, one varietal reigns supreme: cabe...

Sat, 07 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Hey, Short Wavers! Today, we have a special present for all of you: An episode from our good friends...

Fri, 06 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Last year, a dog named Bunny went viral on TikTok for pressing buttons with words on them to "commun...

Wed, 04 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Short Wave producer Hannah Chinn has adult-onset eczema. They're not the only one. Up to ten percent...

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Humans hallucinate. Algorithms lie. At least, that's one difference that Joy Buolamwini and Kyle Cha...

Mon, 02 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Just in time for the return of the school year, we're going "Back To School" by revisiting a classic...

Fri, 30 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

From Indonesia to Wisconsin, farmers all over the world struggle with a huge problem: pests. On top ...

Wed, 28 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

At first glance, the whole narrative of aquatic invasive species may seem straightforward: A bad non...

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Human beings are hardwired for social connection – so much so that we think of even the most basic...

Mon, 26 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

New York: The city that never sleeps, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of and more recently...

Fri, 23 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Have you ever scrolled through a TikTok without finishing it? Switched between YouTube videos halfwa...

Wed, 21 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

U.S. health officials now say COVID-19 is an endemic disease. That means it's here to stay – circu...

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

All summer long, we've been on a 10-episode odyssey through the changing universe (check out the ser...

Mon, 19 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For blind and low vision adults, the ability to read braille can be life-changing. Braille literacy ...

Fri, 16 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Some weapons used by the United States military are so powerful, they can pose a threat to the peopl...

Wed, 14 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Over the next week, forecasts project extreme heat across much of the South, Midwest and parts of th...

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today, we're bringing you the final installment of our space summer series ... with the end ... of E...

Mon, 12 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Grizzly bears in the contiguous United States have been taken off — then put back on — the endan...

Sat, 10 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

We at Short Wave have been following all things Olympics, from the medals and new records to the ugl...

Fri, 09 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

How do you study unmapped areas of the ocean and identify critical habitat for an endangered species...

Wed, 07 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the last week, we've seen swimmers diving headfirst into the 2024 Paris Olympics pool, limbs grac...

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Big Bang: The moment when our universe — everything in existence — began....Right? Turns out...

Mon, 05 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Rates of depression and anxiety have risen among teens over the last decade. Amid this ongoing menta...

Fri, 02 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Another Olympics, another set of stellar performances by the U.S. women's artistic gymnastics team. ...

Wed, 31 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Rubik's Cube was created 50 years ago by Hungarian inventor Ernő Rubik. Since then, over 500 mi...

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Black holes are one of the most mysterious cosmological phenomena out there. Astrophysicist Priya Na...

Mon, 29 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Generally, we at Short Wave are open-minded to the creepies and the crawlies, but even we must admit...

Fri, 26 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Chimpanzees are humans' closest living relatives. But does much of their communication resembles our...

Wed, 24 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As a kid, Sabrina Imbler loved the ocean. They'd swim and snorkel, following around parrotfish in th...

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 07:00:06 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Lower gravity. Higher radiation. No ER access. These are just a few of the challenges that humans fa...

Mon, 22 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Scientists have long studied the relationship between sleep and the brain, and why poor sleep is lin...

Fri, 19 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

More than a hundred years ago, a British engineer proposed linking two rivers in India to better irr...

Wed, 17 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Every year for two weeks between mid-May and mid-June, Congaree National Park in South Carolina is h...

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The universe — everything in existence — is expanding every second! It's only been about a hundr...

Mon, 15 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Human Genome Project was a massive undertaking that took more than a decade and billions of doll...

Fri, 12 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

TikTok is fuel for many trends, including a skin care craze among teens, pre-teens — okay, and us....

Wed, 10 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Some ants herd aphids. Some farm fungi. And now, scientists have realized that when an ant injures i...

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The universe is so much bigger than what people can see. Visible matter — the ground, the Sun, the...

Mon, 08 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It's that time of the year again: Shark Week. The TV program is so long-running that if you're under...

Fri, 05 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When's the last time you were in a place that was quiet — really quiet? No roadway noise, construc...

Wed, 03 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Black Americans have been underrepresented in most genomic studies of neurological disorders. As a r...

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Before the '3 Body Problem' became a bestselling book and a smash TV show ... it was a physics conce...

Mon, 01 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Perfecting your grilling technique ahead of the Fourth of July? Chefs will tell you that cooking is ...

Fri, 28 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A brand new species of ceratops, or horned dinosaur, was recently discovered in northern Montana. Th...

Wed, 26 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Humans are hardwired to see faces — even in inanimate objects. We have a lima bean-shaped part of ...

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This summer, scientists have their eyes and telescopes trained on the small constellation system T C...

Mon, 24 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

About ten years ago, science writer Ferris Jabr started contemplating Earth as a living planet rathe...

Fri, 21 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a record number of hurricanes this...

Wed, 19 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Pixar's new movie, Inside Out 2 came out Friday. It's the sequel to the 2015 movie Inside Out, which...

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 07:00:24 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Pluto hasn't been a planet for almost 20 years. In the early 2000s, scientists discovered several ob...

Mon, 17 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

To a lot of people, mosquito bites are annoying. But to the rare Hawaiian honeycreepers, they're dea...

Sat, 15 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Hey, Short Wavers! Today, we're sharing a portion of Inheriting, an 8-part limited series hosted by ...

Fri, 14 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Joro spiders are spreading across the east coast. They are an invasive species that most likely arri...

Wed, 12 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Right now, there's a "heat dome" lingering over the southwestern U.S. – a high pressure system tha...

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 07:00:21 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It feels like this is the summer of space launches. So, it's only appropriate that we kick off our n...

Mon, 10 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Wildlife trafficking is one of the largest and most profitable crime sectors in the world. The illeg...

Fri, 07 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Kyne Santos was a student at the University of Waterloo when she began her math and her drag careers...

Wed, 05 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

June 6, 1944 the Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy and took the Nazis by surprise in the...

Mon, 03 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may soon have a new treatment option: MDMA, the ch...

Fri, 31 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A silky shark named Genie traveled from the Galapagos Islands out to the open ocean and back – ove...

Wed, 29 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Humans rely on our symbiotic relationship with good microbes—in the gut, the skin and ... the vagi...

Mon, 27 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Each year 84,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with melanoma. About 90% of these skin cancers are...

Fri, 24 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

After the Hamas attack of Oct. 7 triggered Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip, hundreds of thousand...

Wed, 22 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Fibroids are benign uterine tumors. So why does it matter that the majority of people with a uterus ...

Mon, 20 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Scientists are testing the limits of artificial intelligence when it comes to language learning. One...

Fri, 17 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Baobabs are sometimes called the "tree of life" with their thick trunks, crown of branches and flowe...

Wed, 15 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Chocolate may never be the same. The majority of chocolate is made in just two countries and erratic...

Mon, 13 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As artificial intelligence seeps into some realms of society, it rushes into others. One area it's m...

Fri, 10 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration observed a cluster of sunspots on ...

Fri, 10 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Sam and John Fetters, 19, are identical twins on different ends of the autism spectrum. Sam is a sop...

Wed, 08 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Emily gets super nerdy with former host Maddie Sofia get as they dive into the incredible world of n...

Mon, 06 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It's not unusual for siblings to quibble over ownership of something — a cherished toy, a coveted ...

Fri, 03 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Wildlife ecologists have seen white-tailed deer expanding their range in North America over many dec...

Wed, 01 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

No matter what you're doing right now – sitting, standing, walking – you're moving. First, becau...

Mon, 29 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today, we're going full nerd to talk about a new board game — Catan: New Energies. The game's goal...

Fri, 26 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Ten years ago, Flint, Mich. switched water sources to the Flint River. The lack of corrosion control...

Wed, 24 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

NPR's Tom Dreisbach is back in the host chair for a day. This time, he reports on a story very close...

Mon, 22 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Roughly 196 million tons of fish were harvested in 2020, according to the Food and Agriculture Organ...

Fri, 19 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When the dinosaurs walked the Earth, massive marine reptiles swam. Among them, a species of Ichthyos...

Wed, 17 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

500 million years ago, the world was a very different place. During this period of time, known as th...

Mon, 15 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

We've all been there: You sit down for one episode of a reality TV show, and six hours later you're ...

Fri, 12 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Wednesday the Environmental Protection Agency announced new drinking water standards to limit people...

Wed, 10 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It's National Siblings Day! To mark the occasion, guest host Selena Simmons-Duffin is exploring a de...

Sun, 07 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It's baseball season! And when we here at Short Wave think of baseball, we naturally think of physic...

Fri, 05 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Tiny, black-capped chickadees have big memories. They stash food in hundreds to thousands of locatio...

Wed, 03 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

On April 8, the moon will slip in front of the sun, blocking its light and creating an eerie twiligh...

Mon, 01 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For Guyana the potential wealth from oil development was irresistible — even as the country faces ...

Fri, 29 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Historic numbers of animals across the globe have become endangered or pushed to extinction. But som...

Wed, 27 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

According to the CDC, about one in four adults has a fear of needles. Many of those people say the p...

Mon, 25 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Few humans have had the opportunity to see Earth from space, much less live in space. We got to talk...

Fri, 22 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Across the animal kingdom, menopause is something of an evolutionary blip. We humans are one of the ...

Wed, 20 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The number of newborns born with syphilis – a serious sexually transmitted infection – has skyro...

Mon, 18 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When Shohini Ghose was studying physics as a kid, she heard certain names repeated over and over. "E...

Fri, 15 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Nuclear fusion could one day change the world by producing energy at lower costs than we generate it...

Wed, 13 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

"Long COVID has affected every part of my life," said Virginia resident Rachel Beale said at a recen...

Mon, 11 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Coming down from the buzz of the Oscars, we're taking a look at Christopher Nolan's award-winning fi...

Fri, 08 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Neuroscientist Nathan Sawtell has spent a lot of time studying the electric elephantnose fish. These...

Wed, 06 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Voyager 1 space probe is the farthest human-made object in space. It launched in 1977 with a gol...

Mon, 04 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a first-of-its-kind cancer therapy to treat a...

Fri, 01 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The sci-fi film Dune: Part Two is out in theaters now. The movie takes place on the harsh desert pla...

Wed, 28 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

According to the United Nations, about ten percent of the world is undernourished. It's a daunting s...

Mon, 26 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

An Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos can be considered "extrauterine children" under ...

Fri, 23 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the green tree canopies of forested areas in Myanmar, you might wake up to the sounds of gibbons ...

Wed, 21 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

We are at the height of the Sun's activity in its eleven year cycle, known to astronomers as the sol...

Mon, 19 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Lately, paleoecologist Audrey Rowe has been a bit preoccupied with a girl named Elma. That's because...

Fri, 16 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Every year, billions of animals across the globe embark on journeys. They fly, crawl, walk or slithe...

Wed, 14 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In a Valentine's Day exclusive report, NPR has learned there is currently a gay anteater couple at S...

Mon, 12 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Happy Lunar New Year! According to the Chinese lunisolar calendar, the new year began Saturday. For ...

Fri, 09 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

At least, that's what a group of researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Grad...

Wed, 07 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

If you've ever watched part of a professional football game, you've probably seen a tight spiral pas...

Mon, 05 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, releasing radioactive material into northern Ukr...

Fri, 02 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Back in the day, many of us heard that the appendix is a vestigial organ — at best, a body part th...

Wed, 31 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

An all-out "naked mole rat war" has broken out at Smithsonian's National Zoo, after the queen of the...

Mon, 29 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Every year, lightning is estimated to cause up to 24,000 deaths globally. It starts forest fires, bu...

Sat, 27 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When the U.S. government and state of Florida unveiled a new plan to save the Everglades in 2000, th...

Fri, 26 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

At the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a wildlife preserve in central Kenya, lions and cheetahs mingle with z...

Wed, 24 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Scientists know that Black people are at a greater risk for health problems like heart disease, diab...

Mon, 22 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Honeyguides are wild birds that team up with humans and then lead them to honey. Researchers recentl...

Fri, 19 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

At least one in four women — and a much smaller proportion of men — experiences intimate partner...

Wed, 17 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Winter is upon us – and with the holiday travel and time spent indoors comes a triple threat of re...

Mon, 15 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Time is a concept so central to our daily lives. Yet, the closer scientists look at it, the more it ...

Sat, 13 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

If you work at home or in an office, you might spend a lot of your day sitting down and staring at a...

Fri, 12 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Since they were discovered in 2019, strange, glowing circles of light in space have mystified resear...

Wed, 10 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Human beings are hardwired for social connection – so much so that we think of even the most basic...

Mon, 08 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A winter storm brought heavy rain and snow to parts of the East Coast this weekend, which got us thi...

Fri, 05 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The winter is usually when insects die or go into a state of paused development, but for tiny specks...

Wed, 03 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In celebration of our 1000th episode, we're wrapping our heads around big numbers. Educational neuro...

Mon, 01 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Ever gotten a scarlet, hot face after drinking? Or know someone who has? Many people felt it as they...

Fri, 29 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

2023 was filled with scientific innovation, exploration and new discoveries. A few of the biggest th...

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As 2023 comes to a close, Short Wave teamed up with our friends at All Things Considered to round up...

Wed, 27 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Are people ever satisfied? Two social psychologists, Ethan Ludwin-Peery and Adam Mastroianni, fell d...

Mon, 25 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Would you survive as a doctor in The Sims 4? What's an appropriate amount of free food to take from ...

Fri, 22 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

LED light bulbs are the future. They're better for the environment and the pocket book. But for some...

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Millions of people in the U.S. are bird watchers. But a couple of years ago a satirical conspiracy t...

Wed, 20 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For the first time in its history, the United Nations climate conference concluded with a call to tr...

Mon, 18 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Does thinking about the trajectory of the climate make you have a panic spiral? If so, we have the p...

Fri, 15 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A team of conservation biologists from Italy recently found that current emoji options are sorely la...

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used throughout the world to predict the future. Banks...

Wed, 13 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Malls are designed to overwhelm our brains. Add the stress of holiday shopping, and a quick trip to ...

Mon, 11 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Glaciers like the ones in Greenland are melting due to climate change, causing global sea levels to ...

Fri, 08 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The U.S. is in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. And for a lot of people, the feeling is even more...

Wed, 06 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Soon after the sun sets on winter nights, if you live in the northern hemisphere you can look into t...

Mon, 04 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It's easy to overlook the soil beneath our feet, or to think of it as just dirt to be cleaned up. Bu...

Fri, 01 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Sleep. It's an essential biological function that has long intrigued scientists. Researchers have st...

Wed, 29 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In which we meet the pioneers of one of the most exciting — and controversial — fields of biomed...

Mon, 27 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As kids, some of us dream of multiple careers: being an astronaut AND the next president. Or digging...

Fri, 24 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Walking into Karen Chin's office at the University of Colorado, Boulder, one of the first things you...

Wed, 22 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Turkey is the usual centerpiece of the Thanksgiving dinner, but it's all too easy to end up with a d...

Mon, 20 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Every five years, the United States government releases the National Climate Assessment, a comprehen...

Fri, 17 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

How much salt is too much salt? Most likely, the amount you're consuming. A new study published this...

Wed, 15 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Saturday, the entire coastal town of Grindavik, Iceland was evacuated. That's because over the weeke...

Mon, 13 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the 18th century the world was focused on Venus. Expeditions were launched in pursuit of exact me...

Fri, 10 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

AI is popping up everywhere nowadays. From medicine to science to the Hollywood strikes. Today, with...

Wed, 08 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

If you've ever looked up at the clouds and wondered where they came from, you're not alone. Atmosphe...

Mon, 06 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Scientists have mapped less than 25% of the world's seafloor. Experts say that getting that number u...

Fri, 03 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

What your parents didn't tell you about pulling an all-nighter? It just might ease depression for se...

Wed, 01 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Every year, the USDA drops millions of oral rabies vaccines across fourteen states, mostly along the...

Mon, 30 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Antibiotics have changed the world. They've made it possible to treat diseases that used to mean any...

Fri, 27 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The human brain has more than 170 billion cells. A newly published atlas offers the most detailed m...

Wed, 25 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Some people keep dogs in their backyards. In the Florida Keys, some residents have deer the size of ...

Mon, 23 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As a kid, host Aaron Scott would dress up for Halloween as an older version of himself — complete ...

Fri, 20 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

We're about to hit peak Orionid meteor shower! According to NASA, it's one of the most beautiful sho...

Wed, 18 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

That spider you squished? It could have been used for science! Today, we're bringing you Halloween a...

Mon, 16 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Artificial intelligence can code computer programs, draw pictures and even take notes for doctors. N...

Fri, 13 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Microbiologist Monsi Roman joined NASA in 1989 to help design the International Space Station. As th...

Wed, 11 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Coral reefs in Florida have lost an estimated 90% of their corals in the last 40 years. And this sum...

Mon, 09 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Ever read those Choose Your Own Adventure books of the '80s and '90s? As a kid, mathematician Pamela...

Sat, 07 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Being inside, hunching in front of a computer screen for hours at a time – these things take a tol...

Fri, 06 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Y'all, it's the most wonderful time of the year: Fat Bear Week! Brown bears in Katmai National Park...

Wed, 04 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Here on Short Wave, we're getting into the Halloween spirit a little early with a look at the world'...

Mon, 02 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A new robot is designed to sink sargassum before the stinky seaweed comes ashore. Blooms of sargassu...

Fri, 29 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A tiny worm that regenerates entire organs. A South American snail that can regrow its eyes. A killi...

Wed, 27 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In 2016, NASA launched a spacecraft to do something rarely attempted before: Collect space rocks fro...

Mon, 25 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Ever had an itch you can't scratch? It can be maddening. And even though itch has a purpose — it's...

Fri, 22 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today on the show, All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly joins Regina G. Barber and Maria ...

Wed, 20 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The last several decades have taken a toll on the oceans: Some fish populations are collapsing, plas...

Mon, 18 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

We're entering a new era of astrophysics. The James Webb Space Telescope is helping scientists test ...

Fri, 15 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This week, the Food and Drug Administration approved new COVID vaccines this week. It comes at a tim...

Wed, 13 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

40 million miles of road unite us. They also cause mass destruction for many species. Today, environ...

Mon, 11 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

More than 5,000 square miles of central California coast could soon become the newest national marin...

Fri, 08 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today on the show, All Things Considered co-host Ari Shapiro joins Aaron Scott and Regina G. Barber ...

Wed, 06 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Have frequent, burning pee? Cramping or the urge to pee even though you just went? If you haven't ye...

Mon, 04 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This year, the hottest July ever was recorded — and parts of the country were hit with heat waves ...

Fri, 01 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Food allergies have risen in the United States over the last few decades. Research suggests that 40 ...

Wed, 30 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Smallpox is a deadly virus. At one point, it killed almost 1 in 3 people who had it. Almost 300 mill...

Mon, 28 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Workers in Japan started releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear powe...

Fri, 25 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A journey through some of the latest science stories catching our eyes. This time, we consider the R...

Wed, 23 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

One name has been on millions of minds — and all over the news — in the past week: Hilary.It's b...

Mon, 21 Aug

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It's no secret that our electric grid is a flaming hot mess — and in order to reduce emissions, th...

Fri, 18 Aug

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Today we enter into the plot of a summer blockbuster adventure movie. Regina talks to NPR reporter E...

Wed, 16 Aug

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Kids ask, "Why?" all the time. Why does 1+1=2? Why do we memorize multiplication tables? Many of us ...

Mon, 14 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

There's the birds and the bees. And then there's what happens after. The process that leads to the b...

Fri, 11 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

All Things Considered host Juana Summers joins Regina G. Barber and Berly McCoy to nerd-out on some ...

Wed, 09 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

How do we really get happier? In a new review in the journal Nature Human Behavior, researchers Eliz...

Mon, 07 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The ability to create wrought iron cheaply has been called one of the most significant innovations i...

Fri, 04 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Ever felt like you were watching yourself and the rest of the world from outside of your body? Or fl...

Wed, 02 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For decades, humans have harvested the blood of horseshoe crabs, which is used to test whether many ...

Mon, 31 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Would you survive as a doctor in The Sims 4? What's the appropriate amount of free food to take from...

Sat, 29 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In this special episode, we hear from the high school grand prize winner of NPR's Student Podcast Ch...

Fri, 28 Jul

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For most infants, introducing peanuts early can help prevent allergies later on — but a new study ...

Wed, 26 Jul

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In which we metaphorically enter the UCLA Language Acquisistion Lab's recording castle, guided by li...

Mon, 24 Jul

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Scorpions: They're found pretty much everywhere, and new species are being identified all the time. ...

Fri, 21 Jul

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Christopher Nolan's new film 'Oppenheimer' chronicles the life and legacy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, ...

Wed, 19 Jul

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For people with endometriosis—a mysterious disease where endometrial tissue grows outside of the u...

Mon, 17 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Trash from humans is constantly spilling into the ocean — so much so that there are five gigantic ...

Fri, 14 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Science in the headlines: An amazingly preserved sea squirt fossil that could tell us something abou...

Wed, 12 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Canada is having its worst fire season in modern history. The fires have burnt more than 20 million ...

Mon, 10 Jul

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In the Port of Baltimore, a ship is docked that hasn't transported passengers for more than 50 years...

Fri, 07 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

20 years ago, the cult classic movie 'The Core' was released in theaters. From the start, it's clear...

Wed, 05 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

We hope you had a restful holiday! Maybe even got outside for some relaxing fresh air. If so, you mi...

Mon, 03 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Chefs will tell you, cooking is not just an art — it's a science. And the spirit of summer barbecu...

Fri, 30 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

New gravitational waves, why orcas might be attacking boats and a new robot prototype inspired by an...

Wed, 28 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Salomé Buglass discovered an unexpected kelp forest while studying underwater mountains in the Gala...

Mon, 26 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Sunscreen: we should all be using it, but we might not all be using it the right way. In fact, the t...

Fri, 23 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For generations, scientists have leaned on seven key species, including rats and mice, for research....

Wed, 21 Jun

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In pockets across the U.S., communities are struggling with polluted air — often in neighborhoods ...

Mon, 19 Jun

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Season 2 of the critically acclaimed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiered June 15 (streaming on P...

Fri, 16 Jun

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All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro returns to nerd-our with Short Wave hosts Emily Kwong and Reg...

Wed, 14 Jun

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With much of California's massive snowpack yet to melt, downstream communities remain on high alert ...

Mon, 12 Jun

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For many scientists, science isn't something they check in and out of — it permeates their whole l...

Fri, 09 Jun

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Smoke from Canadian wildfires is causing poor air quality in parts of the U.S. This smoke can have d...

Wed, 07 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Teppei Katori loves two things: particle physics and music. Naturally, he combined the two. Today on...

Mon, 05 Jun

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Dinosaurs ruled the earth for many millions of years, but only after a mass extinction took out most...

Fri, 02 Jun

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This week's science news roundup reunites All Things Considered host Ailsa Chang with Short Wave hos...

Wed, 31 May

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Ice in Antarctica is melting really quickly because of climate change. That's driving sea level rise...

Mon, 29 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Mora Leeb was 9 months old when surgeons removed half her brain. Now 15, she plays soccer and tells ...

Fri, 26 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

If you ask a physicist or cosmologist about the beginnings of the universe, they'll probably point y...

Wed, 24 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In February 2021, pandemic restrictions were just starting to ease in Hawaii, and Leila Mirhaydari w...

Mon, 22 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Kwasi Wrensford studies two related species: the Alpine chipmunk and the Lodgepole chipmunk. The two...

Fri, 19 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This week for our science news roundup, superstar host of All Things Considered Ari Shapiro joins Sh...

Wed, 17 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Race is a social construct — so why are DNA test kits like the ones from 23andMe coded like they r...

Mon, 15 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The COVID-19 public health emergency has ended, but millions across the globe continue to deal with ...

Fri, 12 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

There's a lot for scientists to learn about the origins of humans' musical abilities. In the last fe...

Wed, 10 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This week, the American Psychological Association issued its first-of-kind guidelines for parents to...

Mon, 08 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today on the show, we meet a prosthetic designer and a neuroscientist fascinated with understanding ...

Fri, 05 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Another week comes by, and luckily so does our roundup of science news. This time, we've got some qu...

Tue, 02 May 2023 04:10:41 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A doctor's job is to help patients. With that help, often comes lots and lots of paperwork. That's w...

Mon, 01 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today on the show, next-generation energy innovators Bill David and Serena Cussen challenged us to t...

Fri, 28 Apr

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California's wet winter has devastated many local communities. It has also benefited some of the sta...

Wed, 26 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the toxic waters of Sulphur Cave in Steamboat Springs, Colo. live blood-red worm blobs that have ...

Mon, 24 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It's our latest roundup of science news! This time, with Ailsa Chang of NPR's All Things Considered,...

Fri, 21 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the Arctic Ocean, sea ice is shrinking as the climate heats up. In the Western U.S., wildfires ar...

Wed, 19 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Melting glaciers are leaving behind large, unstable lakes that can cause dangerous flash floods. Mil...

Mon, 17 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Endangered North Atlantic right whales are disappearing from their native waters, a serious danger f...

Fri, 14 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This week, New York City crowned Kathleen Corradi its first rat czar. The new position is part of a ...

Wed, 12 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When Tove Danovich decided to dabble in backyard chicken keeping, she embraced a tried and true jour...

Mon, 10 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In 1957, the Space Age began with the launch of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite. Since then,...

Fri, 07 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In this Friday round up of science news we can't let go, not everything is as it seems. Meatballs ar...

Wed, 05 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Katie Wu is a bona fide cat person. She has two of them: twin boys named Calvin and Hobbes. Every ni...

Mon, 03 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The phenomenon of zoonotic spillover — of viruses jumping from animals to people — is incredibl...

Fri, 31 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today, most climate science is done with satellites, sensors and complicated computer models. But it...

Wed, 29 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

To really understand the human brain, scientists say you'd have to map its wiring. The only problem:...

Mon, 27 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Rice is arguably the world's most important staple crop. About half of the global population depends...

Fri, 24 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

After reading the science headlines this week, we have A LOT of questions. Why did the Virgin Island...

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 04:10:15 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A few weeks ago, raw data gathered in Janaury 2020 from Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, Ch...

Wed, 22 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

From text churned out by ChatGPT to the artistic renderings of Midjourney, people have been taking n...

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 04:10:30 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Dotted across the Great Basin of the American West are salty, smelly lakes. The largest of these, by...

Mon, 20 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Planetary scientists announced some big news this week about our next-door neighbor, Venus. For the ...

Sat, 18 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Our friends at NPR's TED Radio Hour podcast have been pondering some BIG things — specifically, th...

Fri, 17 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For the past few winters, researchers have been intentionally flying into snowstorms. And high in th...

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 04:10:07 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As a leading expert on paleogenomics, Beth Shapiro has been hearing the same question ever since she...

Wed, 15 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Research into very, very old DNA has made huge leaps forward over the last two decades. That has all...

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 04:10:32 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This March 14, Short Wave is celebrating pi ... and pie! We do that with the help of mathematician E...

Mon, 13 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A new drug for Alzheimer's disease, called lecanemab, got a lot of attention earlier this year for g...

Fri, 10 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Reading the science headlines this week, we have A LOT of questions. Why are more animals than just ...

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 05:15:26 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Have you ever wondered how biologists choose what animal to use in their research? Since scientists ...

Wed, 08 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The whitebark pine is a hardy tree that grows in an area stretching from British Columbia, Canada so...

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 05:30:25 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of coal for electricity. And it's also an emerging econom...

Mon, 06 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Roman Colosseum is a giant, oval amphitheater built almost two thousand years ago. Despite its a...

Fri, 03 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is a theoretical physicist at the University of New Hampshire. It's her job...

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 05:10:33 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When Abra Lee became the landscape manager at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, she ...

Wed, 01 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As a kid, Clarice Phelps dreamed of being an astronaut, or maybe an explorer like the characters on ...

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 05:15:39 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Population geneticist Dr. Janina Jeff is the host and executive producer of In Those Genes, a hip-ho...

Mon, 27 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a public hearing about its remediatio...

Fri, 24 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the Bekaa Valley region of Lebanon, there is a giant walk-in fridge housing tens of thousands of ...

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 05:10:16 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In this Back To School episode we consider the "List of Life": the criteria that define what it is t...

Wed, 22 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Monday another earthquake struck southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border. This time, the quake r...

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 05:15:35 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The video game series that spawned the new hit HBO drama, The Last of Us, is the zombie genre with a...

Mon, 20 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Many of us are off today for President's Day. In the meantime, we want to share this episode from ou...

Fri, 17 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

After reading the science headlines this week, we have A LOT of questions. Is chocolate really that ...

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 05:10:26 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In Disney's new animated feature 'Strange World,' a band of multigenerational explorers journeys to ...

Wed, 15 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A few years ago, a team of scientists set out on a field expedition in the rugged, dry Northern Terr...

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 05:30:26 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

You may have heard of the "love hormone," or oxytocin. But you may not know that scientists have rel...

Mon, 13 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

During the COVID-19 pandemic, one measurement became more important than almost any other: blood oxy...

Fri, 10 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Every year, lightning is estimated to cause up to 24,000 deaths globally. It starts forest fires, bu...

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 05:10:39 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

One of the most important tools the federal government has for cracking down on greenhouse gas emiss...

Wed, 08 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the wake of the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria, many scientists have been saying this are...

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 14:49:52 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The James Webb Space Telescope is by far the most powerful space-based telescope ever deployed by th...

Mon, 06 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Everyone sees the world differently. Exactly which colors you see and which of your eyes is doing mo...

Fri, 03 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A green comet, cancer-sniffing ants, stealthy moons ... hang out with us as we dish on some of the c...

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 05:30:25 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Nipah virus is on the World Health Organization's short list of diseases that have pandemic pote...

Wed, 01 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Moiya McTier says the night sky has been fueling humans' stories about the universe for a very long ...

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 05:15:09 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Over the past decade, AI has moved right into our houses - onto our phones and smart speakers - and ...

Mon, 30 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Gas stoves are found in around 40% of homes in the United States, and they've been getting a lot of ...

Fri, 27 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Yi-Kai Tea, a biodiversity research fellow at the Australian Museum in Sydney, has amassed a social ...

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 05:30:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As an emergency physician at Western Health, in Melbourne, Australia, Dr. Andy Tagg says he meets a ...

Wed, 25 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Film directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively: Daniels) reimagined the multiverse mo...

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 05:10:56 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Most people are focused on the present: today, tomorrow, maybe next year. Fixing your flat tire is m...

Mon, 23 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This mystery begins in 1952, in the Nevada desert, when a self-taught geologist came across the skel...

Fri, 20 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

About three million people in the United States have epilepsy, including about a million who can't r...

Thu, 19 Jan 2023 05:10:24 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Winter storms have flooded parts of California, broken levees and forced thousands to evacuate. Clim...

Wed, 18 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Time is a concept so central to our daily lives. Yet, the closer scientists look at it, the more it ...

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 05:10:42 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Historic drought in the west and water diversion for human use are causing stretches of the Colorado...

Mon, 16 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

We're off today in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In the meantime, we want to share this...

Fri, 13 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Are humans ever satisfied? Two social psychologists, Ethan Ludwin-Peery and Adam Mastroianni, fell d...

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 05:10:13 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Inside the mountaintop glaciers of the Pacific Northwest lives a mysterious, and often, overlooked c...

Wed, 11 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

There's always a moment of intense isolation when Jessica Mejía gets dropped off on the Greenland i...

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 05:30:35 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The mineral zircon is the oldest known piece of Earth existing on the surface today. The oldest bits...

Mon, 09 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When Dr. Chloé Schmidt was a PhD student in Winnepeg, Canada, she was studying wildlife in urban ar...

Fri, 06 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

From space, it looks almost elegant: a narrow plume cascading off the Pacific Ocean, spilling gently...

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 05:10:54 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Every month, 1.8 billion people menstruate globally. For those people, managing periods is essential...

Wed, 04 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Speaking to Short Wave from about 250 miles above the Earth, Josh Cassada outlined his typical day a...

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 05:15:42 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Time is woven into our personal memories. If you recall a childhood fall from a bike, your brain rep...

Mon, 02 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

To ring in the new year, producer Berly McCoy brings host Emily Kwong this homemade science mad lib!...

Fri, 30 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

From misty eyeballs to full-on waterworks, what are tears? Why do we shed them? And what makes human...

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 05:15:47 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In 1967, Jocelyn Bell Burnell made a discovery that revolutionized astronomy. She detected the radio...

Wed, 28 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Being small has its advantages - and some limitations. One organism that intimately knows the pros a...

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 05:15:31 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Mamadou Ndiaye uses comedy to teach animal facts, but there's nothing funny about these deadly ones....

Mon, 26 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Host Emily Kwong and editor Gisele Grayson exchange the gift of facts - in this quick hello from us ...

Fri, 23 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Kwasi Wrensford describes the subjects of his research as "elfin": skittish little squirrel-cousins ...

Thu, 22 Dec 2022 05:15:44 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This week, the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) wrapped up in Montreal, Canada. Nations from arou...

Wed, 21 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Psychedelic drugs – like LSD, salvia, ayahuasca, Ibogaine, MDMA (AKA ecstasy), or psilocybin (AKA ...

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 05:10:53 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Math is a complex, beautiful language that can help people understand the world. And sometimes math ...

Mon, 19 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Dietary supplements — the vitamins, herbs and botanicals that you'll find in most grocery stores —...

Fri, 16 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Brazil's president-elect, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is renewing calls to protect the Amazon and rei...

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 05:10:54 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

On Dec. 5 at 1 o'clock in the morning local time, researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab...

Wed, 14 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Gene editing was a new idea in the mid-1970s. So when Harvard and MIT planned new research in recomb...

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:10:42 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

TFW when you're so excited you get those butterflies in your stomach - or maybe when you see somethi...

Mon, 12 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For many, recycling feels like a tangible way to personally combat climate change and to positively ...

Fri, 09 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

If an asteroid were hurling through space, making a beeline straight to Earth, how would humans prev...

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 05:10:22 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The human body is made up of more than 30 trillion cells, but how do they all work together? It's al...

Wed, 07 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Just after Thanksgiving, for the first time in almost 40 years, Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano erupted. ...

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 05:15:40 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When lightning strikes a giant tree in the tropical rainforest, there's usually no fire, no blackene...

Mon, 05 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It's easy to overlook the soil beneath our feet, or to think of it as just dirt to be cleaned up. Bu...

Fri, 02 Dec

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Julia Ruth's job takes a lot of strength, a lot of balance, and a surprising amount of physics. She'...

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 05:15:23 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

An exhibit that blended science and technology for an immersive art experience went on display in Wa...

Wed, 30 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

New York's Bellevue Hospital is the oldest public hospital in the country, serving patients from all...

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 05:10:27 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Arts therapies appear to ease a host of brain disorders from Parkinson's to PTSD. But these treatmen...

Mon, 28 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Pull out your art supplies because it's time to get crafty—with agar! We're beginning Arts Week at...

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 05:10:22 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Emily and Aaron wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, and explain how you can help the show. Hint: It's giv...

Wed, 23 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The climate meeting known as COP27 has wrapped. Representatives from almost 200 countries attended t...

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 05:10:02 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The idea came to Uma Valeti while he was working on regrowing human tissue to help heart attack pati...

Mon, 21 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the mornings, Sonia Vallabh and Eric Minikel's first job is to get their two garrulous kids awake...

Fri, 18 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The first time Sonia Vallabh understood something was very wrong with her mother Kamni was on the ph...

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 05:10:26 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Prions are biological anomalies – self-replicating, not-alive little particles that can misfold in...

Wed, 16 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Climate negotiations continue at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Tens of thousands of attendees fro...

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 05:15:17 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today, we pass the mic to our colleagues at All Things Considered to share the first piece in their ...

Mon, 14 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A pivotal week in Corey Gray's life began with a powwow in Alberta and culminated with a piece of hi...

Fri, 11 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

If Earth heats up beyond 1.5 degrees, the impacts don't get just slightly worse--scientists warn tha...

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 05:10:43 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Researchers are launching a make-or-break study to test the conventional wisdom about what causes Al...

Wed, 09 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Last month, Short Wave explored the evolutionary purpose of laughter. Now, we're talking tears. From...

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 05:10:07 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Regina G. Barber talks with Dr. Rosalyn LaPier about ethnobotany--what it is and how traditional pla...

Mon, 07 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

World leaders have gathered in Egypt this week to begin climate talks at the 27th Conference of the ...

Fri, 04 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, a book about the evolution of non-human ...

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 04:10:38 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Correspondent Allison Aubrey talks to host Emily Kwong about the pros and cons of adopting permanent...

Wed, 02 Nov

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Katie Wu is a cat person. She has two of them: twin boys named Calvin and Hobbes. But up until grad ...

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 04:10:44 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Pacific lamprey have lived on Earth for about 450 million years. When humans came along, a deep rela...

Mon, 31 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Halloween calls to mind graveyards and the walking dead, so, naturally, Short Wave wanted to know wh...

Fri, 28 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The common box turtle is found just about anywhere in the continental United States east of Colorado...

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 04:10:42 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When Steve Gosser heard the song of a scarlet tanager in the woods, he knew to look for a bright-red...

Wed, 26 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The civil war in Ethiopia is destroying the medical system in the northern Tigray region, which serv...

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 04:10:19 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Botanist and founder of #BlackBotanistsWeek Tanisha Williams explains why some leaves change color d...

Mon, 24 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Plants living underwater can't count on pollinating insects to get it on. The prevailing theory has ...

Fri, 21 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The world of brain research had two incredible developments last week. Researchers have taught a dis...

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 04:10:31 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The natural world is filled with treats ... and tricks. Today, Internet zoologist and TikTok star Ma...

Wed, 19 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Contraceptive research has historically prioritized women because they bear the burden of pregnancy ...

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 04:10:01 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Ever read those Choose Your Own Adventure books of the 80s and 90s? As a kid, Dr. Pamela Harris was ...

Mon, 17 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Perimenopause, the period of transition to menopause, is still a largely misunderstood chapter of re...

Fri, 14 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Short Wave hosts Aaron Scott and Emily Kwong quiz All Things Considered hosts Mary Louise Kelly and ...

Thu, 13 Oct 2022 04:15:13 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Laughter: We do it spontaneously, we do it forcefully, we do it with each other and by ourselves. Bu...

Wed, 12 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Of course we have to have cake for Short Wave's third birthday! Sugar-ologist and biochemist Adriana...

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 04:10:34 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The California condor used to soar across the western skies of North America, but by the 1980s, the ...

Fri, 07 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Since the first successful in vitro fertilization pregnancy and live birth in 1978, nearly half a mi...

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 04:10:43 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Scorpions: They're found pretty much everywhere, and new species are being identified all the time. ...

Wed, 05 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

ALS is a disease that destroys the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord we need for voluntary mo...

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 04:10:32 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When a disaster like Hurricane Ian destroys a house, the clock starts ticking. It gets harder for si...

Mon, 03 Oct

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

On August 18, 2015, in Sitka, Alaska, a slope above a subdivision of homes under construction gave w...

Fri, 30 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The last several decades have taken a toll on the oceans: Some fish populations are collapsing, plas...

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 04:10:04 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When's the last time you thought about your bladder? We're going there today! In this Short Wave epi...

Wed, 28 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

What's in a grassland? There are all sorts of wildflowers, many insects, animals like prairie dogs, ...

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 04:10:48 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It's easy to take city parks for granted, or to think of them as separate from nature and from the E...

Mon, 26 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In movies, asteroids careening towards Earth are confronted by determined humans with nuclear weapon...

Fri, 23 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Dinosaurs ruled the earth for many millions of years, but only after a mass extinction took out most...

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:10:05 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the final episode of Short Wave's Summer Road Trip series exploring the science happening in nati...

Wed, 21 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The water advice is everywhere - how much to drink (8 cups a day - really?), what to drink, when to ...

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 04:10:05 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Nearly a decade ago, Karen Douthitt and her sisters June Ward and Susie Gilliam set out to learn why...

Mon, 19 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Last week, Lauren Sommer talked with Short Wave about the dangerous combination of heat and humidity...

Fri, 16 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The world has been warily watching the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine. The nuclear complex is...

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 04:10:01 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Heat—it's common in summer in much of the world, but it's getting increasingly more lethal as clim...

Wed, 14 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A century ago, astronomers were locked in a debate about the scope of our universe. Were we it? The ...

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 04:10:26 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Updated COVID boosters are now available that target the Omicron subvariant and many Americans 12 an...

Mon, 12 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Why do some songs can stick with us for a long time, even when other memories start to fade? Science...

Fri, 09 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Big Bend National Park in Texas is home to the only remaining Guadalupe fescue in the United States....

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:10:50 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Julia Ruth has a pretty cool job: it takes a lot of strength, a lot of balance, and a surprising amo...

Wed, 07 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Scientists in the UK have discovered that if they take a pot meant for catching crabs and just add s...

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 04:15:41 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Some of the world's best artificial waves are happening hundreds of miles from the ocean—in Waco, ...

Mon, 05 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

We're taking the day off for the Labor Day holiday! We hope you're also able to get some rest. We'll...

Fri, 02 Sep

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the toxic waters of Sulphur Cave in Steamboat Springs, Colo. lives blood-red worm blobs that have...

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 04:10:47 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It may seem obvious now that other galaxies lie beyond the Milky Way, but less than 100 years ago, s...

Wed, 31 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Do worms feel pain? How do otters experience the world? What are those pink appendages on the face o...

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 04:10:48 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

NASA's Artemis Moon mission was supposed to launch Monday. But it was delayed due to a problem one o...

Mon, 29 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

People experiencing a mental health crisis have a new way to reach out for help in the U.S. — call...

Fri, 26 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In a crater at the top of a dormant volcano lies a place so quiet, the ambient sound is right near t...

Thu, 25 Aug 2022 04:10:58 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Humans haven't set foot on the moon in 50 years, but NASA hopes to take one step closer with the lau...

Wed, 24 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Plunge into the ocean off the west coast of Ireland...and then keep plunging, down to where there's ...

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 11:41:01 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Sweating can be unpleasant, but consider the alternatives: You could roll around in mud. You could s...

Mon, 22 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Grab your towels and flip flops, because we're heading to the beach. Whether you love playing in the...

Fri, 19 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Volcanoes are "talking" to us all the time. Scientists say the sooner we learn to interpret their no...

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 04:15:07 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Demand for coal in Europe is rising as Russia's invasion of Ukraine threatens the country's vast nat...

Wed, 17 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

On a trip to Hawaii, Short Wave host Emily Kwong encountered manta rays for the first time. The expe...

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 04:10:55 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The perfect cup of joe might be a matter of taste, but knowing the science behind the coffee-making ...

Mon, 15 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In 1967 Jocelyn Bell Burnell made a discovery that revolutionized the field of astronomy. She detect...

Fri, 12 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Short Wave is going outside every Friday this summer! In this second episode of our series on the Na...

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 04:15:44 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When Moderna and Pfizer first came out with their mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, supply was limited to ...

Wed, 10 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Ahead of the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, we're re-airing our first episode with Scientist in ...

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 04:10:33 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The White House officially declared monkeypox a public health emergency in the United States last we...

Mon, 08 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Math is a complex, beautiful language that can help us understand the world. And sometimes ... math ...

Fri, 05 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Buckle up! Short Wave is going on a road trip every Friday this summer. In this first episode of our...

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 04:10:50 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

New abortion bans have made some doctors hesitant to provide care for pregnancy complications. That'...

Wed, 03 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It's been over 150 years since the first article was published about the molecular key to life as we...

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 04:10:35 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Under a 1971 Congressional Act, the Bureau of Land Management has the right to round up wild horses ...

Mon, 01 Aug

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Not much is known about why people experience tastes differently and why some people can detect cert...

Fri, 29 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today, we talk about spicy food and its intersection with pleasure and pain as part of our "Taste Bu...

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 04:15:07 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Our ancestors evolved the ability to taste the sweet goodness of foods like pastries and creamy choc...

Wed, 27 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today, we're getting salty as we continue our series "Taste Buddies" — Short Wave's ode to taste b...

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 04:15:01 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

We're continuing our celebration of taste with another episode in our "Taste Buddies" series. Today:...

Mon, 25 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This week Short Wave is celebrating our sense of taste with an entire week of themed episodes, cover...

Fri, 22 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Food and Drug Administration allows faster drug approvals based on preliminary study data if the...

Thu, 21 Jul 2022 04:10:52 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The war in Ukraine is devastating that nation's rich, natural environment - from chemical leaks pois...

Wed, 20 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Host Emily Kwong wants to keep an eye on her carbon footprint. Most of it consists of greenhouse gas...

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 04:10:50 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the 18th century the world was focused on Venus. Expeditions were launched in pursuit of exact me...

Mon, 18 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As a kid, Clarice Phelps dreamed of being an astronaut, or maybe an explorer like the characters on ...

Fri, 15 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Earlier this week we got a look at one of the highest-profile scientific photo dumps of all time. Th...

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 04:10:33 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This week NASA released some of the sharpest images of space ever from the James Webb Space Telescop...

Wed, 13 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For centuries, mysterious blocks of beeswax and Chinese porcelain have washed up on the Oregon coast...

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 04:10:30 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

BA.5 is now the dominant SARS-CoV-2 subvariant in the United States. It's driving up COVID cases and...

Mon, 11 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Directing Duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, (collectively: Daniels) are known for their first fe...

Fri, 08 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

We're wrapping up Tiny Critter Week with a reprise of one of our favorite episodes — nudibranchs. ...

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 04:10:23 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Honey bees know a lot about honey, and humans are starting to catch up. Scientists are now looking a...

Wed, 06 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

If you're not so fond of spiders, you may find kindred spirits in other spiders! Researcher Daniela ...

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 04:10:33 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Being small has its advantages ... and some limitations. One organism that intimately knows the pros...

Mon, 04 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Hey, Short Wavers!We're off today, but wanted to give you a sneak peek into this week's episodes. To...

Fri, 01 Jul

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

... Could a monkey host this podcast?Aaron Scott and Resident Neuroscience Nerd Jon Hamilton discuss...

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 04:10:39 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Caribbean is home to gorgeous beaches, mangroves and ... the biggest bacteria known to humankind...

Wed, 29 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A majority of people say they have experienced extreme weather in the last five years, according to ...

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 04:10:23 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Historically, the California condor soared across the western skies of North America. But by the 198...

Mon, 27 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday. We're revisiting an episode that may give us ins...

Fri, 24 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Pull out your art supplies because it's time to get crafty--with agar! At the intersection of biolog...

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 04:15:49 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Move over, T-Rex. There are new, (mostly) more accurate dinosaurs to squeal over in 'Jurassic World:...

Wed, 22 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A Massachusetts elementary school welcomes "Huntah," the COVID-sniffing dog. Scientist-in-residence ...

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 04:10:14 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Do you ever feel better after walking down a street that's lined with lush, green trees? You're not ...

Mon, 20 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Hi Short Wavers, The team is off today in continued commemoration of Juneteenth, a holiday honoring ...

Fri, 17 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Cylita Guy was a curious child who enjoyed exploring the beaches, parks and animals that shared her ...

Thu, 16 Jun 2022 04:10:38 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Uvalde school shooting has renewed questions of how to prevent the next shooting. For many who'v...

Wed, 15 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For decades, U.S. astronauts and Russian cosmonauts have lived side-by-side aboard the International...

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 04:15:58 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Political polarization is affecting Americans' health, according to a new study. Researchers find hi...

Mon, 13 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

What's the most versatile pan in the kitchen? According to chef and cookbook author J. Kenji López-...

Fri, 10 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Sex can be a nerve-racking experience no matter what. That's especially true if you have no clue wha...

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 04:15:28 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As a kid, Ariana Remmel had a hard time figuring out where they fit in. They found comfort in the ce...

Wed, 08 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Medical transition-related treatments like hormone replacement therapy are associated with overwhelm...

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 04:15:01 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Kyne is the stage name of Kyne Santos, a math communicator and a drag queen. The former Canada's Dra...

Mon, 06 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Tam O'Shaughnessy and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, met as kids in the early 1960s ...

Fri, 03 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today, we're passing the mic to our friends at It's Been A Minute. Recently, they dug into how the a...

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 04:10:18 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

How do you make the perfect stir-fry chicken without drying it out? Today, we answer that question w...

Wed, 01 Jun

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Parkland, Fla. Buffalo, NY. Uvalde, Texas. Every mass shooting in the U.S. raises calls for better p...

Tue, 31 May 2022 04:15:46 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Recent rule changes have increased access to abortion pills through the mail, using telehealth servi...

Fri, 27 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The first all-black team of climbers reached the summit of Mount Everest last week, including the fi...

Thu, 26 May 2022 04:15:48 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Is your border collie a lethargic couch potato? Is your golden retriever bad with kids? Is your Germ...

Wed, 25 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Depending how the Supreme Court votes on a pending case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organizatio...

Tue, 24 May 2022 04:10:28 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Abortion access has been leading political news in recent weeks. But what happens when we look at ab...

Mon, 23 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Growing up, Jada Yuan didn't realize how famous her grandmother was in the world of physics. In this...

Fri, 20 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the 1950's, a particle physicist made a landmark discovery that changed what was known about how ...

Thu, 19 May 2022 04:15:14 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Love the bitter bite of dark chocolate, leafy greens or black licorice? Your genetics may be the rea...

Wed, 18 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Apps can be a great way to stay on top of your health. They let users keep track of things like exer...

Tue, 17 May 2022 04:10:07 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Any hour now, the U.S. is expected to officially mark one million lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemi...

Mon, 16 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today on Short Wave, researcher Fatima Aysha Hussain talks to host Emily Kwong about how microbes in...

Fri, 13 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

If the U.S. Supreme Court rules in line with the draft decision leaked in early May, the decision to...

Thu, 12 May 2022 04:15:35 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In 1992, diplomats and scientists at the United Nations negotiated the first-ever treaty intended to...

Wed, 11 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In 1992, diplomats and scientists at the United Nations negotiated the first-ever treaty intended to...

Tue, 10 May 2022 04:10:57 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Stephanie was usually careful about her health and regular vaccinations. But then she got into shari...

Mon, 09 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A leaked draft opinion in the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization has pl...

Fri, 06 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The world has come a long way since the COVID-19 pandemic began. There are now vaccines, at-home tes...

Thu, 05 May 2022 21:36:20 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In 1859, astronomer Richard Carrington was studying the Sun when he witnessed the most intense geoma...

Wed, 04 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Scientists have discovered the underpinnings of animal emotions. As NPR brain correspondent Jon Hami...

Tue, 03 May 2022 04:10:05 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Beavers have long been considered pests by landowners and government agencies. But now, many are st...

Mon, 02 May

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When Kasha Patel decided to try out stand-up comedy, she was told to joke about what she knew. For h...

Fri, 29 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Climbing enthusiast and producer Thomas Lu has long wondered what makes knots such a powerful tool. ...

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 04:15:43 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Probes to Uranus and to one of Jupiter's moons where conditions might support life; a better plan hi...

Wed, 27 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

COVID cases are up due to the Omicron sub-variants and masking is likely to remain optional as the c...

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 04:10:03 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Cryptocurrencies may exist only in the virtual world, but their impact on our natural resources is h...

Mon, 25 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As cryptocurrencies become increasingly popular, the environmental impact of the technology is gaini...

Fri, 22 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Dr. Jessica Hernandez's new book examines the role of displacement — Indigenous peoples like her f...

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 04:10:34 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The United States has a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Without serious changes to lifest...

Wed, 20 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the cannabis industry, the chemistry lab meets agriculture. A cannabis product called Delta-8 has...

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 04:10:05 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Salt has such a rich history that it was once (and is perhaps still) a sign of wealth. In this lates...

Mon, 18 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A recent study found that working surge after surge in the pandemic, a majority of American health c...

Fri, 15 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Climate change poses an existential threat to the ski industry. A warmer climate means less snow and...

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 04:10:23 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Ranalda Tsosie grew up in the Navajo Nation, close to a number of abandoned uranium mines. The urani...

Wed, 13 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv at least half a dozen hospitals have been damaged by Rus...

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 04:10:00 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today we share the mic with our colleagues at Planet Money to talk about one of our favorite aquatic...

Mon, 11 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

There's a lot for scientists to learn about the origins of humans' musical abilities. In the last fe...

Fri, 08 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

According to the World Health Organization, Ukraine has the fourth highest incidence of tuberculosis...

Thu, 07 Apr 2022 04:10:15 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A Japanese chemist identified umami in the early 1900s, but it took a century for his work to be tra...

Wed, 06 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today, we present an episode of NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money. It's...

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 04:15:52 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This week, U.S. Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisors will meet to discuss long-term COVID v...

Mon, 04 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For many of us, seeing stars in the night sky is challenging because of light pollution. But there a...

Fri, 01 Apr

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Octopuses! They are escape artists, they camouflage in all kinds of surroundings, and they are incr...

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 04:10:06 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Shall we play a game - of Wiffle ball? Invented in 1953, this lightweight alternative to a baseball ...

Wed, 30 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When a team of exoplanetary treasure hunters joined forces with professional astronomers, they disco...

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 04:10:41 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

This month, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill to make daylight saving time permanent. Now ...

Mon, 28 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The benefits of indoor air quality in schools are substantial, but American school buildings are old...

Fri, 25 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In addition to flying, landing, and returning from the moon in 1969 — NASA's Apollo 11 crew helped...

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 04:10:11 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A struggling Wyoming coal town may soon go nuclear with help from an unlikely partner, billionaire p...

Wed, 23 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Cute, wrinkly faces aside, bulldogs have myriad health problems. Science points to purebred breeding...

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 04:15:42 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The omicron outbreak has slowed dramatically in the U.S. But cases are rising in Britain due to an o...

Mon, 21 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed the state's Department of Family and Protective Services to ...

Fri, 18 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Arts therapies appear to ease a host of brain disorders from Parkinson's to PTSD. But these treatmen...

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 04:10:30 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

On December 31, 2021, The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Spotify posted an episode with an intervie...

Wed, 16 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Understanding how life survives in extreme Earth environments could point to ways life can survive o...

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 04:10:24 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Over the last 24 hours, some of us Short Wavers celebrated Pi Day the only way we know how: eating s...

Mon, 14 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Geneticist Janina Jeff is back on the show to talk with host Emily Kwong about season 2 of her podca...

Fri, 11 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Growing up, Jada Yuan didn't realize how famous her grandmother was in the world of physics. In this...

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 05:10:26 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the 1950's, a particle physicist made a landmark discovery that changed what we thought we knew a...

Wed, 09 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Pucker up, duderinos! Short Wave's kicking off a series on taste we're calling, "Taste Buddies." In ...

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 05:15:32 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Over the last few years, we've all found different ways to cope with the pandemic. Some people start...

Mon, 07 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For over a decade, Dr. Thomas Insel headed the National Institute of Mental Health and directed bill...

Fri, 04 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In 2021, Short Wave host Emily Kwong ran her first marathon. In collaboration with our colleagues a...

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 05:10:12 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just released the second of thre...

Wed, 02 Mar

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

What bird has a ten-foot wingspan and breeds almost exclusively on a single island in the Pacific Oc...

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 12:46:51 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

NPR science correspondent Lauren Sommer joins Short Wave host Emily Kwong to talk about a team of re...

Mon, 28 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Scientists are piecing together what led up to a massive volcanic eruption in Tonga last month. NPR ...

Fri, 25 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

One of the video games that Short Wave's Scientist in Residence has been playing a lot in the pandem...

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 05:15:36 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The pandemic is at a turning point. Hospitalizations in this country are down. Deaths are starting t...

Wed, 23 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Everyone sees the world differently. Exactly which colors you see and which of your eyes is doing mo...

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 05:10:54 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A few years ago, ecologist Elizabeth Clare had an idea--what if she could study rare or endangered a...

Fri, 18 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Raychelle Burks is a forensic chemist and an associate professor at American University. She's also ...

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 09:51:53 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As a kid, Jasmin Graham was endlessly curious about the ocean. That eventually led her to a career i...

Wed, 16 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

You're likely familiar with touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing - but there are actually more th...

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 05:15:36 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

When Abra Lee became the landscape manager at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, she ...

Mon, 14 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Humans have scalp hair. But why is human scalp hair so varied? Biological anthropologist Tina Lasisi...

Fri, 11 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Deep below our city streets lie intricate networks of underground piping built to carry away excess ...

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 05:15:31 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Kyne is the stage name of Kyne Santos, a drag queen math communicator. The former Canada's Drag Race...

Wed, 09 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

For Black History Month, Short Wave is celebrating Black voices in STEM - bringing back some of our...

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 05:15:14 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

At Short Wave, it's an unspoken goal to ask and answer every question under the sun — after all, s...

Mon, 07 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Triple axel, double lutz, toe loops, salchows — it's time to fall in love again with the sport of ...

Fri, 04 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In 2015, the National Institutes of Health ended invasive biomedical research on its hundreds of chi...

Thu, 03 Feb 2022 12:09:07 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Cylita Guy was a curious child who enjoyed exploring the beaches, parks and animals that shared her ...

Wed, 02 Feb

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is deciding whether a Baltimore case against more than a dozen o...

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 05:10:23 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

As COVID-19 cases in the U.S. drop, the hospitalization rate remains high — as does the death rate...

Mon, 31 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Today we're bringing you an episode from our friends at NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. They review th...

Fri, 28 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The Omicron surge may have peaked in the U.S., but parts of the world are seeing crippling levels of...

Thu, 27 Jan 2022 05:30:02 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

A few years back, a radio telescope in Australia picked up a radio signal that seemed to be coming f...

Wed, 26 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

In the 1960s, the Bureau of Reclamation built a dam that flooded a celebrated canyon on the Utah-Ari...

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 05:30:27 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Many experts warn there will be more infections on the downslope of the omicron surge, but the U.S. ...

Mon, 24 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Parkinson's disease is a brain disorder that leads to difficulty with walking, balance and coordinat...

Fri, 21 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The James Webb Space Telescope's mirrors are almost in place and soon it'll be a million miles away ...

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 05:30:46 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The U.S. government has launched a website where people can request up to four free coronavirus test...

Wed, 19 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Sixty percent of electricity in the U.S. comes from fossil fuels, like natural gas and coal. Today o...

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 05:30:21 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Health apps can be a great way to stay on top of your health. They let users keep track of things li...

Fri, 14 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Pablo Escobar had a private zoo at his estate in Colombia, with zebras, giraffes, flamingoes - and f...

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 05:15:14 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

It's likely the last week has been rough if you're either going to school or in a family with kids t...

Wed, 12 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Wingspan is a board game that brings the world of ornithology into the living room. The game comes w...

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 05:30:58 +0000

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

The U.S. is experiencing a viral blizzard which will likely continue through January, 2022. The omic...

Mon, 10 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Electric cars can help reduce greenhouse gases and companies are taking note — racing to become th...

Fri, 07 Jan

Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset

Service dogs have long helped veterans with physical disabilities. While there have been stories abo...