Science Friday

Watching a loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia slowly lose their cognitive abilities can be heartbreaking. While the person you once knew seems to be slipping away, sometimes people with Alzheimer's briefly seem like their old selves again. They may remember a long-forgotten name or suddenly regain the ability to have a fluid conversation. What do these moments of lucidity really mean for the progression of the disease? And what implications do they have for those living with the disease, and their caretakers? Alzheimer's researcher Andrea Gilmore-Bykovskyi talks to Ira about these questions and more. Guest: Dr. Andrea Gilmore-Bykovskyi is an associate professor of emergency medicine, and co-director of the Lucidity in Alzheimer's and Dementia (LEAD) Network at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Winter in Colorado looked very different this year. Many parts of the state experienced record-high temperatures and record-low snowpack, which had downstream effects on farming, sports, tourism, and more. For those economies and livelihoods that rely on snow, what happens when snow becomes unreliable? And can we prepare for it? Producer Kathleen Davis speaks with Halle Zander, news director at Aspen Public Radio, about how this is playing out in Aspen. Then, environmental historian Mike Childers talks us through how Colorado's economies may need to adjust. Guests: Halle Zander is the news director at Aspen Public Radio. Dr. Mike Childers is an associate professor of environmental history at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Transcript will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The earth is facing a biodiversity crisis, and there's a lot of attention on species that are threatened, or at risk of dying out completely. But, there's another critter category that's a little more mysterious: species that are “lost to science.” This means scientists aren't quite sure how many of them there are out there—or if there are any left at all. Producer Kathleen Davis talks to biologist Matt Forister, who is so dedicated to finding more information about these lost species that he created a whole scientific journal about them. Plus, 28 of the 178 firefly species in the United States and Canada are currently lost to science, according to the community science project Firefly Atlas. We're joined by firefly researcher Candace Fallon, who is working to confirm which firefly butts are still blinking and which have burnt out. Want to help find fireflies near you? Find out how to participate in the Firefly Atlas. Guests: Dr. Matt Foristor is a professor of biology at the University of Nevada-Reno and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Lost Species. Candace Fallon is a senior endangered species conservation biologist at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

President Trump has signed an executive order calling for a change to the childhood vaccination schedule. Specifically, he wants to separate the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella, into three separate shots. There's no scientific research to indicate that these changes would be beneficial, and the order has sparked backlash from medical associations and drug manufacturers.  Meanwhile, over 2,400 people have contracted measles in the United States so far this year, topping the total number of cases for 2025 in just seven months. And with vaccination rates declining, there's a lot of conversation about what's driving vaccine hesitancy and how to combat misinformation.   Elisabeth Marnik has lived in both worlds: She wasn't vaccinated as a kid because her parents were concerned that vaccines could do harm. In high school, she fell in love with science. She went to college, got vaccinated, and then earned a PhD in immunology. She joins Flora to talk about what people misunderstand vaccine hesitancy, and how she approaches science communication in today's messy information ecosystem. Guest: Dr. Elisabeth Marnik is an immunologist and the executive director of The Evidence Collective. Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In a lab in the Rocky Mountains, a group of scientists is hard at work trying to find answers across biology, physics, and engineering: They're looking into things like the hydrodynamics of insect pee and the physics of sheepdog herding, and working to designing robots that resemble squid and hearing aids that only cost a dollar. These endeavors may seem unrelated, but they're glued together by bioengineer Saad Bhamla's philosophy of science driven by curiosity, and how to make the most of the lab's time. He joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about what led him to this approach. Guest: Dr. Saad Bhamla is an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.   Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Human childbirth is often difficult and incredibly painful—just ask anyone who's been through it. And for a long time, childbirth seemed to be uniquely difficult for humans. But a new study suggests that we aren't alone: Some small primates birth offspring whose heads are nearly twice the size of the mother's pelvic area.   So how do those primates go through difficult childbirths? Why didn't evolution make ours any easier? And what can this tell us about humankind? Flora explores these questions and more with anthropologist Lia Betti. Guest: Dr. Lia Betti is an associate professor of anthropology at University College London in the UK. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, was the first Native person to hold a cabinet position. Now she's running to be governor of New Mexico.  Haaland joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about her new memoir, “A Voice Like Mine,” her time at the Interior Department, and why she thinks lawsuits are a good thing when it comes to the environment.  Read an excerpt from “A Voice Like Mine.” Guest: Deb Haaland served as Secretary of the Interior under President Biden. She is a member of Laguna Pueblo tribe and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Keeping your butt in a seat for hours a day increases the risk of heart attacks, diabetes, psychiatric conditions, and more. But in our tech-filled world, many of us lead sedentary lives, whether because of school, work, or leisure. Researchers set up an experiment to see how much movement would make a difference for people who spend their days at a desk—and 23,000 people signed up. Joining Flora to tell us what they found is tech journalist Manoush Zomorodi, author of “Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being.” Read an excerpt of “Body Electric.” Guest:  Manoush Zomorodi is host of NPR's TED Radio Hour and author of “Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being.” Other episodes you may enjoy: 8.5 Hours Of Daily Sitting Linked To Higher BMI And Cholesterol How Is Screen Time Affecting My Kid? The transcript for this episode is available at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Masao Tomonaga was only 2 years old when the United States bombed his home city of Nagasaki. He survived, and grew up to become a physician for other survivors, known as hibakusha. He also studied hematology, and his research on leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes was foundational for understanding how radiation affects the body.  In August 2025, the 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he spoke with Host Ira Flatow about his life's work, how hibakusha lived with the medical consequences of the bombs, and his message to the world. Guest:  Dr. Masao Tomonaga is a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and director emeritus of the Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital. Other episodes you may enjoy: House Stalls On Bill To Compensate Victims Of Nuclear Testing Revisiting The Nuclear Age With ‘Oppenheimer' The transcript for this episode is available at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Imagine you wanted to get a general idea of what people are eating in a given community. You could look at grocery store sales, or do surveys, but neither can capture a complete picture.  Microbiome researcher Lawrence David and his lab look to another source of data: genetic material in sewage water. It turns out that detectable DNA signatures of individual plant and animal species remain behind even after they've been eaten, digested, excreted, and flushed down the toilet. He joins Host Flora Lichtman to describe his “Edible Atlas” project, the backend limitations of sewage analysis, and where the research might go.  Guest:  Dr. Lawrence David is an associate professor of molecular genetics and microbiology in the Center for Genomics and Computational Biology. He runs the Edible Atlas project at Duke University. Other episodes you may enjoy: You Share Your Gut Microbiome With Your Friends Dirty Diapers Reveal How Germy Babies' Microbiomes Are The transcript for this episode is available at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see." There's something about space that captures the imagination of scientists and artists alike. Just ask astrophysicist Derek Ward-Thompson and astronomer Brian May (yes, THAT Brian May, guitarist of Queen). In their book "Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D," they turn flat images of the galaxies to three dimensional spacescapes that leap off the page. In March, Host Flora Lichtman spoke with Ward-Thompson and May about the enchanting nature of space and the collision of art and astronomy. And yes, they get into the music. Guests:  Dr. Brian May is an astronomer and the guitarist of Queen. Dr. Derek Ward-Thompson is an astrophysicist at the University of Lancashire in England. Other episodes you may enjoy: Investigating ‘Flow State' With The Bassist From Phish New Telescope Captures The Cosmos In Groundbreaking Detail The transcript for this episode is available at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In nature, enzymes are the catalysts that make much of biology work. They jumpstart chemical reactions that either wouldn't happen, or would happen super slowly. They break down food, build other molecules, extract energy, and more. What if we could harness evolution to engineer designer enzymes that do other specific jobs that benefit us?  Putting that idea into practice changed the game for chemistry, and earned Frances Arnold the Nobel Prize prize in 2018. She called it “directed evolution.” Today, thousands of labs use her methods to coax enzymes into doing things no one ever thought of. She joined Host Flora Lichtman in March 2026 to talk about where she sees this approach going in the future, and the personal evolution that brought her into science. Guest:  Dr. Frances Arnold is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. Other episodes you may enjoy: Enzymes Are Taking On Our Plastic Problem Even Nobel Prize Winners Deal With Imposter Syndrome The transcript for this episode is available at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brain cancers are rare, but devastating. Patients face short life expectancies after diagnosis. Brain tumors are often impossible to remove completely. And radiation and chemotherapy don't always stop them from spreading.  It's a daunting class of disease to study, but that didn't dissuade Michelle Monje from trying. She has spent two decades studying how brain tumors form and interact with healthy brain cells, and pioneered the field of cancer neuroscience.  Guest: Dr. Michelle Monje is a professor of pediatric neuro-oncology at Stanford Medicine.  Other episodes you may enjoy: Promising new treatments for pancreatic cancer and ALS The new frontier of cancer research is in space Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Astronaut food is not known as a frontier of culinary imagination, unless you count rehydrated shrimp cocktail. As NASA prepares for longer trips to the moon and Mars, is space cuisine ready for an overhaul?  Flora speaks with retired astronaut Clayton Anderson, who spent 167 days in space, and chef David Skinner, who has advised NASA on how to make food for astronauts better.  Guests: Clayton Anderson spent 15 years as a NASA astronaut, with stints on the International Space Station in 2007 and 2010. He's currently based in Nebraska. David Skinner is the executive chef and owner of Eculent and Ishtia, two Houston restaurants. He's advised NASA on how to make food for astronauts better. Other episodes you may enjoy: Mission Orbital Eats: Engineer Foods For Extreme Environments Making A Meal Fit For An Astronaut Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At one point this year, the 50 hottest cities on the planet were all in one country: India. The average peak temperature in those cities was 112 F. India is one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world, and weather disasters, such as heat waves, have become more extreme and more common in recent years.  So how is this extreme heat affecting people in India? And what needs to change to keep people safe? Flora speaks with Gulrez Azhar, a physician and researcher who has spent much of his career studying the health impacts of heat waves in India.   Guest: Dr. Gulrez Azhar is a physician and researcher studying the health impacts of heat waves in India.  Other episodes you may enjoy: The Alarming Impacts Of Extreme Heat Extreme Heat Is Making Learning—And Teaching—More Difficult Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

About 130 days a year, a research vessel leaves Miami and sets out to catch, measure, sample, tag, and release sharks in Florida's coastal waters. Over the course of a year, they'll encounter about 600 animals in a process called “fisheries independent monitoring,” an effort to gather data on sea creatures that isn't skewed by changes in fishing procedures, equipment, or regulations.  Marine conservation biologist Catherine Macdonald leads the lab behind that effort. She joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about shark conservation, share stories from her research, and spread shark joy.  Guest: Dr. Catherine Macdonald is a marine conservation biologist and director of the Shark Research and Conservation Program, part of the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami. Other episodes you may enjoy: What Greenland Sharks Are Teaching Us About Aging Eyes Fishing For—And Saving—Sharks off the Jersey Shore Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

During the early Cold War era, the United States Army and later the NSA began recruiting and training codebreakers and intelligence officers to decipher intercepted Soviet messages. Among those recruits were a group of highly skilled Black women who were employed as cryptologists to decode these messages. But their role in Cold War intelligence operations has been largely overlooked, until now. Host Flora Lichtman talks with historian Sarah Valentine about her book, “Decoding the Devil: Black Women Codebreakers and the Secret War Against Stalin's Bomb.” Read an excerpt of “Decoding the Devil.” Guest: Dr. Sarah Valentine is the author of “Decoding the Devil: Black Women Codebreakers and the Secret War Against Stalin's Bomb.” Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The tropical waters of Sri Lanka, an island off the coast of India, are home to a population of blue whales unlike any other. These whales stay put, while every other known population migrates. That discovery was made by budding scientist Asha de Vos more than 20 years ago—it made a splash, and so did she. She later became the first Sri Lankan to earn a PhD studying marine mammals, charting a new scientific path in her country. De Vos joined Host Flora Lichtman in 2025 to discuss her path into science, what it means to be the first in her field, and how she built a marine biology program from the ground up. Guest: Dr. Asha de Vos is a marine biologist and the founder and executive director of the non-profit Oceanswell. She's based in Sri Lanka. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the last couple months, Vermont, Alabama, and Oklahoma have passed data privacy laws. Massachusetts is negotiating its own version. Meanwhile, congressional lawmakers have introduced national privacy bills that would preempt these state laws. In light of all this legislation, we're revisiting an interview from February about how the United States' data ecosystem makes it possible for any number of government agencies and businesses to buy our private data, from facial scans to health records to location tracking. Host Flora Lichtman talks with law professor and tech policy expert Laura Moy, who has testified in Congress about privacy laws and how data brokers profit off of personal data. Guest: Laura Moy is an associate professor of law at Georgetown Law, based in Washington, D.C. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 2020, Andrea Ghez shared the Nobel Prize for her observations of a supermassive compact object at the center of the Milky Way galaxy—an object that has all the hallmarks of a supermassive black hole. Ghez had developed techniques that allowed her to peer through galactic dust clouds with the Keck telescopes and observe the movements of stars orbiting the galactic center. Measuring their velocity and orbits provided information about the galactic core. She joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about this game-changing discovery, what we've learned about the galactic center, and her own orbit in science.  Guest: Dr. Andrea Ghez is a Nobel Laureate in Physics (2020) and a professor of physics & astronomy at UCLA. Other episodes you may enjoy: The Monster At The Heart Of The Milky Way A Mysterious Gas Is Discovered In The Milky Way Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Back in May, a paper published in Nature Sustainability reignited a decades-old debate about coastal Louisiana: Should people leave? Climate researchers wrote that due to rising sea levels, coastal Louisiana has crossed the point of no return and that governments should be making plans now for places like New Orleans to relocate. Jessica Dandridge-Smith, who runs The Water Collaborative in New Orleans, speaks with Flora about why this paper sparked such a strong reaction, and how she thinks about the possibility of relocation. Then, we chat with climate scientist A.R. Siders about how we can plan for the future while taking care of our communities in the present. Guests: Jessica Dandridge-Smith is the executive director of The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans. Dr. A.R. Siders is an associate professor at the University of Delaware studying climate adaptations.  Other episodes you may enjoy: In Louisiana, A Chance To Study A Successful, Growing Wetland Save The Wetlands, Save The World Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pompeii is known for its disastrous end with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but for archeologists, what came before is just as interesting. Researchers are using artifacts left behind in the remarkably well-preserved Roman city to piece together what life was like for the thousands of people who lived there 2,000 years ago.  A new book and television show analyze some of these clues to tell the stories of the ordinary people who faced this extraordinary event. Flora speaks with archaeobotanist Jess Venner, author of “The Lost Voices of Pompeii,” and actor Tom Hiddleston, host of National Geographic's “Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston.” Read an excerpt from “The Lost Voices of Pompeii: Life and Death on Pompeii's Final Day” Watch the interview on YouTube. Guests: Dr. Jess Venner is an archaeobotanist at the University of Oxford and author of “The Lost Voices of Pompeii.” Tom Hiddleston is an actor and producer, and host of National Geographic's “Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston.” Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

An outbreak of the foodborne illness cyclosporiasis has sent thousands of people running to the bathroom this summer. Health officials have linked the outbreak to lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in five states, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Food safety expert Byron Chaves joins Flora to talk about the “explosive” nature of the illness and why pinpointing a source of the parasite has been so difficult. Guest: Dr. Byron Chaves is an associate extension specialist and professor in the Department of Food Science at Rutgers University in New Jersey.  Other episodes you may enjoy: How does a tick bite cause a red meat allergy? Use of herbicide linked to Parkinson's is on the rise in the US Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled for an early launch at the end of August. It will rest about a million miles from Earth at Lagrange point 2, where forces of gravity and motion balance out, allowing it to orbit the sun in sync with the Earth. The Roman Telescope is designed to collect masses of data that could inform questions about dark energy, dark matter, and exoplanets. Jackie Townsend, project manager for the mission, joins Host Flora Lichtman to discuss the telescope's backstory, and what scientists hope it will do. Then, turning from deep space to deep oceans, Anthony Tarantino of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution joins Flora to describe the recent maintenance and recertification process for the famous Alvin deep-sea submersible. It's more than an oil change: The process involves disassembling the vehicle down to the bare frame.  Guests: Jackie Townsend is project manager for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope mission. She's based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.  Anthony Tarantino is program manager for the Alvin Group at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Other episodes you may enjoy: Mars Rover, Move Over: Making A Rover To Explore The Deep Sea Listening for the cosmic ‘dark ages,' from the lunar far side Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For two decades, a perplexing illness has been spreading: After a lone-star tick bite, people find themselves with a severe allergic reaction to red meat. The CDC estimates up to 450,000 people in the U.S. may be affected with alpha-gal syndrome, up from just a few dozen documented cases in 2009. New research finds that in some states, more than 30% of people are positive for alpha-gal antibodies—but not all of them have the syndrome. Flora speaks with allergist Scott Commins, who has studied alpha-gal syndrome for nearly 20 years, to unpack this finding and next frontiers for treatment. Guest: Dr. Scott Commins is the William J. Yount Distinguished Professor of Medicine and associate chief for allergy and immunology at the UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Other episodes you may enjoy: Instead Of A Vaccine For Lyme, How About A Vaccine For Ticks? Why Don't We Have A Vaccine For Lyme Disease? Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

One of the most irresistible questions in sci-fi stories about aliens is what our reaction will be when we learn of their existence. Horror? Bewilderment? Relief? Euphoria? It's a scenario we love to imagine again and again, like in Steven Spielberg's recent movie, “Disclosure Day.” But how would humanity react if we learned of intelligent aliens? Can you actually study that? It turns out there's a whole lab inside SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, that is thinking about what the public response might be and how to prepare for it. Host Ira Flatow sits down with astronomer Lucian Walkowicz and philosopher-ethicist Chelsea Haramia, co-directors SETI's Discovery and Futures Lab, to talk about the research that's been done to answer these questions. Guests: Dr. Lucian Walkowicz is an astronomer and science advisory board member at SETI. Dr. Chelsea Haramia is a senior research fellow at the University of Bonn in Germany, and a philosopher-ethicist at SETI. Other episodes you may enjoy: How Close Are We To Answers About Aliens? The Human Obsession With Aliens Goes Way, Way Back Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dino Martins has plucked maggots out of a dead elephant, pulled botflies out of camel snot, and willingly let a horsefly feast on him. Why? Because he's obsessed with parasites. Dino is an entomologist who grew up in rural Kenya, and he's worked all over the world studying how insects keep this planet alive. And along the way, he met some of the world's most iconic freeloaders, which he describes in his new book, “Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites.” Flora speaks with Dino about his unlikely journey into science, the beauty and disgust of parasites, and why these little moochers deserve more of our care. Read an excerpt from “Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites.” Guest: Dr. Dino Martins is an entomologist and evolutionary biologist based in Malindi, Kenya.  Other episodes you may enjoy: Tiny wasps emerge from a caterpillar, and reveal a hidden world Should We Conserve Parasites? Some Scientists Say Yes Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In March, China became the first country to approve an invasive brain-computer interface beyond clinical trials. The implant, called NEO, is now available to some patients with limb paralysis due to a spinal cord injury. Ira talks with Wired staff writer Emily Mullin about the significance of this milestone. Plus, brain implants aren't the only development: China's entire biotech industry has skyrocketed in recent years. A decade ago, about 8% of new drug molecules were discovered in China. Now it's over 40%. And more clinical trials are now being conducted there than in the U.S. or Europe. Ira talks with health policy researcher So-Yeon Kang, who's been following the Chinese pharma industry's meteoric rise. Guests: Emily Mullin is a staff writer at Wired.  Dr. So-Yeon Kang is an Assistant Professor of Health Management and Policy at Georgetown University.  Other episodes you may enjoy: Advances In Brain-Computer Interfaces For People With Paralysis How China Is Driving Down Electricity Costs With Renewables Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when the skies are no longer dark at night? Writer Craig Childs biked from the brightest night sky, to the darkest, to find out what we lose when the lights don't go out. He joins Host Ira Flatow to talk about his book “The Wild Dark,” our SciFri Book Club pick for July and August. Plus, astronomer John Barentine fills us in on DarkSky International's latest report, “Artificial Light at Night: State of the Science 2026.” Read an excerpt from “The Wild Dark: Finding the Night Sky in the Age of Light.”  Guests: Craig Childs is the author of “The Wild Dark: Finding the Night Sky in the Age of Light.”  Dr. John Barentine is an astronomer and principal consultant at Dark Sky Consulting, LLC Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has become the third-largest on record. And while the regional response is more robust than it was during the largest outbreak, in 2014-2016, the U.S. has now largely divested from global health initiatives under President Trump. So it raises the question: What role should the U.S. play in global health? And how do we build systems that protect our collective health even as political winds change? Flora speaks with John Nkengasong, virologist and founder of the Africa CDC, about Ebola, what it took to curb HIV/AIDS, and how to make global health initiatives more resilient. Dr. Jessica Bartley is senior director of psychological services for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Guest:  Dr. John Nkengasong has led public health initiatives in the United States and across Africa for over 30 years. He is also the executive director for higher education, collaboratives, and special initiatives at the Mastercard Foundation. Other episodes you may enjoy: A virus hunter in Nigeria has thoughts on the Ebola outbreak Inside the Nebraska quarantine facility responding to hantavirus Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gut feelings, trusting your gut, butterflies: We have lots of expressions about how our brains and our bowels are intertwined. But how well do we understand the science of this on the biomolecular level? And which of those organs is actually in the driver's seat?  Flora churned through the details with gastroneurologists Emeran Mayer and Trischa Pasricha on stage at the 2026 Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado.  Guests: Dr. Emeran Mayer is distinguished research professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and executive director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience. Dr. Trisha Pasricha is a neurogastroenterologist and physician-scientist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center as well as an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Other episodes you may enjoy: How to poop better, according to a gastroenterologist The Gurgling, Growling History Of The Gut A transcript for this episode is available at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The band Phish has toured for over 40 years. One of the draws of their legendary live shows—which can go on for 8 hours—is finding moments of “flow,” when the band members lock into an improvised jam, finding new musical ideas in real time. Phish fans live for these transcendent moments, but so do the musicians—to the point that Mike Gordon, the band's bass player, is funding scientific research to better understand flow state. In November 2025, Host Flora Lichtman sat down with Mike and his research collaborator, neuroscientist Greg Appelbaum, to unpack their research so far and how it's helping to inform other neuroscience. Guests: Mike Gordon is bassist and co-founder of the seminal improvisational rock band Phish.  Dr. Greg Appelbaum is a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego.  A transcript for this episode is available at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Americans pay roughly three times as much for prescription meds as people in other wealthy nations. But why? Tahir Amin argues it's largely to do with how our patent systems work. He's been on both sides of the issue: He spent a decade as an intellectual property lawyer, helping corporations use patents to protect their bottom lines. Then he moved to India and saw firsthand how the global patent system hampered access to HIV drugs. That led him to shift gears and create an advocacy organization aimed at changing the patent system to make access to medicines more equitable. He chats with Flora about how it all works, and his new book, “Pharma Monopoly.” Read an excerpt from “Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines.” Guest: Tahir Amin is a co-author of “Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines” and a founder and CEO of Initiatives for Medicine Access and Knowledge (I-MAK).  Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you hear “colonial America” and “science,” one name probably comes to mind: Benjamin Franklin. But he wasn't the only one thinking big thoughts and asking big questions. Many other natural philosophers were also looking at the world in new ways, and trying to make sense of how it worked.   In honor of the nation's 250th birthday, Host Ira Flatow traveled to Boston, the birthplace of the American Revolution, for a conversation with historian Robert Allison about scientific thought in early America. Guest: Dr. Robert Allison is a professor of history at Suffolk University, chair of Revolution 250, and president of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts.  Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Researchers have engineered an artificial cell out of chemicals and biomolecules that, at a basic level, can eat, grow, duplicate its own genetic code, and reproduce itself. The cell, dubbed SpudCell, is aimed at creating a chassis that can be adapted to create biological factories for the chemicals humans rely on for modern life, from fuels to pharmaceuticals. But it also raises the question of what it means for something to be “alive.”  Synthetic biologist Kate Adamala joins Host Ira Flatow to talk about the technological advance, the possibilities for the artificial cell, and a nonprofit organization she hopes will allow the SpudCell to spark an innovation in biotechnology. Guest: Dr. Kate Adamala is a synthetic biologist and an associate professor of  genetics, cell biology, and development at the University of Minnesota. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Imagine this: You're an astronaut, you've landed on the moon, and as you're taking one small step for mankind, you kick up a bunch of lunar dirt. Now, tiny, jagged particles of dust are on your spacesuit, sticking to the spacecraft, getting in the machinery, and into your lungs. These are the kinds of problems planetary geologist Erica Jawin is trying to solve as NASA prepares for future moon bases. And what will you eat as an astronaut on the moon? Turns out that lunar dirt, or regolith, can be used to grow potatoes and other crops, just like Matt Damon did in “The Martian.” Flora talks to space biologist David Handy to learn more.  Guests: Dr. Erica Jawin is a planetary geologist at the National Air and Space Museum and a participating scientist on NASA's Artemis science team. Dr. David Handy is a space biologist studying how to grow potatoes in moon dirt at Oregon State University. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Around 25 years ago, Ardem Patapoutian set out to investigate the fundamental biology behind our sense of touch. Through a long process of gene elimination, he identified a class of sensors in the cell membrane that turn physical pressure into an electrical signal. He changed the game in the field of sensation and perception, and in 2021 shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work.  He joined Host Flora Lichtman in November 2025 to talk about his research, the odd jobs he worked along the way, and how he found a sense of belonging in science. Guests: Dr. Ardem Patapoutian is a professor and the Presidential Endowed Chair in Neurobiology at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, deep in the mountains of the Yukon, a ground squirrel pooped. That scat stayed frozen for millenia—until very recently, when researchers thawed it out and realized it was a literal data dump. They found traces of a surprising number of animals and plants, providing a detailed snapshot of life during the last ice age. Flora talks with biomolecular archaeologist Tyler Murchie about the gold mine that is ancient squirrel poop. And, if you liked our poop jokes, you'll want to hear how two different types of laughter are processed in the brain. Think big belly laughs versus polite chuckles in conversation. Ira chats with neuroscientist Sophie Scott about how these laughs originate and why we need them both. Guests: Dr. Tyler Murchie is a biomolecular archaeologist at the Hakai Institute in British Columbia and McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Sophie Scott is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London in England.  Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pancreatic cancer is among the most deadly forms of cancer, and it can be difficult to catch early. But there's some good news: Clinical trials of a new drug called daraxonrasib found that it doubled the survival time of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. And some oncologists are calling it a game changer—not just for pancreatic cancer, but potentially other forms of cancer too. Ira talks with oncologist Zev Wainberg, who led a clinical trial for the drug.  Plus, ALS is a degenerative disease that causes patients to lose their ability to walk, swallow and eventually to breathe. Now, there's a drug for a rare genetic form of ALS that can slow the progression or even reverse some of these symptoms. Ira talks with New York Times health and science reporter Pam Belluck about this new treatment. Guests: Dr. Zev Wainberg is a co-director of UCLA Health's GI Oncology Program. Pam Belluck is a health and science reporter for The New York Times. Other episodes you may enjoy: mRNA Vaccine For Pancreatic Cancer Continues To Show Promise How do clinical trials work, and who can participate? Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On a hot summer day, there's nothing better than a dip in a cold pool. But you know who can ruin that for you? A scientist who studies pool chemistry. What chemical reactions are happening in that swimming pool when the water comes into contact with our bodily fluids and skin products? Environmental engineer Ernest Blatchley sits down with Flora Lichtman to discuss his findings after two decades of research, including how urine in a pool makes that chlorine smell, and his work to make the air of the Paris Olympics' indoor pools less toxic. Guest: Dr. Ernest Blatchley is a professor of environmental engineering at Purdue University, based in West Lafayette, Indiana. Other episodes you may enjoy: A ‘Dune'-Inspired Space Suit To Turn Astronaut Pee Into Water The Evolution Of An Enzyme Engineer Who Changed Chemistry Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has proposed rule changes that would bring a major shift in how scientific grants are awarded by U.S. government agencies. Under the current process, researchers submit grant proposals that are then vetted and scored by a committee of experts in that scientific field, with top-scoring proposals recommended for funding. If its proposed changes are enacted, the OMB would insert a political review into the process, allowing administration officials to determine whether grant proposals are aligned with administration priorities, regardless of their scientific merit. Those proposed rules are now in a public comment period. Holden Thorp, editor in chief of the Science family of journals, joins Ira to explain why he called the change “another red alert for American science” in a recent editorial. Guest: Dr. Holden Thorp is editor in chief of the Science family of journals, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Other episodes you may enjoy: A Science Historian Tackles Ghostwriting In Scientific PapersWhat Do mRNA Funding Cuts Mean For Future US Research? Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you have arachnophobia, consider this your opportunity to try exposure therapy: A new study suggests that 415 million years ago, in modern-day England and Wales, a scorpion the length of a golden retriever was scurrying around, complete with 6-inch pincers. Flora talks with lead study author Richie Howard about the finding. If you're grossed out by a 3-foot scorpion, you're not alone. But, scorpion researcher Lauren Esposito says we've got it all wrong—scorpions are wonderful and caring creatures. Guests: Dr. Richie Howard is an invertebrate paleontologist and curator of fossil arthropods at the Natural History Museum in London, England. Dr. Lauren Esposito is a scorpion researcher and director of the non-profit Islands and Seas and founder of 500 Queer Scientists. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The FDA recently approved a sunscreen ingredient called bemotrizinol, or BEMT, that's been used in Europe and Asia for years. This is the first new sunscreen ingredient approved in the United States in over two decades. Meanwhile, skin cancer has become the most common cancer in the U.S.  Flora discusses the chemistry of sunblock with a sunscreen chemist AJ Addae, and the regulatory process that led to this approval with health journalist Michael Scaturro.  Guests: Michael Scaturro is a health journalist based in New York City.  AJ Addae is a chemistry PhD student at UCLA and founder of SULA Labs. Other episodes you may enjoy:  Understanding Sunscreen Ingredients And Which Ones You Need Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you watch sports, whether the recent NBA finals or the ongoing World Cup matches, you may have noticed that the athletes aren't the only ones putting on a show. The announcers seem to be playing a beautiful game of their own, capturing the excitement and play-by-play of the game in a unique blend of sentence structure, elocution, and pitch. Linguists have even given this speech pattern a name: sports announcer talk. Sociolinguist and dialectologist Valerie Fridland joins Host Flora Lichtman to break down the patterns and rules of this register. Guest: Dr. Valerie Fridland is a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada, Reno, and author of “Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents.” Other episodes you may enjoy: The Art And Science Of Trash Talk What The Sigma Is Algospeak? Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There is a murderous crime spree happening right under—and perhaps inside—our noses. Killer microbes armed with weapons are eviscerating, assassinating, and detonating their fellow microbes. And the newest culprit? A protist that morphs into a cannibilastic supergiant when times get tough.  Host Flora Lichtman talks with Glen D'Souza and Ben Larson, two detectives who study these micro-murders. They chat about why microbes kill, how they choose their victims, and whether we can harness those weapons for good.  Guests: Dr. Glen D'Souza is a microbiologist and assistant professor at Arizona State University in Tempe.  Dr. Ben Larson is an assistant professor and cell biologist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.  Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Do you ever hear a song that transports you to a specific place and time? This auditory wormhole has a name: musical daydreams. Music cognition expert Elizabeth Margulis studies why they happen, and what they tell us about our brains. She joins Host Flora Lichtman to discuss this phenomenon. Guest: Dr. Elizabeth Margulis is a professor and director of Princeton's Music Cognition Lab. She's also the author of “Transported: The Everyday Magic of Musical Daydreams.” Other episodes you may enjoy: A Neurologist Investigates His Own Musical Hallucinations Oliver Sacks Searched The Brain For The Origins Of Music Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Researchers just published details of a massive undersea graveyard of whales deep in the Indian Ocean. Spanning about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles), it contains whale remains dating back more than 5 million years—and at least five active whale fall sites still teeming with life. Fossil whale expert Nick Pyenson joins Host Flora Lichtman to discuss these findings. Then, marine biologists Rachel Sipler and Sara Jobson join Ira Flatow to describe an unusual discovery in certain species of sea cucumbers: If a foot or tentacle becomes detached, the parts don't wither up and rot away. Even without a stomach, these parts appear to directly extract nutrients from the surrounding seawater. “Zombie” sea cucumber parts have been observed surviving for more than three years. Guests: Dr. Nick Pyenson is curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Dr. Rachel Sipler is a senior research scientist in the Bigelow Laboratory in East Boothbay, Maine. Sara Jobson a PhD student at the Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. Johns, Canada. Other episodes you may enjoy: Remembering Roger Payne, Who Helped Save The Whales Can A Microbe Conservation Movement Take Off? Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Big cats used to roam the entire United States. You might know them as mountain lions, pumas, cougars, or catamounts. Though they go by many names, they're actually all the same species.  Their current population is mostly confined to the West, and part of Florida, though in recent years they've been spotted in other areas east of the Mississippi River. Most cougars were gone from the Northeast by the 1800s, with the last verified accounts in the 1930s.  Mountain lion ecologist Mark Elbroch hopes to reintroduce these big cats back into their previous habitats in New England. But, should we? What are the benefits and drawbacks of reintroducing the apex predator into an ecosystem it's been away from for so long?  Guest: Dr. Mark Elbroch is the director of the puma program at Panthera, a big cat conservation organization.  Other episodes you may enjoy: Surveying wildlife along Lewis and Clark's route, 220 years later Are Raccoons On The Road To Domestication? Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When Blue Origin's New Glenn spacecraft exploded in an enormous fireball during a ground test a couple weeks ago, it sent shockwaves not only through the air, but through NASA's timeline for the upcoming Artemis missions. It also came at an especially bad time for Jeff Bezos' rocket company—just days after it was awarded a slew of NASA contracts to deliver equipment to the moon. Blue Origin had also been expected to play a major role in the upcoming Artemis III and IV missions, but that's now more up in the air depending on how soon the company can rebuild its only launchpad. And with NASA's Artemis III crew announcement this week, Guest Host Jane Lindholm sits down with space reporters Ken Chang and Brendan Byrne to break it all down and what's next for the space program. Guests: Ken Chang is a science reporter at the New York Times, where he covers NASA and the solar system. Brendan Byrne is a space reporter for Central Florida Public Media and host of the podcast “Are We There Yet.” Other episodes you may enjoy: Planning your photo ops for a trip around the moon The new frontier of cancer research is in space Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

‘Tis the season for porch beers and happy hours, and we're taking on listener questions about how alcohol affects us. Like, is a glass of wine at dinner really good for you? And why do sugary drinks give us hangovers? Joining Guest Host Jane Lindholm to answer these questions and more are brewer and chemist Tom Shellhammer and neuroscientist Jacqui Barker. Guests: Dr. Jacqui Barker is an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Physiology at Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Tom Shellhammer is a brewer and the Nor'Wester Professor of Fermentation Science at Oregon State University. Other episodes you may enjoy: What Causes Red Wine Headaches? It May Be Quercetin The Physics That Makes Swing-Top Bottles ‘Pop' Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The 2026 World Cup will be the largest one yet, and FIFA is trying to make it the most high-tech, too. The federation has partnered with tech giant Lenovo to launch Football AI Pro, which is designed to analyze over 2,000 different metrics and deliver real-time insights to coaches, players, and analysts. Guest Host Jane Lindholm chats with ESPN writer Ryan O'Hanlon about how AI analytics actually play out in soccer. Plus, how a team of researchers grew 16 stadiums' worth of FIFA-class turf. Turfgrass scientist Jackie Lyn Guevara breaks down the importance of perfectly uniform turf, how the turf was designed, and what she'll be looking out for during the matches. Guests:  Ryan O'Hanlon is a staff writer at ESPN and the author of “Net Gains: Inside the Beautiful Game's Analytics Revolution.” Dr. Jackie Lyn "Jack" Guevara is an assistant professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University. Other episodes you may enjoy: We're All Being Played By Metrics The Surprising Science Of Why Sneakers Squeak Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.