Episodes

We explore the robots of the past and how they might be designed in the future. Plus a look at the problems with living in a political bubble, and a few solutions from the world of social psychology.

A look at how racism affects mental health. Plus, exploring the future of augmented reality, and finding scientific nuggets in the new Ghostbusters movie.

As the climate warms, how will heat waves affect human health? Plus, exploring the possibilities of space archaeology.

A look at traumatic brain injuries in the military, and their possible connection to PTSD. Plus, new windows into the origins of some of our planetary neighbors.

An entomologist explains why he’s spent decades ranking the pain of insect stings, many of which were self-induced. And we revisit the future of electric vehicles and alternative fuels—as predicted in 1992.

A look at the political and financial roadblocks preventing scientists from answering basic questions about guns. And one expert’s forecast for a revolution in human reproductive technology.

How do you snap a picture of a black hole? Easy: with a telescope the size of the Earth. Plus, meet a professional Google “Doodler.”

Doctors are reviving ideas from the pre-antibiotic age to fight drug-resistant bacteria. And a look at how bumblebees know where to buzz.

A provocative new study suggests Alzheimer’s could be the toxic side-effect of infection. And our listeners predict the future of online news—in a flashback to 1994.

What do the fundamentals of physics reveal about the human experience? Plus, lessons from the fraught history of human genetics.