Koala Chlamydia, Pluto’s Moons, and Bad Science Search Results
11:37 minutes
In this week’s news roundup, Rachel Feltman of The Washington Post tells us about new Hubble observations that suggest Pluto’s moons are even weirder than we thought. Plus, the STD that’s sweeping through koala populations—and what to do about it.
Also, if you’re curious to learn about what happened to the dinosaurs, a quick Google search might turn up an unexpected explanation. The top result is from Answers in Genesis, which is “an apologetics ministry,” according to its website. Rather than a scientific answer to the query, the response offers the following: “Dinosaurs are used more than anything else to indoctrinate children and adults in the idea of millions of years of earth history.” Christina Warren, senior technology correspondent for Mashable, joins us to discuss the pluses and minuses of seeking scientific answers from search engines such as Google.
Segment Guests
Rachel Feltman
Rachel Feltman is a freelance science communicator who hosts “The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week” for Popular Science, where she served as Executive Editor until 2022. She’s also the host of Scientific American’s show “Science Quickly.” Her debut book Been There, Done That: A Rousing History of Sex is on sale now.
Christina Warren
Christina Warren is senior technology correspondent at Mashable in New York, New York.
Meet the Producers and Host
About Becky Fogel
@beckyfogelBecky Fogel is a newscast host and producer at Texas Standard, a daily news show broadcast by KUT in Austin, Texas. She was formerly Science Friday’s production assistant.
About Christopher Intagliata
@cintagliataChristopher Intagliata was Science Friday’s senior producer. He once served as a prop in an optical illusion and speaks passable Ira Flatowese.