On Today's Podcast
Is that garbage can bear resistant? These bears will find out
In the name of safety, test engineers turn pill bottles over to kids, launch dead chickens through jet engines, and let bears loose on coolers.
Listen NowOctober 16, 2026
A free-floating seaweed called sargassum is exploding in the Atlantic Ocean, clogging up coastlines from West Africa to the Caribbean. Attachment styles have taken off as a way to understand relationships. But does the science behind it line up with popular interpretations? Plus, the latest on commercial space stations, a mission to bring a sample from a Martian moon, and space-based weapons.
9:13
To Build A Wheel That Lasts, Test On Mars
A visit to the playground where Mars rovers are put through their paces.
7:59
The Anatomy Of A Splash
One researcher peers deep inside sneezes…coughs…and flushing toilets to answer questions about disease transmission.
12:02
Giant Viruses Beefed Up On Host Genomes
Giant viruses evolved from smaller viruses that picked up genes from other organisms according to a new study.
9:43
Hoping For A Breakthrough In SETI
The Breakthrough Listen project is devoting millions of dollars to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
16:54
Controlling The Lyme Disease Epidemic
As incidents of Lyme Disease soar, scientists look for answers.
7:37
Searching For E.T. In An Electronic Dead Zone
In a radio silent region, the Green Bank Telescope listens to the stars.
A Vision Of A New (Soggier) New York
The #SciFriBookClub sits down with Kim Stanley Robinson
On The Hunt For Desert Bees
We followed the biologists searching for an oil-eating bee in the California desert.
Five Ways to Think About Infinity
Infinity is weird. All the more reason to explore it, says mathematician Eugenia Cheng.
7:36
Climate Change Policy, Hormone Cycle on a Chip, and Titan’s Electric Dust
New executive orders from the Trump White House turn back elements of the Obama administration’s climate change policies.
4:40
Tweaking the Dinosaur Family Tree
New research could shift the classifications that describe relationships between groups of dinosaurs.
21:05
What-If Scenarios, Played Out Through Physics
What would happen if you stuck your hand in a particle accelerator or jumped off of the Space Station?
12:43
Searching for Signs of Life in Asteroid Impacts
Geologist Peter Schultz uses a high-velocity gun to test his hypothesis that asteroid impacts could preserve signs of ancient life.
12:02
Falling Into New Ideas
A versatile young engineer takes us behind the scenes of what it’s like to turn sundry ideas into reality.
17:06
Engineering a Better Bionic Arm
Technology like 3D printing is expanding what prosthetic limbs can do, and who can wear them.
17:37
A Life Robotic
If humans someday colonize the moon and Mars, robotic prospectors and miners will be among the first to arrive, manufacturing fuel, water, and other essentials.
Reinventing The Wheel (For Mars)
Design and test different wheels on a basic rubber band-powered vehicle, with the goal of improving stability, traction, durability, and load-bearing ability.
What Would Happen If You Slipped on a Banana Peel?
Cartoons aren’t kidding about the slipperiness of banana peels.
Seeing The Forest For The Tea
A scientist explores the tasty benefits of diversifying crops.
Breakthrough: Connecting The Drops
Lydia Bourouiba studies how bacteria and viruses hitch a ride inside the droplets of sneezes, raindrops, toilet splatter.