On Today's Podcast
As Companies Build Data Centers For AI, Communities Push Back
A boom in construction of AI data centers is facing backlash over soaring electricity and water usage, and the resulting utility hikes.
Listen NowDecember 5, 2025
A boom in construction of AI data centers is facing backlash over soaring electricity and water usage, and the resulting utility hikes. Plus, to save spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest, one plan suggests killing thousands of barred owls. And, geologist Anjana Khatwa explains how embracing wonder and awe adds to our scientific understanding of the rocks that form our planet.
10:54
Could an ‘Ocean’ of Water Be Trapped Within the Earth?
Rocks deep within the earth’s mantle could sequester water for billions of years and release small amounts to the surface.
23:23
Families Geek Out! Try These DIY Experiments at Home
“Bill Nye the Science Guy” writer Lynn Brunelle and “Dad’s Book of Awesome Science Experiments” author Mike Adamick share fun science experiments parents and kids can do at home.
A New Era of Medicine, Centered on Smartphones
An excerpt from “The Patient Will See You Now.”
This Insect’s Got Gears
The cogs allow the planthopper nymph to synchronize movement of its hind legs.
Science Friday Home Science Highlights of 2014
Our best home experiments and maker projects from 2014.
The Best of Science Friday, 2014 (Picked by Our Staff)
SciFri staff members recommend their favorite stories from the past year.
40:50
2014 Science Year in Review
From the Ebola outbreak to the Rosetta mission to a comet, a look at the biggest science stories of the year.
5:55
Birdie in Flight
The aerodynamics of the badminton birdie, along with a complex chain of movements executed by players, enables it to reach 200 mph.
23:12
John McPhee Assembles California
In this 1993 interview from the Science Friday archives, writer John McPhee talks plate tectonics and global geology.
23:43
SciFri Live: Science Movie Quiz
You may know science, but how well do you know movie science?
Birdie In Flight: The Science of Badminton
The key to the badminton’s speed is the unique aerodynamic shape of the birdie and the kinetic movements by players.
The Fight Against Blight: Restoring the American Chestnut
Researchers have developed a blight-resistant species that’s nearly identical to the American chestnut tree.
Christmas Tree Combustion
A home holiday experiment that explores combustion using festive fuels such as fir, pine, spruce, and cedar.
11:54
Does Mars Have What It Takes to Support Life?
NASA’s Curiosity rover finds evidence of methane and organics on the Red Planet.
23:12
Scientists Speak Out About Attacks on Science
Bioengineer John Dabiri and conservation biologist Terrie Williams, two targets of Senator Tom Coburn’s 2014 “Wastebook” look beyond the caricatures painted by politicians and pundits to tell the story of their research.
9:21
Weighing In on the ‘Good Carb, Bad Carb’ Debate
Curbing “high glycemic” carbs may not benefit healthy eaters.
7:09
Under The Influence Of Beer Foam
A team of fluid mechanics researchers at Princeton University dive into the anti-sloshing physics of foam.
7:20
Moving Ice May Mean More Melting for Greenland
By 2060, Greenland’s seasonal “supraglacial” lakes will double in number and move farther inland.
22:09
Science Goes To The Movies: ‘The Imitation Game’
SciFri’s scientist-film critics weigh in on the Alan Turing biopic.