On Today's Podcast
What was life like for Tyranossaurus rex?
T. rex may be the most famous prehistoric predator, but their life wasn’t always bone-snapping chomps and food chain scaremongering.
Listen NowOctober 23, 2026
CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna discusses the evolution of gene-editing technology and what it takes to be a good scientist. Timekeepers around the world voted to stop using leap seconds, but what does that mean for us? Plus, how "problem bears" help test engineers evaluate consumer products, author Kazuo Ishiguro on emotional truth in our age of AI, and the science of apple varieties.
9:47
Is Climate Change the Plight of the Bumblebee?
Climate change has caused bumblebee habitats in North America to retreat by as much as 190 miles in some areas.
6:51
Lollipops Meet Lasers in This Lab
Science documentary producer Emily Driscoll stopped by a Willy Wonka-like math lab to see what lollipops can teach us about fluid dynamics.
12:02
Forget-Me-Not: How Prions Maintain Memory
Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel discusses the role of prions in maintaining long-term memories.
28:04
The Ultimate Geek Road Trip
“The Geek Atlas” author John Graham-Cumming helps us plot the ultimate geek road trip, with sites spanning the history of science, technology, and mathematics.
5:14
Astronomers Play Hide-and-Seek with Supermassive Black Holes
Researchers estimate that there are millions of supermassive black holes hidden in the universe.
Track A Plant’s Movement
Are your plants moving without you knowing it? Catch your plant’s secret movements, called tropisms, in this hands-on activity.
The Antenna That Detected the Big Bang
An excerpt from “The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive.”
Mexico’s Singular Salamander
This critically endangered salamander reaches sexual maturity without undergoing metamorphosis.
Take the Science Friday Lollipop Challenge!
Test out how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop, and report back.
The Lollipop Hypothesis
Mathematicians studying fluid dynamics designed experiments to watch how lollipops dissolve.
Beyond the Pie Chart
Information designer David McCandless uses beautiful, complex graphics to illuminate science, leaving the lowly pie chart in the dust.
12:23
These Brains Changed Neuroscience
In “The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons,” science writer Sam Kean explains how the field of neuroscience emerged from stories of brains gone awry.
35:35
Does Math Matter?
In this live interview from the Aspen Ideas Festival, Ira asks mathematicians and educators if there’s a better way to learn math.
29:01
Can Marijuana Help or Hurt Adolescent Health?
A roundtable of scientists discuss ongoing research on the effects and potential applications of marijuana for adolescents in the United States.
11:46
Bringing Nature Back to Man-Made Spaces
The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, which was once a chemical weapons manufacturing site, is now one of the nation’s largest urban wildlife sanctuaries.
4:54
Why Do Cyclists Break the Rules?
A survey of 18,000 cyclists seeks to understand why some are more likely to follow traffic rules than others.
This Glass Orb Keeps An Eye On The Sun
This antique technology, called a Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder, helps researchers maintain North America’s longest-running weather record.
12:16
Autonomous Trucks, Overgrown Goldfish, and an Edible Scientific Feud
Rachel Feltman of “The Washington Post” joins us for a roundup of her top science stories of the week.
5:05
A 40,000-Year-Old Jawbone Reveals Neanderthal Ancestry
Scientists find evidence of a modern human with a recent Neanderthal ancestor in Romania.