On Today's Podcast
A Startling Plan To Save Spotted Owls—From Barred Owls
To save spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest, one plan suggests killing thousands of barred owls. Conservationists and activists are at odds.
Listen NowNovember 28, 2025
The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate unusual scientific research—this year including lizard pizza preferences and fingernail growth. Plus, in a conversation from August, exercise researchers discuss what physical activity does to mental health. And, in a story from February, a journalist explains the afterlife of our trash, and why most “recyclable” plastic actually isn’t.
15:40
The House That Snot Built
The giant larvacean, a marine invertebrate, uses mucus to filter its food—and it could play a huge role in moving carbon around the ocean.
17:31
The Solar Science That Happens During A Total Eclipse
The solar eclipse provides an opportunity for scientists to study the sun’s atmosphere and polar plumes.
In A Decimated World, Biotech Life Is Borne
In his new novel, Jeff VanderMeer imagines how humans must survive in a city ruined by biotechnology… and a gigantic, genetically engineered bear.
This Neuroscientist Loves The ‘Extremes’ In The Animal Kingdom
Enter Ken Catania’s lab: A curious space filled with fake zombie arms and star-nosed mole portraits.
7:41
A Climate March, The Architecture Of Bureaucracy, And The Tale Of A Hoff-Bot
An archaeological find near Oaxaca, Mexico hints at the rise of bureaucratic government in the Americas.
4:06
Fear Not, Worrywarts, There’s An Upside To Those Thoughts
How to use your worry, rather than letting it use you up.
8:34
Sculpting The Unending Bloom
Artist John Edmark uses the math of spiral geometry found in nature to create sculptures that endlessly bloom.
7:14
Bringing ‘Genius’ To Television
National Geographic airs a new series based on Albert Einstein’s biography.
12:14
The Star-Nosed Mole Takes Adaptation To The Extreme
What the creature’s eponymous nose can tell us about the human sensory system.
17:17
What Will It Take To Have Seamless Transportation?
The president has pledged to invest $1 trillion in infrastructure. Can it help Americans get where they need to go faster?
16:13
The Problem-Solver: A Portrait Of Physicist Richard Garwin
Physicist Richard Garwin has played a prominent role in fields ranging from nuclear weapons, personal computing technology, and science policy.
17:34
‘New World’ Could Be Way Older Than We Thought
A fossil find in California makes the case for human settlement of the Americas 130,000 years ago—more than 100,000 years earlier than previously believed. But not all anthropologists are convinced.
Creating The Never-Ending Bloom
Using meticulously crafted platforms, patterns, and layers, Edmark’s art explores the seemingly magical properties that are present in spiral geometries.
What It Was Like To March For Science
Scenes from the March for Science in Washington, D.C.
Why We March: Portraits Of The March For Science
From the bees to a better future, nerds and Nobel laureates alike give us their reasons why.
Science Advocacy
While science is under attack in the U.S., some advocates have come together to fight for funding and public awareness.
How Poorly Designed Studies Hurt ALS Patients
Author Richard Harris explains the sometimes hasty and inefficient scientific process that could be prolonging the search of a cure for ALS.
What Is The March For Science?
A conversation on Reddit has grown into over 500 satellite marches worldwide.
11:37
Feathers And Snarge: Identifying What’s Left After Birds And Planes Collide
There’s a CSI lab for birds that strike airplanes. The species that hits most often? Not the one you’d guess.