On Today's Podcast
Tracking The Toxic Fallout Of The LA Fires
Urban fires can release all kinds of chemicals. One year after fires hit Los Angeles, scientists are trying to understand the toxic fallout.
Listen NowJanuary 23, 2026
An epidemiology study finds that variations in one gene play a major role in determining the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Plus, X’s Grok AI is undressing users, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg with fake imagery online. What can we do about deepfakes? And, Louisiana communities continue collecting data on industrial pollution, despite a law restricting its use.
17:27
Is All Fair in Love and Cyber War?
With rumblings about possible U.S. retaliation for alleged Russian-backed hacks, we ask about the rules and norms that govern international cyber conflicts.
16:46
Introducing the Science Friday Educator Collaborative
Six inspiring science teachers have turned Science Friday media into innovative classroom resources.
12:10
Return of the Screwworm Is Bad News for Endangered Deer
A flesh-eating parasite, previously eradicated on U.S. soil, has decimated Florida’s Key deer. Can the screwworm be re-eradicated in time to save them?
11:37
Sorting Out the Numbers of Political Polls
What should you look for when reading a political poll?
5:23
‘It Was Totally Planet Nine’
Astronomer Konstantin Batygin returns with evidence that Niku’s orbit was influenced by Planet Nine.
Making An Entrance: The First Black Women At Langley Lab
In this excerpt from “Hidden Figures,” Margot Lee Shetterly describes the integration of Black female mathematicians at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory.
17:36
These Black Women Helped Send Us To The Moon
Remembering the African American women mathematicians and engineers whose calculations got us into space.
The Albedo Effect, Urban Heat Islands, and Cooling Down Your Playground
Explore the albedo effect by designing a school playground with lower surface temperature, then learn how soot from wildfires changes the albedo of the Greenland ice sheet.
Above the Ice, an Artist Goes Deep
Artist Justin Brice Guariglia will be collaborating with NASA in Greenland to explore how its icy landscape is changing.
7:44
Footprints in Time, a Stolen Gene, and a Mark on the Moon
Science writer Nadia Drake describes some of the week’s stories in science, including the discovery of more than 400 ancient footprints frozen in time in Tanzania.
4:11
A Carbon Contradiction
Reservoirs are both sources of renewable energy and one of the world’s biggest producers of greenhouse gases.
11:40
That’s Not What the Doctor Ordered
What happens when direct-to-consumer lab tests take physicians out of the equation?
17:26
Scientists Develop a Hornless Cow Through Gene Editing
Researchers used gene editing to develop a dairy cow that doesn’t grow horns.
17:10
Are Digital Assistants Smart Enough to Do Their Jobs?
As tech companies battle to develop the best digital assistant, we ask how they measure up, and why we so often fail to connect.
35:09
Science in the Crosshairs
How Congress, lawsuits, and other challenges are shaping scientific debate over climate science, fetal tissue research, and more.
What Your Lips Might Say About You
Researchers are studying what lip prints and other subtle physical traits might reveal about the etiology of cleft lip and palate.
Grabbing the Horns From the Bull
Alison Van Eenennaam and colleagues at UC Davis, along with researchers at the biotech company Recombinetics, aim to develop a genetically hornless cattle that might one day replace cows whose horns must be physical removed through expensive and painful methods.
7:15
A Limit to Lifespan, Genetic Preference for Flavors, and Hurricane Matthew’s Power
A new look at mortality suggests that even as average lifespan increases, there’s still a hard cap on how long we can live.
5:03
The Fairy Tale Of The Nobel Prize
The Nobels are supposed to honor the best of science, but the awards have their flaws.