February 21, 2025
The CEO of one of America’s oldest scientific societies discusses the recent cuts to scientific institutions, and how scientists can respond. Plus, flu infections are the highest they’ve been in nearly 30 years, and flu deaths this winter have surpassed COVID deaths. And, a video of a gloriously creepy anglerfish inspired tears and poetry online.
What It’s Like To Be A Science Teacher In A Pandemic
STEM educators across the country share their strategies, challenges, and experiences teaching during the COVID crisis.
12:02
Google Is In Legal Trouble
The tech giant faces a lawsuit from the U.S. Justice Department, and early COVID data from New York City public schools are encouraging.
17:03
Why COVID Dreams Are Weirder Than Normal
A dream researcher has been collecting dreams since the pandemic began. Here’s what she’s learned.
12:10
Can Trauma Today Affect Future Children?
Researchers are studying whether severe stress can have an epigenetic effect, altering how genes are turned on and off in an organism’s offspring.
17:29
Even In A Pandemic, Science Class Is In Session
The return to school hasn’t been easy, but STEM educators are finding creative ways to teach science to kids—online and in-person.
17:08
Making Peace With The End Of Your Species
The SciFri Book Club reads about a planet where the aliens wear human faces. Plus, what it means to be ‘sentient’ in science fiction.
17:24
Should We Stop Paying Attention To Election Forecasts?
We’ve been trying to predict the outcomes of elections for a long time, and that might be a problem.
The Legend Of Death Walking
In this excerpt of the short story ‘The Shadow We Cast Through Time,’ a mysterious entity on a far-off planet transforms human colonists into demonic creatures.
Read People’s Strange (And Similar) Pandemic Dreams
Dream researcher Dierdre Barrett has been collecting COVID dreams since March. Find out about the surprisingly common themes in dreams during the pandemic.
How This Astronomer Discovered A New Type Of Galaxy
Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil talks how she got into astronomy and the path that led her to getting a new type of galaxy named after her.
Breakthrough: The Lake Sentinel
Discover how earth scientist Africa Flores-Anderson uses satellite data to help underserved communities.
How Do You Solve A Problem Named Hydrox?
Before Oreo, there was a nearly identical cookie on the market. A much-loved cookie with a terrible name.
12:07
Months Into The Pandemic, Illness Lingers For Some Declared Virus-Free
Sophie Bushwick talks “Long COVID,” reinfection, and how to stay safe from the virus when going to the polls.
16:58
The Monster At The Heart Of The Milky Way
Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Andrea Ghez on her decades of peering at the center of our galaxy—and the supermassive black hole she found there.
17:03
The Marvelous Microbiome Of Shipwrecks
Off North Carolina’s coast, a World War II wreck is teaming with microbial life.
12:07
Across The Country, A Spike In Coronavirus Cases
From Wyoming to Wisconsin, COVID-19 cases are on the rise.
17:07
Science Friday Book Club: Conjuring An Alternate History Of Colonization
This week, SciFri Book Club discusses Alberto Yáñez’s short story ‘Burn the Ships,’ and how a story about the past can still be science fiction.
17:05
Blockchain And Big Tech In China’s Countryside
Big tech companies in China are revitalizing rural areas with blockchain chicken farms and e-commerce villages.
They Burned All Their Ships
In Alberto Yanez’s short story ‘Burn the Ships,’ the Aztec people of Mexico reanimate the dead to fight their conquerors.
11:51
What Is The Status Of President Trump’s COVID-19 Case?
Reporter Umair Irfan discusses the experimental treatments President Trump received and who else in the White House may have been infected.