On Today's Podcast
Fingernails And Indigestion At The 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes
The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate unusual scientific research—this year including lizard pizza preferences and fingernail growth.
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.
6:56
SpaceX Car Launch And A Hot Getaway By Bombardier Beetles
SpaceX successfully launched the Heavy Falcon rocket with two of the three boosters safely landing back onto the launch pad.
5:01
The Earth’s Ozone Woes Haven’t Gone Away Yet
While the ozone layer above the poles is on the mend, the health of the layer in middle latitudes is less clear.
12:16
Chocolate: Brought To You By Bugs
A menagerie of insects thrive among cacao trees—and that biodiversity might help boost yields.
7:54
Putting The Immune System To Work Against Cancer
A new immune-boosting injection treatment that produces quick results with few side-effects in mice shows promise for human trials.
9:06
The Genetic Mystery Of The Invasive Crayfish Clones
As the marbled crayfish spreads throughout waters in Europe, scientists sequence the genome of the all-female species to try to understand how they reproduce clonally.
16:46
Venomous Or Poisonous—Can You Spot The Difference?
Poisonous and venomous creatures are often misclassified. But it turns out, there’s a big difference between the two.
34:35
Farewell, ‘Frankenstein’
The Science Friday Book Club nerds out about ‘Frankenstein’ one last time.
Get In The Love-y, Dove-y, Science-y Valentines Spirit
Share these punny science valentines with the special scientist in your life.
The Real Scientific Revolution Behind ‘Frankenstein’
Mary Shelley’s classic novel was written in a world where the dead twitched.
What You Said: How Does ‘Frankenstein’ Fit Into Your Modern Life?
Mary Shelley’s novel turns 200 this year, but its lessons are far from old.
Science Friday In Hawai’i
On July 6th and 7th, enjoy First Take With Science Friday, live from the Aloha State!
How Do Infections Spread In Plants?
Students model the interaction of biotic and abiotic factors in a plant disease system, then use their data to inform recommendations to farmers to limit disease transmission.
6:55
Running Out Of Time—And Water—In Cape Town
Plus, California’s coffee lawsuit, a satellite lost and found, and an orca whale says “hello.”
4:45
Looking Beyond Honeybees
We need domestic bees. But what happens to wild bees when they share a space?
10:46
‘Please Call Me Back. It’s About “Frankenstein.”’
The Science Friday Book Club receives a call for help. Plus, how Frankenstein is still relevant to today’s high school students.
12:11
Unearthing The Last Days of Dinosaurs In Africa
The fossil remains of a titanosaur found in Egypt provides clues to the evolution of dinosaurs in Africa.
17:38
From Strava to Facebook to Venmo, You May Be Leaking Data
Your online activities may be showing the world more than you think about your personal life.
7:02
Huntington’s Disease Makes Its Mark Early On
New research shows that decades before outward signs of the neurological illness show, Huntington’s disease will affect the development of an embryo.
9:41
The Naked Mole Rat Defies The Laws Of Aging
These rodents not only live for thirty years or more, but “age” could be meaningless to them.
24:16
How China Is Reinventing Its Energy Economy
China’s thirst for energy is rising. But to save its cities from suffocating pollution, leaders are looking to carbon-free energy sources and electric vehicles.