On Today's Podcast
Don’t Let Their Name Fool You—Sea Slugs Are Awesome
Across their 10,000 species, sea slugs sport striking colors, external gills, and even the ability to regrow a body from a severed head.
Listen NowDecember 5, 2025
A boom in construction of AI data centers is facing backlash over soaring electricity and water usage, and the resulting utility hikes. Plus, to save spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest, one plan suggests killing thousands of barred owls. And, geologist Anjana Khatwa explains how embracing wonder and awe adds to our scientific understanding of the rocks that form our planet.
4:04
A Mathy Makeover For The Kilogram
Standardizing our mass measurements relies on an elaborate and exacting physics experiment.
9:37
Drilling Into The Secrets Of Roman Concrete
Researchers are working to understand the exceptional durability of an ancient building material.
12:23
With Key Staff Missing In Washington, Can Science Policy Move Ahead?
President Trump has yet to name a presidential science advisor or directors for NASA and NOAA, and other key science positions.
9:38
Don’t Phone A Friend. Skype A Scientist!
A new program introduces schoolkids around the world to real, working scientists using videoconferencing tools like Skype.
23:56
Food Failures: Too Hot In The Kitchen? Try No-Heat Cooking
A hot summer day is no time to turn on the stove. Try these recipes and tricks for cooking with little to no heat.
24:00
Hidden Wonders To Hit On Your Science Road Trip
SciFri teams up with the authors of “Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders” to recommend geeky summer road trip destinations, like the mysterious moving rocks in Death Valley, and a museum full of brains.
First Elephants, Then Rhinos—Now Donkeys Are Under Threat
Chinese demand has created a huge underground market for African donkey hides.
Antarctica Is Getting Greener
Climate change is slowly making parts of Antarctica turn green. New species of plants and insects are taking hold, threatening to transform the continent’s delicate ecosystem.
Can You Taste The Color?
How does hue alter flavor? Experimental psychologist Charles Spence gives us a tour of our tastebuds.
7:23
Overlapping Surgeries, A Little Drummer Bird, And Human-Free Hedge Funds
Hospitals commonly schedule surgeons to start a new surgery while someone else finishes their last one. Should they notify patients?
5:01
The Bad News About California’s Solar Power Boom
Solar energy generation is exploding in California. But the solar glut is overwhelming the state’s grid, and costing ratepayers money.
16:08
The Polar Bear Necessities
USGS wildlife biologist Karyn Rode monitors how populations of polar bears are affected by shrinking sea ice and other changing conditions in the Arctic.
11:57
Curiosity Gets An AI Upgrade
A new autonomous system lets the Mars rover conduct research even while offline.
6:42
Flu? There’s A Patch For That
An experimental vaccine patch would deliver influenza vaccine via an array of dissolvable, microscopic needles.
27:36
Season Your Meal With All Five Senses
From the plate color you pick to the dinner music you choose, you can enhance the flavor of your food without changing the recipe.
17:11
The Dangerous Work Of Babysitting Bombs
How a photo of plutonium sparked an investigation into nuclear safety at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Bats Are Special—But Not In A Good Way
A new study indicates that bats host a significantly higher proportion of zoonoses, diseases that originate in animals and can be transmitted to humans.
Cephapalooza!
This year we took the cephalo-party on the road, with live events in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco.
Breakthrough: Polar Bear Witness
For USGS wildlife biologist Karyn Rode, tracking and tranquilizing polar bears from a helicopter are the just the first thrilling steps in her research.
How To Capture A Scent
Separate and capture scent molecules by their heat of vaporization.