On Today's Podcast
As Companies Build Data Centers For AI, Communities Push Back
A boom in construction of AI data centers is facing backlash over soaring electricity and water usage, and the resulting utility hikes.
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.
12:17
Debating Science in the 2016 Election
A group proposes 20 science-based policy questions for the presidential candidates to address in the months ahead.
17:18
On the Hunt for New Particles in Physics
What could sterile neutrinos, gravitons, and axions tell us about the Standard Model?
4:17
People Don’t Like Clickbait. You’ll Never Believe Facebook’s Reaction.
Can Facebook’s new algorithm tackle clickbait?
7:49
The ‘World Champion of Doping,’ Rio Record-Breaking, and More
Reporter Maggie Koerth-Baker talks about the East German heavyweight lifter Gerd Bon, and why marathoners won’t break records in Rio.
16:27
Remembering Henry Molaison, the Man Who Kept Forgetting
The most famous patient in neuroscience is the subject of a new book by the grandson of the man who changed his brain forever.
Getting Fundamental With Lisa Randall
The theoretical particle physicist offers advice to aspiring scientists.
The Microbes We Share
Science writer Ed Yong describes the diverse ways that scientists and citizen scientists are studying our microbiomes.
SciFri Book Club Live: A Conversation with Margaret Atwood
Come talk “Oryx and Crake” with the author herself!
6:52
Why Your Dentist Is Wrong About Flossing, a Stellar Void, and More
Paltry evidence in support of flossing, and more science news from the week.
10:13
The Physics of the Fastest Swim Strokes
The speediest strokes may not be the splashiest. What are the fluid dynamics behind the dolphin and fish kick?
17:45
The Vulnerability Of U.S. Voting Systems
If hackers are targeting the servers of political campaigns, might attacks on election systems themselves soon follow?
5:27
Read ‘Oryx and Crake’ With the #SciFriBookClub
This summer, enter Margaret Atwood’s dystopian world of bioengineering gone wild.
16:51
Is a Healthier English Bulldog Possible?
If breeding is to save the debilitated bulldog, more genetic diversity is probably necessary. But is there enough?
12:09
The Replication Game: How Well Do Psychology Studies Hold Up?
Researchers have created a new system to test influential papers for reproducibility.
17:35
The World According to Microbes
In “I Contain Multitudes,” author Ed Yong examines the connections between species and ecosystems—from a microbial point of view.
Alone in a Post-Apocalyptic World
Margaret Atwood’s novel “Oryx and Crake” is told from the perspective of the lone human survivor of a mysterious catastrophe.
5:31
How Can We Keep the Endangered Vaquita from Vanishing?
Researchers are investigating a conservation strategy that would place some vaquitas in preserves in their natural habitat.
33:36
Margaret Atwood On The Science Behind ‘Oryx And Crake’
In this archival interview, the award-winning author calls the novel a form of “speculative fiction.”
The Sands Of Earth, And Beyond
Gary Greenberg uses 3D microscopes to inspect the diversity of sand grains.