On Today's Podcast
Planning your photo ops for a trip around the moon
The Artemis II crew took photos of the far side of the moon with handheld cameras. A science team on Earth had plenty of requests.
Listen NowMay 8, 2026
Your personal biometric data—from your face, to your gait, to your weight—is constantly being collected and sold. Who’s buying it, and why? Plus, the sci-fi thriller “Hole in the Sky” imagines an alien first-contact scenario set in the heart of Cherokee Nation. And, the SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment, located deep in a nickel mine, aims to detect signs of dark matter particles passing through the Earth.
10:01
Puzzling Polio-like Paralysis Baffles Doctors
Doctors are trying to piece together a puzzling polio-like paralysis that might be associated with a respiratory illness.
7:11
When a Seven-Foot-Long Arthropod Swam the Seas
Fossils found in Morocco might help explain how modern-day insects, crustaceans, and other arthropods got their shapes.
15:36
‘ResearchKit’ Taps iPhone Users for Clinical Trials
Apps on the new platform allow iPhone users to enroll in clinical trials on heart health, Parkinson’s, or asthma. But critics say the smartphone-driven studies have flaws.
22:48
Rise of the Bot Author
Algorithms already write financial and sports news articles. Could they break into fiction?
14:52
SciFri Celebrates π
This year holds an unusually special treat for enthusiasts of the constant π: March 14, 2015 approximates π not just to the usual three digits (3.14) but to five: 3.14.15.
6:45
Food Failures: Crafting Pie Crust
The science behind baking the perfect pie crust.
0:35
How An 11-Year-Old Named A (Dwarf) Planet
Venetia Burney, age 11, came up with the name “Pluto” for a newly-discovered planet 85 years ago this week.
The Art of Scent in Los Angeles
A nonprofit in Los Angeles opens the door on the secretive world of perfuming.
Beauty and the Brain: Understanding Our Responses to Art
The field of neuroaesthetics uses techniques of neurology to understand our response to art.
There Is Such a Thing As Too Much Medical Care
An excerpt from “Less Medicine, More Health.”
22:06
One Hundred Years of General Relativity
Albert Einstein published his theory of general relativity on December 2, 1915.
9:03
Dawn Arrives at Ceres
Mission director and chief engineer Marc Rayman gives an update on the Dawn mission, scheduled to arrive in orbit around dwarf planet Ceres this week.
14:31
Avoid the Doctor—For Your Health
How much medical care is too much medical care?
17:27
The Interstellar Tourist’s Guide to Exoplanets
Exoplanet hunter Sara Seager explains how biosignature gases could help identify life on exoplanets, and The Takeaway’s John Hockenberry takes Ira on a futuristic tour of exoplanet vacation destinations.
12:08
Fossil Jaw Turns Back Clock on Human Evolution
A newly discovered fossil jaw pushes the date of Homo’s evolution back to 2.8 million years ago.
15:39
Balancing Surveillance: Privacy and Security in the Digital Age
Is it possible to keep our personal information secure in the digital age?
0:39
Mysteries of the Mars Plume
Wayne Jaeschke, a patent attorney and amateur astronomer, captured a photo of a wispy cloud rising 120 miles into the Martian atmosphere.