On Today's Podcast
Deepfakes Are Everywhere. What Can We Do?
X’s AI chatbot Grok is undressing users, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg with fake imagery online. How does it work and what comes next?
Listen NowJanuary 23, 2026
An epidemiology study finds that variations in one gene play a major role in determining the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Plus, X’s Grok AI is undressing users, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg with fake imagery online. What can we do about deepfakes? And, Louisiana communities continue collecting data on industrial pollution, despite a law restricting its use.
6:48
NASA Craft to Sniff Moondust, Test Laser Broadband
The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer will suck up dust and gas above the Moon.
10:11
This Doc’s Prescription? Use This App, Twice Daily
Cardiologist Eric Topol says smartphone apps give him a better day-to-day view of patients’ health.
The Rim Fire, As Seen From Space
NASA’s MISR experiment snaps pictures of Earth, keeping tabs on environmental attributes from aerosols to smoke plumes.
10 Questions for Eric Kandel
The Nobel Prize winner talks about his passion for science and art, where he does his best thinking, and why he likes bow ties.
28:50
New Clues to Memory Glitch Behind ‘Senior Moments’
One memory-related gene may retire later in life, leaving you wondering, “Where’d I put my keys?”
16:55
Space Telescope Reawakened for an Asteroid Hunt
NASA will give the dormant WISE space telescope a new task, enlisting it in the hunt for near-Earth asteroids.
22:57
Diagnosing Self-Destruction
Scientists still have little idea what spurs people to take their own lives.
6:40
Ancient Beads with an Otherworldly Origin
Iron beads made from meteoric metals predate the Iron Age.
16:34
How to Make a Beer Home Brew
How to brew the perfect ale and lager from your stove top.
9:02
Study Correlates Copper Intake and Alzheimer’s in Mice
Could copper in drinking water contribute to Alzheimer’s disease in mice?
24:59
A Telescope Fails, but the Hunt for Exoplanets Continues
Although the Kepler planet-hunting telescope is no longer operating, discoveries remain to be made in its data.
12:22
A Robot Lab to Survey the Sea Floor
Researchers are developing a DNA-sampling robot for undersea exploration.
8:07
Judging Music With Visual Cues
How important are our eyes when we take in a musical performance?
37:46
Rebooting Science Museums for the 21st Century
Science museums aren’t just dioramas and dusty skeletons anymore.
12:05
Hyperloop: Hype or Future Transportation?
Elon Musk described his Hyperloop design as a cross between a “Concorde, a railgun, and an air hockey table.”
22:17
The STEM Gender Gap
Why hasn’t an increase in the number of female students studying the sciences led to proportional number of women in the STEM workforce?
10:27
Strengthening the Grid, Ten Years Later
How has the electrical grid changed since the massive blackout of 2003?
11:39
For a Greener Yard, Lose the Lawn
Swapping turf for less thirsty plants can reduce your yard’s water footprint and look just as lush.
34:38
Marina Abramovic: Experimenting on Consciousness, Through Art
Performance artist Marina Abramovic wants to build a laboratory devoted to arts and science.
6:52
New Vaccine Beats Malaria in Early Trials
The vaccine offered complete protection against malaria in a small trial, but only after five doses.