On Today's Podcast
Why do politicians talk like that?
A linguist weighs in on how "politician speak" has changed over the past century, and what it says about what we want from our leaders.
Listen NowOctober 9, 2026
A new mRNA flu vaccine promises a closer match to circulating flu strains. An estimated 2 billion tons of dust are lofted into the air each year, affecting ecosystems, the atmosphere, and the weather. Plus artist David Byrne sits down with Flora for a conversation on why some ideas go dormant, and then reawaken. And, a Cephalopod Week finale featuring death spirals, cannibalism, and more.
17:12
Robot Builders with Bugs for Brains
The bugs meet the bots in the world of swarm robotics.
8:20
The Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plains—of Iowa
Texas and California dominate the U.S. in wind power generation—but Iowa isn’t far behind.
8:17
Racing Towards Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars
Toyota plans to release a hydrogen fuel cell car in California by 2015.
11:55
Dwarf Planet Found at the Edge of the Solar System
Dwarf planet 2012 VP-113 takes approximately 4,000 years to orbit the sun once.
22:45
Engineering Life Through Synthetic Biology
From designer yeast genomes to batteries made from bacteria, an update on synthetic biology.
11:46
Movie Night for Scientists
Movie theaters and scientists pair up to present a National Evening of Science on Screen.
Make an Art Machine
Safely find, build, or hack a machine that makes any kind of art.
About the Science Club
SciFri’s Science Club is a month-long challenge in which we ask you to go out, do science, and share it with others.
Robot Roundup
From personal assisting, to search and rescue operations, to laparoscopic surgery, robots are becoming an ever-growing part of human life.
The ‘Breadcrumb Sponge’
This sea sponge challenges a popular idea of what triggered the evolution of animal life on earth.
Blog: Teaching Digital Design Using New World Studio
Teenage girls learn computational design in a collaborative weeklong workshop at the New York Hall of Science.
29:57
Detecting the ‘Bang’ from the Big Bang
Researchers detected waves coming just after the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago.
8:22
A Bird-Like ‘Chicken From Hell’ Dino Discovery
Anzu wyliei was a toothless, bird-like dinosaur that weighed 500 pounds.
8:57
Digital Gets Physical
Students in MIT’s Tangible Media Group break down the barriers of graphic interfaces and allow users to touch and manipulate pixels in real life.
22:26
Food Failures: Knead-to-Know Science Behind Bread
America’s Test Kitchen editorial director Jack Bishop talks about the science behind a perfect loaf.
15:05
Sculpting Science
Paleo-artist John Gurche and paleoanthropologist Rick Potts discuss the intersection between art and science.
9:10
Scientists Test What the Nose Knows
A new study claims the human nose can distinguish one trillion unique smells.
Digital Gets Physical
Students in MIT’s Tangible Media Group break down the barriers of graphic interfaces and allow users to touch and manipulate pixels in real life.
10 Questions for Walter Robinson, Polar Vortex Pioneer
Don’t blame the polar vortex for this winter’s cold weather woes.
What’s the Cosmic Microwave Background?
The universe’s oldest light is one of the great pieces of evidence for the Big Bang.