On Today's Podcast
The SciFri Book Club reads ‘The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year’
The author of SciFri’s November book club pick on how she found meaning in the stories that unfolded in her yard.
Listen NowNovember 6, 2026
A food historian and a nutrition researcher dig into the protein-maxxing trend—and explain why you might want to up your fiber intake instead. Researchers trapped an antimatter particle and held it at extremely cold temperatures for months. Plus, why armadillos are moving north, and how a tiny, see-through fish that can regenerate its brain is becoming a model species.
Delicious Smelling Chemistry
Use household materials to investigate and explore your ability to smell an odor, then compare and contrast results to determine if some individuals have a better sense of smell than others. Observe the Maillard reaction and how different odor molecules are released into the air.
Desktop Diaries: Michio Kaku
Theoretical physicist and futurist Michio Kaku takes us on a tour of his office, where he writes his bestsellers and records his radio shows.
Magnified Sun Burns
At the right angle, a magnifying glass will concentrate sunshine into a burning hot circle.
Make a Speaker
In this activity, students will learn how an electromagnet works by making a simple one. Using this knowledge, students will design a diagram to make a working speaker using household materials. Then students will follow instructions on one method of making a speaker, and test their own designs to compare results.
The Origin Of The Word ‘Robot’
‘Robot’ was the brainchild of the Czech playwright Karel Čapek, who introduced it in a 1920 play.
Candy Corn In Space
Astronauts are allowed to bring special “crew preference” items when they go up in space. NASA astronaut Don Pettit chose candy corn.
Glowing in the Dark: Testing Phosphorescence
Learn about phosphorescence and how certain materials can absorb and store energy from a light source. Then discover which type of light gets the brightest glow from a glow-in-the-dark star.
Connecting Science and Art
Cormac McCarthy, Werner Herzog, and Lawrence Krauss discuss science as inspiration for art.
Learn how to cultivate moss in a terrarium
Learn about the biological needs and lifecycle of mosses by cultivating and maintaining your own moss terrarium.
Building A Solar House
Buildings that are called “green” or “environmentally sustainable” are designed to use energy as efficiently as possible. In Missouri, Washington University’s Tyson Living Learning Center achieves sustainability by incorporating green technologies in different ways, including the use of solar panels. In this activity, students will explore how solar panels work by building a simple circuit, a series circuit and a parallel circuit, using a solar panel to light a bulb and comparing which method yields the brightest light. Then students will build a solar-powered house using a shoebox, and test some variables to determine the most efficient way to harness solar energy to power a model home.
Explosive Science
In this activity, students will use household materials to investigate and explore how the release of carbon dioxide gas from a chemical reaction can cause a small-scale explosion. Students then will experiment with variables to determine which factors launch a film canister the highest.
Can Dogs Smell Cancer?
A new study says a dog did better than conventional tests in identifying patients with cancer.
Grabbing a Bite to Eat
In this activity, students will perform an experiment that replicates the dilemma that birds face in acquiring food from a confined area. Students will be given a variety of objects to use as “tools,” and will explore various ways of extracting the food item from an enclosed shoebox without directly using their hands. Students will compare and contrast which tools worked best, and use problem-solving skills to design and develop unique methods for extracting the food item from the shoebox.
Fun With Optics: Can You Explain How A Telescope Works?
Use simple materials to explore the properties of reflection and refraction as you discover how optics work in telescopes.
Model the flow of a river with a simple stream table.
Investigate river formations in different landscape scenarios from a flat plain to a terrain with hills and valleys.
Ugh, A Bug! Get To Know Insect Anatomy
What are the distinguishing physical characteristics of an insect? Observe live crickets to learn the function of various insect body parts!
Oliver Sacks and ‘The Mind’s Eye’
Neurologist Oliver Sacks talks with Ira about vision, the brain, and how the two can work together—or can work against each other.
Dean Kamen
He’s invented everything from an insulin pump to the Segway Transporter. He started the FIRST Robotics competitions for students. And now, he has his own television show.