On Today's Podcast
The Growing Experiment Of Putting Solar Panels On Farmland
Agrivoltaics combines solar panels and agriculture on the same land. It’ll be an uphill battle for it to hit the mainstream.
Listen NowJanuary 30, 2026
A flu variant called subclade K emerged too late to be fully covered by this year’s vaccine. But the flu shot can still help protect you. Plus, a new study suggests dogs began to diversify about 11,000 years earlier than we thought. And, in turbulent times, it helps to hear stories of resilience. What can we learn from 3.5 billion-year-old bacteria that eat light?
11:36
Greenland’s Fast-Moving Glacier Speeds Up
The Jakobshavn glacier reached speeds of more than 150 feet per day during the summer of 2012.
24:53
Meet Vermeer, the Engineer
A new documentary, “Tim’s Vermeer,” shows that the Dutch master painter was a tinkerer, too.
9:12
What Pulled the Plug on the Bioluminescent Bay?
The glowing bioluminescent bay near Fajardo, Puerto Rico went dark for more than a week in November.
9:59
When Do Childhood Memories Start to Fade?
On average, adults’ earliest memories go back to the age of three.
19:12
Can Gaming Make Us More Social?
NYU’s Katherine Isbister imagines a future where technology connects us to other people, not avatars.
6:32
Crafting the ‘Fastest Ice on Earth’
Marc Norman obsessively monitors the ice at the Utah Olympic Oval to create the perfect skating surface.
9:53
Ice Science a Slippery Quandary for Physicists
Friction researcher and avid curler Robert Carpick discusses the tricky physics of ice.
Out Of The Bottle: Wine Psychology
How do expectations, environment, and social cues fool us into believing that our wine tastes better or worse than it is?
The New Frontiers of Filmmaking, at Sundance
This year, the Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier exhibition explored humanity’s evolving relationship with technology.
See The World Through Color-Filtering Lenses
Explore color by creating color-filtering glasses using paper and tinted cellophane.
12:12
Hotter Weather, Heavier Rains Threaten Penguins
Move over polar bears—could penguins be the new poster children for climate change?
34:21
Could There Be a Crisis in Physics?
Physicist Lawrence Krauss and Nobel Laureates Frank Wilczek and Brian Schmidt discuss current cosmic challenges.
29:15
At Sundance, Scientists and Screenwriters Are Judges
What makes science work on-screen? This year’s Sundance judges weigh in.
16:53
Alan Alda’s Challenge to Scientists: Define Color
Alda’s ‘Flame Challenge’ asks scientists to explain color—with children as the judges.
10 Questions for Jill Tarter, Astronomer
The long-time SETI astronomer discusses the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and helping inspire a Carl Sagan novel.
A Physicist Conjures Sounds From the Past
Physicist Carl Haber helps resurrect sound from old audio files once thought lost to history.
A Novelist Inspired by Physicist-Muses
Author Sara Paretsky describes the scientific influences on her new crime detective novel, “Critical Mass.”
22:30
Is Coding the Language of the Digital Age?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that programming jobs will grow by 12 percent from 2010 to 2020.
13:36
Sara Paretsky: ‘Critical Mass’
In “Critical Mass,” a crime writer draws inspiration from an overlooked physics pioneer.
