On Today's Podcast
If An Asteroid Were Headed For Earth, Would We Be Ready?
Sooner or later, a sizable asteroid could impact a populated area on Earth. How is the US, and the world, preparing?
Listen NowSeptember 12, 2025
Octopuses can use their suckers to detect harmful microbes on the surface of objects like crab shells, or their own eggs. Plus, a new book charts the millennia-old history of our fascination with aliens, and how myth transformed into research. And, golden oyster mushrooms have escaped from home growing kits into the wild. Could they affect fungal diversity in North American forests?
27:05
The Dirt On The Illegal Plant Trade
The trade of illegal poached plants includes rare Vietnamese orchids and threatened North Carolina wild venus flytraps.
06:06
The Swarming Intelligence Of Ant Colonies And Slime Molds
Biologist Simon Garnier studies how ant colonies and the multi-nucleated slime mold organize themselves into dynamic structures.
12:02
Microscopic Hairs Keep Some Critters Clean
Studying the hair tricks of the insect world might lead researchers to better self-cleaning materials, like solar panels that dust themselves.
17:32
Gene Therapy Aims to Switch on Hearing
Researchers have developed several genetic therapies for hearing loss that show promise in animal studies, but it’s unclear whether they’ll succeed in humans.
16:50
‘Thunder And Lightning’ Captures Weather’s Dramatic Side
In “Thunder and Lightning,” author and artist Lauren Redniss illuminates how weather works, and the sometimes strange ways it shapes our lives.
Swimming With Diana Nyad
An excerpt from “Thunder & Lightning: Weather Past, Present, Future.”
The Road Best Traveled: A Tale of Ants, Slime Mold, and the New Jersey Turnpike
Can the expansive food trails of army ants or the seemingly mindless exploration of slime mold help us understand how and why organisms organize themselves so dynamically?
Happy Birthday, Science Friday!
For the next year, we’ll be celebrating SciFri’s upcoming silver anniversary.
12:22
Are ALL Minnesotans Above Average?
Social psychologist Jessica Salvatore surveys our live, Science Friday audience to determine whether the “Lake Wobegon Effect” is alive and well in Minnesota.
21:19
Wearable Superpowers for Earth and Beyond
Technologists Lucy Dunne and Brad Holschuh talk about ultrasonic gloves that “see” through smoke, a real-life Back to the Future jacket, and more wearable innovations.
14:01
The Cellular Superpowers That Heal Skin and Regrow Limbs
“Brains On,” a science podcast for kids and curious adults, tackles the question: How do axolotls regrow limbs?
12:02
Solar Wind Strips Martian Atmosphere, Diamond Dirt, and the Whole Story on Milk
NASA’s MAVEN Mission uncovers why the Martian climate may have changed. Plus, reassessing fatty milk’s reputation.
26:41
Is Football Bad for Your Brain?
Concern about the long-term repercussions of football are on the rise due to cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
06:26
The Science Club Tackles a Communications Challenge
This season’s Science Club project asks you to invent your own communications device.
The Science Club #MessageChallenge
Invent a device or system that can send or carry a message from one place to another.
The Origin Of The Word ‘Vaccine’
This world-changing tool of immunization got its name from a cow virus.
Smelly Bats
A fun game for Halloween that demonstrates diffusion and the properties of stretchy polymers using rubber gloves and flavor extracts.
Monster Microbiology, 101
If werewolves and other ghouls existed, they’d surely have microbiomes.
12:08
Red Meat Ruckus, Electrifying Eels, and Sugar Overload
Science writer Ed Yong deciphers the WHO’s red meat announcement and explains how electric eels immobilize prey.