On Today's Podcast
Should Pluto be a planet again?
NASA's administrator wants to reclassify Pluto as a planet, reigniting a 20-year controversy over its status in our solar system.
Listen NowApril 3, 2026
The Artemis II mission has launched, and its four astronauts are en route to the moon for a lunar flyby. Plus, one scientist wants to put bioengineered algae to work cleaning microplastics out of wastewater. And, you probably shouldn’t spend time on your phone while you’re on the toilet, and other pooping tips from a gastroenterologist.
12:30
The Rise of the Celebrity Scientist
“The New Celebrity Scientists” profiles scientists who’ve cracked the fame code to become cultural icons.
5:00
The Other Side Of Oliver Sacks
We all know Oliver Sacks as a renowned neurologist and a prolific author. But he’s a true Renaissance man, as becomes clear when reading his new memoir, ‘On the Move: A Life.’
Carl Sagan, and the Rise of the ‘Celebrity Scientist’
An excerpt from “The New Celebrity Scientists: Out of the Lab and into the Limelight.”
From Fever Cure to Coma Therapy: Psychiatric Treatments Through Time
An excerpt from “Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry.”
Pando, One Of Earth’s Largest Living Organisms
These quaking aspens are all clones of one mother stem.
19:22
The Most Unusual Laboratory (Not) on Earth
Floating 200 miles above the Earth, and speeding at nearly five miles per second, the International Space Station may be the most unusual lab available to science.
10:50
Dreaming Up the Future of Interstellar Travel
Could solar sails, antimatter propulsion, and air-breathing rockets take us to Mars and other galaxies in the future?
17:42
YouTuber Wants to Make You ‘Smarter Every Day’
YouTube science star Destin Sandlin uses a high speed camera to unpack the science behind everyday phenomena.
11:49
A Stegosaurus Smackdown, Plus Bumblebee and Mosquito Mysteries
Arielle Duhaime-Ross, a science reporter at The Verge, gives us her take on the week’s news.
9:08
The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage
In Sydney Padua’s graphic novel, two real-life Victorian-era computing pioneers build a steam-powered computer and use it to have adventures.
18:58
A New Era for NASA? Charles Bolden Leads the Way
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden discusses the agency’s priorities, from understanding conditions on Earth to reaching Mars.
5:52
The Pot-Stirrer
Amanda Glaze studies perceptions of evolution as well as its religious and societal influences throughout the Southeastern United States.
Against the Grain: An Alternative View of Alzheimer’s
For decades, Duke neurology professor Allen Roses has doggedly pursued a theory that dysfunctional mitochondria in the brain cause late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and that beta-amyloid is just part of the disease’s pathology.
Attack of the Luddites!
An excerpt from Sydney Padua’s graphic novel “The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage.”
Pillars of Creation, 2.0
Two new versions of the iconic Hubble image commemorate the space telescope’s 25th anniversary.
Science Friday Discussion: Negotiating the Challenges of Teaching Evolution
Learn from experienced educators how to teach evolution in communities where evolution is controversial and browse classroom evolution resources.
The Pot-Stirrer: Teaching Evolution In The South
Amanda Glaze studies the perceptions of evolution and their religious and societal influences in the American Southeast.
11:44
New Climate Polls, A Comet Mystery, and Puppy Love
Rachel Feltman of the Washington Post gives us her rundown of the week’s science stories.
17:32
Water Wanes in the West
NASA’s Airborne Snow Observatory found that snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is a fraction of what it used to be.
7:13
Exploring Remote Villages for Clues to the Human Microbiome
The microbes that live on and in residents of an Amazonian village with no recorded contact with Western civilization are super-diverse—and some carry genes for antibiotic resistance.