On Today's Podcast
Your Cells Are Always Building A Whole New You
Over the past year, most of your body has replaced itself cell by cell. What can we learn from other animals’ dramatic feats of regeneration?
Listen NowDecember 26, 2025
Physicist Sean Carroll takes on black holes, Schrödinger’s cat, and other big physics concepts. Plus, we revisit some of our top stories of 2025, covering research into how death metal singers safely produce extreme vocalizations, how algorithms and social media are changing language, and what we can learn from people thriving in the coldest parts of the world.
11:44
The Wilderness Act Turns 50
Fifty years ago this week, legislation set aside over nine million acres of official wilderness.
7:25
From Exotic Garden to Eco-Haven
A former millionaire’s estate is becoming an environmental haven and training ground.
9:41
Hello, Stranger, Wanna Share a Cab?
Researchers found that potentially 95 percent of cab rides in New York City could have been shared.
16:57
Randall Munroe Asks, ‘What If?’
In his new book “What If?”, xkcd comic artist Randall Munroe answers his readers’ hypothetical questions with math and science.
Could You Hit a Baseball Pitched Near the Speed of Light?
An excerpt from the xkcd creator’s new book, “What If?”
How Pinball Helps Explain Ways We Think and Learn
An excerpt from “A Mind for Numbers.”
Insect Microfossils Provide Prehistoric Insights
Discovered at La Brea Tar Pits, the pupa helps reveal clues to what the environment was like in Southern California during the Pleistocene Epoch.
17:20
Unraveling the Mysteries of Black Holes
High energy x-rays provide a rare glimpse into the behavior of black holes.
8:29
Electric Bacteria Form Nanowires, Shoot Out Electrons
USC’s Moh El-Naggar says engineers hope to harness bacterial energy using fuel cells.
17:14
Less Flashy Fossils Offer Paleoclimate Clues
Uncharismatic microfauna, such as insects and mollusks, are giving scientists at La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles a glimpse of the city’s cool, humid past.
12:27
From The Lab To The Silver Screen: The Birth of CGI
Animator Tom Sito explains how scientists and engineers kickstarted Hollywood’s digital animation revolution.
17:23
Science In The Writers’ Room
Hollywood T.V. and film writers explain how they balance scientific accuracy and storytelling.
17:22
Making Hollywood’s Digital Doubles
Now that Hollywood’s visual effects wizards can create convincing “digital actors,” will we still need the real thing?
11:55
Experimental Therapy Saves Monkeys From Deadly Dose of Ebola
ZMapp, the cocktail of antibodies used to treat two American aid workers infected with the Ebola virus, spared 18 severely ill monkeys from death.
No Waffling On The Numbers
Three delicious math games you can play on your waffles to build math fact fluency and geometry skills, from the folks at Bedtime Math.
What Can We Learn From On-Screen Psychopaths?
Few psychopaths who terrorize the big screen could pass a reality check, but those who do can be used as teaching tools for aspiring psychiatrists.
The Ultimate Bachelor Pad: Great Bowerbird’s Bower
Male great bowerbirds build these structures strictly to attract females for mating.
Classroom Strategy: Image of the Day
Three approaches for using images as gateways to instruction in grades 4-16.
22:52
Can the Bacteria in Your Gut Send Messages to Your Brain?
Researchers discuss how the microbiome might play a role in anxiety, depression, and autism.