On Today's Podcast
A Look Back At 2025 In Science, From Federal Cuts To Space Junk
There was major science news in 2025. Plus, underreported developments in geoengineering and a triumph for furniture rearrangement.
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.
27:16
Roger Penrose: Cosmic Inflation Is ‘Fantasy’
What’s wrong with modern physics—and could alternative theories explain our observations of the universe?
6:30
Inside Insight: Clearing and Staining Fish
Clearing and staining gobies, stingrays, and sharks has revealed to scientist Adam Summers critical data, as well as the beauty of each fish’s unique form.
11:59
Diving Into the Underground Ocean of One of Saturn’s Moons
Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, may have an underground ocean the size of Lake Superior.
34:47
The Origins of Violence
An anthropologist, a psychologist, and a crime writer ask: Are humans hard-wired for violence?
Inside Insight: Clearing And Staining Fish
Clearing and staining gobies, stingrays, and sharks has revealed to Adam Summers critical data and the beauty of each fish’s unique form.
11:51
Join the Science Club: Build an Art Machine
Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Build a machine that can make art.
17:12
Robot Builders with Bugs for Brains
The bugs meet the bots in the world of swarm robotics.
8:20
The Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plains—of Iowa
Texas and California dominate the U.S. in wind power generation—but Iowa isn’t far behind.
8:17
Racing Towards Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars
Toyota plans to release a hydrogen fuel cell car in California by 2015.
11:55
Dwarf Planet Found at the Edge of the Solar System
Dwarf planet 2012 VP-113 takes approximately 4,000 years to orbit the sun once.
22:45
Engineering Life Through Synthetic Biology
From designer yeast genomes to batteries made from bacteria, an update on synthetic biology.
11:46
Movie Night for Scientists
Movie theaters and scientists pair up to present a National Evening of Science on Screen.
Make an Art Machine
Safely find, build, or hack a machine that makes any kind of art.
About the Science Club
SciFri’s Science Club is a month-long challenge in which we ask you to go out, do science, and share it with others.
Robot Roundup
From personal assisting, to search and rescue operations, to laparoscopic surgery, robots are becoming an ever-growing part of human life.
The ‘Breadcrumb Sponge’
This sea sponge challenges a popular idea of what triggered the evolution of animal life on earth.
Blog: Teaching Digital Design Using New World Studio
Teenage girls learn computational design in a collaborative weeklong workshop at the New York Hall of Science.
29:57
Detecting the ‘Bang’ from the Big Bang
Researchers detected waves coming just after the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago.
8:22
A Bird-Like ‘Chicken From Hell’ Dino Discovery
Anzu wyliei was a toothless, bird-like dinosaur that weighed 500 pounds.
8:57
Digital Gets Physical
Students in MIT’s Tangible Media Group break down the barriers of graphic interfaces and allow users to touch and manipulate pixels in real life.