On Today's Podcast
As Companies Build Data Centers For AI, Communities Push Back
A boom in construction of AI data centers is facing backlash over soaring electricity and water usage, and the resulting utility hikes.
Listen NowDecember 5, 2025
A boom in construction of AI data centers is facing backlash over soaring electricity and water usage, and the resulting utility hikes. Plus, to save spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest, one plan suggests killing thousands of barred owls. And, geologist Anjana Khatwa explains how embracing wonder and awe adds to our scientific understanding of the rocks that form our planet.
17:26
An Antarctic Expedition, Frozen in Time
Century-old Antarctic photos offer a peek into Shackleton’s ill-fated Ross Sea Party Expedition.
9:21
Migraine Study Reveals the Power of Placebo
Patients’ expectations can play a role in the effectiveness of medications and placebos.
6:57
2014 Consumer Electronics Show Round-Up
Chris Ziegler of The Verge discusses technology trends from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.
22:42
Food Failures: How to Spoil Your Food (And Eat It, Too)
Fermentation guru Sandor Katz solves your pickling problems.
18:01
Wine Science: Deconstructing ‘Terroir’ in the Lab
Chemist Gavin Sacks says talk of terroir may often be simply a clever marketing ploy.
6:10
Out of the Bottle: Tricks of the Trade
Popular wine jargon such as “breathing,” “corked,” and “wine tears” gets translated into chemistry you can understand.
An Ancient Flower, Preserved in Amber
A recently described 100 million-year-old fossil is the most complete flowering plant from the Cretaceous discovered.
Ice Spikes: Your Photos
We asked you to submit your own photos of the ice spike phenomenon.
A Grasshopper Storm, a Mental Shift
Humans’ perception of insects is deeply rooted in our evolutionary past.
Iowa Going Green: What Does It Mean for 2016?
Could new wind energy projects influence votes?
The Mystery Of Ice Spikes
One experiment shows that this little understood phenomenon seems to perform better with distilled water.
12:11
App Chat: Cutting Clutter From Your Inbox
Ellis Hamburger, a reporter for The Verge, talks about a few of his favorite mail-managing apps.
25:05
Forty Years Of The Endangered Species Act
Currently, there are 2,142 U.S. and foreign species protected under the Endangered Species Act.
8:27
Extracting Data From Photos of Our Eyes
Researchers used photographs to recover reflected images 30,000 times smaller than the actual subject.
22:28
Why Do Insects Bug Us?
Author Jeffrey Lockwood dissects our complicated relationship with insects.
43:28
Can Plants Think?
Plants can hear, taste and feel, as Michael Pollan writes in his latest piece for The New Yorker. But is any of that evidence of intelligence?
Out Of The Bottle: Tricks Of The Trade
Gavin Sacks of Cornell University translates popular wine jargon such as ‘breathing,’ ‘corked,’ and ‘wine tears’ into chemistry you can understand.
30:00
Carl Sagan: ‘Science Is a Way of Thinking’
In this 1996 interview, Carl Sagan talks about pseudoscience, UFOs, and the origins of the universe.
17:13
Temple Grandin: ‘My Mind Works Like Google Images’
In this 2006 interview, Temple Grandin explains how her autism helps her understand animal behavior.
46:44
Oliver Sacks And The Search For The Giant Squid
In this 1997 conversation, neurologist Oliver Sacks describes the island of the colorblind, then chats with a researcher searching for giant squid.