On Today's Podcast
Fingernails And Indigestion At The 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes
The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate unusual scientific research—this year including lizard pizza preferences and fingernail growth.
Listen NowNovember 28, 2025
The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate unusual scientific research—this year including lizard pizza preferences and fingernail growth. Plus, in a conversation from August, exercise researchers discuss what physical activity does to mental health. And, in a story from February, a journalist explains the afterlife of our trash, and why most “recyclable” plastic actually isn’t.
18:23
A Calculating Win for China’s New Supercomputer
China’s new ‘Milky Way 2’ supercomputer is twice as fast as the best American machines.
9:53
Vegetables Respond to a Daily Clock, Even After Harvest
Researchers have found that cabbages can maintain a circadian rhythm, even in the store.
6:03
Coffee’s Natural Creamer
What’s that frothy stuff that sits on top of an espresso?
23:03
E.O. Wilson’s Advice for Future Scientists
Math might not matter, and other musings on the makings of a great scientist.
6:39
Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Math
Some parents are skipping the bedtime stories and tucking kids in with equations.
16:48
Physicists Find New Particle, Look for Answers
Despite the discovery of the Higgs boson, mysteries still abound in theoretical physics.
Coffee’s Natural Creamer
Coffee beans are filled with oils that emerge from coffee grounds under high pressure. These oils form the crema—the frothy stuff on top of an espresso.
Confessions of a Former Snake Wrangler
E.O. Wilson shares the secret ingredient to becoming a scientist.
Paper Tale: The Life Of An Origami Artist
Robert J. Lang helped take origami to the next level, developing computer software to create increasingly complex designs with applications ranging from art to engineering.
Angry Legos, Roman Wonder Concrete, Beating Boredom, and More
A roundup of science stories or studies that blow our mind, tickle our funny bone, or generally strike our fancy.
Their World Is Oysters
A trip to a shellfish hatchery in Washington reveals a bustling operation.
11:57
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn Talks Climate and Carbon
The former environmental activist takes measure of the city’s carbon footprint.
22:58
Decoding ‘the Most Complex Object in the Universe’
Neuroscientists are mapping the brain to discover the origins of consciousness.
10:54
Looking Back, and Up, at a Seattle Icon
The Space Needle was built in 1962, but it still serves as a symbol of “the future.”
17:43
Denis Hayes On Being Green
One of the founders of Earth Day talks about sustainability and his push for renewable energy.
19:09
With Climate Change, No Happy Clams
Carbon emissions are slowly acidifying ocean waters, which could hurt the shellfish industry.
4:21
Rolling Out Bamboo Bicycles
Valid Cycles makes handcrafted bamboo bikes in Woodinville, Washington.
4:56
Human Genes Not Patentable, Supreme Court Says
The court found that isolating the BRCA1 gene does not constitute an “act of invention.â€
Bamboo Bicycles Roll Out
To be bike-ready, the bamboo must be cooked in an oven, stripped, and sealed. We visited the workshop of Valid Cycles in Woodinville, Washington, to see how the bikes are made.
Mars Road Trip, Bird Penises (or Lack Thereof), and More
A roundup of science stories or studies that blow our mind, tickle our funny bone, or generally strike our fancy.