Episodes

Meet two scientists working to disrupt the meat industry. Plus, the bacterial and fungal dance responsible for your favorite cheeses. And while the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony might seem different this year, its celebration of strange and silly science remains.

The NSF plans to decommission the giant Arecibo radio observatory after major damage. A look at the loss for science, and for Puerto Rico. Plus, Roman Mars talks about the often overlooked details built into our cities and how our urban environments are adapting to the pandemic.

Less than a week after it became clear he was president-elect, Joe Biden has named the members of a coronavirus task force. Plus, Pfizer’s vaccine candidate passes an important test. But there are many questions left to answer. And dog DNA tests have become a popular quarantine pastime.

Now that we’re a year into the pandemic, what have we learned and how can we plan for next year? Plus, how to weigh the risks of gathering for the holidays. And researchers step up a battle to contain the ‘murder hornet.’

With the election upon us, we take a look at science propositions and STEM candidates in the running. Plus, author and editor Nisi Shawl leads a conversation about when science fiction is fantasy, and vice versa. And vampire bats take the Charismatic Creature Corner.

We’ve been trying to predict the outcomes of elections for a long time, and that might be a problem. Plus, the return to school hasn’t been easy, but STEM educators are finding creative ways to teach science to kids. And we talk about your weird pandemic dreams.

Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Andrea Ghez on her decades of peering at the center of our galaxy—and the supermassive black hole she found there. Plus, a WWII shipwreck teaming with microbial life. And the SciFri Book Club tackles chicanafuturism.

Get ready for a planetary smackdown: Venus vs. Mars. Which one has the best reason to go search for signs of life? Plus, we read Andrea Hairston’s short story about a woman who resists new technology. And, a discussion of the visions offered in Afrofuturist literature.

The Science Friday Book Club is back, with ‘New Suns,’ a collection of speculative fiction. Plus, exploring the neuroscience behind why we itch. And following a scientist as she digs up fossils of avian ancestors.

Indigenous peoples burned their land for thousands of years to prevent much larger fires. It might be an important part of future wildfire prevention. Plus, a new film explores the extraordinary life of neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks. And some birds use the sound their feathers make as a communication tool.