On Today's Podcast
The Human Obsession With Aliens Goes Way, Way Back
A new book charts the millennia-old history of our fascination with aliens, and how myth transformed into research.
Listen NowSeptember 12, 2025
Octopuses can use their suckers to detect harmful microbes on the surface of objects like crab shells, or their own eggs. Plus, a new book charts the millennia-old history of our fascination with aliens, and how myth transformed into research. And, golden oyster mushrooms have escaped from home growing kits into the wild. Could they affect fungal diversity in North American forests?
How To Protect (And Destroy) Homes With Mr. Safety
Meet the man whose team tests everything from pizza ovens to fire doors.
9:27
Evidence Of Cleaner Air, Hidden In The Drawers Of A Museum
Plus, autumn in the era of climate change and the role fungi play in the gut microbiome.
4:23
Could Lowering The P-Value Threshold Benefit Research?
The common statistic used to determine whether findings are statistically significant is being put under the microscope.
24:46
Jane Goodall And Her Life In The Wild
Primatologist Jane Goodall reflects on her career living in solitude among the chimps of Tanzania and challenging the conventions of science.
Need A Break From This World? These 10 Books Will Transport You.
Because everybody loves a good dystopia.
6:46
A Lesson In The Language Of ‘Baby Talk’
Researchers discover timbre is an important component when speaking ‘motherese.’
12:00
To The Moon, And…Beyond?
A recent meeting of the National Space Council signaled a shift of the U.S.’s goals in space.
A Descent Into The Depths Of The Earth
In the last book of her Broken Earth trilogy, N.K. Jemisin describes an apocalyptic future where some people have the power to control earthquakes and volcanoes.
34:05
Writing The Fantastic In 2017
From other planets to our own future, writers can take us places we’ve never seen. Authors Cory Doctorow, N.K. Jemisin, and Annalee Newitz are among them.
Long Names And Free Beer At A Communist Party
In this excerpt from Cory Doctorw’s novel ‘Walkaways,’ young adults talk about life in a post-privacy future at a (literal) Communist party.
A Robot Trains For War
A robot gets a painful reminder during a training exercise in this excerpt from Autonomous by Annalee Newitz.
The U.S. Government Has A Mustang Problem
Mustangs carry symbolic weight in the minds of Americans. That makes managing their populations tricky.
SciFri Science Club: #NeatRock Challenge
For this Science Club, we’re challenging you to go out, find a neat rock, and try to learn a little something about it.
7:17
A Nobel Roundup, Rafting Species, And The Odor Preferences Of Bedbugs
This year, the Nobel foundation honored researchers studying circadian rhythms, techniques for imaging proteins, and observations of gravitational waves.
5:02
How Frequent Floods May Uproot Whole Neighborhoods
Reporter Molly Peterson interviewed residents from two flood-prone Louisiana communities, who may be paid by the federal government to move.
24:47
The World Of Bitcoin Economics
This summer, the value of one Bitcoin jumped to $5,000. Who’s investing in the cryptocurrency?
8:58
A Homecoming For The Whales
In New York, one of the world’s largest mammals makes its comeback.
11:48
Got Neanderthal DNA?
Genetic advances are telling us more about how Neanderthal DNA might shape our appearance, behavior, and health.
10:29
Once Dismissed And Hidden, Chronic Fatigue Patients Speak Up
“When medicine has no answers for you, where do you turn?” asks filmmaker and patient Jennifer Brea.
When Mustang Populations Run Wild
When there’s frequent “hanky-panky among the herd,” researchers harness wild horses’ own immune systems as a contraceptive.