On Today's Podcast
How do you figure out if microplastics are affecting pregnancy?
Microplastic researchers are trying to find answers about pressing health concerns while navigating the challenges of a new field of science.
Listen NowAugust 21, 2026
Microplastics have been found throughout the body, including in placentas and reproductive organs. What does that mean for pregnancy? Plus, little red dots appear all over images from the James Webb Space Telescope. They may belong to a new cosmic category called black hole stars. And, environmentalists and tribes are using state-level public trust doctrines to fight development.
Pick the Winner of SciFri’s Winter Nature Photo Contest
Time to choose your favorite winter snapshot out of our 10 finalists.
A Beer Bottle Prank Is A Lesson In Fluid Mechanics
Scientists used a high speed camera to study how tiny carbon dioxide bubbles in beer rapidly expand and rise.
Make a Model of a Home Made From Shipping Containers
Watch an interview with a couple who built a home from shipping containers. Then, design and construct a scale model of a unique shipping container home using printed templates, and estimate the cost of flooring and paint based on model dimensions.
29:13
On Social Media, the Kids Are All Right
In “It’s Complicated”, Internet scholar Danah Boyd debunks myths about teens’ online lives.
9:09
Your Brain on Jazz
Researcher and musician Charles Limb created an fMRI-safe keyboard to study the effects of jazz on the brain.
6:47
This Fish Sucks
Adam Summers of the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Labs details how the northern clingfish takes the art of suction to new heights.
16:13
A Diverse Energy Diet, to Face a Changing Climate
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz talks about progress on President Obama’s “all-of-the-above” energy strategy.
5:45
Pulsar Pulverizes Incoming Asteroids
A pulsar 37,000 light-years from Earth collided with a billion-ton asteroid.
7:32
A 10,000-Year Stopover En Route to the New World
The ancestors of Native Americans may have lived for millennia on the Bering land bridge before fanning out across the Americas.
16:45
Making Sense Out Of Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a digital currency that was created by an anonymous developer in 2009.
For Privacy, Teens Use Encoded Messages Online
This excerpt from “It’s Complicated” explores how advances in technology afford teens new ways of communicating secretively.
This Fish Sucks
Adam Summers of the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Labs, details how the Northern Clingfish takes the art of suction to new heights.
How Dogs Are Helping Us Understand Ourselves
Dogs are helping improve our understanding of various human maladies and how we might treat them.
How a London Sewer Inspired a Search for Unusual Sounds
What might be considered a sound “defect” can be fascinating to listen to.
Letting the Inner Athlete Shine, With a Techno-Boost
For Olympians, there’s interplay between natural athletic ability and suits that provide that extra edge.
Use Clues to Solve an Ice Mystery
Use the physical characteristics of ice to determine where and how several mystery samples could have been frozen.
9:15
Artificial Muscles Flex Using Fishing Line and Thread
Researchers create superhuman strength from sewing thread and fishing line.
20:13
Building an Open ‘Internet of Things’
Will the ‘Internet of Things’ be open to developers—or hindered by proprietary smart boxes?
16:48
App Chat: Social Media Gets Newsy
Ellis Hamburger, a reporter at The Verge, talks about why social media giants are betting on news.
6:51
Beneath a Sleeping Volcano, Magma Mush Lies in Wait
Despite what Hollywood might show you, there’s no big tank of liquid rock under a volcano. Stored magma spends most of its time as a crystalline mush.