On Today's Podcast
Footage Shows How Narwhals Use Tusks To Hunt And Play
In a story from March, researchers used drones to study the mysterious arctic animals and learn new things about narwhal behavior.
Listen NowOctober 17, 2025
While some AI-designed drugs have made it to clinical trials, none of them have been approved. Why has it been harder than experts thought? Plus, in “Mapmatics,” a mathematician tells the stories of how math helps us track epidemics, map the seafloor, and plot a complex delivery route. And, the authors of “Food Intelligence” answer listener questions and discuss how our food systems make staying healthy an uphill battle.
Untangling The Hairy Physics Of Rapunzel
Kelly Ward, of Walt Disney Animation Studios, was tasked with bringing Rapunzel’s locks to life.
Exploring The Deepest, Darkest Spots On Earth
James Cameron, Sylvia Earle, and John McCosker talk about the sights and creatures of the deep ocean.
Designing a Bridge for Earthquake Country
Inside the world’s longest self-anchored suspension bridge being built in quake-prone San Francisco Bay.
Untangling the Hairy Physics of Rapunzel
The secret to animating hair? Physics. Kelly Ward, senior software engineer for Walt Disney Animation Studios, was responsible for bringing Rapunzel’s locks to life in Disney’s Tangled.
Living It Up In Space
Two NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station talk about life and the view from 220 miles above Earth.
Engineering for Success by Building on Failure
A new book explores why engineers should pay close attention to past failures when designing a new bridge or plane.
Marc Abrahams Makes Science Improbably Funny
The editor and co-founder of The Annals of Improbable Research talks about why some seemingly absurd science matters.
How Humans and Insects Conquered the Earth
E.O. Wilson discusses evolution and natural selection in The Social Conquest of Earth.
Searching for Nature’s Time Machines in Relics
A new book documents the creatures and places that can tell us about life on Earth millions of years ago.
Desktop Diaries: E. O. Wilson
In the latest installment of Science Friday’s Desktop Diaries series, ecologist Edward O. Wilson takes us on a tour of his office, located in Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology.
New York City’s Mayor is a Geek at Heart
Mayor Michael Bloomberg discusses his vision to turn the Big Apple into the technology capital of the world.
Taking a Walk on New York’s Wild Side
From beavers to flying squirrels — researchers discuss how cities like New York are home to diverse plant and animal life.
How Homo sapiens Became Masters of the Planet
Paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall discusses our human origins in Masters of the Planet.
Coyotes Come to the Big Apple
Wildlife biologist Mark Weckel is documenting coyote immigration through camera traps in city parks.
Gazing into the Cloud, From Storage to Servers
Experts discuss the switch away from traditional desktop computing to services in ‘the cloud.’
No Joke: Science Is A Laughing Matter
Ira Flatow and guests share science funnies and discover an element of humor (pun intended).
Why Don’t Spiders Get Stuck In Their Webs?
A sticky question that has plagued arachnologists for decades is finally untangled.
Art, Mind And Brain Intersect In Kandel’s Vienna
In his new book, neuroscientist Eric Kandel writes of artists and scientists in 20th-century Vienna.
Half A Century Later, A Return To Challenger Deep
The film director James Cameron has just completed a dive to the deepest point on Earth.
Why Spiders Don’t Stick To The Web
The secret to not getting stuck? Oily, hairy legs and delicate movements.