On Today's Podcast
A Trailblazing Geneticist Reflects On Her Life And Work
Dr. Mary-Claire King was the first to link a gene to hereditary cancer risk with the identification of BRCA1. She was just getting started.
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?
Hitting The Empathy Gym With Alan Alda
Empathy is key to communicating science. Coach Alda is here to help you hit your reps.
How To Film A Polar Bear
As Science Friday’s Luke Groskin says, it starts with a terrifying helicopter ride.
Five Ways To View The Solar Eclipse
No eclipse glasses? No problem. Here are five other ways to safely observe a solar eclipse.
10:21
Bird Grammar, Foxes And Ticks, And Animal Royalties
Scientists have found grammar rules matter when it comes to bird calls.
16:53
A Relatively Important Eclipse
Astronomers observed an eclipse in 1919 and found evidence for Einstein’s theory of general relativity—forever changing our understanding of the universe.
14:58
From 2017: A Procrastinator’s Guide To The Great American Eclipse
A list of tips for the 2017 total solar eclipse.
3:57
SciFri Science Club Wants YOU…To Spread The Word About The Solar Eclipse
The latest SciFri Science Club has a challenge for you: Tell us what’s happening with the solar eclipse, how to view it, and why we shouldn’t miss it.
1:08
20 Years Ago, A ‘My God’ Moment For NASA
Looking back on the 1997 Pathfinder landing on Mars.
11:46
Hacking The Vote: How Can We Secure Our Voting Systems?
What security is in place to protect voter registration databases and voting machines?
8:09
Neutrinos Caught In The Act Of Collision
Physicists have taken the first measurement of a neutrino interacting with the nucleus of an atom.
8:36
The Midnight Scan Club
Researchers become subjects in an after hours experiment that looks at what makes us different.
17:24
A Promising And Still Uncertain Future For Human Gene Editing
Researchers can fix genetic mutations in human embryos. But should they?
Solar Eclipses
Few astronomical phenomena are as exciting as a solar eclipse! Discover the science behind this cosmic event and learn to view it safely.
To Deal With Nuclear Waste, Finland Digs Deep
The U.S. has repeatedly shut down proposals to bury nuclear waste, but Finland is leading a trend.
Wait, Ants Can Do That?
You’ve heard about ants’ superhuman—er—superant strength. But that’s just the beginning.
Science Friday Live In Wichita
SciFri is heading to Kansas to tell stories about the science beneath your feet.
Birds Of A Feather, Photograph Together
The 2017 Audubon Photography Awards are in, and the winners are a real hoot.
11:56
Can You Feel Me Now? The Science Of Digitizing Touch
Scientists are developing tools that allow you to digitally feel textures like wood and cotton.
17:21
Hollow Earth, Cosmic Calamities, And Other Pseudoscientific Fads
In his book “Fads and Fallacies,” published in the 1950s, Martin Gardner chronicled a quirkier, and perhaps less politically polarizing, set of pseudoscientific ideas.