On Today's Podcast
If An Asteroid Were Headed For Earth, Would We Be Ready?
Sooner or later, a sizable asteroid could impact a populated area on Earth. How is the US, and the world, preparing?
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?
What’s the Cosmic Microwave Background?
The universe’s oldest light is one of the great pieces of evidence for the Big Bang.
Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have a Winner
Kai Sander’s photograph of a snowy cornfield was the audience favorite in SciFri’s Winter Nature Photo Contest.
Make A Wire Critter That Can Walk On Water
Learn how insects have inspired engineers and design your own water-walking critter using thin wire and your knowledge of surface tension.
12:16
Three Years After the Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown
Three out of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daichii nuclear power plant suffered a meltdown.
25:10
As the Web Turns 25, Where Is It Going Next?
We celebrate the web’s 25th birthday with an archival clip of Tim Berners-Lee, the web’s inventor, and take a look ahead with Lee Rainie of the Pew Research Center.
9:05
EncROACHment: New York’s Invasive Cockroaches
Rutgers University entomologists unravel clues to identify a new invasive roach species in New York City.
10:01
Could a Blood Test Help Diagnose Alzheimer’s?
In a preliminary study, researchers identified 10 lipids in the blood that correlated with an increased risk for Alzheimer’s.
25:50
Celebrating Irrational, Transcendental Pi
As we celebrate Pi Day, mathematician Steven Strogatz talks about how the ancients calculated pi—and how you can do it at home.
10:33
SciFri’s Winter Nature Photo Contest Winner…Revealed!
Winter Nature Photo Contest judge John Weller discusses your top shots.
Estimate Pi by Dropping Sticks
A simulator based on one of the oldest problems in geometrical probability approximates pi.
Dispatches from SXSW Interactive 2014
SciFri is in Austin to check out the latest in innovation.
How Scientists Are Learning to Read Our Minds
An excerpt from “The Future of the Mind.”
Utah’s Winter Haze a Pollution Problem
The Salt Lake Valley’s topography lends itself to a natural phenomenon called an inversion, which traps air pollution.
Design And Build A Zip Line Zoo
In this activity from Bedtime Math, you’ll build a stuffed-animal zip line and practice measuring time, distance, and angles.
Battling HIV, Using A Body’s Own Immune Cells
Researchers are exploring a new approach to fighting HIV infection by genetically modifying a person’s own immune cells to be resistant to the virus.
17:37
Delving Into the Security of an Internet of Things
As more devices come online, is enough attention being given to security and privacy?
16:38
Where Do Sea Turtles Go During Their ‘Lost Years’?
Biologists crack the case of sea turtles’ ‘lost years’ with a little help from a nail salon technician.
22:22
Michio Kaku Imagines ‘The Future of the Mind’
In “The Future of the Mind,” physicist Michio Kaku predicts big advances for our brains.
23:51
‘Particle Fever’ Captures the Excitement of the Higgs Discovery
“Particle Fever” takes filmgoers behind the scenes of physics’ big breakthrough: the discovery of the Higgs Boson.
How to Make an Artificial Muscle Out of Fishing Line
You’ll need fiber, some weights, a motor, and a heat gun to get you started.