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?
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.
22:37
The Science Behind The World’s Strangest Sounds
Acoustic engineer Trevor Cox recorded the world’s longest reverberation.
6:55
Olympians Look to Science for a Competitive Edge
Physiologist and aerospace engineer Troy Flanagan shares the science behind Olympic training.
9:41
Can Technology Build a Better Athlete?
Will the next big Olympics competition be a race for more technology?
Forecasting Avalanches
Using field tests and a deep understanding of how to identify weaknesses in the snow pack, staff members from the Utah Avalanche Center forecast avalanches and take preventive measures.