July 4, 2025
In this archival show, undersea archaeologist Robert Ballard shares adventures from beneath the waves and his love for deep-sea exploration. Plus, research suggests that we share parts of our microbiome with people in our social networks beyond family members. And, a book uses science and the benefit of hindsight to figure out how to survive some of history’s biggest disasters.
6:55
Pandemic Survivors May Be Key To First COVID-19 Treatment
What you need to know about the CDC’s new face mask guidelines and an experimental COVID-19 treatment launching in New York.
4:42
Tribes Face COVID-19 With Limited Test Kits, Remote Staff, Lost Revenue
Michigan’s tribal governments are running into their own problems with COVID-19.
16:42
Scientists Discover Potential Signs Of Life On Mercury
Mercury, it turns out, may have both water and basic chemical building blocks of life.
16:55
Cooped Up At Home? Try These Citizen Science Projects
Explore the universe, your town’s water quality, or the nature in your backyard—while staying home.
11:38
Neanderthals Feasted On Fish Just Like Us
A new find in Portugal suggests Neanderthals were complex, intelligent hominins.
17:28
With Low Supplies, DIY Medical Gear Is On The Rise
Due to shortages of crucial supplies, healthcare workers ask volunteers to make medical masks.
How To Participate In Citizen Science During A Pandemic
Science Friday is an official partner for Citizen Science Month! Join us online throughout April to become a citizen scientist yourself.
11:15
Why Do We Still Not Have Enough COVID-19 Tests?
The new reason for the U.S.’s testing backlog? Materials like swabs, chemical reagents, and lab shortages are causing delays.
16:21
Citizen Scientists: Submit Your COVID-19 Symptoms (Or Lack Of Them)
How citizen scientists can help the CDC track the spread of coronavirus in the United States.
11:38
How Humboldt Squid Talk To Each Other In The Dark
In the deep ocean, these cephalopods use a combination of skin color patterns and bioluminescence to communicate to one another.
17:14
Mapping The Microbiome Of Your Tongue
Researchers are trying to understand the relationships between the communities inside “microbial skyscrapers” on the human mouth.
15:25
Rethinking Invasive Species With Pablo Escobar’s Hippos
Colombia’s non-native hippo population is ballooning. New research says that might not be a bad thing.
16:59
Fact Check My Feed: Which COVID-19 Treatments Are Backed By Science?
Virologist Angela Rasmussen returns to explain the studies behind the stories on your news feed.
‘O Snail’ And Other Poems From Jane Hirshfield
Poet Jane Hirshfield writes prose about humanity and our planet while pondering the crises of refugees, justice, and climate in her new book of poems.
12:26
A New World, Shaped By COVID-19
A roundup of the COVID-19 stories that will define the “new normal,” including tracking spread through smartphone location data and ventilator triage.
27:09
Jane Goodall Reflects On 60 Years Of Research And Conservation
Jane Goodall on her research in the Gombe, and the need for hope and cooperation in the modern world.
6:07
The New ‘Science Diction’ Podcast Brings You: Vaccine
Here’s what cows have to do with your yearly flu shot.
12:27
What Can Vampire Bats Teach Us About Socializing In A Pandemic?
Illness changes how these small mammals interact. An expert says it’s not so different from how people are socializing amidst the coronavirus.
16:30
Poetry Wields Science In ‘Unaccountable’ Times
Poet Jane Hirshfield takes on crises both biological and human in her new book “Ledger.”
16:57
Fact-Checking Your Coronavirus News Feed
Experiencing COVID-19 information overload? Two experts offer clarity on the studies taking over news headlines this week.