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?
Looking Back At The 1918 Flu Pandemic, In Photos
Take a glimpse at archival photos of scenes and people living during one of the deadliest pandemics in human history.
7:38
Strokes In COVID-19 Patients, Plus Trauma In Healthcare Workers
A handful of COVID-19 patients under the age of fifty have experienced strokes, raising questions about the virus.
4:32
Erosion Threatens A Unique Ecosystem
Indiana’s Lake Michigan shoreline is one of the most biodiverse places in the country. But that biodiversity is now washing away.
17:04
Navigating COVID-19 By The Numbers
Mathematical modeling can help guide tough decisions about how society should respond to COVID-19.
12:05
A Viral Battle In The Honey Bee Hive
An evolutionary arms race between bees and a virus may change hive behavior.
16:42
The Twists And Turns Of The Evolution Of Life On Earth
DNA sequences may help scientists fill in the story of evolution.
15:12
The Malus Domestica Detectives
A search for lost apple varieties bears fruit.
17:16
A Pandemic Precedent—Set in 1918
What can we learn from the United States’ response to the 1918 influenza pandemic?
An Experimental Valley Fever Treatment Paves A New Path For Research
When four-year-old Abraham came to UCLA’s children’s hospital, his immune system couldn’t fight off his severe valley fever. Then, clinicians tried a new therapy.
12:04
A Shifted Coronavirus Timeline
The first COVID-19 death in the U.S. was three weeks before we initially thought.
7:53
Citizen Science Projects To Soothe And Distract
Help scientists analyze their data while fighting tuberculosis and looking at pictures of cute raccoons.
12:10
The Challenging Path To A COVID-19 Vaccine
Are efforts to speed the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus adding risk to the process?
A Fever In The Dust
Although still unknown outside of the American West, Valley Fever is a severe fungal infection—and its territory may expand as the climate warms.
17:15
Thirty Years Of Stardom
After 30 years, the Hubble Space Telescope still offers sharp insight into space.
16:48
How An Undertaker Helped Develop Computers, And Other Untold Stories
A materials scientist on the unexpected stories of how our technologies came to be—and the surprising ways they’ve shaped us.
25:52
Finding Solutions To Treat Valley Fever
To doctors, valley fever is a medical mystery. And now, the fungal disease is spreading northeast, thanks to climate change.
How Two African-American Employees Exposed Polaroid’s Role In Apartheid South Africa
In materials scientist Ainissa Ramirez’s new book, she tells the story of a pair of Polaroid employees exposed the company’s involvement in a police state.
12:07
Inequality In The Air
COVID-19 is having a disproportionate impact on minority populations who are exposed to polluted air.
12:13
Fact Check My Feed: Can Coronavirus Reactivate In Patients After Recovery?
Virologist Angela Rasmussen clears up details on reactivation of the coronavirus in recovered patients and a study looking at runners and bikers droplet clouds.