On Today's Podcast
Can The Rise In Solar Power Balance Out Clean Energy Cuts?
Solar power adoption has been rising fast. Amid recent federal efforts to limit clean energy, will it make a dent in our climate impact?
Listen NowAugust 15, 2025
This year marks the 100th anniversary of two papers that sparked the field of quantum mechanics. Plus, a science journalist documents his quest to understand his own cluster headaches in the new book “The Headache.” And, what the cancelation of nearly $500 million in funding means for the future of mRNA vaccine research.
17:19
The Price of ‘Free’ Internet Services? Your Privacy
As we trade more and more of our personal data to big companies in exchange for their services, internet users must decide for themselves where to draw the line on internet privacy.
16:10
How Humans Might Really Colonize The Solar System
The minds behind the “The Expanse” chat about space flight, space politics, and how they keep the show feeling real.
17:22
Which New Battery Technology Will Take Electric Vehicles To The Finish Line?
Lithium ion may be good enough for now, but experts say that new battery tech will bring EVs to the next level.
Tips to Keep Your Drinking Water Clean
A few key points from experts on the Flint water crisis.
The Mysterious ‘Alien Soil’ Growing Deep Underground
These labyrinthine ecosystems can be found growing on cave walls.
SciFri Book Club: Kim Stanley Robinson
Join us for a live conversation about climate change, fiction, and New York in the year 2140.
Make a Kite With Physics
Build a delta kite and explore some of the forces involved in flight. Challenge your design skills to improve your kite’s stability in the air.
07:21
An Advance Towards Male Birth Control, Sequencing the Quinoa Genome, and Slip-Off Gecko Skin
A male contraceptive gel prevented pregnancies for a year in rhesus monkeys.
4:30
Should A.I. Have a Role in Science Publishing?
Artificial intelligence won’t take over peer review anytime soon, but it may help combat fraud.
8:02
Consider the Universe. Now, Subtract Time and Gravity.
Holographic cosmology is a way of simplifying mind-boggling mathematical models of our universe. But it doesn’t necessarily mean we live in a hologram.
11:54
Why So (Heat) Sensitive?
A new plant-derived material claims the title of most heat-sensitive.
6:35
Harvesting Power From the Gut
Researchers have designed a battery that runs on stomach acid to power ingestible sensors.
25:14
From the Arctic to Enceladus: A Celebration of Unusual Ice
Researchers who study icy places have discovered uncanny phenomena.
On Earth, Echoes of Space
Astronomical artist Michael Carroll traveled to Antarctica for otherworldly inspiration.
How to Listen to Data
Scientists, composers, and programmers are experimenting with methods of conveying data audibly.
11:47
How Spaceflight Alters the Eyes
One of the more unexpected symptoms of spaceflight may be trouble reading fine print.
16:51
How To Hunt For Life As We Don’t Know It
Astrobiologists are looking at unusual environments on Earth for clues on how to search for life elsewhere in the solar system.
11:50
The High-Pressure Physics of Creating Metallic Hydrogen
Scientists theorize that metallic hydrogen could be used to create superconductors and high-powered rocket propellant.