On Today's Podcast
How Have Gray Wolves Fared 30 Years After Reintroduction?
Humans drove wolves nearly to extinction in the American West. Reintroducing them in 1995 was, and still is, controversial.
Listen NowAugust 22, 2025
Humans drove wolves nearly to extinction in the American West. Reintroducing them in 1995 was, and still is, controversial. Plus, the FDA and HHS plan to eliminate petroleum-based food dyes as part of the MAHA agenda. What does science say about their effects on health? And, astronomers found a supernova whose lighter outer layers had been stripped away, revealing an inner shell rich in silicon and sulfur.
Six Things You Can Break Down Right Now
Sometimes the best way to learn about something is by taking it apart. Here are six things you can break down in 10 minutes or less.
8:07
Multicolor Molecules and New Horizons’ Data Dump
Researchers developed an electron microscope that picks up an elusive feature: color.
4:14
Would You Share Your Car With a Stranger?
As Toyota tests a device that allows you—or others—to unlock and start a vehicle with just a smartphone, it ventures into the personal car-sharing market.
17:40
Leap Into the World of Jumping Spiders
Scientist are using electrodes to tap into the brains of jumping spiders to study their ability to plan and carry out complex behaviors.
8:55
An Important Test for the Amyloid Hypothesis
The results of a Phase III clinical drug trial could reveal whether beta amyloid is at the root of Alzheimer’s disease.
7:55
Six Things You Can Break Down Today
The Science Club discusses their “Break It Down” challenge, and offers some suggestions to get your investigations going.
17:28
Looking Beyond Condoms for Male Contraception
Hormonal male birth control can work. But why isn’t it commercially available?
11:18
Just How Easy Is It to Edit DNA?
The CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system is a less perfect fix for gene editing than news reports make it out to be.
10:24
No Nose, but a Heck of a Sniffer
Researchers have engineered a spinach plant to sense compounds in the surrounding environment and communicate its findings with humans.
6:24
Wireless Power Chair Puts a New Spin on Dance
How a Florida choreographer’s idea could lead to novel dance movements.
A Chair Fit for Dancing
A “smart” power wheelchair enables dancers to move in new directions.
A Chair Fit for Dancing
Equipped with omnidirectional movement, a rotating seat, and a hands-free control, Merry Lynn Morris’ rolling dance chair enables dancers to explore new movement techniques, and may one day provide greater mobility in everyday life, too.
7:15
AIDS Patient Zero, Snoozing Swifts, and Self-Driving Deliveries
Researchers trace the origins of AIDS in the U.S. beyond the original “Patient Zero.”
4:42
This Glove Fits You With Someone Else’s Fingerprints
Researchers have created a 3D-printed glove with fingerprints, which they say will allow us to standardize tests of biometric systems. But will it hand criminals a new tool?
12:29
The Microscopic World Beneath Our Feet
Microbial ecologist Bo Adu-Oppong takes us on a tour of the microbes and slime molds living in the soil, and gives her recipe for making a microbial layer cake—an experiment you can try at home.
7:27
Attack of the Internet of Things
The Achilles heel of the internet turns out to be all the stuff that’s connected to it.
10:06
What Is Energy? Alan Alda—and a Bunch of Kids—Want to Know
Scientists across the globe compete in a challenge to explain science to kids.
17:28
Ignore Mary Poppins. Find Fun in the Medicine.
Game developer Ian Bogost has a way to make life more fun that doesn’t require an app.
10:52
DNA as a Key to Plant Conservation
How mapping plant chromosomes can guide scarce resources to the most threatened species.
17:38
What Caused the Midcontinent Rift?
The Midcontinent Rift is an ancient rift system that could have split the country into two parts a billion years ago.