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?
6:51
A Mission to Mars on the Hawaiian Islands
Researchers are simulating the Martian environment near a Hawaiian volcano to test how communication systems would work on the planet.
23:49
Seeking Humanity In Volcanoes With Werner Herzog
The legendary filmmaker has a new documentary about the power of volcanoes and the gods they’ve inspired.
Celebrate World Science Day by Doing Science!
A collection of science experiments and activities to celebrate World Science Day
Seeing The Patterns In Sound
A pair of artists finds ghostly imagery in sound vibrations.
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.