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?
4:23
Will New Electronic Glasses Change the View of Snapchat?
The social media company rebranded itself as Snap, Inc., and has unveiled sunglasses fitted with two cameras for recording 10-second moments.
16:45
A New Primer on the Way Things Work
Artist David Macaulay on the art of explaining science in pictures.
12:28
For Oysters, Challenges and Hope in the Changing Ocean
Oyster farmers have been hit hard by acidifying seas. Can they adapt?
17:43
California Trees Battle Beetle Assault Amid Drought
Dry conditions lead trees to release pheromones that attract bark beetles, exacerbating an epidemic of dying forests in the state of California.
17:38
Achieving Suspended Animation, With Help From the Water Bear
How one researcher’s curiosity about tardigrades in the 1970s led to a major breakthrough in medical science.
17:37
Imagining the ‘Connected’ Car of the Future
“Connected” cars tap into the vehicles’ sensors to read road signs, determine traffic patterns, and find open parking spaces.
How To Survive The Anthropocene
A new collection of essays curated by environmentalist James Lovelock aims to help people better understand the earth.
7:19
Ancient Migrations, Summer Sea Ice, and Archaeological Algorithms
Homo sapiens worldwide may have descended from a single migration event out of Africa more than 50,000 years ago.
4:36
A Glimpse Before It’s Gone
Why tourists traveling to threatened places may be making the problem worse.
17:04
Myth-Busting Your Fitness Routine
Some health experts tout the benefits of standing desks and walking five miles a day. Science says otherwise.
11:27
The Fog and the Redwood
The redwood trees lining northern California’s coastline depend on fog as a seasonal water source.
17:40
Amphibians Versus Fungus: Saving the Yellow-Legged Frog
What one frog’s fight against the deadly chytrid fungus could mean for the survival of imperiled amphibians around the globe.
17:06
Making the Most of A.I.’s Potential
As artificial intelligence advances, it could transform our world. How do we ensure that it does so in the best possible way?
16:16
Of Fashion, Faith, and Physics
Theoretical physicist Roger Penrose argues against some prominent theories about the universe, calling them fashion, faith, and fantasy.
Reimagining the Astronomical Objects of Messier
An artist finds inspiration in the celestial frustrations of astronomer Charles Messier.
Remaster the Golden Record
Nearly 40 years ago, two Voyager spacecraft left our planet carrying gold-plated records of information about Earth’s organisms and cultures. This activity challenges your students to craft a contemporary Golden Record of sounds, images, and information portraying the diversity of life and culture on Earth.
7:09
Charon’s Red Cap, Mapping the Milky Way, and Crafty Crows
Pluto may be the source of the wispy red cap on the north pole of its moon Charon.
4:43
Taking a Telepresence Robot for a Spin
Can a robotic avatar let you remotely experience a trip to the zoo?
12:18
Can International Diplomacy Help Combat the World’s Superbugs?
The U.N. will meet next week to discuss the growing problem of antibiotic resistance around the world.
17:08
A ‘David and Goliath’ Story for Personal Computers
How the “Silicon Cowboys” of Compaq’s early days took on the behemoth IBM with a 28-pound portable computer.