On Today's Podcast
An Archaeologist And A Tattoo Artist Decipher Ancient Ink
Archaeologists are taking another look at tattoos on preserved corpses and verifying ancient techniques with modern tattoo artists.
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.
These Fish Posed for Pencils, Not Cameras
Artist Joseph Tomelleri’s scientific drawings of Salish Sea fishes can be easily mistaken for photographs.
Holiday Science
Take a snowflake safari, make cookies scientifically, and spice up that eggnog—whatever gets you in the holiday science spirit.
The Week-After Science Friday Quiz! 12/08/15
How much do you know about the current climate talks, Kurt Vonnegut’s brother, and homemade sour cream?
Science Friday’s Gift to You
Science Friday hopes to provide our listeners, subscribers, readers, and supporters the joy of discovery and knowledge. This year, we want to give you a little more.
The ‘Rebellious Scientist’ Who Inspired Kurt Vonnegut
The story behind the Kurt Vonnegut story about an antiwar scientist named Professor Barnhouse.
11:16
A Black Hole Meal, an Ancient Peach, and New NIH Rules for Animal Experiments
A black hole spews matter after a meal, and the National Institutes of Health call for more female animals to be used in preclinical research.
7:25
Errant Satellites Provide Test Case for General Relativity
A team of physicists have repurposed two satellites launched into the wrong orbit as an experiment to test one aspect of Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
12:10
Understanding The Epidemic Of Gun Violence
After the 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, researchers push that gun violence be addressed as a public health issue.
17:27
Kurt Vonnegut in the ‘House of Magic’
“The Brothers Vonnegut” reveals how Bernard Vonnegut’s research on cloud seeding influenced his brother Kurt’s fiction.
16:48
Do-It-Yourself Liquid Smoke, and Other Kitchen Hacks
Jeff Potter, author of “Cooking for Geeks,” explains how to make sour cream, chocolate bars, rolled oats—and even liquid smoke—from scratch.
Thank YOU for Supporting Science Friday
To everyone who donates, we’re delivering something warm and fuzzy.
Make Your Own Sour Cream and Bittersweet Chocolate
Peel back the layers of how-it’s-made with these recipes from Jeff Potter.
The Land of Volcanoes, Glaciers, and Mars-Like Deserts
Photographer Feodor Pitcairn ventured through serene and volatile landscapes to piece together a geological portrait of Iceland.
The Week-After Science Friday Quiz! 11/30/15
How closely did you listen to the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony?
17:04
Randall Munroe’s Thousand-Word Challenge
In “Thing Explainer,” XKCD’s Randall Munroe explains nuclear power, continental drift, and the periodic table, using only the thousand most common English words.
28:59
These Science Students Learn to Think on Their Feet
Science students at New York’s Stony Brook University have an unusual offering on the class roster: “JRN 503: Improvisation for Scientists.”
47:47
Somewhat Silly Science Earns Ig Nobel Prizes
The Ig Nobel Prizes honor scientific research that first makes you laugh, then makes you think.
The Tragic Mystery Of The Mushy Apple
In this experiment, you’ll explore the influence of apple cell structure on the crunchiness and juiciness of an apple by measuring apple tissue tensile strength.
The Space Car on the Red World
Comic artist Randall Munroe describes the Curiosity Rover, in not so many words, in this excerpt from “Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words.”