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?
This Glass Orb Keeps An Eye On The Sun
This antique technology, called a Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder, helps researchers maintain North America’s longest-running weather record.
12:16
Autonomous Trucks, Overgrown Goldfish, and an Edible Scientific Feud
Rachel Feltman of “The Washington Post” joins us for a roundup of her top science stories of the week.
5:05
A 40,000-Year-Old Jawbone Reveals Neanderthal Ancestry
Scientists find evidence of a modern human with a recent Neanderthal ancestor in Romania.
12:28
Author Ashlee Vance Explores the ‘Unified Theory of Elon Musk’
In his new book, “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future,” journalist Ashlee Vance gives the inside story behind Musk’s “relentless drive and ingenious vision.”
16:41
Cephalopod Week Wrap-Up
A wrap of highlights from Cephalopod Week, and a check-in with SciFri education manager Ariel Zych and biologist Chuck Fisher aboard the exploration vessel “Nautilus.”
12:02
Move Over E.Coli: DARPA’s Quest for Next-Gen Bugs
Alicia Jackson, deputy director of DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office, says synthetic biology could be the next big thing for military innovation.
17:27
Meet Inside Out’s Emotion Coach
Psychology professor Dacher Keltner helped the filmmakers of the film “Inside Out” navigate the 11-year-old mind.
17:00
Food Failures: I Scream, You Scream…When We Ruin Our Ice Cream
Jeff Potter, author of “Cooking for Geeks” returns to share homemade ice cream hacks.
Science Friday at the Aspen Ideas Festival
Ira Flatow and the SciFri crew will put on a live show in Colorado on June 30th.
A Peek Inside the Mind of Elon Musk
An excerpt from the new biography “Elon Musk.”
The Octopus Whisperer
To keep the brainy creatures healthy in captivity, caretakers employ a variety of tricks, including dog toys.
Meet the Cock-Eyed Squid
This midwater cephalopod sports different-size eyes for different functions.
Take a Selfielopod for #CephalopodWeek!
Print one of our cutouts and take your own selfielopod for Cephalopod Week.
Jet Propulsion Locomotion Of Squid And Octopus
Can you engineer a jet propulsion system that mimics the speed of a squid?
12:00
A Cometary Awakening, a Vaccine Mystery, and Brand New Bacteria
Tariq Malik of Space.com talks about Philae’s unexpected awakening, and Arielle Duhaime-Ross helps decipher a mystery that has plagued scientists for 50 years.
17:36
Science Goes To The Movies: ‘Jurassic World’
Paleontologists Lindsay Zanno and Kenneth Lacovara share what made them clap and cringe while watching “Jurassic World.”
7:14
Could Mars Have a Cold, Icy Past?
The ancient climate of Mars may have been cold and icy, according to researchers.
9:33
Cephalopod Week Is Back
We kick off our second annual Science Friday Cephalopod Week—a celebration of all things tentacled.
5:57
Engineering Evaporation
Researchers at Columbia University design engines powered by evaporation.
15:57
Not All Cooking Oils Are Created Equal
Ever wondered which cooking oil is healthiest? Tom Brenna, a professor of human nutrition at Cornell University, helps us get to the fat of the matter.