Science, Spoken

A deadly tower block blaze in Spain has focused attention on notorious flammable building materials—but around the world, there's little momentum to stop using them. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With better infrastructure and “spongy” green spaces, urban areas have made progress but should be soaking up way more free stormwater. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Extreme heat waves are already here, and they are killing tens of thousands of people. Blasting through 2 degrees Celsius of warming means they’ll happen many times more frequently. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“I feel so powerless in this state.” Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Getting these climate superheroes into more US homes would massively cut emissions, and it would be cost-effective. Here’s how the revolution would play out. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Americans eat too much sugar. Food tech company Zya is developing a substance to add to sweet foods that can convert some of that sugar into fiber in the digestive system. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hydrogen-powered planes, more fuel-efficient aircraft designs, and all-electric parcel delivery services are just some of the ways in which the transport sector is looking to decarbonize. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a multibillion-dollar global problem, and in a rapidly electrifying world, the profits—and ease—of stealing metals are only going to increase. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Priscilla Chomba-Kinywa, CTO of Greenpeace, says technology firms must shape up—and consumers and business clients should walk away if they don’t. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As relentless rains pounded LA, the city’s “sponge” infrastructure helped gather 8.6 billion gallons of water—enough to sustain over 100,000 households for a year. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Millions of Ukrainians are suffering the mental health implications of two years of Russian bombs and shells. The country’s recovery depends on building systems to help treat the trauma. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Upside Foods is putting plans for its Illinois-based cultivated-meat factory on hold and laying off staff to focus on its existing plant. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An alternative to environmentally harmful plastic is already within reach: seaweed. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Farmers and scientists are getting better at growing more crops on less land, but they’re not focusing on plants that people eat. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A slalom skier just achieved a remarkable result in the Alpine Ski World Cup—coming from last place to win. As mountains get warmer and conditions less predictable, expect more freak occurrences like this. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It started as a big old ball of dust, so how did it end up like a giant pancake? Get the true story using fake forces. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They may be tiny, but phytoplankton and aerosols power pivotal Earth systems. Scientists are about to learn a whole lot more about them at a critical time. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You need a heat pump, ASAP. Now nine states are teaming up to accelerate the adoption of this climate superhero. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From data access to scientific merit, Dr. Norman is working to make astronomy—and all STEM fields—more inclusive. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WIRED experimented with a new form of voice assistant that can browse the web and perform tasks online. Siri, Alexa, and other virtual helpers could soon be much more powerful. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Houston-based rBIO has invented a new process to churn out insulin at higher yields using custom-made bacteria. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Big Beef is wooing science teachers with webinars and lesson plans in an attempt to change kids’ perceptions of the industry. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Distributed acoustic sensing” looks for disturbances in fiber to detect earthquakes and even insects. Can it also improve rail safety? Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Details are scarce, but Elon Musk says initial results are “promising.” Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the world’s foremost training ground for saving space from disasters, disputes, and—perhaps one day—colonizers named Musk. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices