WIRED

Science, Spoken

Science EN ↓ 2375 episodes

Get in-depth coverage of current and future trends in technology, and how they are shaping business, entertainment, communications, science, politics, and society.

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: play.prx.org

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WIRED

Episodes

What Happens If a Space Elevator Breaks 01.02.2022 12:30

These structures are a sci-fi solution to the problem of getting objects into orbit without a rocket—but you don’t want to be under one if the cable snaps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Europe Is in the Middle of a Messy Nuclear Slowdown 31.01.2022 10:48

Germany has almost finished phasing out nuclear plants, and aging infrastructure is leading neighbors down the same path. But will green energy goals suffer? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Injection of Chaos Solves a Decades-Old Fluid Mystery 28.01.2022 9:20

In the 1960s, drillers noticed that certain fluids would firm up if they flowed too fast. Researchers have finally explained why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How to Prepare for Climate Change's Most Immediate Impacts 27.01.2022 10:33

The effects of the climate crisis are happening right now. From natural disasters to supply chain shortages, here's how to cope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Astronomers Discover a Strange Galaxy Without Dark Matter 26.01.2022 10:58

New, high-resolution observations of a faint, fluffy galaxy suggest that dark matter’s not as ubiquitous as scientists thought. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pregnant People Are Still Not Getting Vaccinated Against Covid 25.01.2022 11:19

Misinformation and muddled public health messaging have failed expectant parents. Now Omicron's surge is putting both carriers and babies at risk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How Explosives, a Robot, and a Sled Expose a Doomsday Glacier 24.01.2022 11:50

Thwaites Glacier is crumbling, and fast—if it melts entirely, it could add 10 feet to sea levels. Now Antarctic scientists are racing to survey the damage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How Do You Design a Better Hospital? Start With the Light 21.01.2022 12:02

A new trend in patient-centered design focuses on making environments more comfortable and less scary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Could Being Cold Actually Be Good for You? 20.01.2022 12:18

Researchers are exploring the health benefits of literally chilling out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scientists Settled a Century-Old Family Drama Using DNA From Postcards 19.01.2022 12:02

Swiss forensic geneticists analyzed DNA recovered from postage stamps dating back to World War I and solved a century-old paternity puzzle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How Body Farms and Human Composting Can Help Communities 18.01.2022 13:04

Like every other aspect of our society, how we handle death and dying needs to change in the face of climate change. This method may be a path forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the Dawn of Life, Heat May Have Driven Cell Division 17.01.2022 9:09

A mathematical model shows how a thermodynamic mechanism could have made protocells split in two. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Paleontologists Are Getting Into Florida’s Oyster Business 14.01.2022 9:19

Conservationists are teaming up with fossil experts to help the bivalves—and the state’s oyster economy—survive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Where Parents Can Get Help with Climate Anxiety 13.01.2022 14:08

If you're looking to the future and wondering exactly how to prepare your children for a changing world, these resources can help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Physics of Wile E. Coyote’s 10 Billion-Volt Electromagnet 12.01.2022 11:57

The famous cartoon schemer has an ingenious plan to lure Bugs Bunny out of his hole—and it involves a giant magnet and an iron carrot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid Will Become Endemic. The World Must Decide What That Means 11.01.2022 13:02

The task of 2022 will be figuring out how much action we’re willing to take and how much disease and death we’ll tolerate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To Fight Climate Change, First You Need to Measure It 10.01.2022 8:08

Scientists at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory are using monitoring equipment to track our impact on the planet more accurately than ever before. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wildfires Are Digging Carbon-Spewing Holes in the Arctic 07.01.2022 9:11

Soaring temperatures are rapidly thawing permafrost, leading to huge sinkholes called thermokarst. Northern fires are making the situation even worse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Clean Industrial Revolution Is the Only Way to Hit Net Zero 06.01.2022 6:48

Governments and companies around the world are finally acting to create a green economy and avoid climate catastrophe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2021 Was a Huge Missed Opportunity on Climate Action 05.01.2022 14:03

The pandemic should have been a wake-up call—instead, emissions have climbed once more. Here's how the US could have seized the opportunity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Algorithm That Lets Particle Physicists Count Higher Than 2 04.01.2022 10:46

Through his encyclopedic study of the electron, an obscure figure named Stefano Laporta found a handle on the subatomic world’s fearsome complexity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The World Is Messy. Idealizations Make the Physics Simple 03.01.2022 9:41

Even ordinary actions, like tossing a tennis ball, can be extraordinarily complex to calculate. The trick is knowing what to leave out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Growing Peppers on the ISS Is Just the Start of Space Farming 30.12.2021 13:26

The chili peppers thrived in a controlled microgravity environment. But to develop agriculture away from Earth, NASA will have to think outside the box. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

These Lemurs Have Got Rhythm. Scientists Have Got Questions 29.12.2021 10:26

Studying how and why rhythm evolved in these primates could help unravel the mysteries of human musicality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This Startup Is Making—and Programming—Human Cells 28.12.2021 6:17

Creating bespoke cells could transform testing and help develop new treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices