Short Wave

In addition to flying, landing, and returning from the moon in 1969 — NASA's Apollo 11 crew helped with a series of scientific experiments. One of them was to leave a special instrument with lots of little reflectors on the surface of the moon. The goal of that experiment was to beam a laser at the moon. Today on the show, Scientist-In-Residence Regina G. Barber talks to host Aaron Scott about the...

A struggling Wyoming coal town may soon go nuclear with help from an unlikely partner, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates. NPR Correspondent Kirk Siegler takes us to Kemmerer, Wyo., where Gates' power company, supported by public funds, plans to open a new type of nuclear energy plant in hopes of replacing a closing coal plant. The model facility would create jobs and provide the flexible basel...

Cute, wrinkly faces aside, bulldogs have myriad health problems. Science points to purebred breeding practices as the reason. NPR Science correspondent Lauren Sommer talks to host Aaron Scott about how a bulldog breeding ban in Norway has fueled an ongoing debate on the practice of breeding dogs with low genetic diversity and, as a result, high instances of health problems. See pcm.adswizz.com for...

The omicron outbreak has slowed dramatically in the U.S. But cases are rising in Britain due to an omicron subvariant. There are signs the U.S. could also see a bump in cases in the coming weeks. Stay safe out there, fabulous listeners! Feel free to drop us a line at ShortWave@npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage y...

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed the state's Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate certain gender-affirming care as possible child abuse, leaving parents of transgender youth feeling caught between two choices: support their children or face a possible investigation. Annaliese and Rachel are mothers living in Texas and both have transgender children. They speak to NPR...

Arts therapies appear to ease a host of brain disorders from Parkinson's to PTSD. But these treatments that rely on music, poetry or visual arts haven't been backed by rigorous scientific testing. Now, artists and brain scientists have launched a program to change that. NPR's brain correspondent Jon Hamilton tells us about an initiative called the NeuroArts Blueprint. See pcm.adswizz.com for infor...

On December 31, 2021, The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Spotify posted an episode with an interview with physician Dr. Robert Malone full of misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine. This sparked outrage, a letter from a group of medical professionals, scientists and educators to Spotify and a series of creators pulling their content from the platform. Science Vs . , a podcast produced by Gimle...

Understanding how life survives in extreme Earth environments could point to ways life can survive on other worlds. Astrobiologist Morgan Cable talks to host Emily Kwong about how her missions here on Earth have guided two upcoming NASA missions in search for alien life, not in a far off galaxy, but here in our solar system. The Titan Dragonfly and the Europa Clipper missions will each explore an...

Over the last 24 hours, some of us Short Wavers celebrated Pi Day the only way we know how: eating some yummy pie and thinking math thoughts. Here on the show, many of us are math enthusiasts. But none of us claims to be a math perfectionist. We think there's at least as much joy and insight in the mistakes as there is in what we get right. It's a lesson we discussed in today's episode about Matt...

Geneticist Janina Jeff is back on the show to talk with host Emily Kwong about season 2 of her podcast In Those Genes. They talk about rhythm, aging and navigating what can be ascribed to our genes and what is determined by society. Check out more of Janina's work on In Those Genes: inthosegenes.com Episodes referenced in today's Short Wave include: - R&B: Rhythm & Blackness - Black Don't Crack An...

Growing up, Jada Yuan didn't realize how famous her grandmother was in the world of physics. In this episode, we delve into the life of physicist Chien-Shiung Wu from her granddaughter's perspective. Jada talks to host Emily Kwong about writing the article Discovering Dr. Wu for the Washington Post, where she is a reporter covering culture and politics. Check out part one in which Emily talks to S...

In the 1950's, a particle physicist made a landmark discovery that changed what we thought we knew about how our universe operates. And Chien-Shiung Wu did it while raising a family and an ocean away from her relatives in China. Short Wave's Scientist-In-Residence Regina Barber joins host Emily Kwong to talk about that landmark discovery--what it meant for the physics world, and what it means to R...

Pucker up, duderinos! Short Wave 's kicking off a series on taste we're calling, "Taste Buddies." In today's episode, we meet Atlantic science writer Katherine Wu and together, we take a tour through the mysteries of sourness — complete with a fun taste test. Along the way, Katie serves up some hypotheses for the evolution of sour taste because, as Katie explains in her article, "The Paradox of So...

Over the last few years, we've all found different ways to cope with the pandemic. Some people started drinking more, moving less, maybe eating more. Now that the pandemic is at a lull, health experts say it's time to take stock of these habits. Short Wave host Aaron Scott chats with health correspondent Allison Aubrey about how our daily habits have been affected and changed — for better or worse...

For over a decade, Dr. Thomas Insel headed the National Institute of Mental Health and directed billions of dollars into research on neuroscience and the genetic underpinnings of mental illnesses. Health correspondent Rhitu Chatterjee talks with Dr. Thomas Insel about his new book, Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health and how he came to realize where the U.S's mental health care...

In 2021, Short Wave host Emily Kwong ran her first marathon. In collaboration with our colleagues at Life Kit , Emily talks about her experience and discusses keys to training with running coach Laura Norris. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just released the second of three reports on climate change. Nearly 300 scientists from all over the world worked together to create this account of how global warming is affecting our society. NPR climate reporter Rebecca Hersher fills us in on this major climate science report and actually brings three empowering takeaways hidde...

What bird has a ten-foot wingspan and breeds almost exclusively on a single island in the Pacific Ocean? Find out in this special quiz episode of Short Wave. Host Emily Kwong tests the bird knowledge of musician and nature enthusiast Anthony Albrecht. He recently produced an album of 53 calls from threatened Australian birds to bring awareness to their vulnerable status. Listen to the album, title...

NPR science correspondent Lauren Sommer joins Short Wave host Emily Kwong to talk about a team of researchers who were the first to document a pack of orcas attacking a blue whale. Their work shows that killer whales, while stars in marine parks and movies, are also the ocean's top-- and often vicious-- predators. Humans' complex relationship with them may say more about humans than about the orca...

Scientists are piecing together what led up to a massive volcanic eruption in Tonga last month. NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel joins the show to talk about the likely sequence of events— and what it can teach us about future eruptions like this one. Email the show at ShortWave@NPR.org See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to...

One of the video games that Short Wave's Scientist in Residence has been playing a lot in the pandemic is Animal Crossing, in which bits of stars fall along the beach. It got Regina thinking — what ARE shooting stars? For answers on all things asteroid, meteoroid and comet, she turns to planetary scientist Melissa Rice . Haven't had any luck Googling to learning more about a cool phenomenon? Shoot...

The pandemic is at a turning point. Hospitalizations in this country are down. Deaths are starting to decline. Some of the states that have had the strictest COVID restrictions are starting to dial back. With fewer cases, and more tools to manage COVID, we can start putting more focus on other diseases again. Doctors are encouraging patients to get the checkups they've been holding off on. NPR sci...

Everyone sees the world differently. Exactly which colors you see and which of your eyes is doing more work than the other as you read this text is different for everyone. Also different? Our blind spots – both physical and social. As we continue celebrating Black History Month, today we're featuring Exploratorium Staff Physicist Educator Desiré Whitmore . She shines a light on human eyesight – ho...

A few years ago, ecologist Elizabeth Clare had an idea--what if she could study rare or endangered animals in the wild without ever having to see or capture them? What if she could learn about them by only pulling data out of thin air? It turns out, the air's not so thin. There are bits of DNA floating around us, and Elizabeth figured out how to collect it. She talks to guest host Lauren Sommer ab...

Raychelle Burks is a forensic chemist and an associate professor at American University. She's also a big fan of murder mysteries. Today, we talk pop culture forensics with Raychelle and what signs to look for to know whether or not a tv crime show is getting the science right. (ENCORE) What else bothers you about TV accuracy? E-mail the show at shortwave@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for informat...