Short Wave

Spring is in the air — and so are black bears coming out of hibernation. Rae Wynn-Grant , a large carnivore biologist, explains there's a lot more going on during hibernation than you might expect. 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

Optimism is often thought as a disposition, something you're born with or without. So can it be learned? On today's show, Maddie talks with Alix Spiegel, co-host of NPR's Invisibilia, about "learned optimism." We'll look at what it is, the research behind it, and how it might come in handy in certain circumstances, like maybe a global pandemic? See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collect...

Humans have a long history of inventions: electricity, telephones, computers, music — the list goes on. It's clear we're shaping the world around us. But as Ainissa Ramirez explains in her new book, The Alchemy of Us , those inventions are shaping us, too. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship prefer...

During the pandemic, ventilators have been considered a vital medical tool to treat critically-ill COVID-19 patients. But more and more evidence is suggesting that those who go on a ventilator — don't end up surviving. NPR Science Desk correspondent Jon Hamilton tells us about how these machines work, and how, for patients who do survive, recovery can be a long road. See pcm.adswizz.com for inform...

The U.S. may need 100,000 people trained in the public health practice of contact tracing — tracking and isolating people who've been in contact with someone who tests positive for the coronavirus. NPR health policy reporter Selena Simmons-Duffin explains how it works, and why it's a key part of the fight against the pandemic. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for informati...

We're all spending more time these days at home — including our bathrooms. But why do they look the way they do? From toilets to toothbrush holders, bioethicist and journalist Elizabeth Yuko explains how infectious diseases like tuberculosis and influenza shaped American bathroom design. And, we explore how the current pandemic could inspire a new wave of innovation in the bathroom. See pcm.adswiz...

Welcome back to "Animal Slander," the series where we take common expressions about animals and debunk them with science. Today on the show, we tackle "birdbrained" and to "eat like a bird" with biologists Corina Newsome and Alejandro Rico-Guevara . Follow Maddie and Emily on Twitter. Their usernames are @maddie_sofia and @emilykwong1234 . Plus, send us your animal slander—and questions and praise...

Happy (early) Earth Day, Short Wave listeners. We've received many questions from you about climate change, specifically what can individuals and households do to reduce their carbon footprint. So, we consulted two folks who have been thinking about this deeply and developing strategies for over a decade: Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, two architects of the 2015 Paris Agreement. See pc...

Scientific models of disease don't predict the future. They're just one tool to help us all prepare for it. NPR global health correspondent Nurith Aizenman explains how scientific models of disease are built and how they're used by public health experts. We also look at one influential model forecasting when individual states might begin to reopen. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org . See pcm.ads...

Last Tuesday, the military helped evacuate dozens of critically ill COVID-19 patients from overwhelmed hospitals in Queens. NPR's Rebecca Hersher says what happened that night shows how training for war does — and does not — prepare members of the armed services for a pandemic at home. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage y...

Science writer Jennifer Leman did it. She ranked all 158 moons in our solar system. The criteria? Interviews with NASA scientists, astronomers, and her own moonpinions. She talks to host Maddie Sofia about some of her favorites. Here's her full list for Popular Mechanics . Email the show at shortwave@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sp...

Bats are critically important for ecosystems around the world. But they also harbor some of the toughest known zoonotic diseases, and are the likely origin point for this coronavirus. Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong talks about leading theories on where this coronavirus came from, the work of virus hunters, and the rise of emerging zoonotic diseases. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our c...

Social distancing has some of us taking up bread baking for the first time, including host Maddie Sofia. Chemist and baker Patricia Christie explains the science of making bread, including a few tips for when things go wrong with your bread dough. And she offers some advice for first-time bakers everywhere. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for spons...

Liz Neeley , science communication expert and executive director of The Story Collider , shares some advice for how to talk to your friends and family about the coronavirus. Here's her article for The Atlantic: ' How To Talk About The Coronavirus .' 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 manage...

Some patients with COVID-19 are experiencing a crash after about a week of showing symptoms of the disease. The cause? Well, as NPR's Geoff Brumfiel explains, doctors are starting to think it might not be the virus. For more reporting on the coronavirus and other science topics, follow Maddie and Geoff on Twitter. They're @maddie_sofia and @gbrumfiel . Email the show at shortwave@npr.org . See pcm...

Brandon Taylor's story has a happy ending. Today he's a successful writer whose debut novel 'Real Life' received glowing reviews earlier this year. But his success only underscores what science lost when Brandon walked away from a graduate biochemistry program in 2016. He tells host Maddie Sofia why he left, and what he misses. Read his essay in BuzzFeed, 'Working In Science Was A Brutal Education...

No, tornadoes do not sound like a roaring lion. The 1996 drama 'Twister' got a lot of things wrong...and a few things right. Meteorologist Ali Burgos , an analyst at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, breaks down the science in the film. 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 m...

The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico has the most older Americans per capita, making their population especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. A vital tool in preventing its spread there? Timely and culturally relevant public health information in Spanish. Maddie talks with Mónica Feliú-Mójer of the group CienciaPR about their science communication efforts. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about...

Wiffle Balls are a lightweight alternative to baseballs, better suited for backyards then sports stadiums. The design of the Wiffle Ball guarantees you don't need a strong arm to throw a curve ball. But how does that happen? Engineering professor Jenn Stroud Rossman explains. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcas...

Now is when we'd normally be getting ready for fire season. And this upcoming one could be tough for states like California, which had an especially dry winter. The spread of the coronavirus however is complicating preparation efforts. Maddie talks with Kendra Pierre-Louis, a reporter on the New York Times climate team, about how the crisis we're in could hurt our response to another crisis just a...

A deadly triangle of factors is killing off U.S. honeybees. Last year, forty percent of honeybee colonies died in the U.S., continuing an alarming trend. Entomologist Sammy Ramsey tells host Maddie Sofia about the "three P's" and what listeners can do to help our fuzzy-flighted friends. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage...

Doctors around the world are sharing stories of patients losing their sense of taste or smell — and testing positive for the coronavirus. Is it a real symptom of COVID-19? There isn't scientific evidence for that. But the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery is gathering anecdotal information to find out more. Short Wave's Maddie Sofia and Emily Kwong talk about science during...

Encore episode. NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel shares the story of Nazi Germany's attempt to build a nuclear reactor — and how evidence of that effort was almost lost to history. It's a tale he heard from Timothy Koeth and Miriam Hiebert at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Maryland in College Park. Read more on their original story in Physics Today...

Bedridden with illness, Maine writer Elisabeth Tova Bailey found an unlikely companion — a solitary snail a friend brought her from the woods. Elisabeth spent the following year observing the creature and it was the inspiration for her memoir, " The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating ." See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your p...

President Trump has compared the coronavirus to the seasonal flu. NPR reporter Pien Huang speaks to host Maddie Sofia about why the coronavirus appears deadlier and more transmissible — and why it poses such a risk to our healthcare system. Here's Pien's story . Email the show at shortwave@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship a...