Short Wave

The spread of the coronavirus has led many to stay home in recent weeks. During that time, the non-profit Skype A Scientist has seen a surge in demand for its service of virtually connecting students to scientists. Maddie talks to Sarah McAnulty, executive director of the group and a squid biologist, about bringing science to kids and, at the same time, confronting stereotypes about who can be a s...

Encore episode: Pioneering ecologist Nalini Nadkarni takes us up into the canopy — the area above the forest floor — where she helped research and document this unexplored ecosystem. Plus: the story of her decades-long effort to get more women into science, and how she found a surprising ally in the fight — Barbie. Video and more from Maddie's trip to the canopy is here . Follow Maddie on Twitter...

Ed Yong rounds up some theories in a recent article for The Atlantic . He tells host Maddie Sofia one reason the virus spreads so well might have to do with an enzyme commonly found in human tissue. 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 your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy P...

Dr. Syed Moin Hassan was riled up. "I don't know who needs to hear this," he posted on Twitter , "BUT YOU ARE NOT LAZY IF YOU ARE WAKING UP AT NOON." Hassan, who is the Sleep Medicine Fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, speaks to Short Wave's Emily Kwong about de-stigmatizing sleeping in late, and why a good night's rest is so important for your immune system. Email the show at short...

It's a phrase we're hearing a lot now, social distancing. Practicing it is essential to slowing the spread of the coronavirus. But what does it really mean? NPR's Maria Godoy gives us advice on what good social distancing looks like in our daily lives - from socializing with friends to grocery shopping to travelling. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data...

It's no exaggeration to say the gene-editing technique CRISPR could revolutionize medicine. We look at a new milestone — a CRISPR treatment that edits a patient's DNA while it's still inside their body. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein explains how, if this treatment works, it could open up new avenues of treatment for diseases, like a genetic form of blindness, that were previously off limits t...

It actually behaves much like other viruses in that regard. NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey has more on what we know, what we don't, and tips on how to keep surfaces clean. More from her reporting is here . Following all of NPR's coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here . Email the show at shortwave@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal dat...

As schools across the U.S. shutter for weeks at a time, Short Wave looks at the science behind the decision. Plus, tips from a psychologist on how to cope with long, unexpected periods at home. 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

That's the central question of an unprecedented lawsuit against a company whose chemical plant flooded during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. Containers and trailers there caught fire, sending up a column of black smoke above the facility for days. Now Arkema (the company), an executive, and the local plant manager are facing criminal charges — recklessly emitting air pollution, and a third emplo...

There's a lot going on with the coronavirus. To keep you up to speed, we'll be doing more regular updates on the latest about the pandemic. Today, NPR science correspondents Jon Hamilton and Nell Greenfieldboyce discuss challenges in testing for the virus and how COVID-19 affects the elderly. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of p...

Pi Day (3/14) approaches. To help honor the coming holiday and the importance of math, stand-up mathematician Matt Parker unspools a common math mistake known as the off-by-one-error. His new book is called 'Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong In The Real World.' Email the show at shortwave@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and...

Coronavirus is all over the headlines. Accompanying the growing anxiety around its spread, has been suspicion and harassment of Asians and Asian Americans. For more on this, we turned to Gene Demby , co-host of NPR's Code Switch podcast, and his conversation with historian Erika Lee. We talk about how this wave of stigma is part of a longer history in the United States of camouflaging xenophobia a...

In 2016, biologists and fishermen across the country started to notice something disturbing. Freshwater mussels were dying in large numbers. NPR National Correspondent Nathan Rott tells us about the unsolved mystery surrounding the die-off, the team racing to figure it out, and why mussels are so important for the health of our streams and rivers. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our coll...

Physicists have done the math and there should be as much antimatter as matter — but that hasn't been the case so far. NPR Correspondent Geoff Brumfiel explains what's up with matter's "evil twin," antimatter. 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

From currency and commerce, food labels to laboratories, the metric system is the foundation of many science and math fields. To mark our 100th episode (a multiple of 10, which is the basis for the metric system!), we spoke with Elizabeth Benham, Metric Program Coordinator at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, about the presence of the metric system in our everyday lives. See pcm....

This one doesn't end the way you'd expect. Inspired by the Netflix documentary series "Night On Earth," we learn everything we can about a mouse and scorpion who do battle on the regular — from two scientists who study them: Ashlee Rowe at the University of Oklahoma and Lauren Esposito at the California Academy of Sciences. If you have Netflix, you can watch the critters clash about 18 minutes int...

Despite quarantines and other measures, the coronavirus keeps popping up. What makes it so hard to control? 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

As sea levels rise from climate change, coastal communities face a greater risk of chronic flooding. Climate scientist Astrid Caldas and her colleagues have looked at where it's happening now and where it could happen in the future as the tides keep getting higher. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia . Email the show at shortwave@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about ou...

NPR Pharmaceuticals Correspondent Sydney Lupkin joins us to talk about a dad who learned his daughter needed an expensive drug — but there was a nearly identical one that was thousands of dollars cheaper. It's part of NPR's Bill of the Month series, which is done in partnership with Kaiser Health News. Follow Emily and Sydney on Twitter. They're @EmilyKwong1234 and @slupkin . Email the show at sho...

How can you protect yourself and your family as the coronavirus spreads around the globe? Today we're featuring an episode from our friends over at NPR's Life Kit. They'll walk you through what you need to know to prepare for and prevent the spread of the disease. To hear more from Life Kit, check out npr.org/lifekit . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal da...

Raychelle Burks is a forensic chemist AND 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. Follow Maddie on Twitter @maddie_sofia . Email the show at shortwave@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship an...

In the second of two episodes exploring anti-vaccine misinformation online, Renee DiResta of the Stanford Internet Observatory explains why the Internet is so good at spreading bad information, and what big tech platforms are starting to do about it. Listen to the prior episode to hear more from Renee, and the story of pediatrician Nicole Baldwin, whose pro-vaccine TikTok video made her the target...

In the first of two episodes exploring anti-vaccine misinformation online, we hear the story of what happened to Cincinnati-area pediatrician Nicole Baldwin when her pro-vaccine TikTok video made her the target of harassment and intimidation from anti-vaccine activists online. Renee DiResta of the Stanford Internet Observatory explains their tactics and goals. You can see Dr. Baldwin's original Ti...

NASA engineer Dajae Williams is using hip hop to make math and science more accessible to young people. We talk with Dajae about her path to NASA, and how music helped her fall in love with math and science when she was a teenager. Follow Maddie on Twitter. 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...

With many of Australia's hillsides stripped bare by fire, scientists are rushing to predict where mudslides could be triggered by rainfall. NPR science reporter Rebecca Hersher and photographer Meredith Rizzo traveled to Australia to learn how they're doing it. More of their reporting (with photos) is here . Email the show at shortwave@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collec...