Short Wave

Humankind has the technology to go to space. Space architect Ariel Ekblaw says the bottleneck now is real estate: getting larger volumes of space stations in orbit. Her company is working on the equivalent of giant, magnetic space Legos—hexagons that could self-assemble in space into livable, workable structures. This episode, host Regina G. Barber talks to her about this space architecture and wh...

This year, quantum science and computing came up  a lot . There have been broad claims that quantum science and engineering could one day help cure diseases, design new materials, optimize supply chains -- or help in other ways not yet fathomable. And, while the Trump administration has made strides to cut scientific funding, quantum research is one of two things they’ve pledged to continue invest...

Want to be a top notch candidate for hosting alien life? Then there's a few key requirements you should be aware of: Ideally, you're a large object like a moon or a planet; scientists suspect you also have an atmosphere and water; plus, you should orbit your star from a nice mid-range distance — in the "Goldilocks Zone" of habitability. Until recently, you would be competing against TRAPPIST-1 e....

In the 1970’s TV show called Six Million Dollar Man , a test pilot is in a horrible accident. The show’s famous line goes, “We can rebuild him. We have the technology.” Now, in the 2025 book, Replaceable You , science writer Mary Roach explores how people have collectively lived up to the task of rebuilding human bodies when they fail, as well as all the ways we may not quite be there yet. In this...

More than 100 million people in the U.S. have some allergy each year. That’s about every 1 in 3 adults. For many, the fix is a bandaid: over-the-counter allergy medications. But there’s another treatment that works to lessen these reactions rather than just manage people’s symptoms, allergy shots. The treatment has been around for over a century and is still popular today. Patients have to take th...

Thirty years ago, park rangers reintroduced grey wolves into Yellowstone National Park. They wanted to restore the ecosystem and get the elk population, which had decimated the plant community, in check. And it worked – or so the popular narrative suggests. But is it really so simple? Today on the show, we explore how the Yellowstone ecosystem has changed since wolves returned and whether those ch...

An estimated 5-10% of the U.S. population experiences a disorder with their TMJ, the joint that connects their jaw to their skull. The good news? Relief is possible. The secret? Go see your dentist. Today on the show, Emily talks with Justin Richer , an oral surgeon, about the diagnosis and treatment of TMJ disorders. Got a question about your teeth or dentistry? Email us at shortwave@npr.org . Li...

Electricity bills are on track to rise an average of 8 percent nationwide by 2030 according to a June analysis from Carnegie Mellon University and North Carolina State University. The culprits? Data centers and cryptocurrency mining. Bills could rise as much as 25 percent in places like Virginia. Science writer Dan Charles explains why electric utilities are adding the cost of data center building...

The comet 3I/ATLAS is taking a long holiday journey this year. It’s visiting from another solar system altogether. Those interstellar origins have the Internet rumor mill questioning whether 3I/ATLAS came from aliens. Co-hosts Emily Kwong and Regina G. Barber dive into that, plus what it and other interstellar comets can tell us about planets beyond our solar system. Read more of NPR’s coverage of...

Prediabetes is common in the U.S. — around 1 in 3 people have it. And many people may not know they have it. But last year, the FDA approved the first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor. Since then, more people without diabetes have started checking their blood glucose levels. Diabetologist and University of California, San Francisco professor of medicine Dr. Sarah Kim shares the science...

How far back in evolutionary history does kissing go? Through phylogenetic analysis, an international team of scientists found that kissing was likely present in the ancestor of all apes – which lived 21 million years ago. Not only that: They were definitely kissing Neanderthals. The study was published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior . In this news roundup, we also talk about new clue...

Many people are gearing up for holiday conversation with loved ones who may disagree with them -- on everything from politics to religion and lifestyle choices. These conversations can get personal and come to a halt quickly. But today on the show, we get into neuroscience and psychological research showing that as much as we disagree, there are ways to bridge these divides -- and people who are a...

Their whole life, producer Hannah Chinn has known about the Big One: a massive earthquake forecasted to hit the West Coast. Scientists say it’ll destroy buildings, collapse bridges, flood coastal towns and permanently shift the landscape. But how exactly do scientists know this much about the scope of earthquakes if they can’t even predict when those earthquakes are going to happen? Together with...

One in every eight households in the U.S. isn’t always sure where the next meal will come from. Limited food access can spell hunger – and that can affect the body and mind. So can cheaper, less nutritious foods. Hunger has a huge impact on individuals – and whole societies. It can mean shorter term issues like trouble focusing, as well as longer term mental health and physical struggles like chro...

Dreams of flying? Nightmares of teeth falling out? Falling off a cliff? As a sleep scientist at the University of Montreal, Michelle Carr has pretty much heard it all. In Michelle’s new book Nightmare Obscura , she explores the science of dreams, nightmares – and even something called dream engineering, where people influence their own dreams while they sleep. Today on Short Wave, co-host Regina G...

Emily Kwong is pretty sure she lacks an inner monologue, while the inner monologue of producer Rachel Carlson won’t stop chatting. But how well can a person know their inner self? And what does science have to say about it? To learn more about Charles Fernyhough’s research on voice hearing, visit the Understanding Voices support resource . Interested in more science inside your brain? Email us you...

What's your favorite apple? Maybe it's the crowd-pleasing Honeycrisp, the tart Granny Smith or the infamous Red Delicious. Either way, before that apple made it to your local grocery store or orchard it had to be invented — by a scientist. So today, we're going straight to the source: Talking to an apple breeder. Producer Hannah Chinn reports how apples are selected, bred, grown ... and the discov...

Scientists have found the first compelling evidence that cognitive training can boost levels of a brain chemical that typically declines as people age. The results of this 10-week study back earlier animal research showing that environments that stimulate the brain can increase levels of certain neurotransmitters. And other studies of people have suggested that cognitive training can improve think...

This week, we’re sharing a special episode from TED Tech exploring Gen Z slang words like "unalive," "skibidi" and "rizz." Where do these words come from — and how do they get popular so fast? Linguist Adam Aleksic explores how the forces of social media algorithms are reshaping the way people talk and view their very own identities.  Technology’s role in our lives is evolving fast. TED Tech helps...

It’s another news roundup! This time, we cover how, using data analytics – and ironically, some AI – a team at Cornell University has mapped the environmental impact of AI by state. They determined that, by 2030, the rate of AI growth in the U.S. would put an additional 24 to 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The team further calculated that by 2030, AI could use as muc...

David Ewing Duncan has spent the last 25 years being poked and prodded in the name of science. He’s signed up for hundreds of tests because, as a journalist, he writes about emerging health breakthroughs. He says one recent test contains more useful data than anything he’s seen to date. He talks to host Emily Kwong about his score on the Immune Health Metric, which was developed by immunologist Jo...

Cosmic dust can tell scientists about how ice covered Earth during the last ice age. This dust is leftover debris from asteroids and comets colliding in space and this dust constantly rains down on our planet. Researcher Frankie Pavia from the University of Washington recently used a brand new method for estimating climate conditions 30,000 years ago, by looking at the cosmic dust amounts in ancie...

Recently, health influencers on Instagram and TikTok have been vocal about the side effects of hormonal birth control. Check out the most popular videos on the subject, and you’ll hear horror stories about sex drive and skin texture, depression and weight fluctuation. But doctors say that while some side effects are possible, the most extreme stories are often the rarest cases. And one of the most...

Scientists know why leaves turn yellow in the fall: Chlorophyll breaks down, revealing the yellow pigment that was there all along. But red? Red is a different story altogether. Leaves have to make a new pigment to turn red. Why would a dying leaf do that? Scientists don’t really know. NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce reports on the leading hypotheses out there. Read more of Nell's r...

Around 250 million years ago, one of Earth’s largest known volcanic events set off The Great Dying: the planet’s worst mass extinction event. The eruptions spewed large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, temperatures rose globally and oxygen in the oceans dropped.  And while the vast majority of species went extinct, some survived. Scientists like paleophysiology graduate student  Ke...