logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2021
47m 6s

Michael Pollan On Mind-Altering Plants, ...

SCIENCE FRIDAY AND WNYC STUDIOS
About this episode
How America Is Preparing For Another Pandemic Winter The weather is getting colder, the days are getting shorter, and the world is approaching the two year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like last year, experts are wary that a winter surge in cases could happen again this year, even with the protection of vaccinations. The Biden administration is tryi ... Show More
Up next
Yesterday
How A Mutation Made This Year’s Flu Season So Bad
A rogue strain of flu, subclade K, has sickened more than 19 million people in the US so far this season. And the flu shot hasn’t offered that much protection. What’s going on with this superflustorm?Joining Host Flora Lichtman with some answers is Jennifer Duchon, a pediatric in ... Show More
12m 27s
Jan 23
Tracking The Toxic Fallout Of The LA Fires
This time last year, Los Angeles was on fire, and more than 16,000 homes and buildings burned to the ground. Cars, batteries, solar panels, insulation, and cleaning supplies went up in flames, releasing chemicals like lead, benzene, and asbestos into giant smoke plumes that wafte ... Show More
17m 28s
Jan 22
Deepfakes Are Everywhere. What Can We Do?
Deepfakes have been everywhere lately, from fake AI images of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro following his (real) capture by the United States, to X’s Grok AI generating nonconsensual images of real people in states of undress. And if you missed all that, you've almost certainl ... Show More
22m 36s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2025
How to Fight Bird Flu If It Becomes the Next Human Pandemic (Part 3)
Creating a bird flu vaccine requires several layers of bioprotective clothing and typically a whole lot of eggs. H5N1 avian influenza infections have gone from flocks of chickens to herds of cattle and humans. Scientists at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute are taking their ... Show More
32m 51s
Oct 2
What does caffeine do to our bodies?
Sweet, caffeinated energy drinks are in the headlines again as the UK Government says it wants to ban under 16s from buying them. Some can contain the equivalent caffeine as 2 to 4 espressos. James Betts, Professor of Metabolic Physiology at the University of Bath, explains the s ... Show More
28m 21s
Jun 2025
CDC Vaccine Panel Fired by RFK, Jr., Oceans Grow More Acidic, and Pangolins Threatened by Hunting
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has fired the experts on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel, sparking concern among public health officials. Ocean acidification has crossed a critical threshold, posing serious risks to marine life around the globe. An ... Show More
10m 14s
Oct 2024
Microbes Are Evolving to Eat Cleaning Supplies, and Whooping Cough Is Making a Comeback
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have confirmed we’re in the solar maximum, a period of increased solar activity that could lead to more auroras. Also, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported a fivefold surge in whooping cough cases ... Show More
9m 13s
Oct 2024
Microbes Are Evolving to Eat Cleaning Supplies, and Whooping Cough Is Making a Comeback
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have confirmed we’re in the solar maximum, a period of increased solar activity that could lead to more auroras. Also, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported a fivefold surge in whooping cough cases ... Show More
9m 13s
Oct 20
Global Superbugs Surge, Chikungunya Hits Long Island, and Satellites Leak Data
This week on Science Quickly, we cover the global rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, a rare U.S. case of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus and new research on anti-inflammatory supplements. Plus, scientists warn of satellite vulnerabilities—from Earth’s weakening magnetic ... Show More
8m 52s
Oct 20
Global Superbugs Surge, Chikungunya Hits Long Island, and Satellites Leak Data
This week on Science Quickly, we cover the global rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, a rare U.S. case of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus and new research on anti-inflammatory supplements. Plus, scientists warn of satellite vulnerabilities—from Earth’s weakening magnetic ... Show More
8m 52s
Sep 2025
Tylenol and Autism, a Shark Threesome and a Typhoon
This week’s roundup breaks down the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to revise the safety label for acetaminophen (Tylenol) following the Trump administration’s misleading claims about a link between use of the drug during pregnancy and autism—which were made despite incon ... Show More
12m 15s
Oct 2024
Scurvy, Bird Flu and a Big Old Meteorite
An enormous meteorite’s impact 3.26 billion years ago may have made conditions on Earth more hospitable for life in the long run. Washington State is the sixth state to report cases of bird flu in humans. Weight-loss procedures and treatments could lead to an uptick in scurvy cas ... Show More
9m 27s
Oct 1
What’s Driving Experts Away from the CDC?
Several top public health experts have resigned from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, citing a troubling shift away from science-based decision-making. Former director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Demetre Daskalakis joins h ... Show More
16m 28s