logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
30m 22s

Funky Hand Jive

Wnyc Studios
About this episode

Back when Robert was kid, he had a chance encounter with then President John F. Kennedy. The interaction began with a hello and ended with a handshake. And like many of us who have touched greatness, 14 year old Robert was left wondering if maybe some of Kennedy would stay with him. Back in 2017, when this episode first aired, Robert found himself still pondering that encounter and question. And so with the help of what was brand new science back then, and a helping hand from Neil Degrasse Tyson, he set out to satisfy this curiosity once and for all.EPISODE CREDITS:Produced by - Simon Adlerwith help from - Only Human: Amanda Aronczyk, Kenny Malone, Jillian Weinberger and Elaine Chen.

EPISODE CITATIONS:

Videos:

The Handshake Experiment (https://zpr.io/buzgQeJJLqvY)Books: Neil deGrasse Tyson's newest book is called "Astrophysics for People in A Hurry." (https://zpr.io/idRcrMu3Kj8c) Ed Yong, “I Contain Multitudes.” (https://zpr.io/ff5imFP3kA6s)

Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

 

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

 

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

 

Up next
Yesterday
Creation Story
Ella al-Shamahi is one part Charles Darwin, one part Indiana Jones. She braves war zones and pirate-infested waters to collect fossils from prehistoric caves, fossils that help us understand the origin of our species. Her recent hit BBC / PBS series Human follows her around the g ... Show More
34m 53s
Oct 3
Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
This is the story of a three-year-old girl and the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court case Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl is a legal battle that has entangled a biological father, a heart-broken couple, and the tragic history of Native American children taken from their f ... Show More
45m 29s
Sep 26
Voice
Over the course of millions of years, human voices have evolved to hold startling power. These clouds of vibrating air carry crucial information about who we are–and we rely on them to push ourselves up and out into the physical world.This week, we’re on a journey to understand h ... Show More
1h 6m
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2020
What If Your Teacher Were A.I.? - Guests: Dr. Joanna Bryson and Dr. Jutta Treviranus
Sign up for the Great Courses today to receive the first month for free: https://bit.ly/great-courses-what-if Is A.I. the future of education? Could human teachers one day be replaced by robots? How can A.I. enhance the educational experience? What are the pros and cons of A.I. i ... Show More
47m 27s
Sep 2020
What If We've Already Made First Contact with Aliens? - with Andrew Siemion
Get 20% off your first monthly box when you sign up at boxofawesome.com and enter the code “whatif” at checkout. If you’re ready to take action and prevent hair loss, go to keeps.com/whatif to receive your first month of treatment for free. Is the truth really "out there"? Long b ... Show More
57m 34s
Aug 2020
What If We Had to Evacuate Earth? - Guest: Bill Nye
Sign up for the Great Courses Plus today and enjoy the first month for free: https://bit.ly/podcast-great-courses-plus We know the history of this planet and asteroids isn't good...just ask the dinosaurs. So, what if we were faced with the same situation now? How much time would ... Show More
34m 10s
Nov 2020
What If We Lived in a Closed Biosphere? - with Jane Poynter
In 1991, 8 people walked into the first ever biosphere project, committed to live there, grow their own food, recycle their waste and sustain themselves on limited amounts of oxygen for 2 years. So who better to ask "What If we lived in a closed biosphere than Jane Poynter, one o ... Show More
39m 1s
Nov 2022
The Lucy Fossil
Rerun. It took over three million years to find her. But palaeontologists Donald Johanson and Tom Gray uncovered the remains of ‘the Lucy Fossil’ - a previously undiscovered species of pre-human - in Hadar, Ethiopia on 24th November, 1974. Despite the find’s massive significance, ... Show More
12m 3s
Oct 2022
Neil deGrasse Tyson gets political
On this first episode of The Gray Area, Sean Illing talks with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who takes on many of our most vexing societal problems in his new book Starry Messenger. According to Neil, if we all were to adopt a more scientific approach to politics, many of o ... Show More
58m 49s
Aug 2020
Rutger Bregman on Human Kindness in a Frightened World with Helen Lewis
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared ------ Human beings, we’re taught, are by nature selfish and governed by self-interest. From Hobbes’ theory about the state of nature to Richard Dawkins’ ‘selfish gene’, the roots of this belief are deeply ingrained ... Show More
1h 2m
Mar 2020
327: Neil deGrasse Tyson | Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) is the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium, host of StarTalk Radio, and author of New York Times bestseller Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. What We Discuss with Neil deGrasse Tyson: How a seasoned scientist maintains childlike ... Show More
1h 3m
Dec 2020
What If You Never Aged? - with Jamie Metzl
What If you could live forever? Since the days of Ponce De Leon and the search for the Fountain of Youth, human beings have pursued longer lives, doing whatever they could to cheat time and extend their lives. Now, with genetic engineering/CRSPR technology etc. this is no longer ... Show More
45m 57s