logo
episode-header-image
May 2024
17m 57s

Using A Lab On Wheels To Study Weed From...

SCIENCE FRIDAY AND WNYC STUDIOS
About this episode
A van outfitted as a mobile laboratory helps scientists study how legal cannabis products affect users—without breaking the law. 
Up next
Yesterday
Why is brain cancer so hard to treat?
Brain cancers are rare, but devastating. Patients face short life expectancies after diagnosis. Brain tumors are often impossible to remove completely. And radiation and chemotherapy don’t always stop them from spreading. It’s a daunting class of disease to study, but that didn’t ... Show More
17m 41s
Jul 30
How can astronaut food be better?
Astronaut food is not known as a frontier of culinary imagination, unless you count rehydrated shrimp cocktail. As NASA prepares for longer trips to the moon and Mars, is space cuisine ready for an overhaul? Flora speaks with retired astronaut Clayton Anderson, who spent 167 days ... Show More
17m 48s
Jul 29
The reality of living with extreme heat in India
At one point this year, the 50 hottest cities on the planet were all in one country: India. The average peak temperature in those cities was 112 F. India is one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world, and weather disasters, such as heat waves, have become more extr ... Show More
14m 51s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2024
Weed Week: Get Inside the CannaVan
<p>Cannabis is now legal in more than half of U.S. states, but it remains federally illegal – which makes doing research on the plant extremely difficult. Today, we meet a clever group of scientists who found their way around these laws… by literally driving around them.   </p><p ... Show More
16m 7s
May 2023
Expecting: Weed and pregnancy
Many states have extremely punitive policies around cannabis and pregnancy. But researchers don't actually have great data on cannabis's harms. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Als ... Show More
30m 46s
Aug 2024
Your Brain On... Marijuana
<p>The neuroscience behind the benefits and risks of marijuana, explained.</p> <p>Splintered legislature, evolving taboos, and new forms of consumption have created a fragmented market for cannabis, and made it challenging for scientists to research its effects on our brains and ... Show More
46m 6s
May 2024
Biden Loosens Up on Weed
<p>For half a century, the federal government has treated marijuana as one of the more dangerous drugs in the United States. On Tuesday, the Biden administration signaled a significant shift in approach.</p><p>Zolan Kanno-Youngs, a White House correspondent for The Times, explain ... Show More
26m 54s
Sep 2024
A New Era for Cannabis and What It Could Mean for You
The U.S. government recently proposed rescheduling cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug — basically signaling it has some accepted medical use and a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. But what does this mean in the real world exactly ... Show More
36m 45s
Jan 2021
Is marijuana bad for your brain? | Anees Bahji
In 1970, marijuana was classified as a schedule 1 drug in the United States: the strictest designation possible, meaning it was completely illegal and had no recognized medical uses. Today, marijuana's therapeutic benefits are widely acknowledged, but a growing recognition for it ... Show More
6m 45s
Apr 2024
Cannabis: I Get High With a Little Help From … Science
Weed has gone mainstream, and it's been rebranded as a wellness drug that you can customize to fit your needs. Want to feel relaxed? Well, you'll need a kind of pot called Indica. Want to get pepped up? Go for Sativa. But what can weed really do for us? We’re going to pack a bowl ... Show More
45m 39s
Jul 2018
That Purple Kush You're Toking Might Be a Genetic Imposter
Cannabis strain names can get a bit … quirky (Lamb’s Bread, anyone?). But without them, patients that rely on marijuana to treat ailments like pain would be lost. If you want to treat seizures, you might want ACDC—a strain that expresses almost zero THC and very high CBD, a non-p ... Show More
9m 6s
Sep 2022
The Road to Legalizing Cannabis at the Federal Level - Beyond the Scenes
The cannabis industry brings in billions of dollars in legal revenue, with Big Cannabis companies leading the charge. However, cannabis offenders remain incarcerated and federal restrictions prevent them from legally benefitting from this thriving industry. BOWL PAC founder, Just ... Show More
56m 39s
May 2024
Weed did it, Joe
The federal government has moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous controlled substance. Politico cannabis policy reporter Natalie Fertig explains why it is and isn’t a big deal. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy and Peter Balonon-Rosen, edited by Matt Collette ... Show More
26m 6s