logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
10m 29s

AI Could Help Save Us from Conspiracy Th...

Scientific American
About this episode
This week's news roundup: The European Space Agency’s Juice mission tested its instruments with a flyby of Earth in preparation for studying habitability on moons of Jupiter’. Also, a study found that Massachusetts has reduced food waste through composting and enforcement while four other states have not successfully done so despite also having bans on dispo ... Show More
Up next
Jun 22
Ebola update, World Cup heat risks, dad brains
In this episode of Science Quickly, we start with a quick update on the Ebola outbreak surging in parts of Africa. Host Rachel Feltman is then joined by Scientific American’s senior desk editor for life science Andrea Thompson to discuss what rising temperatures mean for the FIFA ... Show More
13m 10s
Jun 19
How common viruses could quietly raise your cancer risk
In this episode of Science Quickly, one of SciAm’s Young American Scientists, biologist Jaye Gardiner, explores how common viral infections may raise cancer risk—not just through genetic mutations but by reshaping the body’s “extracellular matrix” of molecules that support cells ... Show More
15m 34s
Jun 17
The neuroscientist decoding how the brain learns
In this episode, host Rachel Feltman interviews neuroscientist Kauê M. Costa, who is among Scientific American’s inaugural cohort of Young American Scientists honorees. Costa shares how being surprised by experiments has led him to new ways of thinking about learning in the brain ... Show More
19m 22s
Recommended Episodes
May 2025
Jupiter’s Cyclones, Amazon’s Satellites and T. rex Collagen
The congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment grinds to a halt. Amazon launches its first round of Internet satellites. The European Space Agency launches a satellite to measure the biomass of Earth’s trees. New data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft offer insights into Jupi ... Show More
9m 1s
Apr 2023
News Round Up: Mammoth Meatballs, Stressed Plants And Apologetic Robots
In this Friday round up of science news we can't let go, not everything is as it seems. Meatballs are not made of fresh meat from the cattle range. Robots are keeping something from you. And plants have secrets they keep out of your earshot. It's deceptive science, Short Wave-sty ... Show More
14m 15s
Mar 2023
If ChatGPT Designed A Rocket — Would It Get To Space?
From text churned out by ChatGPT to the artistic renderings of Midjourney, people have been taking notice of new, bot-produced creative works. But how does this artificial intelligence software fare when there are facts at stake — like designing a rocket capable of safe spaceflig ... Show More
13m 14s
Nov 2024
An Off Day on Uranus, a Wildfire in Prospect Park and Dispatches from COP29
A wildfire in Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Prospect Park was in part linked to drought conditions nationally. Plastic waste is set to grow with our expanding economy, but potential solutions look promising. Drops in gonorrhea and early-stage syphilis point to the first decline in sexually tr ... Show More
11m 44s
Nov 2024
An Off Day on Uranus, a Wildfire in Prospect Park and Dispatches from COP29
A wildfire in Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Prospect Park was in part linked to drought conditions nationally. Plastic waste is set to grow with our expanding economy, but potential solutions look promising. Drops in gonorrhea and early-stage syphilis point to the first decline in sexually tr ... Show More
11m 44s
Sep 2017
Cargo-sorting molecular robots, humans as the ultimate fire starters, and molecular modeling with quantum computers
This week we hear stories on the gut microbiome’s involvement in multiple sclerosis, how wildfires start—hint: It’s almost always people—and a new record in quantum computing with Online News Editor David Grimm. Andrew Wagner talks to Lulu Qian about DNA-based robots that can car ... Show More
30m 26s
Apr 2023
Artemis II Astronauts, AI Research Pause, Terra Nil Video Game. April 7, 2023, Part 2
<p>An Open Letter Asks AI Researchers To Reconsider Responsibilities</p> <p>In recent months, it’s been hard to escape hearing about artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT, the AI-enabled version of Bing, and Google’s Bard—large language models skilled at manipulating ... Show More
47m 41s
Jun 2023
A Newly-Discovered Asteroid And What's Beneath The Ice On Enceladus
All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro returns to nerd-our with Short Wave hosts Emily Kwong and Regina G. Barber on three science headlines from space: a newly-discovered asteroid, a new moon-related discovery and a new study about what spaceflight does to the human body. Have q ... Show More
9m 5s
Aug 2024
Space Firefighting, Sleep Schedules, Polystyrene
Today, you’ll learn about AI that can detect wildfires from space, why going to bed late might not be so great on your mental health, and a breakthrough in recycling. Space Firefighting “Fighting fires from space in record time: how AI could prevent a repeat of Australia’s devast ... Show More
11m 33s