logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
1h 1m

Match Made in Marrow

Wnyc Studios
About this episode
In an episode first reported in 2017, we bring you what may be, maybe the greatest gift one person could give to another. You never know what might happen when you sign up to donate bone marrow. You might save a life… or you might be magically transported across a cultural chasm and find yourself starring in a modern adaptation of the greatest story ever t ... Show More
Up next
Apr 24
Forests on Forests
For much of history, tree canopies were pretty much completely ignored by science. It was as if researchers said collectively, "It's just going to be empty up there, and we've got our hands full studying the trees down here! So why bother?" But then around the mid-1980s, a few ec ... Show More
19m 50s
Apr 17
The Resistance of a Cow
There’s something rotten in the cows of Denmark. And Minnesota. And Wisconsin. And Idaho. What could cause a previously thriving herd of majestic dairy cattle to stop drinking water and start drinking … urine? A Danish farmer calls a special investigator, who takes one look at hi ... Show More
51m 3s
Apr 10
The Builders
In an episode first aired back in 2025 on our sister show, Terrestrials, we take you on a musical journey all about beavers. Few mammals have a bigger positive impact on the planet than the beaver. With its bright orange buck teeth, the creature is an expert engineer that brings ... Show More
30 m
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2022
The DNA DOE PROJECT — Part 1
The DNA Doe Project had worked to solve the cases of unidentified decedents—also known as "Does." Through the use of investigative genetic genealogy, cases once though impossible to close are now being solved, and some of the volunteers behind this nonprofit speak to us about its ... Show More
32m 54s
Aug 2025
Trapped in the Tropics: Stranger to Saviour
A chance encounter with an enigmatic stranger presents Warren Macdonald with the adventure opportunity of a lifetime. But deep in Queensland’s Hinchinbrook Island, a bizarre accident changes everything. Smashed to pieces and immobilised, Warren has to pin all his hopes on a man h ... Show More
54m 2s
Sep 2025
The Dead Composer Whose ‘Brain’ Still Makes Music
In a hauntingly innovative exhibit, brain cells grown from the late composer Alvin Lucier’s blood generate sound. Set in a museum in Perth, Australia, the installation blurs the line between art and neuroscience. Host Rachel Feltman and associate editor Allison Parshall explore t ... Show More
25m 25s
Sep 2025
The Dead Composer Whose ‘Brain’ Still Makes Music
In a hauntingly innovative exhibit, brain cells grown from the late composer Alvin Lucier’s blood generate sound. Set in a museum in Perth, Australia, the installation blurs the line between art and neuroscience. Host Rachel Feltman and associate editor Allison Parshall explore t ... Show More
25m 25s
Feb 2025
Exploring the Hidden Life in the Air around Us with Carl Zimmer
Scientists now agree that COVID spreads via airborne transmission. But during the early days of the disease, public health officials suggested that it mainly did so via close contact. The subsequent back-and-forth over how COVID spread brought science journalist Carl Zimmer into ... Show More
16m 47s
Jun 2020
Forensic Genealogy: Solving One of America's Oldest Cold Caes
On this special episode of The Fall Line, we speak with friend of the show Anthony Redgrave. If you keep up with true-crime news, you've likely seen Anthony on television. He was a lead researcher in the oldest doe case solved by forensic genealogists working for law enforcement. ... Show More
49m 14s
Oct 2025
The Meteorite That Vanished: El Ali’s Strange Journey
A massive iron meteorite sat undisturbed in the Somali desert for generations—until armed men stole it in 2020. The El Ali meteorite contains at least three minerals never before seen on Earth, making it scientifically priceless. But its journey from landmark to black market rais ... Show More
17m 53s