Aug 6

When waves go rogue

Towering walls of water sometimes appear in the ocean without warning or apparent cause. What drives their terrifying power? (First published in 2023) Guest: Ton van der Bremer, associate professor of environmental fluid mechanics. For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com ... Show More

28m 26s

Aug 4

Good news for people who love bad news

Good news can be hard to find, especially when our brains — and the media — are biased against it. Guest: Bryan Walsh, senior editorial director of Vox, and author of the Good News newsletter This episode was made in partnership with Vox’s Future Perfect team.For show transcripts ... Show More

28m 10s

Jul 30

12 tiny worlds

If you went back 500 million years and re-ran evolution, would life be totally different today? Guests: Richard Lenski and Zachary Blount, evolutionary biologists at Michigan State University For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more, go ... Show More

35m 40s

May 21

Do Mitochondria Talk to Each Other? A New Look at the Cell’s Powerhouse

Mitochondria are known as the powerhouse of the cell—but new research suggests they might be far more complex. Columbia University’s Martin Picard joins Scientific American’s Rachel Feltman to explore how these tiny organelles could be communicating and what that might mean for e ... Show More

27m 4s

Jul 25

Greenland’s Ice Sheet Is at Risk—And So Are We

Chief multimedia editor Jeffery DelViscio ventured to Greenland for a month to learn from the scientists studying the country’s ice sheet. He speaks with host Rachel Feltman about his time in the field and his takeaways from conversations with climate scientists. This story was s ... Show More

22m 5s

Jul 25

Greenland’s Ice Sheet Is at Risk—And So Are We

Chief multimedia editor Jeffery DelViscio ventured to Greenland for a month to learn from the scientists studying the country’s ice sheet. He speaks with host Rachel Feltman about his time in the field and his takeaways from conversations with climate scientists. This story was s ... Show More

22m 5s

May 19

How to Make Gold, Flamingo Food Tornado, and Kosmos-482 Lands

Soviet-era spacecraft Kosmos-482 lands, though no one is certain where. Physicists turn lead into gold. Overdose deaths are down, in part thanks to the availability of naloxone. Flamingos make underwater food tornadoes. Chimps use leaves as a multi-tool. Recommended reading: A Ne ... Show More

8m 9s

Jul 30

Your Guide to Summer’s Extreme Weather, from Corn Sweat to Flash Floods

The summer of 2025 has been a doozy in the U.S., with extreme weather across the country. Flash flooding caused destruction and death in Texas. Corn sweat made a heat wave in the eastern half of the U.S. worse in the Midwest. Senior editor for sustainability Andrea Thompson takes ... Show More

9m 4s

Nov 2024

Reflecting on our First Attempt to Speak with the Stars

Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of a transmission from the Arecibo Observatory, intended as our first attempt to send a message to intelligent life across the universe. Journalist Nadia Drake talks about the careful crafting of the signal and her personal connection with the ... Show More

15m 20s

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

Jul 2024

On Thin Ice: Contemplating Our Climate Future in Antarctica (Part 4)

We’re at the end of the Nathaniel B. Palmer’s Antarctic expedition. The researchers onboard are returning sea ice and thousands of gallons of seawater. These samples will allow them to examine biogeochemical processes, some of which are linked to climate change. As the research v ... Show More

17m 40s

Jun 18

Why Your Gut Loves a Good Workout

Host Rachel Feltman explores the surprising connection between exercise and the gut microbiome with Scientific American contributing editor Lydia Denworth. Drawing from her latest reporting, Denworth explains how aerobic activity can influence the microbial ecosystems in our dige ... Show More

9m 51s

One weird trick to get unlimited clean e...