logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2019
27m 26s

Why Do Earthquakes Happen?

Vermont Public
About this episode
Why do earthquakes happen? How do the tectonic plates move underground? How do we stay safe during an earthquake? Why are continents so far apart? Why do buildings sometimes catch fire after earthquakes? Why are there tsunamis after earthquakes? For this week's show we headed to California to visit Jennifer Strauss at the Berkeley Seismology Lab and we hear from Celeste Labedz at the California Institute of Technology. Download our listening guides: PDF | Google Slides | Transcript
Up next
May 29
What is ADHD?
What is ADHD? How does ADHD affect the brain? Why do only some people have it? How can we control our brains? An estimated 11 percent of U.S. kids are diagnosed with the neurological condition known as ADHD, so you may have it or have a friend or classmate with this unique way of ... Show More
27m 18s
May 15
What are eels?
What are eels? And why are some eels electric? We head to Poughkeepsie, New York to learn about eels with Chris Bowser, Hudson River estuary educator with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. Plus we learn about electric eels. Electric eels have captured the ima ... Show More
23m 4s
May 1
Why does green mean go and red mean stop?
Why is there traffic? How do traffic lights work? How do they know when to turn red and green? Why does green mean go and red mean stop? Why are cars able to go faster than they are allowed to go with the speed limit? Why do we drive on the right side of the road in the United St ... Show More
36m 3s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2023
Understanding Earthquake Aftershocks
Monday another earthquake struck southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border. This time, the quake registered as a magnitude 6.3 — an order lower than the initial, devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake and the magnitude 7.5 aftershock that struck the area two weeks ago on Feb. 6. ... Show More
10m 17s
Feb 2023
Why Can't We Predict Earthquakes?
In the wake of the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria, many scientists have been saying this area was "overdue" for a major quake. But no one knew just when: No scientist has "ever predicted a major earthquake," the U.S. Geological Survey says. Even the most promising earthqu ... Show More
12m 18s
Dec 2020
ELI5 Earthquakes - how do they design buildings to withstand them?
If an earthquake is the moving of a giant plate, why is the epicenter a single point and not the entire fault line? How do they make buildings earthquake proof? When did an earthquake shift an entire island?   ... We explain like i'm five!   Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive c ... Show More
7m 56s
Oct 2019
Digging Up Disaster
How did an ancient Roman harbor end up in ruins? Scientists realized the culprit was a long-forgotten natural disaster that left tell-tale geological clues -- and possibly an eyewitness account in an ancient religious text. But solving this mystery led to a bigger question: what ... Show More
26m 34s
Feb 2023
Turkey-Syria earthquake
In the early hours of Monday, a powerful earthquake hit Kahramanmaras in Turkey. Nine hours later another struck. When this edition of Science in Action first aired, 19,000 people were reported to have died, but that number was expected to rise. Back in 2016, Professor Asli Garag ... Show More
32m 15s
Oct 2016
The Orphan Tsunami
<p>In January of 1700, a tsunami struck the coast of Japan. While the connection between earthquakes and tsunamis was known, it actually took a very long time to figure out where the catalyzing earthquake had taken place.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="h ... Show More
29m 56s
Nov 2023
Thousands of earthquakes in Iceland may spell a volcanic eruption
Saturday, the entire coastal town of Grindavik, Iceland was evacuated. That's because over the weekend, the country experienced nearly 2,000 earthquakes within 48 hours. And they've kept coming since then – in swarms. Scientists think the quakes are indicative of magma moving clo ... Show More
13m 14s
Nov 2023
Seismic analyst tells us about earthquakes in Labrador
A two-point-nine earthquake was recorded near Postville a few weeks ago. It happened about 18-kilometres below the crust of the earth. We're going to hear more. 
6m 44s
Apr 2022
Seismology
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the study of earthquakes. A massive earthquake in 1755 devastated Lisbon, and this disaster helped inspire a new science of seismology which intensified after San Francisco in 1906 and advanced even further with the need to monitor nuclear tests ar ... Show More
49m 35s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami