As schools across the U.S. shutter for weeks at a time, Short Wave looks at the science behind the decision. Plus, tips from a psychologist on how to cope with long, unexpected periods at home.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

That's the central question of an unprecedented lawsuit against a company whose chemical plant flooded during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. Containers and trailers there caught fire, sending up a column of black smoke above the facility for days. Now Arkema (the company), an executive, and the local plant manager are facing criminal charges — recklessly emitting air pollution, and a third employee with assault. Rebecca's latest reporting on the case is here. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There's a lot going on with the coronavirus. To keep you up to speed, we'll be doing more regular updates on the latest about the pandemic. Today, NPR science correspondents Jon Hamilton and Nell Greenfieldboyce discuss challenges in testing for the virus and how COVID-19 affects the elderly.Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pi Day (3/14) approaches. To help honor the coming holiday and the importance of math, stand-up mathematician Matt Parker unspools a common math mistake known as the off-by-one-error. His new book is called 'Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong In The Real World.'Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Coronavirus is all over the headlines. Accompanying the growing anxiety around its spread, has been suspicion and harassment of Asians and Asian Americans. For more on this, we turned to Gene Demby, co-host of NPR's Code Switch podcast, and his conversation with historian Erika Lee. We talk about how this wave of stigma is part of a longer history in the United States of camouflaging xenophobia as public health and hygiene concerns.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 2016, biologists and fishermen across the country started to notice something disturbing. Freshwater mussels were dying in large numbers. NPR National Correspondent Nathan Rott tells us about the unsolved mystery surrounding the die-off, the team racing to figure it out, and why mussels are so important for the health of our streams and rivers.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Physicists have done the math and there should be as much antimatter as matter — but that hasn't been the case so far. NPR Correspondent Geoff Brumfiel explains what's up with matter's "evil twin," antimatter.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

From currency and commerce, food labels to laboratories, the metric system is the foundation of many science and math fields. To mark our 100th episode (a multiple of 10, which is the basis for the metric system!), we spoke with Elizabeth Benham, Metric Program Coordinator at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, about the presence of the metric system in our everyday lives.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This one doesn't end the way you'd expect. Inspired by the Netflix documentary series "Night On Earth," we learn everything we can about a mouse and scorpion who do battle on the regular — from two scientists who study them: Ashlee Rowe at the University of Oklahoma and Lauren Esposito at the California Academy of Sciences. If you have Netflix, you can watch the critters clash about 18 minutes into the episode 'Moonlit Plains' here. Read more about Lauren's work with scorpions here, and Ashlee's work with grasshopper mice here. And you can learn more about grasshopper mouse vocalizations from Northern Arizona University's Bret Pasch here.Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Despite quarantines and other measures, the coronavirus keeps popping up. What makes it so hard to control?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As sea levels rise from climate change, coastal communities face a greater risk of chronic flooding. Climate scientist Astrid Caldas and her colleagues have looked at where it's happening now and where it could happen in the future as the tides keep getting higher. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

NPR Pharmaceuticals Correspondent Sydney Lupkin joins us to talk about a dad who learned his daughter needed an expensive drug — but there was a nearly identical one that was thousands of dollars cheaper. It's part of NPR's Bill of the Month series, which is done in partnership with Kaiser Health News. Follow Emily and Sydney on Twitter. They're @EmilyKwong1234 and @slupkin. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

How can you protect yourself and your family as the coronavirus spreads around the globe? Today we're featuring an episode from our friends over at NPR's Life Kit. They'll walk you through what you need to know to prepare for and prevent the spread of the disease. To hear more from Life Kit, check out npr.org/lifekit.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Raychelle Burks is a forensic chemist AND a big fan of murder mysteries. Today, we talk pop culture forensics with Raychelle and what signs to look for to know whether or not a tv crime show is getting the science right.Follow Maddie on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the second of two episodes exploring anti-vaccine misinformation online, Renee DiResta of the Stanford Internet Observatory explains why the Internet is so good at spreading bad information, and what big tech platforms are starting to do about it. Listen to the prior episode to hear more from Renee, and the story of pediatrician Nicole Baldwin, whose pro-vaccine TikTok video made her the target of harassment and intimidation from anti-vaccine activists online. You can see Dr. Baldwin's original TikTok here. Renee DiResta has written about how some anti-vaccine proponents harass, intimidate, and spread misinformation online here and here. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the first of two episodes exploring anti-vaccine misinformation online, we hear the story of what happened to Cincinnati-area pediatrician Nicole Baldwin when her pro-vaccine TikTok video made her the target of harassment and intimidation from anti-vaccine activists online. Renee DiResta of the Stanford Internet Observatory explains their tactics and goals.You can see Dr. Baldwin's original TikTok here. Renee DiResta has written about how some anti-vaccine proponents harass, intimidate, and spread misinformation online here. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

NASA engineer Dajae Williams is using hip hop to make math and science more accessible to young people. We talk with Dajae about her path to NASA, and how music helped her fall in love with math and science when she was a teenager.Follow Maddie on Twitter. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

With many of Australia's hillsides stripped bare by fire, scientists are rushing to predict where mudslides could be triggered by rainfall. NPR science reporter Rebecca Hersher and photographer Meredith Rizzo traveled to Australia to learn how they're doing it. More of their reporting (with photos) is here. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Wingspan is a board game that brings the world of ornithology into the living room. The game comes with 170 illustrated birds cards, each equipped with a power that reflects that bird's behavior in nature. Wingspan game designer Elizabeth Hargrave speaks with Short Wave's Emily Kwong about her quest to blend scientific accuracy with modern board game design.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Manu Prakash is the co-inventor of the Foldscope, a low-cost microscope aimed at making scientific tools more accessible. We chat with him about why he wants to change how we think about science, and what it'll take to make science something everyone is able to enjoy. Follow Maddie on Twitter. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Harvard chemist Charles Lieber was arrested in January on charges he lied about funding he received from China. Some say the case points to larger issues around scientific collaboration in an era of geopolitical rivalry, as well as the racial profiling of scientists. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's possible — but it depends on a few key factors. NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey explains, and tells the story of the scientist who uncovered the importance of zinc for human health in the first place. Follow Allison on Twitter @AubreyNPRFood and host Maddie Sofia @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ever wonder what's causing all those reactions in your body when you're falling in love with someone? We certainly did. So, we called up Adam Cole, who gathered up all the science and wrote "A Neuroscience Love Song" for NPR's Skunk Bear back in the day. Follow Maddie Sofia and Adam Cole on Twitter. Email love letters to the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A few years ago farmers started noticing their crops were developing damaged leaves. Turns out the culprit was dicamba, a weedkiller being sprayed by other farmers. Now a trial is underway to decide who's responsible. The farmer behind the lawsuit is pointing the blame, not at other farmers, but two big companies, Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) and BASF. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's the latest installment of our series, "Animal Slander," where we take a common phrase about animals and see what truth there is to it. The issue before the Short Wave court today: "Do cats deserve their aloof reputation?" We look at the evidence with cat researcher, Kristyn Vitale of Oregon State University. Follow Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia and Emily Kwong @emilykwong1234. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Meet the CubeSat: a miniaturized satellite that's been growing in sophistication. In the last 20 years, over 1,000 CubeSats have been launched into space for research and exploration. We talk about three CubesSat missions, and how this satellite technology ventured from college campuses to deep space. Tweet to Emily Kwong at @emilykwong1234 and talk #scicomm with Joe on @joesbigidea. Plus, you can always reach the show by emailing [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Diabetes is a growing global problem, especially in low and middle income countries. Half of the 100 million in need of insulin lack reliable access. The World Health Organization wants to do something about it. Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong tells host Maddie Sofia about the WHO's pre-qualification program, a two-year plan to pave the way for more insulin manufacturers to enter the global market.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

How does the coronavirus spread? Does wearing a face mask actually help? And why is the virus getting so much media coverage? This episode, we answer your coronavirus-related questions with the help of NPR global health and development reporter Pien Huang. Follow Pien on Twitter @Pien_Huang and host Maddie Sofia @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected]. Also, we're looking for a summer intern! Apply here.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Joey Ramp's service dog, Sampson, is with her at all times, even when she has to work in a laboratory. It wasn't always easy to have him at her side. Joey tells us why she's trying to help more service animals and their handlers work in laboratory settings. We first read about Joey in The Scientist. See pictures of Joey and her service dog Sampson here, and learn more about the work she does with service animals and their handlers here. Follow Sampson on Twitter @sampson_dog and host Maddie Sofia @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Seismologist Wenyuan Fan explains the accidental discovery — buried deep in seismic and meteorological data — that certain storms over ocean water can cause measurable seismic activity, or 'stormquakes.' He says this phenomenon could help scientists better understand the earth below the sea.The original paper Wenyuan co-authored on stormquakes is here. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Every day, approximately 30,000 people die globally of sepsis. The condition comes about when your immune system overreacts to an infection, leading potentially to organ failure and death. There is no cure. But then in 2017, a doctor proposed a novel treatment for sepsis, a mixture that included Vitamin C, arguing it saved the lives of most of his patients. NPR's Richard Harris has been reporting on this treatment and how it's divided scientists from around the world. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Trump Administration has rolled back dozens of environmental regulations, which it regards as a burden to industry. Today on Short Wave, NPR National Desk correspondents Jeff Brady and Nathan Rott break down two — governing how the federal government regulates waterway pollution and emissions from coal-fired power plants.Follow reporter Emily Kwong on Twitter @EmilyKwong1234, Nathan Rott @NathanRott, and Jeff Brady @JeffBradyNews. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Today we know that one of the easiest and most effective things you can do to protect yourself from the cold, flu, and other respiratory illnesses (including those like the novel coronavirus) is to wash your hands. But there was a time when that wasn't so obvious. Dana Tulodziecki, a professor at Purdue University, tells the story of Ignaz Semmelweis, the scientist who's credited with discovering the importance of handwashing. We'll hear how he figured it out and why there's more to the story. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

With the Iowa caucuses around the corner, we give you a Short Wave guide (with some help from our friends at NPR Politics) to where the top-tier Democratic presidential candidates stand on climate change and the environment. Political correspondent and NPR Politics Podcast co-host Scott Detrow breaks it down for us. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia and Scott @scottdetrow. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Mongolia has a many-thousand year history of herding livestock. But in the past two decades, tens of thousands have left the countryside because of a natural disaster you may have never heard of. "Dzud" kills animals en masse during winter. Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong brings host Maddie Sofia this story from the grassland steppe, capturing how an agrarian community has adapted to environmental change. Follow host Maddie Sofia @maddie_sofia and reporter Emily Kwong @emilykwong1234 on Twitter. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

With the Iran nuclear deal in further jeopardy, we take a look at how the country's nuclear program began with NPR's Geoff Brumfiel. (The United States has a surprising role.) We'll also hear how the 2015 agreement, putting limits on that program, came about, and what it means now that the deal is on life support. For more on Geoff's reporting on nuclear weapons, follow Geoff on Twitter — he's @gbrumfiel. Plus, you can email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Sarah Parcak explains how she uses satellite imagery and data to solve one of the biggest challenges in archaeology: where to start digging. Her book is called 'Archaeology From Space: How The Future Shapes Our Past'. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A deadly virus believed to have originated in China was found in the US this week. NPR global health correspondent Jason Beaubien explains what we know and don't know about the disease — and the likelihood it will continue to spread. Follow Jason on Twitter @jasonbnpr. More of NPR's reporting on the virus can be found here. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For nearly forty years, the Guam Rail bird (locally known as the ko'ko') has been extinct in the wild — decimated by the invasive brown tree snake. But now, after a decades-long recovery effort, the ko'ko' has been successfully re-introduced. It is the second bird in history to recover from extinction in the wild. Wildlife biologist Suzanne Medina tells us the story of how the Guam Department of Agriculture brought the ko'ko' back, with a little matchmaking and a lot of patience.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Swarms of locusts can destroy crops and livelihoods. Right now, countries in East Africa are dealing with the threat. At a lab in Tempe, Arizona, researchers are trying to figure out how to minimize the crop damage these voracious pests can cause. The answer, NPR's Joe Palca tells us, might be looking at what locusts like, and don't like, to eat. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Some very unusual mice with big muscles are back on Earth after a month on the International Space Station. NPR science correspondent Jon Hamilton shares the story of the two researchers behind the experiment. What they learn could help people with disabling bone and muscle diseases and another group with muscle problems, astronauts. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Already this year, natural disasters have wreaked havoc in Australia, Indonesia, and Puerto Rico. We look at some science behind the wildfires, floods, and earthquakes in those places with NPR reporters Rebecca Hersher and Jason Beaubien. You can find more of Jason's reporting on Australia here and follow him on Twitter @jasonbnpr. Follow NPR's Adrian Florido on Twitter @adrianflorido and find his reporting from Puerto Rico here. Rebecca Hersher is @rhersher and here's her story about wildfire embers in Australia. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 2015, Steffanie Strathdee's husband nearly died from a superbug, an antibiotic resistant bacteria he contracted in Egypt. Desperate to save him, she reached out to the scientific community for help. What she got back? A 100-year-old treatment that's considered experimental in the U.S. Strathdee, an infectious disease epidemiologist, tells us how it works, its limitations, and its potential role in our fight against superbugs. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Accurate weather forecasting can be a matter of life or death. So countries with less money like Mozambique face a big challenge. They can't build and maintain their own weather radar or satellites. Instead, they rely on weather maps created by wealthier countries, like the U.S. NPR climate reporter Becky Hersher tells us what that means for Mozambique, a country where the weather's gotten worse as the climate changes. Reach the show by emailing [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Storytelling can be a powerful tool to convey information, even in the world of science. It can also shift stereotypes about who scientists are. We talked to someone who knows all about this - Liz Neeley, the Executive Director of Story Collider, a nonprofit focused on telling "true, personal stories about science." You can tell us your personal science stories by emailing, [email protected]. Plus, do some #scicomm with Maddie on Twitter — she's @maddie_sofia.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Since the dawn of Sputnik in 1957, space-faring nations have been filling Earth's orbit with satellites. Think GPS, weather forecasting, telecommunications satellites. But as those have increased, so, too, has space junk. On today's show, we talk about the first mission to clean up space junk and the problem debris poses to sustainability in space.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Host Maddie Sofia and reporter Emily Kwong evaluate what truth there is to the popular phrases "blind as a bat" and "memory of a goldfish." Hint: The phrases probably weren't born out of peer-reviewed science. Tweet Maddie at @maddie_sofia and Emily at @emilykwong1234. Plus, encourage our editor to make this a series by sending fan mail to [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's called silicosis, and it's been known about for decades. So why is it now emerging in new numbers among workers who cut kitchen countertops? NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce explains. More of her original reporting on silicosis is here. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy