In a Valentine's Day exclusive report, NPR has learned there is currently a gay anteater couple at Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington D.C.But this couple is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to queerness in the animal world – it's been documented in hundreds of species. We spoke with wildlife ecologist Christine Wilkinson of the "Queer is Natural" TikTok series to uncover the wildest, queerest animals of the bunch. Questions, comments or thoughts on queer animal love? Email us at [email protected] and we might feature it on a future episode!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Happy Lunar New Year! According to the Chinese lunisolar calendar, the new year began Saturday. For many, like our host Regina G. Barber, this calendar and its cultural holidays can feel completely detached from the Gregorian calendar. Growing up, she associated the former with the Spring Festival and getting money in red envelopes from relatives, and the other with more American traditions. But the Chinese calendar has a deep, centuries-long shared history with the Gregorian calendar. To learn more about this shared history, Gina talks to scientists and historians, who spill the tea about the science behind calendars, and how both calendars and the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration played a key role in the rise and fall of empires. Email us [email protected] for more science history. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

At least, that's what a group of researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University thinks. The team recently published a study in the journal Experimental Biology suggesting that Amphiphrion ocellaris, or clown anemonefish, may be counting. Specifically, the authors think the fish may be looking at the number of vertical white stripes on each other as well as other anemonefish as a way to identify their own species. Not only that — the researchers think that the fish are noticing the minutiae of other anemonefish's looks because of some fishy marine geopolitics. Questions, comments or thoughts on another marine sea creature you want to hear us cover? Email us at [email protected] and we might feature it on a future episode!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you've ever watched part of a professional football game, you've probably seen a tight spiral pass. Those perfect throws where the football leaves the player's hand and neatly spins as it arcs through the air. But those passes? They seem to defy fundamental physics. And for a long time, scientists couldn't figure out exactly why — until experimental atomic physicist Tim Gay cracked the case just a few years ago. His answer comes after two decades of hobby research and more than a couple late night shouting matches with two other physicists over Zoom.Today on Short Wave, host Regina G. Barber talks to Tim about this football mystery — and the physics behind the game.Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, releasing radioactive material into northern Ukraine and Belarus. It was the most serious nuclear accident in history. Over one hundred thousand people were evacuated from the surrounding area. But local gray wolves never left — and their population has grown over the years. It's seven times denser than populations in protected lands elsewhere in Belarus. This fact has led scientists to wonder whether the wolves are genetically either resistant or resilient to cancer — or if the wolves are simply thriving because humans aren't interfering with them. This episode, researchers Shane Campbell-Staton and Cara Love talk through what might be causing this population boom. Plus, why researchers in the field of human cancer are eager to collaborate with them.Want to hear about other ways humans are impacting the planet? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Back in the day, many of us heard that the appendix is a vestigial organ — at best, a body part that lost its purpose all those many years ago. At worst, an unnecessary clinger-on to the human body that, when ruptured, could be life threatening. But what if that narrative is wrong?Heather Smith became obsessed with the appendix after hers was removed at age 12. After years of anatomy research, she's found that the appendix is not, in fact, useless. Reporter Selena Simmons-Duffin is in the host chair today to get the scoop on all things appendix. Think it's time to give another part of the human body its due? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear about it!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

An all-out "naked mole rat war" has broken out at Smithsonian's National Zoo, after the queen of the colony was mortally wounded by one of her own children. Short Wave's Pien Huang and Margaret Cirino visit the battleground – a series of deceptively calm-looking plexiglass enclosures at the Zoo's Small Mammal House. There, the typically harmonious, eusocial rodents are now fighting their siblings with their big front teeth to determine who will become the new queen. Pien and Marge talk with zookeeper Kenton Kerns about what led to this violent succession drama, the stress he feels in witnessing his first naked mole rat war and how he hopes it will resolve. NOTE: This episode contains some detailed descriptions of animals fighting each other, so be warned. Check out the Smithsonian National Zoo's naked mole rat live cam.Pondering the implications of other monarchies and social hierarchies? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Every year, lightning is estimated to cause up to 24,000 deaths globally. It starts forest fires, burns buildings and crops, and causes disruptive power outages. The best, most practical technology available to deflect lightning is the simple lightning rod, created by Benjamin Franklin more than 250 years ago. But lightning rods protect only a very limited area proportional to their height. In today's encore episode, we explore why a group of European researchers are hoping the 21 century upgrade is a high-powered laser. Plus: Regina makes incremental progress on conquering her irrational fear of lightning.Struck by other illuminating scientific research? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When the U.S. government and state of Florida unveiled a new plan to save the Everglades in 2000, the sprawling blueprint to restore the wetlands became the largest hydrological restoration effort in the nation's history. Two decades later, only one project is complete, the effort is $15 billion over budget and the Everglades is still dying. The new podcast Bright Lit Place from WLRN and NPR heads into the swamp to meet its first inhabitants, the scientists who study it and the warring sides struggling to find a way out of the muck. Today, we hear an excerpt as environment reporter Jenny Staletovich tags along with wetlands ecologist Evelyn Gaiser to the remotest part of the swamp.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

At the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a wildlife preserve in central Kenya, lions and cheetahs mingle with zebras and elephants across many miles of savannah – grasslands with "whistling thorn" acacia trees dotting the landscape here and there. Twenty years ago, the savanna was littered with them. Then came invasive big-headed ants that killed native ants — and left the acacia trees vulnerable. Over time, elephants have knocked down many of the trees. That has altered the landscape — and the diets of other animals in the local food web.Curious about other science news? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Scientists know that Black people are at a greater risk for health problems like heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease than white people. A growing body of research shows that racism–in health systems and the effects of experiencing racial discrimination–contributes to these long-standing health disparities for Black communities. Now, some researchers are asking whether part of the explanation involves how racism changes the brain. Today on the show, science correspondent Jon Hamilton speaks with Nate Harnett, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Negar Fani, a clinical neuroscientist at Emory University about how experiencing racism may change the brain. Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Honeyguides are wild birds that team up with humans and then lead them to honey. Researchers recently found that the calls these birds respond to are unique and tied to their location. NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce talks about this relationship and shares how researchers followed honeyguides to learn about their call behaviors. Read Nell's full story here. Hear about an amazing wildlife phenomenon? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

At least one in four women — and a much smaller proportion of men — experiences intimate partner violence in their lifetime. For people in violent relationships, brain injuries are unfortunately common. But little is known about what exactly happens inside the brains of people dealing with domestic violence — and how these kinds of traumatic brain injuries may be different from those that come out of contact sports like football. Host Regina G. Barber talks with NPR brain correspondent Jon Hamilton about new research on the connection between domestic violence and traumatic brain injuries – and what makes these injuries unique. Questions? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Winter is upon us – and with the holiday travel and time spent indoors comes a triple threat of respiratory diseases: RSV, flu and COVID-19. Most of the country has been experiencing high or very high respiratory virus levels, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Host Regina G. Barber talks with NPR health correspondent Pien Huang about the annual 'tripledemic': what makes this winter different from winters past, who's most at risk and whether or not we're over the seasonal surge. Want to hear about another health story making headlines? Email us about it at [email protected] — we might cover it on a future episode!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Time is a concept so central to our daily lives. Yet, the closer scientists look at it, the more it seems to fall apart. Time ticks by differently at sea level than it does on a mountaintop. The universe's expansion slows time's passage. "And some scientists think time might not even be 'real' — or at least not fundamental," says NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel. In this encore episode, Geoff joins Short Wave Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber to bend our brains with his learnings about the true nature of time. Along the way, we visit the atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, consider distant exploding stars and parse the remains of subatomic collisions. Want to know more about fundamental physics? Email [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you work at home or in an office, you might spend a lot of your day sitting down and staring at a computer screen. That can have lots of negative effects – but it's hard to carve out significant time in the day to counteract that.Our friends at NPR's TED Radio Hour wanted to know if small, frequent movement breaks might do the trick instead. Along with Columbia University Medical Center, they conducted a study of over 20,000 listeners and asked them to incorporate these movement breaks into their day. Today on the show, TED Radio Hour's Manoush Zomorodi digs into the surprising preliminary results with Columbia University researcher Keith Diaz. Ideas to get moving? We want to hear them! Get in touch at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Since they were discovered in 2019, strange, glowing circles of light in space have mystified researchers. Now called odd radio circles, or ORCs, these rings of light sit in the radio portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. They pulse out of the centers of some galaxies – and until now, no one knew why.In this episode, host Regina G. Barber talks to Alison Coil, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at University of California San Diego, about her latest research. They break down what ORCs are, where they come from and what they might reveal about how galaxies evolve over billions of years.Wondering about other happenings across the universe? Email us at [email protected] – we'd love to hear about it! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Human beings are hardwired for social connection – so much so that we think of even the most basic objects as having feelings or experiences. (Yup, we're talking to you, Roomba owners!) Social robots add a layer to this. They're designed to make us feel like they're our friends. They can do things like care for children, the elderly or act as partners. But there's a darker side to them, too. They may encourage us to opt out of authentic, real-life connections, making us feel more isolated. Today on the show, host Regina G. Barber explores the duality of social robots with Eve Herold, author of the new book Robots and the People Who Love Them: Holding on to Our Humanity in an Age of Social Robots. Curious about other innovations in technology? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A winter storm brought heavy rain and snow to parts of the East Coast this weekend, which got us thinking about snowflakes. Those intricate, whimsical crystals are a staple of magical wintry scenes, but how big can they really get? Well, according to the Guinness World Record keepers, the "largest snowflake" ever recorded was a whopping 15 inches in diameter. It was spotted near Missoula, Montana in 1887. But Kenneth Libbrecht, a physicist at Caltech, has long been skeptical of that record. So he set out to find what makes a snowflake a snowflake and whether that 1887 record is scientifically possible. You can read more about what he discovered here.Want to share the snowflakes you've spotted this winter? Email us a photo at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The winter is usually when insects die or go into a state of paused development, but for tiny specks on the white snow called snow flies, it's time to run around, find a lover and make baby snow flies. Neuroscientist John Tuthill has been studying these creatures since he first came across them in 2016. He's found that not only can they survive in the cold, but if one of their limbs starts to freeze, they can self-amputate and pop it right off. That buys the snow fly time to find a mate and make sweet, sweet snow fly love.Interested in other winter biology? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In celebration of our 1000th episode, we're wrapping our heads around big numbers. Educational neuroscientist Elizabeth Toomarian talks about why humans' evolutionarily-old brains are so bad at comprehending large quantities–like the national debt and the size of the universe–and how to better equip ourselves to understand important issues like our finances and the impacts of climate change.Interested in other ways our brains make sense of the world? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ever gotten a scarlet, hot face after drinking? Or know someone who has? Many people felt it as they ring in the New Year with champagne toasts. That's because this condition, commonly called "Asian flush" or "Asian glow," affects an estimated half a BILLION people, who can't break down aldehyde toxins that build up in their bodies. But what if there's a benefit to having Asian glow? Katie Wu, a staff writer for The Atlantic, has looked into the research a theory as to why the condition might have been a powerful tool for some of our ancestors to survive disease. Read Katie's article to learn more.Questions about other potential tradeoffs for our genetics? Email us at [email protected]. We've love to hear from you and we might cover it in a future episode!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

2023 was filled with scientific innovation, exploration and new discoveries. A few of the biggest threads we saw unraveling this year came from the James Webb Space Telescope, the changing climate and artificial intelligence. Today, host Regina G. Barber wraps up these three areas of science news with the help of correspondent Geoff Brumfiel and All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro. Got more science news? Email us at [email protected]. Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As 2023 comes to a close, Short Wave teamed up with our friends at All Things Considered to round up some of our favorite stories of the year — this time, about the science behind music. First, science correspondent Rob Stein talks to researchers (and Phish's Mike Gordon) about what happens to our brains on music. Then, All Things Considered host Juana Summers and investigations correspondent Sacha Pfeiffer share a study about why lead singers, like Jeff Beck, have gotten quieter over the years. And finally, All Things Considered hosts Ailsa Chang and Ari Shapiro explore research that says some animals might be able to perceive melody and rhythm, too.Have other questions about the science behind music? What have you observed about how your favorite songs make you feel? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Are people ever satisfied? Two social psychologists, Ethan Ludwin-Peery and Adam Mastroianni, fell down a research rabbit hole accidentally answering a version of this very question. After conducting several studies, the pair found that when asked how things could be different, people tend to give one kind of answer, regardless of how the question is asked or how good life felt when they were asked. Short Wave's Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber digs into the research—and how it might reveal a fundamental law of psychology about human satisfaction. (encore)Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Would you survive as a doctor in The Sims 4? What's an appropriate amount of free food to take from a public sample station before it's greedy? And how much do clock towers affect sleep? These are the types of questions answered in the Christmas issue of The BMJ — one of the journal's most highly anticipated issues each year. And we find out the answers in this very episode. So, sit back, relax and prepare to be amused by this ghost of Christmas Past (encore).Check out what's been published so far in the 2023 issue. (We particularly like the research about the associated health risks and benefits of various Great British Bakeoff Ingredients.)Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

LED light bulbs are the future. They're better for the environment and the pocket book. But for some people, certain LEDs lights — particularly holiday lights—are also a problem. They flicker in a way that causes headaches, nausea and other discomfort. Today, we visit the "Flicker Queen" to learn why LEDs flicker — and what you can do about it.Wondering about other quirks of lighting and engineering? Email us at [email protected] – we might cover it on a future episode!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Millions of people in the U.S. are bird watchers. But a couple of years ago a satirical conspiracy theory gained popularity because of an absurd claim: That those birds were also watching people. Now, rather than being the stuff of internet memes, some engineers are, in fact, trying to reverse engineer how birds fly to eventually take what they learn to create more efficient bird-like drones. Today on the show, host Regina G. Barber talks to reporter Anil Oza about how scientists are using real birds to make fake ones. Want to learn more about innovations in science? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For the first time in its history, the United Nations climate conference concluded with a call to transition away from fossil fuels. But not all of the nearly 200 countries present at the meeting, known as COP28, were happy with the final agreement. Critics of the agreement had instead called for a clear path towards phasing out fossil fuels and pointed out a "litany of loopholes" in the final text. This episode, we look at the tensions and breakthroughs of the conference — and how far behind we are in limiting the devastating impacts that could be on the way.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Does thinking about the trajectory of the climate make you have a panic spiral? If so, we have the perfect podcast for you: The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast from NPR member station KCRW. The whole conceit of the show is to move away from climate anxiety and into incremental ways you can better the planet. Today, Caleigh Wells, one of the hosts of the show, helps Regina do just that by talking through some quick tips for being greener this holiday season and then walking through how to compost year-round. If you want even more climate solutions goodness, check out The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast Newsletter at kcrw.com/climate.As always, you can reach us Short Wavers by emailing [email protected]. We love hearing what's on your science-curious minds!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A team of conservation biologists from Italy recently found that current emoji options are sorely lacking when it comes to life outside of vertebrates in the animal kingdom. Sure, there are multiple dog and cat options to choose from. But when it comes to fungi, for example, the choices are limited ... to one. The study was published this week in the journal iScience argues that our emoji lexicon is in dire need of some biodiversity – which could have a real impact on the way people communicate about conservation.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used throughout the world to predict the future. Banks use it to predict whether customers will pay back a loan, hospitals use it to predict which patients are at greatest risk of disease and auto insurance companies use it determine rates by predicting how likely a customer is to get in an accident. But issues like data leakage and sampling bias can cause AI to give faulty predictions, to sometimes disastrous effects. That's what we get into today: the hazards of AI.Want to hear more of the latest research on AI? Email us at [email protected] — we might answer your question on a future episode!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Malls are designed to overwhelm our brains. Add the stress of holiday shopping, and a quick trip to pick up presents could turn into an hours-long shopping spree thanks to all the ways stores use research from fields like consumer neuroscience and neuromarketing to entice you. Retailers create urgency and scarcity to push you to give into the emotional part of your brain, motivated by the release of dopamine. But we've got your back! With the help of NPR business correspondent Alina Selyukh, we get into the psychology of sales and discounts: Why it's SO hard to resist the tricks stores use — and some tips to outsmart them. Read Alina's full story here. Questions about the science driving the world around you? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Glaciers like the ones in Greenland are melting due to climate change, causing global sea levels to rise. That we know. But these glaciers are also moving. What we don't know is just how these two processes – melting and movement – interact and ultimately impact how quickly sea levels will rise. This encore episode, Jessica Mejía, a postdoctoral researcher in glaciology at the University of Buffalo, explains what it's like to live on a glacier for a month and what her research could mean for coastal communities all over the world.Curious about other research happening around the globe? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The U.S. is in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. And for a lot of people, the feeling is even more pronounced during the holidays. In addition to its emotional impact, chronic loneliness and social isolation have some dramatic health consequences: increased risk of heart disease and stroke, infections, cancer, even premature death. Recent research also suggests that loneliness can change the way people process the world. So today on the show, host Regina G. Barber talks to Rachel Carlson about the neuroscience of loneliness.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Soon after the sun sets on winter nights, if you live in the northern hemisphere you can look into the sky and find the Orion constellation near the eastern horizon. Astrophysicist Sarafina El-Badry Nance has always been drawn to a particular star in Orion: Betelgeuse, a red supergiant nearing the end of it's life on the hunter's left shoulder. But what stages of life did Betelgeuse — or any star — go through before it reached this moment? Regina G. Barber talks to Sarafina about three winter constellations, and journey through the life cycle of a star. Curious about the night sky? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's easy to overlook the soil beneath our feet, or to think of it as just dirt to be cleaned up. But soil wraps the world in an envelope of life: It grows our food, regulates the climate and makes the planet habitable. "What stands between life and lifelessness on our planet Earth is this thin layer of soil that exists on the Earth's surface," says Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, a soil scientist at the University of California-Merced. In honor of World Soil Day tomorrow, we're revisiting our conversation with Prof. Berhe, who is also serving as Director of the U. S. Dept. of Energy's Office of Science. She talks to Aaron about the hidden majesty of soil and why it's crucial to tackling the climate crisis.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Sleep. It's an essential biological function that has long intrigued scientists. Researchers have studied everything from mice to fruit flies in the lab to get a better understanding of what happens when animals sleep — and why so many do it. This week, scientists finally added one piece to the elusive sleep puzzle: How wild chinstrap penguins sleep amid their noisy colony. Turns out, they do it over 10,000 times in seconds-long bursts throughout the day — totaling 11 hours when all is said and done.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In which we meet the pioneers of one of the most exciting — and controversial — fields of biomedical research: in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG. The goal of IVG is to make unlimited supplies of what Hayashi calls "artificial" eggs and sperm from any cell in the human body. That could let anyone — older, infertile, single, gay, trans — have their own genetically related babies. As such, the field opens up a slew of ethical concerns. But that isn't stopping researchers from pressing forward. So, this episode NPR science correspondent Rob Stein gives us a glimpse into the global race to create the first artificial human embryos to see how the competition is unfolding. Want to hear more cutting-edge technology? Email the show at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As kids, some of us dream of multiple careers: being an astronaut AND the next president. Or digging up dinosaurs AND selling out concert stadiums. As we get older, there's pressure to pick one path. But what if we didn't have to? After all, John Urschel didn't. He's a mathematician and professor at MIT. But before that, he played football for the Baltimore Ravens. Today on the show, Monday night football! Host Regina G. Barber talks to Urschel about linear algebra and following his dream of becoming a mathematician while living the dream as a NFL player.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Walking into Karen Chin's office at the University of Colorado, Boulder, one of the first things you might notice is that petrified poops are everywhere. They're in shallow boxes covering every surface and filling up shelves, cabinets and drawers. She's a leading expert in the fossils, known as coprolites. They delight her because of what they reveal about the ancient eating habits and food webs of dinosaurs — rare insights for the paleontology world. This episode, she talks with Short Wave co-host Aaron Scott about the lessons scientists can learn from ancient poopetrators.Interested in learning more ancient or scatological mysteries of science? Email us at [email protected] — we might cover it on a future episode!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Turkey is the usual centerpiece of the Thanksgiving dinner, but it's all too easy to end up with a dry, tough, flavorless bird. For NPR science correspondent Maria Godoy, it got so bad that several years ago, her family decided to abandon the turkey tradition altogether. Can science help her make a better bird this year? That's what she hopes as she seeks expert advice from food science writers and cookbook authors Nik Sharma and Kenji López-Alt. Want to know what other delectable food secrets science has to offer? Email [email protected] and we just might find out for you! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Every five years, the United States government releases the National Climate Assessment, a comprehensive analysis of how climate change is affecting the country. The fifth assessment was recently released. It's the first to include includes standalone chapters about climate change's toll on the U.S. economy, as well as the complex social factors driving climate change and the nation's responses. Climate reporters Rebecca Hersher and Alejandra Borunda walk us through three major takeaways from the report: the economics, the negative human health effects and the unequal burden people face. Plus, a silver lining: All the ways the U.S. is making progress to slow the effects of climate change. Read Rebecca and Alejandra's full piece here.Want to hear a climate story? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

How much salt is too much salt? Most likely, the amount you're consuming. A new study published this week in the journal JAMA found that cutting one teaspoon of salt a day results in a decline in blood pressure comparable to taking medication. Plus, other science news from this week, like the oldest confirmed black hole and how climate change and pollution are causing a big imbalance in the sexes of turtles. Got other science news for us to consider? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 closer to the surface in the country's southwestern peninsula and that a local volcano could erupt at any moment. Today on the show, host Regina G. Barber talks to volcanologist Diana Roman about the science behind these earthquakes. Got science to share? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the 18th century the world was focused on Venus. Expeditions were launched in pursuit of exact measurements of Venus as it passed between Earth and the Sun. By viewing its journey and location on the Sun's surface, scientists hoped to make a massive leap in scientific knowledge. With a little help from math, Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber recounts how humanity came closer to understanding our cosmic address — and relative distances to other planets — in the solar system. If you haven't heard the other two episodes in our series on cosmic distances yet, check them out here:- The Stars that Settled The Great Debate- What The Universe Is Doing Right NowWant to get in touch with story ideas or to share some science that delighted you? Email us at [email protected]!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

AI is popping up everywhere nowadays. From medicine to science to the Hollywood strikes. Today, with computer scientist and AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, we dig deeper into the history of the field, how machines really learn and how computer scientists take inspiration from the human brain in their work. Li's new memoir The Worlds I See traces the history of her move to the U.S. from China as a high school student and her coming-of-age with AI. Host Regina G. Barber talks to Li about her memoir, where the field may be going and the importance of centering humans in the development of new technology. Got science to share? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you've ever looked up at the clouds and wondered where they came from, you're not alone. Atmospheric researcher Lubna Dada is fascinated by the mystery of how clouds form and what role they play in our climate. Today, host Aaron Scott talks to Dada about a recent study on the role of trees in cloud formation, and how this data will improve our current climate models. Want more stories on the environment or climate change? Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy