Science Friday

Beavers are having a moment, thanks to the new Pixar movie “Hoppers.” Amid some body-swapping shenanigans, the film is about humans coexisting with wildlife—particularly oversized rodents capable of reworking landscapes in profound ways. The beaver science consultant on “Hoppers,” Emily Fairfax, joins Flora to talk about beavers’ brilliant, chaotic landscape engineering, and how the creatures show up in the movie. Then, reporter Zac Ziegler walks Flora through a successful beaver-centric engineering project in Oregon. Guests: Emily Fairfax is an assistant professor of geography at the University of Minnesota. She was a science consultant for the Pixar movie “Hoppers.” Zac Ziegler is a reporter at KLCC in Eugene, Oregon. Other episodes you may enjoy: How The Humble Beaver Shaped A ContinentBeavers Build Ecosystems Of Resilience Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Want SciFri gear? Check out our new shop! Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Deep in an active nickel mine near Sudbury, Ontario, researchers are installing and calibrating a set of sensitive detectors. They hope that the location roughly 6,800 feet underground will screen out much of the ordinary radiation and cosmic rays felt on the surface, and allow their detectors to sense tiny disturbances caused by a dark matter particle passing close to the nucleus of one of the germanium atoms in a target material. If successful, the SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment may shed some light on the nature of dark matter, an unseen something that is thought to make up around 85% of the matter in the universe. Priscilla Cushman, a physicist who has been working on the project for over 20 years, joins Host Flora Lichtman to describe the hunt, the timeline of the experiment, and the big unknowns facing the SuperCDMS team. Guest: Dr. Priscilla Cushman is spokesperson for the SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment, and a professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota. Other episodes you may enjoy: Listening for the cosmic ‘dark ages,’ from the lunar far sideMost Powerful Neutrino Ever Is Detected In the Mediterranean Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Hurricane season officially begins in June. And in the event of a big storm, local and state governments often rely on help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA. But, President Trump has questioned the value of the agency. “I've never been a big fan of FEMA. I like to keep it local. I like to see governors and neighboring states help each other as opposed to FEMA,” Trump said in March. We’ve heard this from the administration about other federal agencies, but FEMA is a special case. People have mistrusted this agency since its founding in the late 1970s. Host Flora Lichtman talks with Micah Loewinger, co-host of the show “On The Media,” who traced FEMA’s history in a new series called “American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA.” Guest: Micah Loewinger is co-host of On The Media.Other episodes you may enjoy: As Disasters Escalate, What’s The Future Of FEMA?Can We Geoengineer Our Way Out Of A Natural Disaster? Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Animal neuroaudiologist Pete Scheifele joins us to answer some burning questions from SciFri listener Paul: Why can dogs and cats hear a wider range of frequencies than we do? Is it in their ears, their brains? And what would life be like if you had dog ears or cat ears? And, scientists have created the first “smell map” of the nose using a mouse model. Host Flora Lichtman talks with neurobiologist Bob Datta about this latest research, and what it tells us about our own sense of smell. Guests: Dr. Pete Scheifele is a neuroaudiologist at the University of Cincinnati and executive director of the FETCHLAB, an animal audiology clinic and lab. Dr. Bob Datta is a neurobiologist at Harvard Medical School. Other episodes you may enjoy: What’s That Smell? An AI Nose KnowsBlood In The Water: Shark Smell Put To The Test Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

The news we hear about plastic is often alarming: We have a spoon’s worth of plastics in our brains, and there are microplastics in our hearts, lymph nodes, and bloodstreams. Plastics are ubiquitous, but the reality might be more complicated than it seems. It turns out that measuring microplastics is really, really difficult. One reason? Because we’re surrounded by plastics! Think of the pipettes and petri dishes and gloves we use in labs. Host Flora Lichtman chats with microplastics researcher Cassandra Rauert about the difficulties of studying plastics in the human body and what she’s doing about it—like how she designed a whole lab made almost entirely of stainless steel and glass. Guest: Dr. Cassandra Rauert is a senior research fellow studying microplastics exposure at the University of Queensland in Australia. Other episodes you may enjoy: Can algae help pull microplastics out of our water supply?Where Does Plastic And Other Trash Go After We Throw It Away? Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

In mid-April, President Trump issued an executive order to set aside funding and loosen the bureaucratic process at the FDA to fast-track psychedelic therapy research. One obscure psychedelic got a particularly bright spotlight: ibogaine. Originating from the root bark of the iboga plant of central Africa, the psychedelic has shown promise for curbing opioid addiction and treating PTSD. But it also can be risky to take, and hasn’t made it to the medical mainstream like psilocybin or ketamine. So what’s the story with this drug? Joining Host Flora Lichtman to talk about its history is neurologist and pharmacologist Deborah Mash, who secured the first FDA approval for clinical trials involving ibogaine in the 1990s. And to tell us how it fits in with the growing interest in medical psychedelics is Jane Hu, journalist for The Microdose newsletter. (Disclosure: Deborah Mash is founder and CEO of a company that’s developing a therapeutic drug based on ibogaine.) Guests: Jane C. Hu is a journalist for the psychedelic science newsletter The Microdose, based in Seattle, WA. Dr. Deborah Mash is professor emeritus of neurology and molecular and cellular pharmacology at the University of Miami School of Medicine. She is the also founder and CEO of DemeRx. Other episodes you may enjoy: How One Gene Affects Alzheimer’s RiskIs This PTSD Treatment Too Good To Be True? Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Comparing a backyard sparrow to a fearsome velociraptor seems odd, but modern birds are indeed living dinosaurs. Scientists are finding more and more connections between the past physiology of dinos and the present physiology of birds. Joining Ira Flatow to talk about some forgotten species from the past tens of millions of years—think gorilla-sized penguins—is Steve Brusatte, paleontologist and author of “The Story of Birds: A New History from their Dinosaur Origins to the Present.” Read an excerpt from “The Story of Birds” Guest: Dr. Steve Brusatte is a paleontologist and author of “The Story of Birds: A New History from their Dinosaur Origins to the Present.” He’s based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Other episodes you may enjoy: Do Birds Sing In Their Dreams?Were Dinos On Their Way Out Before The Asteroid Hit? Maybe Not Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Our bodily systems are rife with mutations. In fact, your DNA is mutating right now. These errors, and attempts to repair them, are a key to understanding immune function, aging, and even how heart disease develops. Gene mutations can even mitigate the harm caused by some inherited diseases. Host Ira Flatow goes on a journey through the illuminating science of genetic mutations with Roxanne Khamsi, science writer and author of “Beyond Inheritance: Our Ever-Mutating Cells and a New Understanding of Health.” Guest: Roxanne Khamsi is a science writer and author of the book, “Beyond Inheritance: Our Ever-Mutating Cells and a New Understanding of Health.” Other episodes you may enjoy: How One Gene Affects Alzheimer’s Risk65 Genomes Expand Our Picture Of Human Genetics Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Data centers make controversial neighbors: They’re loud, they use a lot of water, and can drive electricity prices up. Following public concern and organizing efforts, Maine nearly implemented an 18-month ban on data center construction, before a governor veto. Joining Flora to talk about real changes communities can advocate for in regards to data centers are Pete McGuire, climate reporter at Maine Public, and Lauren Keeler, director of ASU’s Just Energy Transition Center. Guests: Pete McGuire is climate reporter at Maine Public. Dr. Lauren Keeler is an associate professor and director of the Just Energy Transition Center at Arizona State University. Other episodes you may enjoy: As Companies Build Data Centers For AI, Communities Push BackSecrets Of Ancient Concrete, And… Data Centers In Space? Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

The way ancient societies like the Greeks, Maya, and Khmer Empire built their cities can tell us a lot about how a place was governed. Did rulers live in ornate palaces or alongside other residents? Are there large, open spaces for community gatherings? In a new study, archaeologists document how they use the design of ancient temples, plazas, and cities to understand how a society was governed. So what does ancient architecture reveal about democracy? And do the democratic design principles hold true today? Host Flora Lichtman chats with anthropologist Jake Holland-Lulewicz about ancient democracies, and with archaeologist Jeff Hou about how the role of public spaces in democracies has changed. Guests: Dr. Jacob Holland-Lulewicz is an anthropologist and assistant professor at Penn State. Dr. Jeff Hou is the head of the architecture department at the National University of Singapore. Other episodes you may enjoy: Secrets Of Ancient Concrete, And… Data Centers In Space?One Crisis After Another: Designing Cities For Resiliency Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

What did the universe look like before any stars turned on? Astronomers call that time the “dark ages,” and while they think it may be possible to see remnants of it in very low frequency radio signals, hearing those signals from Earth can be challenging. One possibility is to put a radio telescope on the far side of the moon, where it would have periods of observation shielded from interference both from Earth and from the sun—and potentially be able to receive that dark ages signal. The LuSEE-Night mission will explore that approach. A small demonstration radio telescope is slated for launch in late 2026 to serve as a proof of concept for low frequency radio astronomy on the lunar far side. Astronomer Anže Slosar, lead scientist for LuSEE-Night, joins Host Ira Flatow to describe the telescope project and what astronomers hope to achieve by sending it to the moon. Other episodes you may enjoy: CERN finds a new particle + News alerts for the cosmos3D Images Of Galaxies Will Rock You (Ft. Queen) Guests: Dr. Anže Slosar is science lead for the LuSEE-Night project. He’s based at Brookhaven National Lab. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

To mark Earth Day, we asked you to tell us about your favorite places on the planet. You took us to the woods near Traverse City, Michigan, to a lake in Oklahoma, to Long Island Harbor where you spent your summers as a kid. Basking in a sea breeze and admiring a sunset are basic human pleasures. But how do you take these moments and turn them into meaning? How do you pin those feelings down with words? Joining Host Flora Lichtman are two poets who make that attempt for their livelihood: Jane Hirshfield, founder of Poets for Science, and Kimberly Blaeser, founding director of Indigenous Nations Poets and former Wisconsin poet laureate. Guests: Kimberly Blaeser is a poet, founding director of Indigenous Nations Poets, and former Wisconsin Poet Laureate. Jane Hirshfield is a poet, essayist, and translator. She is the author of “Ledger” (Knopf, 2020) and nine other books of poetry. She’s based in San Francisco, California. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

What makes Earth special, and why are we here at all? In his book “Why Do We Exist? The Nine Realms of the Universe That Make You Possible,” astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi tackles the conditions needed to put life on Earth, from the formation of stars, to self-organizing molecules, to quantum weirdness and the nature of time. He joins Host Flora Lichtman to celebrate our place in the cosmos. Read an excerpt from "Why Do We Exist?" Guest: Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi is an astrophysicist and author of “Why Do We Exist? The Nine Realms of the Universe that Make You Possible.” Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Nearly all Americans have some type of PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals,” in their blood. The chemicals, which are linked to numerous health issues, were first regulated in drinking water at the federal level two years ago (though some limits have been rolled back). But, back in 2018, New Jersey became the first state to adopt its own drinking water standards for PFAS. Now, researchers at Rutgers University have crunched the data to see how well it worked. They found that levels of the regulated chemicals dropped by as much as 55%. Host Ira Flatow talks with the lead author of the study, cancer epidemiologist Hari Iyer about the significance of his findings and his plans to study the possible link between PFAS and prostate cancer. Want to filter PFAS from your tap at home? Learn more: Identifying Drinking Water Filters Certified to Reduce PFASHome Water Treatment for PFAS Guest: Dr. Hari Iyer is an assistant professor of cancer epidemiology and health outcomes at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

A new imaging technique using a particle accelerator is giving researchers an unprecedented level of detail of our organs, producing scans 100 billion times brighter than a CT scanner. Those 3D models are now part of a public database called the Human Organ Atlas, available to researchers and the medically curious. Joining Host Ira Flatow to explain why they needed so much power and what kind of research advances will follow is imaging scientist Claire Walsh, director of the Human Organ Atlas hub. Check out images from the Human Organ Atlas on our website. Guest: Dr. Claire Walsh is an associate professor at the UCL department of mechanical engineering and director of the Human Organ Atlas Hub. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

In the 2010s, inventor Simone Giertz (pronounced “Yetch”) began making videos that straddled the line between practical and absurd. What if you had a robot that could feed you soup? Or a drone that could cut your hair? As time went on, her projects became more polished and more ambitious, like converting a Tesla sedan into a pickup truck. Today, with almost 3 million subscribers to her YouTube channel, Simone is still designing and building objects that are quirkily useful—a fruit bowl that changes size for instance—but that could also be at home in a high-end design store. She joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about her approach to problems, and the joy of making physical objects in an increasingly online world. Guest: Simone Giertz is an engineer, maker, YouTube creator and founder of Yetch Studio. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

What are dolphins actually saying with their iconic, high-pitched whistles? Dolphin communication researcher Laela Sayigh is trying to find out. She’s been compiling a database of whistles from a pod of dolphins in Sarasota, Florida, the longest-studied group of cetaceans in the world. She joins Flora to discuss fundamental questions about dolphin dialects, including how dolphins’ “signature” whistles can change depending on context, and the process of decoding new types of whistles. Guest: Dr. Laela Sayigh is a senior research specialist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

“This was not easy, being 200,000+ miles away from home. Like before you launch, it feels like it's the greatest dream on earth. And when you're out there, you just wanna get back to your families and your friends.” – Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman Last week, the crew of Artemis II made it safely home. Throughout the journey, we heard the astronauts talk about moonjoy, awe, wonder, and—without exception—gratitude for their families. To learn more about what it's like to be part of an astronaut family, Host Flora Lichtman chats with Tracy Scott, whose dad was a commander during the Apollo missions. Now, as a sociologist who studies the Moonshot era, Scott gives us a glimpse into astronaut life and the social context of the Apollo and Artemis missions. Guest: Dr. Tracy Scott is a sociologist at Emory University studying the lives and families of Apollo era astronauts. She’s based in Atlanta, Georgia. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

If you’re a gardener, thinking about getting your soil in shape probably means thinking about compost. But composting can be a mysterious process. What can go into the pile? How do you balance carbon and nitrogen? And how do you do it in a city? Compost expert Cassandra Marketos joins Host Ira Flatow to break down the basics of what she calls “purposeful decomposition,” and give practical tips for the backyard composter. Read an excerpt from Marketos’ new book, “Compost after Reading.” Guest: Cassandra Marketos is the author of “Compost After Reading: A Practical Manifesto for Purposeful Decomposition.” Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

How do we know what we know? That's where science comes in—it gives us a method for testing our ideas and getting trustworthy results. But some researchers have warned that many scientific studies can't be replicated. To find out how deep the problem goes, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency funded one of the largest analyses of social science, called the SCORE project. They checked the results of thousands of papers across economics, education, and psychology—and found that only half of them could be replicated. Joining Host Ira Flatow to discuss the findings are Tim Errington, one of the leads on this project, and economist Abel Brodeur, who recently released the results of a separate replication study that found more encouraging results than SCORE did. Guest: Dr. Tim Errington is senior director of research at the Center For Open Science in Washington, D.C. Dr. Abel Brodeur is a professor of economics at the University of Ottawa and founder of the Institute for Replication. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.